Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

American Gods: Season Three Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 22, 2021

Note: If you're not already familiar with some of the conceits of American Gods, my advice is to skip this review until you've watched at least the first season. This review assumes just such a familiarity, and so may contain spoilers not just with regard to the debut season itself but also its follow up year, as well as with regard to more general ideas behind the entire series which are in fact kind of slowly doled out throughout the first two seasons.

Fans of the television adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods who have followed some of the backstage drama of the series may find it either intentionally or unintentionally hilarious when a featurette included with this release which purports to give an overview of the third season begins with a snippet of a scene where a relatively minor character tells Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle), "You're aware we've been having issues with staffing." American Gods: Season 1 came out of the (star?)gate unabashedly strongly, quickly establishing both an appropriately visceral visual style while also being rather cheekily provocative in its depiction of a "war" between "old gods" like Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane) and "new gods" like mass media. Unfortunately, for reasons that have either been consigned to the oft repeated "creative differences" or been brushed aside with relatively little comment, a number of notable cast and crew departed after the first season, and American Gods: Season Two arguably suffered as a result, and in fact only got to the small screen some two years after the premiere season of the series. That perceived sophomore slump actually continued behind the scenes in the second season as well, with staffing changes put in place after the first season changing yet again, and with a perhaps gossip fueled amount of bad press resulting, including "made for TMZ" moments like co-star Orlando Jones going very public over being let go from the series. Now two years after the second season aired, American Gods is back for its ostensible final go 'round, with yet another showrunner in place and with another slew of cast changes on hand. The result is arguably a step up from the second season, but perhaps not enough of a step up to make fans feel like the show had attained its former first season glory.

With an understanding that, as per the note above, there may be some spoilers at play, those wanting a recap of events in the series thus far are encouraged to click on the following review links:

American Gods: Season 1 Blu-ray review

American Gods: Season Two Blu-ray review

One of the central previous revelations of American Gods was the probably expected "family connection" between Shadow and Wednesday, and that contentious relationship continues to color the show this season. And in fact without posting any outright spoilers, it's really interesting to contrast the wrap up of the series within the context of any number of major religions. Without seeming too cheeky, Gaiman's mythology puts a decidedly dark spin on John 3:16 and perhaps implies that a "fatherly" Deity so loved himself he shafted his only begotten Son. However, the whole death and (maybe?) resurrection angle may remind more ecumenical types of at least some other historical belief systems, as Egyptologists may be quick to remind the unschooled that aspects of Osiris and Horus also offer some of these same elements.

A lot of this season sees Shadow hiding out in a small town called Lakeside in Wisconsin. There's a kind of Castle Rock-ish vibe to the place, with a number of mysterious goings on, but the chief allure for Shadow is a nascent romantic connection to a woman named Marguerite Olsen (Lela Loren). Like son, like father, in that regard, as Wednesday also has some "history" with one of this season's marquee "new gods", or in this case goddesses, Demeter, played by a frisky Blythe Danner.

There's a lot to like, even admire, about American Gods, and the show continues to ply a really distinctive aesthetic which can probably be gleaned pretty easily from some of the screenshots accompanying this review. Still there's a definite feeling of entropy that has crept into the proceedings somehow, as if all of the behind the scenes shenanigans left the cast and crew, somewhat like Laura Moon (Emily Browning) herself this season, trapped in a kind of Purgatory.

American Gods: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

American Gods: Season Three is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Starz and Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 with 2.39:1 interstitials, as has been the tradition with this series from the get go. Also a tradition with this series has been some pretty spectacular looking high definition presentations, and that continues apace with this supposed final season. Once again, blacks can tend to look boosted at times, something that can, for example, give Wednesday's craggy face a somewhat gritty, almost dirty, look, but detail levels are generally excellent throughout, and fine detail is able to more often than not survive any number of lighting, grading and special effects choices. There are some especially interesting grading choices this season, in both aspect ratios, with some of the 2.39:1 material looking almost desaturated (see screenshot 7) and some of the 1.78:1 scenes almost drenched in buttery yellows (see screenshots 2 and 8). The CGI looks rather crisp for the most part throughout this season, and some moments, like the totemic buffalo that has shown up, look remarkably well rendered.

American Gods: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This is another recent Blu-ray release from Lionsgate where audiophiles might momentarily blanch when they see the menu lists only "5.1 Dolby" in English, thinking that perhaps there's only lossy audio on the discs, but indeed the release offers a substantial and robust Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. The show is often a whirlwind of supernatural activity, and the soundtrack is often very immersive as a result (it's especially immersive in Lakeside, where an underwater aspect comes into play). Though some of the more hallucinogenic moments offer the best swirling and panning effects, quieter scenes regularly feature well placed ambient environmental effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout the series, though there is at least one kind of cheeky use of a "dead" language, with "dead" subtitles which have English subtitles superimposed over them. In the "real" subtitles category, optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

American Gods: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Road to Epiphany: The Season Three Journey (HD; 20:59) is the above mentioned overview with the laugh provoking opening. This does get into some spoiler material, as might be expected.

Disc Two

• Meet the New Gods of Season Three (HD; 16:32) offers brief introductions and some scenes featuring the likes of Blythe Danner and Danny Trejo, along with some interstitial interviews with various people (but neither Danner nor Trejo).


• Five Questions for the Cast (HD; 8:48) is a kind of silly piece with, for example, performers describing the season with emojis.

Note: While there is a Special Features option on the Main Menu of Disc Three of this three disc set, that turns out to offer only Bookmarks. (Bookmarks are also available under the Special Features option on the other two discs as well.)

American Gods: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

My wife is a huge fan of the original Neil Gaiman novel, and is not shy about detailing how the series has departed, evidently at times rather radically, from the story Gaiman told (which may be one reason for the season one mishegos, but does not account for the subsequent two seasons' detours, where Gaiman was ostensibly more in control). This third season definitely kicks at least partially back into high gear after the lackluster sophomore year, but my personal feeling is too much time elapsed in between all three seasons for momentum to be sustained. The revolving door in both the cast and crew departments probably didn't help matters. Still, this is an often arresting show that has Big Ideas and a very distinctive presentational ambience. Technical merits are solid, and with caveats noted, American Gods: Season Three comes Recommended.