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| "He appears to have died of terrible mustache..." |
With just two episodes left in the
first season, it seems perhaps odd or unexpected that American
Gods would take almost all of
one of those episodes to explore the personalities and backstories of
two of its supporting characters, but that is exactly what it does
with A Prayer for Mad Sweeney.
Despite being the penultimate episode of the season, for this hour we
mostly leave the main Shadow and Wednesday story arc behind, and
instead learn a lot about the unexpectedly complex and compelling
character of Mad Sweeney, the abrasive, insult-hurling leprechaun.
And this turns out to be an excellent decision: A Prayer
for Mad Sweeney is an
outstanding episode, every bit as strong as the one which similarly
explored Laura's past a few weeks ago. It reinforces what we have
known all along: American Gods
isn't really about its ostensible story arc concerning the brewing
war between the old and new deities, but is instead about its
characters, and the philosophical questions of belief, meaning,
cultural identity, and alienation which they represent. This is an
outstanding hour of television, and by the time it is over, Pablo
Schreiber's Mad Sweeney has grown from the rudely-antagonistic comic
relief into a very fascinating character.
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| The most fun dead-person road-trip on film since Wristcutters: A Love Story. |
The
episode cross-cuts between two parallel storylines. In the present
day, Laura and Mad Sweeney continue their road-trip – and continue
to hurl insults at each other – while deeper issues weighing on
both their minds begin to surface. In the past (via a longer and more
in-depth Coming to America segment, narrated as per usual by our
historian-god, Mr. Ibis) we see how the leprechaun was brought to
America through the beliefs of a struggling Irish immigrant – who
happens to look exactly like Laura (and is likewise played by Emily
Browning). As these stories unfold in parallel, the struggles of this
immigrant mirror and contrast with Laura's own journey, and the
mythological roots of Mad Sweeney cast a very different light on the
jaded, angry jerk he has become. There is a lot more to this
character than there originally appeared to be – both in terms of
the writing, and in terms of Schreiber's performance. He has been
very good all season, playing this not-exactly-likeable character
with angry abandon, but with the deeper material provided by this
episode he truly sets himself apart as one of the best performers in
this whole ensemble. Browning is just as excellent as ever, and gets
to show off her range thanks to the double-role the script provides.
When the two of them are on-screen together we don't even miss Shadow
and Wednesday: they have such a strong double-act that I found myself
wishing the episode was longer.
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| Making an offering to the gods... and hoping they are not gluten-sensitive. |
As
with last week's episode, A Prayer for Mad Sweeney takes
us significantly outside the scope of Neil Gaiman's original novel.
As Laura and Mad Sweeney develop from the supporting players they
were in the book (Sweeney in particular was a very minor character)
to the major co-stars they are now, Bryan Fuller and Michael Green
take the soul of the material and run with it, fleshing it out into
something that is at once distinctly Gaiman's story, and yet new and
original in its own right. This is a truly excellent approach to the
material, not only allowing the characters to grow and change
organically, but also giving even those familiar with the novel
plenty of new surprises and added characterization. I had figured
that Laura's role would flesh out into a more substantial female
lead, but I certainly never expected Mad Sweeney – a bit player who
was memorable, but not around all that much – to turn into such a
major part of the show. American Gods
has truly come into its own as a series that both stands apart from
the novel and enhances it. When the season finale comes next weekend,
it is certainly going to feel like too soon.
Score:
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Christopher S. Jordan
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