Moon Shadow Review

After such a long hiatus, I can't believe this season is already over! I'm still not certain whether it was better or worse than the first season but I'm planning on writing a Season Two Review post and will figure it out then.

Highlights

• This opening might be the best one yet of the season, possibly even better than the CEO opening in 2x04
  • Fake new coming from FOKS (Fox) sponsored by the NRA. 😂😭😭 I've lost once perfectly reasonable and normal family members to the Fox News cult
  • The whole "fear" monologue 👍👍 This deserves its own mini discussion point
• 🗣️ CRISPIN GLOVER IS ALL THE SUPERLATIVES! From the way he walks without moving his head to the way he speaks so precisely to the way he emphasizes words. Mr. World has usurped George McFly as my most favorite role of his.
• Laura caught feelings! Is it like an STD? Did she get them from having sex with Baron Samedi or from Sweeney? Laura also gets her own discussion point.
• Yetide Badaki is a godsdamn treasure. 💃 All season long, she elevates every scene she is in just by her mere presence
  • Her evolution from voring worshipers to preaching to them has been one of the best character developments of S2
  • Her helping Shadow figure out who he is just like she helped Sweeney remember who he was
  • I don't know how she can seem so powerful when she's naked but that's why she's a god and I'm a mere mortal
• The Shadow tree sequence is the needed surrealism missing from most of this season, which is one of the things I love most about Gaiman's works. It's like they stayed away from Gaiman's surrealism out of fear of making people think they were trying to mimic Fuller too much or something
• Shadow finding out who his father is earlier than in the book. Shadow is not a dumb guy so it drove me batty that it took him that long to figure shit out in the novel.
• Salim's panicking at the news. I love my too pure cinnamon roll son 🧁
  • And The Jinn finally showing some affection for my precious baby boy!
• New Media really shined in this episode and Kayhun Kim is delightful!

General Thoughts

• The Buffalo is back, even if it's in flashbacks. I wonder why he was forgotten all season long
• I've also been wondering about Tech Boy's "Hello, Friend" greeting since 2x04. I don't know if this is a nod to the movie or a nod to Mr. Robot but either way, 👍 (Hmmm...I might start editing on the Mr. Robot wiki when season 4 comes out.) And with the technological apocalypse New Media brought on, Mr. Robot could totally share the same universe as American Gods.
  • Elliot bringing down E Corp (XieComm) and New Media creating mass panic go hand-in-hand
  • Maybe Elliot/Mr. Robot is actually a god? (i.e. Czernobog/Bielebog, Janus, etc.,). This is a fun exercise!
• It's only been ten days since 1x05. I think I'm going to have to create a timeline during hiatus.
• I hope there was a reason they showed the names of those FBI agents and that they'll be part of the Spooks/Men in Black in S3.
• Also, I seem to have missed the point of the apple? Bilquis symbolizing Eve? What for?
• That TV mugshot of Wednesday is amazing. Just look at it.

Thoughts from before

• Laura knowing that Bilquis also wants to punch Wednesday. I'm glad I'm not the only one who wants to punch Wednesday. There should be an episode next season where everyone gets to punch Wednesday
• Maybe Laura will use Baron Samedi's potion to bring Sweeney back to life?
• I've really enjoyed Anansi subbing in for the missing Jacquel this season. They might even be able to get away with him as a permanent replacement if Chris Obi doesn't return
• The CEO is back! I also hope they bring him back for S3. He could be an entrance into the world of the Spooks and how they work
  • He could even be a lesser god in his own right since "corporations are people, too" so who do they worship?
• I mentioned last episode how I loved it when Mad Sweeney pointed out the inadequacies of the gods and New Tech Boy does the same this episode: "You are not made in God's image. We are made in yours. With all your flaws. Greed. Hubris."
  • New Tech Boy? Tech Boy 2.0 (but how many versions deep are we really though)? I've seen reviewers throwing around Quantum Boy. Was that in the credits and I missed it?

Lowlights

Nothing worth mentioning. It isn't necessarily the strongest or the best episode but this is what I'm looking for in terms of tight structure, cohesive plot, and continuity. It's a complete mini-story that builds upon the greater seasonal arc and it kept my interest the whole way through.

Discussion

Fear

I complained how S1 and the beginning of this season, they didn't know what to do with the New Gods but in this episode, the New Gods really got their chance to shine

• Mr. World's Fear speech and how imagination fuels fear which creates beliefs
• Technical Boy inducing a fear of god into the CEO in order to "fuel" his imagination
• New Media creating new "aliens" to fear through fake news and misinformation.

Laura

I started the season out with a discussion on Laura, might as well end it with a discussion on her.

• She finally apologized to Shadow! It was very non-specific and half-hearted but at least it was an apology.
• Laura in the puppy scene reminded us of why Shadow fell in love with her in the first place. I wouldn't mind seeing more scenes like this of past Laura next season to make her more sympathetic to the audience. That's a big reason people hate her so much: the show hasn't really shown us a softer, more fun side to her, which is fine if she's supposed to be a villain but not so much if she's supposed to be an antihero.

As a season finale, this was definitely better than Season One's finale. WAY better. And it did its job in making me excited for Season Three. Grade: A-