In the aftermath of Sweeney’s death, Wednesday has disappeared, and Shadow is tormented by the night’s events.

And so we reach the end of American Gods’ very hit and miss second season, and I get the impression that the fact it’s up on the screen at all is the greatest achievement. Season One had its own behind-the-scenes challenges and I hoped that the second would cling closer to the source novel – frustratingly this has and hasn’t happened, in equal measures. Sometimes the narrative has gone way off-piste, other times it has clung faithfully to the pages.

Sweeney’s death is far more heroic here than in the book – found dead by a dumpster – and the flashbacks to his past were shown pre-death last week rather than as an obituary. It’s no less than Pablo Schreiber deserves, and I’m certainly going to miss his fiery leprechaun. Rather more predictably – it’s been rumbling as a secondary plot through the season – are the rises of New Media and Mr World as they gain a stranglehold on society. It certainly raises the stakes and provides some payoff to the plans they’ve been cooking from their secret base.

This season ends at the conclusion of the book’s Part One, which is a sensible place to stop. This allows the story to move on to the five chapters of: My Ainsel, which is a strong trajectory for an entire season as Shadow (under the alias of Mike Ainsel) moves to Lakeside and meets old man Richie Hinzelmann. This would then leave the seven christens of Part 3 and Part 4 to be wrapped up in a final season. Of course, this is all speculation – we know that the show is returning, but with no idea of how many seasons.

Verdict: Neither the triumph we’d hoped for, nor the car crash we feared, we’re hanging in here with the hope of a more consistent third year. As a series finale it hits the action beats, but if its intention is to leave you on tenterhooks, counting down the days to the show’s return, then this fantastical American road trip is way off course. 7/10

Nick Joy