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lewisamercer
Reviews
American Gods: The Beguiling Man (2019)
Somehow even worse than episode 1.
For the 2nd time in two episodes of Series 2, I find myself struggling to make it even halfway through an episode.
Season 1 was pieced together with set pieces to showcase the characters, and the world the show is in - the bank robbery; the historical flashbacks; the non-sequiturs.
For this season, on the other hand, the current showrunners seem content to plod through episodes in the most basic, boring, uninspired ways possible.
In this episode, we have the worst, cheapest looking sci-fi torture setup; the introduction of Shadow's mum (and young Shadow) as THE most one-dimensional, humourless parody of the 'cultured, cool mom'. And don't worry, there's still plenty of mind-numbing expeditionary dialogue.
Remember those characters from Season 1, where you couldn't wait for them to talk? Oh they're still here, but that sharp and interesting dialogue went the way of the Dodo. And Gillian Anderson.
Why am I even complaining, other than to vent? Unfortunately it seems a lot of criticism is levelled at the alleged 'liberalising' of the show, which is obviously bs.
I'm just trying to wrap my head around how a show can, by actually RETAINING the original author, still manage to become the polar opposite of everything that originally made it great.
American Gods: House on the Rock (2019)
Devastated to confirm the worst.
Rewatched S1 in preparation for Season 2, and it only served to remind me how incredible S1 was.
S2E01, in comparison, was immediately rambling, uninteresting and visually unintelligible. Within half an hour, I found myself asking "Did they swap showrunners or something??". Somehow I missed the news that yes, yes they did.
It's all plot and no pacing, over-the-top visuals and much less sharp dialogue. The characters are like different people, cliches and parodies of their former selves.
It's turned into what the first season managed to avoid becoming - a big, glossy, nothing.