Trust isn’t a big thing in American Gods since Odin/Wednesday is still proving that as a usurper and as the chief deity of the Norse pantheon he’s still someone that people have to watch carefully, lest they make the mistake of trusting him a little too much. Shadow Moon is continually finding this out, but sadly it would appear that Wednesday’s supposed ally, Tyr, is no longer willing to follow the Allfather and has come up with a way to finally get back at Odin for a great many things, not the least of which was the loss of his hand, the loss of his position, and possibly even the loss of Demeter. One can’t really say that Wednesday is a saint, far from it, but at the very least he’s trying to do right by the old gods, even if it means resorting to trickery and deceit to spur them towards the final battle. But the trouble with Odin and this is documented by many people that have something to say about the one-eyed war god, is that as much good as he tries to do, he’s bound to cause an equal amount, if not more, trouble when all is said and done. He’s also bound to leave people in his wake when the metaphorical balance sheets are finally tallied since he’s the type of god that people don’t necessarily follow, but instead, feel emboldened by since he promotes trouble in many ways. Having Odin as a patron, and in Shadow’s case as a father, is something that many can claim is troubling at times but is also far more balanced due to the nature of the deity to which it is bound. Odin is many things, not just good, or evil, and if one is paying attention, the show has actually laid this bare a few times.
That being said, it is and isn’t a surprise that Tyr would finally betray his friend, since Tyr had to have a lot of resentment building up over the years, and it kind of showed. Losing his hand was a big part of it, but losing his place in the Norse pantheon, which many would argue over since Tyr is said to be a sky god and not a war god, that had to sting. The battle between Tyr and Odin wasn’t too surprising since Odin is said to be a great warrior, as is Tyr, but between the two of them, Tyr is no doubt the more disciplined, while Odin, fierce and strong, is still more of an opportunist in this incarnation, as he strikes when he has the advantage, not worry overly much about honor or fair play. In this, Odin is balanced since he professes to care about tradition, honor, and other such things, but in the face of practicality, he’ll let much of this slip and simply survive. That is a balance that many fail to see. But releasing Shadow from his servitude is an odd move since it makes his son look like another pawn in the grand game he’s playing, something which Shadow is tired of being.
Laura Moon is also still around, as is Salim. Both have finally said goodbye in their own way to those they were pining for, as Laura, with the help of Doyle, another leprechaun, and the one that was initially hired to kill her before Mad Sweeney, not only visited Sweeney’s horde but retrieved Gungnir, Odin’s famed spear, so as to kill the god as per her deal with Mr. World. With two episodes left to go in the season, we’re moving towards the finale in a manner that feels as though it’s going to be anticlimactic in a way but could hopefully surprise a lot of us. One hope is that Salim, who met another individual and had a romantic night, will now exit the story, as he doesn’t appear to have much more to do apart from living his life as he has let go of his desire for the Jinn, who was already confirmed to not be coming back in this season apart from a few stock footage shots, much like Mad Sweeney actor Pablo Schreiber. There’s still much left to do, such as finding Allison McGovern, getting Technical Boy fixed, realizing what role Bilquis has left to play in Shadow’s story, and of course, the final endgame that Wednesday is moving towards, and whether Laura Moon will be able to achieve what she’s set out to do. Plus, there’s the idea of whether or not Shadow will let her do this, or if he’ll finally let his father fight his own battle and be done with it.
Two more episodes and a lot of ground still to cover, and the story is still pushing forward.
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