StudioCanal. out now

The epic story of an inevitable war building between the Old Gods of mythology and our New Gods of technology, based on the bestselling novel by Neil Gaiman (Good Omens, Stardust, The Sandman) reaches its third (and to-date, final) season in this 10-episode set.

After the behind-the-scenes issues that contributed to a second season that was all over the place, American Gods’ third season felt like it was back on track again, helped by its focus on the popular ‘My Ainsel’ section of the novel. And a great job it does of covering ex-con Shadow Moon’s (Ricky Whittle) experiences in Lakeside, a sleepy (and freezing) town where children have been disappearing with frightening regularity.

The gender switch of the villain works well, and apart from a couple of the subsidiary characters, most of the ensemble get plenty to do. With the story far from finished, it was hoped that that things would be wrapped up in a final one or two seasons. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled, and you’ll be watching this solid season with the knowledge that it will end at an unresolved point.

The extras in the set are PR fluff – fun, but hardly essential. ‘Describe Season 3 with Emojis’ (1 min) sees the cast members choose which emojis they’d use to portray the new season of American Gods, ‘Shadow’s History’ (6 mins) is a featurette recapping Shadow’s life so far, and ‘Why Watch Season 3’ is a somewhat redundant (we’re already watching the season) set of reasons to tune in (1 min). Finally, ‘Character Spots’ (45 seconds each) is a selection of 11 character introductions and updates as to where the players stand this season.

Verdict: A reminder of a show that was axed just as it was getting back on course. At least the My Ainsel thread is completed, but the story is far from over and deserves a conclusion. 7/10

Nick Joy

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