American Gods - S1E4 - Git Gone

Previously on American Gods, “Head Full of Snow”

I was not looking forward to a full hour of Laura Moon, especially if it meant taking a break from meeting new gods (old and new) and not getting more insight into Mr. Wednesday’s plans. However, come on: How could I not want to know how she ended up dying with her husband’s best friend’s dick in her mouth? Not only did “Git Gone” provide a sobering look into the life of Laura Moon, it went totally off-book and made me excited for a fresh storyline and new character interactions.

Laura Moon lived in her hometown, in a house inherited from her dead grandmother, and worked a shitty job dealing blackjack at a casino. The small joy she had in her life (shuffling cards) is taken away from her when the casino brings in shuffling machines. She came home every night to an empty house save but her cat, Dummy, and ate sad dinners alone. Sometimes she attempted suicide by inhaling bug spray in an enclosed jacuzzi.

She met Shadow when he tried to steal from her table. She warned him off and took him home — like a stray puppy. Eventually they married and Laura Moon’s life remained exactly the same except now she had a husband who adored her while working his own shitty job. It’s not clear what Laura expected, but her husband becoming perfectly content in the life she despised wasn’t it. She offers to take him up on a proposition he made the night they met: she’ll be his inside person and help him rob the casino. Laura isn’t happy and she thinks this may do the trick. Shadow agreed because he’ll do anything for Laura… just like a lovesick puppy.

Of course, Laura’s foolproof plan is anything but, and Shadow goes to prison, taking a longer sentence if it means Laura won’t go to prison at all. Laura promised to wait. Laura did not wait. She eventually avoided some of his calls skipped and looked disinterested in their visits. When Dummy died, she got drunk and had sex with her best friend’s husband, Robbie (Dane Cook). Then she continued to have sex with him until five days before Shadow was due to come home and we all know the rest.

But “Git Gone,” shows that we really didn’t know the rest, at least not from Laura’s perspective. Mad Sweeney’s coin snatched her out of the afterlife where she was about to ask for Anubis’ manager. After crawling out of her grave, Laura followed a light that, in turns out, was coming from Shadow. She’s responsible for taking out Technical Boy’s faceless men — apparently she’s a super strong zombie, though she does lose an arm during the rescue. As Shadow stumbled away, Laura hid. She hid once again when Shadow showed up at their home to pack up her belongings.

With just one episode, American Gods added layers to both Laura and Audrey (Betty Gilpin); especially Audrey. Audrey found zombie Laura in her craft room attempting to sew her arm back on, and had THE most appropriate reaction. Gilpin nailed horror and disgust, followed by righteous anger, and it never felt over-the-top, even when it made you laugh. And you will laugh as the two hash it out while Laura expels embalming fluid for her butt into Audrey’s toilet.

Be it magic, the work of a god, or a special coin, Laura sees her second chance at life as a second chance for her marriage — at the very least a chance to explain herself to Shadow. However, any illusions she may have had about escaping death for good are shattered when she runs into (almost literally) Jacquel (Anubis) and Mr. Ibis. They escort her to their funeral parlor where they tend to her wounds and make her look a lot more alive. Ibis, a romantic, predicts Shadow will thank whichever god he believes in to see Laura again. Jacquel, on the the other hand, reminds her that when the business that brought her back is done, he will finish his job. And with that, we’re all caught up with how Laura came to be sitting in Shadow’s hotel room at the end of “Head Full of Snow.”

Is Good? 

Loved the little touch of Laura and Shadow owning one of the little souvenirs Salim sold.

Laura didn’t believe in anything, especially any one religion, so it’s interesting that Anubis came for her in death. He said that the circumstances of her death committed him to the job, but why? He’s the guide of souls, and maybe that includes the souls who held no specific beliefs. Though, that feels like it would be more about how the person lived than the “circumstances” of their death.

What’s with all the flies? When she’s literally the walking dead, I get it. But Laura seemed to have a fly problem before death.

Laura mentions that someone “fucked them” after Shadow’s arrest. Who were they working with?

Is it me or was there some shade when Mr. Ibis told Laura, “Don’t move; you’re still tacky”?

Was Laura leaving the TV on for Dummy when she went to work?

One of the best things about this episode was how it showcased the friendship between Laura and Audrey and how much of it was a betrayal it was for Laura to sleep with Robbie. Audrey calls Laura out for treating Shadow like shit and laughs it off when Laura says that Shadow is (literally) the light of her life now. Has all of this opened her eyes to how much she loves Shadow, or is this the influence of whatever brought her back?