5 WTF moments from ‘American Gods’ tonight

With the second episode of the season just finishing up, here are our five favorite WTF moments from American Gods tonight.

The second episode of the first season of American Gods has just wrapped up, and needless to say, it’s finally picking up some momentum. Based on the best-selling book by Neil Gaiman, the show tells the story of Shadow Moon, a just-released convict who has found himself a bit aimless after his wife passed away (and, of course, it didn’t help that he found out after the fact that his wife was cheating on him while he was away). He then comes across a mysterious man named Mr. Wednesday (played by Ian McShane, best known as of late for his work on Game of Thrones) and his life changes forever.

Here, then, is our list of five WTF moments from American Gods tonight.

1. The Opening

Last week, we opened up right in the present. This week, however, we were transported back to the 1600s, and onto a slave ship, where there was a revolt right on a ship. We’ll grant you that this was a much-needed plot device, however, this certainly was a little jarring as far as American Gods is concerned.

2. Anansi

Now, this was a nice WTF if ever there was one. The character of Anansi, of course, is based on an ancient African myth about a spider-god (and nice touch about adding the spider in the scene) who is all-knowing, and was played brilliantly by the comedic actor Orlando Jones (this writer literally yelled “WTF!” in a good way when he came onto the screen), who gave him a dark, sadistic twist.

3. Shadow Moon Hanging from a Tree

One thing you need to know about American Gods is that, unlike other shows, it plays the long game. So, things that happen in a given moment aren’t made abundantly clear when they happen, but make sense after the fact, when the story plays out. And the same goes for this scene, where Shadow Moon hanging leads him on the path to his destiny.

4. Shadow Moon’s Wife in a Vision

We know that his wife is a cheater who did him dirty, but what we don’t know — at least, at this moment — is why he sees her in this vision (dream?), and why she’s begging him to come to her.

5. “That” Picture

Going back to the “Shadow Moon’s wife is a cheater who did him dirty” line, this was probably one of the biggest WTF moments of American Gods tonight. While the show certainly doesn’t skimp out on strong sexual content and nudity, seeing a penis so up-close and personal was…well…jarring.

Next: American Gods Season 1, Episode 2 recap

What did you think of American Gods tonight?