American Gods (TV Series) The Bone Orchard (2017) User Reviews

Gods Among Us

[ThomasDrufke · 8/10 · 30 April 2017]

I feel pretty much the same tonight as I did the night I watched Westworld's premiere. I'm not entirely sure what I just witnessed, but I'm nonetheless intrigued and ready to take on a refreshing new series.

American Gods is based on a 2001 novel by acclaimed author Neil Gaiman. He's perhaps most widely known from his work on the comic series, The Sandman, and American Gods brings a lot of that comic- book flavor into the television series. The plot is still unclear to me, but from what it seems like, Mr. Wednesday (played by Ian McShane) is gathering a team to fight against something or someone. One of the people he gathers is Shadow Moon, played by Ricky Whittle, who's a human with a great deal of strength and mental toughness. Why exactly Wednesday needs Moon? I have no stinking idea.

Luckily, the unusual plot is filled with visually stunning sequences of violence among other things, to keep your interest till the end. For someone like me who went in with no information about Gaiman's novel at all, it's certainly a difficult story to follow. However, memorable characters played by McShane, Whittle, and a few other shocking surprises were enough to keep my interest.

I think the main issue that this show may have going forward is the overwhelming amount of mythology surrounding the story. If the show doesn't get swallowed up in trying to be the next mixture of Westworld and Game of Thrones, than I think it will do just fine. Plus, it doesn't hurt to have one of the most well-respected showrunners in the business, Bryan Fuller, steering the ship for you. I'll have a more proper review next week hopefully, as this was more of a reaction than anything else.

8.2/10

Looks promising

[fahimkh9 · 9/10 · 1 May 2017]

This looks promising. Though I don't want to say it exactly as it might be too early. I was disappointed with the first episode of Taboo FX but that came out as a masterpiece later on. So this show has shown us something like the TV show Preacher. I know this show has a book by Neil Gaiman. But so far it has shown mystery, twist and suspense; the viewers would be eager for the next episode. The acting was perfect and even the explicit adult scene was recorded awesomely.

Hope it can be one of the best show of this year

A good start

[lady_hotaru · 8/10 · 3 May 2017]

I had big expectations for this show and overall, I liked this first episode.

The Bilquis scene was a standout for me, it could have looked ridiculous and they truly did a fantastic job at rendering it. As for the Technical Boy introduction, with the pixels. Both were visually amazing. The general look of the series reminded me a lot of Hannibal, also produced by Bryan Fuller, with the same "dark gory visual poetry" feeling in the dream sequences.

Ian McShane as Mr. Wednesday is perfectly cast and Pablo Schreiber as Mad Sweeney was spot on. Ricky Whittle does a good job as Shadow, adding strength and sensibility to the character. He has a good chemistry with McShane, which is central to the story and I liked what they did so far.

The cemetery scene with Audrey and Shadow surprised me at first, because in the book she's very hostile towards him and they barely speak on the funeral day. They obviously added this for emotion and I thought it was well acted but not that much necessary, in my opinion.

I look forward to see where this show is going. For me, it was not as spectacular as I expected, but it was a satisfying start.

The battlefield is getting set

[alinfatu · 1 May 2017]

This series is intriguing to say the least,very engaging,mind blowing and dark,full of gore and mystery.

The main character is a man of few words,who endured much and lost everything.He found himself in a position working for this man who calls himself Wednesday,a man of the unknown,who knows everything about him apparently.He has awaken his inner powers in the presence of death and blood,he might be some death god reincarnated or his contract gives him some significant powers.I would not put anything aside when it comes to this series.

The man he confronts at the end and who wants him dead,is a man of technology,one of the new gods,who need no worship in the old,classic sense but the market,the complete depence of their services and people to use their devices and inventions.He is very analytical and puts everything in perspective.

The old gods such as the Queen of Sheba strive to survive and maintain their powers,for their age is gone and they are just relics of what once was a band of world rulers gods.

I am eager for a new episode.

*very tiny vague spoilers* Surpassed my expectations!

[shockity · 10/10 · 1 May 2017]

One of the first things I thought when this was announced was "How are they going to do the iconic passages justice while keeping them meaningful?" I wasn't sure what to expect from Bryan Fuller this time around. I loved Hannibal but American Gods is a lot harder to translate to screen. Well, my doubts were definitely assuaged. One of the scenes people were most curious about was done fairly quickly into the episode and it is mesmerizing and very well done. That set my expectations high. The rest of it passed very fast for a first episode (which I normally struggle through for a future payoff).

The vibe is very Hannibal season 3 without the long conversations and Hugh/ Mads staring into each other's eyes. The stand outs for me are Jonathan Tucker (the creepy nurse from Hannibal!), Ricky Whittle, and Ian McShane. Definitely looking forward to more.

Sexy and Slick!

[injury-65447 · 9/10 · 16 June 2020]

I've read the novel. Now time for the show. I have to say I'm impressed so far! This is a pretty excellent way to kick things off. It really does feel like a graphic novel has come to life on the screen.

I just thought this episode was extremely sexy. Everything was oozing blood. I loved the stylised violence. It all felt dark and delicious. They did an amazing job at establishing tone and atmosphere.

My highlights were the graveside scene & the meeting with Technical Boy. Things really picked up towards the end of the episode.

I also loved Ian McShane's performance as the charismatic Mr Wednesday.

We also get a sexy and intense interlude with Bilquis.

The actor playing Shadow, I initially had mixed feelings about but as the episode progressed I started to like him more and more. He provides a good solid grounded character for the chaos to happen around.

I just think this is a fabulous start to the series. I'm a lot more invested in the show now than I expected to be!

Good for a start.

[amr-elzawawy · 8/10 · 15 August 2017]

Suspense,thriller and more. This first episode of the show just shows how a first episode should be done. Maybe too much complexity but yet the suspense and thriller to watch more is top notch. The characters were good except that sex scene that no one i think understood from the blind date.The acting was very good,Ricky seems so interesting and the wife of his dead friend as well. Still,it is too early to call a rating for the show but as an episode on it's own it's pretty great and very much looking for more to come from this series.

The style is undeniable, the substance may be overwhelming for the writers

[sldcrst-71103 · 9/10 · 21 June 2021]

American Gods is a beautifully shot show. We are quickly thrown into the deep end of a mythos we will spend the rest of the show chasing. Whether it does justice to the character or not is a question of preference.

The acting is quite good, the writing is crisp and the actors are excellent especially Wednesday.

Watching on Hulu unfortunately I know, and can confirm, the series spiral of quality. But don't let that stop you from enjoying the visual buffet that season 1 offers. Just don't expect any closure and don't fall in love with the talented actors who couldn't weather the god sized egos behind the scenes.

Too much everything, trying to mess with the audience

[maailmankaikkeus · 6/10 · 30 July 2017]

Visually the episode is good (except for the boat in the very beginning), especially the parts where bodies get slashed in many ways. Also there the episode manages to get into the head of the main character. So there is enough of something, at least. There are feelings and human relationships, fighting too. But the main things are just too vague. What is dream, what is psychosis, what is coincidence, what is symbolism, what is godly? There is just too much everything, and it seems that they are trying to mess with the audience, a bit similarly like in The Leftovers, Under the Dome, or Lost. But there is no point in keeping the audience waiting, perhaps forever. How can we be sure that the next episodes bring any clarity into these things. Also, I don't even like fantasy or at least gods or superheroes so much, but at least I could try it. Anyway, apparently this actually IS about gods. No dreaming or anything, just gods fighting each other, and apparently each having weaknesses. Also, they are traditional gods, which means shedding blood. I guess I could watch gods and people messing around. But since the first episode left so much hanging, it is not very intriguing. I understand that of course the introduction of the weird elements are new to the protagonist too, but the episode doesn't delve into that. Also, why would gods be so petty, and then again not visible, but now still very visible? BTW, I saw something "satanic" in Mr. Wednesday, which I guess is designed to happen. But just super powerful gods isn't very interesting. And for example the Bilquis case, it's just too stereotypical, and reminds me more of True Blood. I guess this will turn more into something like that. I guess it can be interesting.

Rating 6.3/10.

Bizarre doesn't always amount to intriguing.

[domesticatedprimate · 5/10 · 1 May 2017]

It was OK at a push, The reason for me why it never got beyond OK is mostly due to the sheer amount of random unexplained events took away any sense of intrigue. It was essentially here's an hour of strange goings on discover what on earth they mean in the next 7 episodes. It hopped between sci fi, mystery and fantasy so quickly by the end of the episode i was frankly exhausted hoping for a premature ending. But not our main protagonist, Our well built husky voiced, generic chiselled man of a protagonist Shadow Moon. By the end big Shadow was taking it all in his stride, Talking to these beings like he'd frequented them all his life. The beings themselves weren't as strange as the fact he was seemingly unfazed with being accompanied by faceless men in some unknown void whilst talking to some futuristic hipster in the back of a limousine he never entered. Any sense of a dark atmosphere was removed by almost comical violence, The deadly flying limbs and exaggerated amounts of blood seemed more suited to an Asian martial arts parody movie. As for the characters none of them stuck out for me as particularly interesting. The leprechauns accent seemed to switch from Irish to American various times in a single sentence. The goddess who seemingly sucks up her seduced worshipers through her genitals felt completely out of place and had no link whatsoever to the rest of the episode. I imagine fans of superhero franchises would enjoy this kind of show at least that's the impression i get from the pilot, but personally for me there wasn't enough here to warrant any excitement.

By stripping the world of reality, the show falters from the start.

[xevirus · 4/10 · 30 April 2017]

Having incidentally read American Gods earlier this year, the prospect of a serial adaptation picked at my curiosity. From the looks of things, my curiosity is soon to depart.

Problems with the show arise within the first sequence, a prologue of sorts which is supposed to show the arrival on US shores of the Norse God Odin. This scene, as depicted in the book, foreshadows events which are to come while also analogizing events of Norse mythology in a way which is consistent with the book's theme of Gods (and their mythology) reshaping themselves around the time and place and circumstances of the believer. In the show, this scene is reduced to a generic sequence of hyper-stylized violence which serves to undermine what is essential for ushering viewers into the show's world: a sense of reality.

Instead, what continues even after we meet the series protagonist, Shadow, is a barrage of surrealist imagery and occasional movie violence which never lets us feel that what we are watching could be happening in our world, but rather which tells us persistently that this is happening in another world altogether. Perhaps it is the producers' intention to transform this story into just another urban fantasy which follows the fashions of modern television, perhaps the decision makers feared that establishing a familiar world would risk boring a frisson-addicted audience, but whatever the reasons, this decision actually defuses potential tension associated with the idea of deities living in our world, and is a first step for placing this show into the great hall of the forgotten.

Though I question how coherent is the story in this first episode to those unfamiliar with it, I was able to follow it despite the ostentatious foreshadowing which transitions nearly every scene to the next. The actors are mostly believable in their parts, though McShane's doddering old man at the airport is not quite believable, and Ricky Whittle seems to be unclear in how to portray the consistent stoicism of Shadow. The visuals are nice, as is the production design, but the producers seem inspired by the Zach Snyder approach of visuals at the expense of good storytelling.

Overall, this first episode indicates a series too interested in the superficial to be worth following to its finale.

Part good, part bad

[westley34 · 4/10 · 31 May 2017]

This show has the production values to be an excellent show, has a good cast, good acting and good action, but the execution on the final product leaves a lot to be desired. It starts off with a scene from hundreds of years ago, and apparently there is some sort of curse on the new land (America?) that these men from a viking ship discover, because the second one of them passes a certain line on the beach, he is somehow magically inundated by arrows. If they are trying to say that the guy was shot by Native Americans with 500 arrows and no misses, I am not buying. I have serious doubts that just what the heck went on there will ever be explained, which is just the beginning of why this is bad. Then to appease what these men perceive as Gods that need sacrifices, they commit increasingly brutal acts on each other, climaxing in a fight scene in which the producers decided to throw 10-20 times more blood into the air than would have really been present in a realistically portrayed fight scene, and I can only guess that they did this to appeal to the lowest common denominator- viewers looking for violence porn. I am also not buying. I am not going to be like the rest that brush the garbage under the carpet just to get to the nugget of what might be an excellent story. I for one will not be watching further episodes. Without the nonsense added for shock value this could have been a 9.