American Gods: 10 Mistakes From Season 3 The Series Couldn’t Avoid

American Gods’ third and final season was riddled with issues, from the first to the last episode. After the failings of season 2, the showrunners changed again, leading to a disjointed story and vision for the show. Based on the book by British author Neil Gaiman, the show follows the burly Shadow Moon as he is dragged into a war between the Old and New Gods.

RELATED: 10 Most Watched TV Shows On Right Now, Ranked By ViewersThe changing showrunners were the tip of the iceberg with the third season’s problems, with a lack of story and character development plaguing American Gods, in addition to being swarmed by poor reviews. Fans are still hoping that Starz, the show’s network, will renew American Gods for one more season, if only to tie up loose ends.

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10

Wednesday’s New Driver, Cordelia, Is One Dimensional

Season 3 introduced a handful of new characters to compensate for the lack of returning cast. One of these new characters was Cordelia, Wednesday’s new driver, who had taken over Shadow’s previous role. Cordelia is young and impressionable, but is evidently oblivious to Wednesday’s true identity and the schemes of the Gods.

Because of this, Cordelia is rarely seen throughout the show, and offers little to no helpful dialogue at all. Of course, it is clear she is designed only to play the small driver role, and so is not given any character development. This may also be due to the story moving elsewhere and not having enough runtime to explore her character.

9

The Story Is Disjointed Compared To Previous Seasons

As each season tackles a different part of Gaiman’s book, audiences should expect a linear and easy-to-follow story. Unfortunately, seasons 2 and 3 failed to do this quite spectacularly, jumping too much between characters that audiences cared little for, and making Shadow a passive character in his own story.

Season 3 is by far the most disjointed of the series, and often feels more like an episode of Fargothan American Gods. Shadow investigates mysterious disappearances in snowy Lakeside, while Laura is off on her own adventure with Sweeney’s replacement, and the Gods are fighting amongst themselves. The lack of main character interaction makes for an uninteresting series that feels like the stories of random individuals instead of interlinked companions.

8

Gods Who Were Previously Present Are Missing

While the showrunners publicly addressed the fact that many characters would not be returning in the third season, as they were not present in the part of the book the season tackles, audiences were disappointed mainly by the smaller (less interesting) cast. Fan-favorite Anansi / Mr. Nancy, the trickster god (played by Orlando Jones), along with Jinn (Mousa Kraish), Mama-Ji / Kali (Sakina Jaffrey), and New Media (Kahyun Kim) were among those not returning in the season.

RELATED: 8 Important TV Characters Who Were Only In One SeasonSeason 3 primarily focuses on Shadow, Mr. World, Tech Boy, Laura, Bilquis, and, of course, Mr. Wednesday. While these are all entertaining characters, American Gods’ final season feels like it is missing much of the flavor that the previous seasons had as a result of the more exciting gods.

7

Mad Sweeney Feels Like A Character Written Into A Corner

Another character that didn’t return in season 3 was Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber). Shadow killed Sweeney at the end of season 2, and Laura spends much of season 3 trying to bring him back to life. In the book, Sweeney had a much smaller role. But, like the show, he is paid by Wednesday to start a fight with Shadow, and does indeed accidentally give away the coin which resurrects Laura Moon.

However, after losing his lucky coin, Sweeney freezes to death after falling asleep on a cold night in Cairo, IL. Of course, his fate is very different in the show, and he plays a prominent role in both the plot and Laura’s undead life. The show certainly feels like they have perhaps given him too much screen time, making him a fan favorite, thus making his death unavoidably disappointing.

6

Season 3 Attempts To Repair The Damage Done By Season 2

Naturally, season 3 attempts to repair the damage caused by the unsuccessful second season. Season 2 felt like a long and unneeded interval between the events of the first and third seasons, spending too much time dawdling and bumming around the funeral home in Cairo. Season 3, therefore, had a lot of repairing to do in terms of story and character development.

Meaning, that not only were many previous characters not asked back, but more emphasis had to be placed on Shadow. Unfortunately, too much is put on Shadow and his visions, as he learns who he is but doesn’t do much about it.

5

Lack Of Compelling Action Due To A Large Cast

Many previous cast members were not asked back in the third season, albeit for various reasons. Resultantly, the series introduced new characters to fill the gaps. However, these characters were not as interesting or well fleshed out; instead presented only to further the main characters’ goals, such as Shadow or Laura.

RELATED: 10 TV Shows Where The Best Episode Is The PilotMoreover, this large cast meant that much of the action was non-existent. Instead, the showrunners focused on dialogue-heavy scenes that weren’t particularly entertaining, jumping from character to character, with too much telling and not enough doing to make the season anything more than a yawn-fest.

4

Season 3 Appears To Repeat The Beats Of Season 1

In another attempt to repair the damage done to the series by the second season, the showrunners and writers returned to a formula they knew would work. The story of season 3, at least, in essence, is a repeat of the first season’s plot. Wednesday is still trying to recruit gods to his side, grooming Shadow as he always has done, while Laura is still trying to kill Wednesday and ‘rescue’ Shadow.

Since American Gods is based on a book, there is only so far they can stray from the story before it becomes less of an “adapted from” and more of an “inspired by” situation. Regardless, audiences wanted to see more of a varied sequence of events in the third season, rather than a repeat of something they had already seen.

3

Many Characters Suffer From A Lack Of Development

Cordelia is only one of the characters who suffers from a lack of character development. She, along with the likes of other newcomers, Johan Wengren (Marilyn Manson), Liam Doyle (Iwan Rheon), Chad Mulligan (Eric Johnson), and Marguerite Olsen (Lela Loren), are all left criminally underdeveloped.

Marguerite becomes Shadow’s love interest, but it is unclear why exactly, while Laura is interested in Liam (equally unsure why). Wednesday uses Wengren’s band as a way of commanding sacrifices. While audiences assume Wengren is the only surviving member of his band after Wednesday has them sacrificed, he is still one dimensional and without personality.

2

Audiences Are Left Wondering What Characters Are Doing Off-Screen

While time is spent with many characters, this still leaves audiences wondering what others are doing off-screen. This is most often the case concerning the gods, Old and New. While Shadow is brooding in Lakeside and Laura is drinking with leprechauns, what are the gods up to in their preparation for war? Sure, Tech Boy is having an identity crisis, but what else are they doing?

RELATED: 10 Fantasy Series Better Than Game Of ThronesSeason 3 struggles with this lack of direction throughout, with audiences wondering whether anything will happen or if the characters are just procrastinating on and off-screen to pass the time.

1

The Plot And Character Arcs Are Convoluted

With so many characters doing their own thing, it was inevitable that the plot for season 3 would get a little muddled. Most of the season is about characters going on journeys of self-discovery, from Bilquis and Tech Boy to Shadow wondering if he, too, is a god.

As the characters are split across America, the audience is taken on a disorienting ride around the country to check in with characters who have not been seen for a couple of episodes. This constant jumping around and complex story strands rarely work. American Gods certainly misses the mark, making the season and character arcs convoluted and tiresome.