For the first season’s penultimate episode we go back to mystical Ireland to learn the history of thief and courtesan Essie and meet undertakers Ibis and Jacquel.

It’s hard to believe we’re in Episode 7 already and yet the story feels like it’s just beginning. The master plan was to cover around the first third of Neil Gaiman’s novel, and it feels like we’re on course. It’s just a shame that we only get 8 episodes in this first run due to the need to re-edit two episodes into one and using the budget from another to finance these changes.

We get to meet undertakers Mr Ibis and Mr Jacquel (we already saw Ibis in his God guise in episode 3) and get some context around who is essaying the ‘Coming to America’ journal.

For those who feared that Essie Tregowan’s story from the novel had been dropped (it appears in the book’s early chapters) rest assured that it’s this episode’s lengthy ‘Coming to America’ segment, although relocated from Ireland and changing her name to Macgowan. And by casting Emily Browning (Laura) as Essie adds the tantalising prospect that she’s an ancestor of Laura and was dealing with leprechauns long before Mad Sweeney.

Talking of Mad Sweeney, we follow another leg of his, Salim’s and Laura’s road trip, which takes an unexpected turn when the leprechaun suffers from another bout of bad luck. Production values continue to impress, as does the interweaving narrative, juxtaposing the two timelines.

Verdict: How often have you seen a show that begins with an overhead shot of a corpse, sprouting an semi-severed, semi-erect member? Yep, that’s American Gods. But more than just being shocking and thrilling, it’s a rattling good story. 8/10

Nick Joy