In Cairo, Mr. Wednesday entrusts Shadow with the Gungnir spear while Mad Sweeney, plagued by the cries of Banshees, recalls his journey through the ages as he awaits his promised battle.

Say what you like about American Gods (and I’ve had plenty to say this year) but you couldn’t accuse it of not spelling things out. For some time now Mad Sweeney (the excellent Pablo Schreiber) has been warning Shadow that Wednesday is not to be trusted, and also that his own time is running out. After accidentally giving Shadow his magic coin, which in turn revived dead Laura, Sweeney knew that he was living on borrowed time, and indeed the luck of the Irish for this poor Leprechaun is nearly up.

A lot of the hour is spent in flashback to witness how Sweeney was enchanted and seduced. He fails to recognise his wife and daughter, the boundaries of his mind having ‘gone thin’ and we get to witness how this reborn warrior acts in battle, chopped limbs fly and CG blood sprays the screen. The banshees are now wailing, calling him to his death, and there’s a real sense of sadness and acceptance of this fate. Sadly, Laura is not here for him – she’s meeting The Destroyer in the form of a diner waitress – but Bilquis is growing stronger, getting funeral attendees hot under the collar as this Queen of Sheba reignites her mojo.

Verdict: The Old Gods gather at the funeral home, feasting on leftover food from a wake, but this truly is the last supper for Sweeney as he faces his fate in an episode that’s thankfully starting to pull the threads together for the season finale. 8/10

Nick Joy