Here we are, the end of season one. I was interested to see on what note this season would finish, and I have to say I'm surprised it was a tease of The House on the Rock. They've certainly paced themselves considering that particular location was an early pit-stop in the novel, but at the same time it's been fascinating to see what changes have been made – both here and in the story still to come.
And finally, Kristin Chenoweth appears!
Easter, or Ostara, or Ēostre has been a long time coming, and is heralded here by fluffy clouds, acres of green lawn, and cute little bunny rabbits that Wednesday promptly runs over in his car.
The location scout deserves a gold star for finding this particular house, as it looks precisely like the type of place a superseded fertility goddess would inhabit, complete with flowers, food and a guest-list of various Christological deities.
According to the show's mythology, there is a Jesus for every branch and denomination of Christianity, though it's a visual gag that doesn't quite work for me. The multitude of Christs certainly helps project Ostara's feelings of resentment and displacement – after all, they're the guests in her house – but there's a reason why Gaiman left them out of his story (barring one brief cameo).
In a story that's about old forgotten gods fighting new technological gods, how exactly do gods that are old but still relevant fit in? Surely the assorted Christs must be the most powerful beings in the world, along with the pantheon of Hindu gods. In which case, how do they fit into Wednesday's plan? What do they think of the new gods and the war to come? It's an extra complication to an otherwise straightforward conflict that Gaiman was wise to ignore for the sake of the story, and the fact that it's mostly being played for laughs is an indication that the show doesn't really know what to do with it either.
Apart from that, everything to do with Ostara was handled well. That she's a goddess who's had to give up her holiday and watch as ancient traditions are celebrated but not in her name was captured right there in her forced smile and cold eyes, and is in fact an interesting commentary on how Christianity appropriated many pagan symbols and festivals in order to gain a foothold over new converts.
Ostara was the perfect deity to make this point. Though I suspect most viewers are familiar (at least in broad terms) with the Norse, Greek and Egyptian pantheons, how many know that the word Easter is derived from a Germanic goddess of the spring? Everything we enjoy at Easter: the bunnies, the eggs, the new clothes – have nothing whatsoever to do with Christ.
(Heck, this Sunday school girl was originally told that Easter eggs symbolised the rock that was pushed over the entrance to Christ's tomb! I'm not sure who on earth came up with that one).
It's also interesting to contrast this sequence with how it played out in the book: there Ostara derived power from new-agers and wannabe hippies, who adhered to all the old customs without fully understanding them. It was a weak tea, but provided sustenance nonetheless.
 |
| And did this bunny just poop jellybeans? |
***
All roads converge on Easter's house, for not long after the arrival of Wednesday and Shadow comes Laura and Mad Sweeney. It's at this point I have to express some of my disappointment about how the show has handled Shadow thus far – particularly in this last handful of episodes.
It seems very strange to me that Laura is taking most of this god stuff in her stride, while Shadow's arc over these first eight episodes has involved him gradually starting to believe in the supernatural, despite coming across as a fairly open-minded guy beforehand. It makes Laura the more compelling and entertaining character, especially since she was a non-believer during her lifetime, while Shadow comes across as a bit dim by comparison.
I suppose it's not out of the question that he couldn't figure out Wednesday's identity by himself (not everyone is going to be as familiar with the pagan gods as most of this show's viewers probably are) but his difficulties in coming to grips with his situation has been a little bizarre.
So far he's reunited with his dead wife, been attacked by a sentient tree, had a chat with Technological Boy through a virtual reality headset, seen Mad Sweeney's inexplicable coin tricks, talked to a woman through a television screen (and seen her levitate around the place), mentally bring on a sudden snowstorm, watched Wednesday murder a guy ... and yet the climactic moment of this episode is him opening himself up to belief?? It reminds me of my frustration with The Polar Express, in which the kid goes through an entire movie worth of magical adventures and STILL has to coax himself with a: "I believe, I believe" mantra in the final scene.
Given the tweaking done to this take on Gaiman's story, it would appear that the showrunners are setting up Wednesday's masterplan as being contingent on Shadow being a true believer, but they've handled it in a very ungainly way.
Laura and Mad Sweeney on the other hand, have had a great season – I'm just sorry it had to come at the expense (or at least in contrast) of Shadow. By the time the two arrive at Ostara's house, Laura's body has degraded further: she's spitting up maggots and has a milky sheen over her eyes, while Sweeney is still writhing in his own guilt.
The scene between the two of them and Ostara is probably my favourite of the episode: there's so much fascinating back-and-forth, from Mad Sweeney fidgeting nervously, to Laura struggling to be polite, to Ostara's sceptical look when Sweeney insists his assistance is: "for selfish reasons." It's three great actors playing three great characters, making every word and gesture count, no matter how mundane.
That Ostara owes Mad Sweeney a favour is interesting considering it seems likely the rabbit that caused last week's car accident was under her control, but under what circumstances could a goddess be indebted to a leprechaun? And once Ostara stares into Laura's eyes, hoping to glean some answers to her death by the imprint left on her retina (this is actually a real thing – the murder victims of Jack the Ripper had their eyes photographed in the hopes it would reveal their killer) she wordlessly realizes what's been going on.
And just when I thought the secret of who killed Laura and why would be strung out over the course of several seasons, she goes and figures it all out instantly. According to Ostara, she cannot undo the work of another god, and according to Mad Sweeney, Laura wasn't murdered but sacrificed for Wednesday's cause.
So Wednesday has been calling the shots all along, not only in organizing Laura's death, but messing up her plan to rob the casino and put Shadow in jail (at this point non-book readers should be asking themselves why Wednesday would want Shadow in prison. Have a think...)
***
By the final act the show has well and truly diverged from the written word, with the new gods congregating at Ostara's home, having their minions killed by Wednesday (who belatedly identifies himself as Odin) as a sacrifice to Ostara, and watching as she uses her newfound power to blight the spring, leaving the land cold and barren.
Building on the aforementioned contract of "prayer and reward", Odin declares that humans can have back the spring when they pray for it. This is ... a little odd. How exactly are people supposed to know who to pray to? Isn't the whole point of Ostara's situation that she's all but forgotten? Who's going to get the word out? And book readers – how does this fit in with what Odin is really up to?
We can't turn to the book for answers, as there's nothing like this on the page. Whatever Bryan Fuller has planned, it's entirely new, as is Laura's unexpected arrival on the balcony and her demand to speak with Shadow. Again, any exchange between the two of them will throw Wednesday's plans (and the plot of the book) completely out of whack ... so what's Fuller got up his sleeve?
***
Last but not least, the episode is framed by the story of Bilquis, retold by Anansi to Wednesday and Shadow as each gets their suit fitted by him. Orlando Jones is clearly having a great time in this role: that a spider god does his own tailoring makes an amazing amount of sense (think Arachne) and he complements his storytelling with spidery hand gestures and a sense of relish at having an audience that contrasts nicely to the more composed Ibis, who carefully writes everything down.
Of course, there's something disconcerting about the fact that Bilquis's story is relayed through the medium of a man. Couldn’t the goddess speak for herself? Especially since the last chapter of her story (in which she takes the deal offered to her by Technical Boy) seems to have happened outside Anansi's awareness?
Whatever the creative decisions that led to this, Bilquis still makes for a compelling figure. We see her in her temple during ancient times, overseeing an orgy of worshippers, and then in the Seventies, dancing in a disco hall. But even the gods can't stop time, and the Iranian Cultural Revolution ousts her from her home. Last time we heard Anansi say the words: "anger gets shit done," it was empowering; this time it pertains to the men who are enraged by the sexual freedom and enjoyment that Bilquis embodies.
Once in America things turn sour: her followers die of HIV and she ends up on the street, watching her temple get destroyed by terrorists and remembered only in the gimmicky names and symbols of cheap restaurants. She's in the perfect state of mind to accept Technical Boy's offer: a dating app.
Having read the book I was afraid this scene would herald the end of Bilquis, but it appears the show has more plans for her, setting her up as a Chekhov's Gunman in the final moments of the episode as she heads for The House on the Rock to await Shadow. Much like Vulcan, she's taken the solution the new gods have provided, and is now their agent in the coming war. I'll look forward to how this unfolds...
Miscellaneous Observations:
Shadow has that dream again: a valley of bones under a cosmic sky and a world tree, complete with that white buffalo. Even in the book I struggled to grasp the meaning of this, but it made for a great segue with the buffalo's fiery eyes turned into the headlights of Wednesday's car.
Did you notice that the outfit Bilquis was wearing in her temple was the same one on display at the museum she visited?
I suppose we'll never know what the deal was with that Asian god/man with the crowned head in Bilquis's flashback, but damn he was good looking.
I've been inspired to seek out Easter Parade thanks to Media's appropriation of Judy Garland's outfit from that film. Speaking of which, she had some fantastic lines in this episode: claiming she's been "misrepresented in the media", that: "Saint Nick took the same deal [offered to Easter]", and that they're all a part of: "religious Darwinism."
Was it just me or did Ostara seem to have a soporific effect on Shadow? He seemed unusually dazed and dreamy in her presence.
The multiple Christs aren't really working for me, though it was amusing to see one of them drop his drink into the swimming pool and realize he can't retrieve it!
So we come to the end of a wild and wacky first season. It's been pure eye candy, with thought-provoking content on matters of faith, and has successfully expanded on several of the original book's characters. At this stage a few clues have been sown in relation to the undercurrent of plot that's bubbling away under the surface, though I'm interested in seeing how they plan to handle some of the new elements that've been introduced.
When it comes to season two, I'm looking forward to Samantha Black Crow, and am intrigued by how they'll handle Lakeside: an initially pointless-seeming sojourn whose significance isn't fully revealed until the very end of the book, after the climax of the central plot. I can't see them committing a lengthy amount of time and energy on a sequence that won't have resolution until a third (or possibly fourth) season, so maybe they'll truncate that particular subplot.
Let the waiting begin...
No comments:
Post a Comment