If next week’s episode is as good as “World Enough and Time,” then the two-part finale of Doctor Who: Series 10 could end up being Steven Moffat’s best writing in his tenure on the show. The penultimate episode of Series 10 was brilliantly terrifying and suspenseful.
“Come to Jesus” brings American Gods: Season One to a close, and there is a lot to unpack in this episode. Fans of the book are treated to some surprises, as the show pushes the narrative in some interesting new directions. Those that are new to the world of American Gods also got some answers this week.
“The Eaters of Light” saw the return of classic Who writer Rona Munro who wrote “Survival”—the final story in the original run of Doctor Who.
Surprisingly, the penultimate episode for the first season of American God was missing the show’s protagonist and antagonist. Shadow and Mr. Wednesday were nowhere to be seen; although, Wednesday’s messengers made an appearance.
Before I begin the actual review of this week’s episode, I feel the need to point out how strange it is that “Empress of Mars” aired the day after Adam West’s passing and is coincidentally an homage to his movie, Robinson Crusoe on Mars. It seems only fitting that one iconic '60s show is paying tribute to the star of another iconic '60s show while the world mourns the actor's loss.
American Gods certainly had a lot to say about conservative America in “A Murder of Gods.” The coming-to-America prologue this week showed Mexican Jesus (Wednesday mentioned earlier this season that there is more than one Jesus to match the different faiths.) entering America with illegal immigrants. Later in the episode, Wednesday and Shadow travel to a conservative utopia—a small town where everyone is safe since no one is without a gun.
Series 10 of Doctor Who is more politically relevant than the show has ever been. “The Lie of the Land” continues this with its social commentary on the current conservative pushback felt around the world.
“Lemon Scented You” started with the usual coming-to-America prologue, but in an unusual way. It showed how Nynyunnini came to America when early humans first migrated here. Since the prehistoric setting would have drastically increased the cost of the episode, they decided to animate it. Instead of the typical sleek and shiny CGI that is so popular now, they opted to go with a darker and grittier aesthetic modeled on stop-motion to give it an eerier quality.
After the events of last week, the Doctor is aware that aliens known as the Monks have been running computer simulations to invade Earth. In “The Pyramid at the End of the World,” a five-thousand-year-old pyramid appeared overnight, and it is revealed that the Monks’ plan has come to fruition.
So far in American Gods, there has been very little deviation from the book, but this week the show took quite a few liberties with “Git Gone.” While this tends to anger purists, they managed to pull it off well and illustrate how adapting a story to another medium can expand it.