"American Gods" is based on the award-winning novel by Neil Gaiman. The series has become increasingly popular, and it has been renewed for season 2 just two weeks after it debuted.
Both the novel and the series mark Laura Moon's death as the start of a new life as she comes back to life with a goal of reconciling with her husband. "American Gods" episode 4 titled "Git Gone" focuses on a particular character, and fans of the book say the series did not adhere to Gaiman's work this time.
The first three episodes are identical to the book, however, the fourth one is a deviation, because it focused solely on Laura.
If you have not watched episode 4 yet, please be warned that there are spoilers below.
Laura's life while Shadow was in prison
"American Gods" episode 4 is a flashback of how Shadow met Laura. They met at a casino, and they eventually set out to rob it but it failed, and Shadow was arrested. While he was in prison, Laura had an affair with Robbie. On the night before Shadow was released from prison, Laura and Robbie had a sexual rendezvous which led to a car crash that killed them both.
But Laura was able to cheat death. She comes back to the mortal world, and she has become stronger. Episode 4 also revealed that she was the one who saved Shadow when he was hung by the neck during episode 1.
When Laura came back from the dead, she realized that she has learned to love Shadow enough to kill someone for him.
'I love this person. I need to save him'
Laura's renewed strength was evident in "American Gods" episode 4 when she kicked someone's spine out. Many viewers say that the show is very violent, but, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Emily Browning said that she does not see it as gore porn.
Browning added that the scene where Shadow died shook her, but on a viewer's perspective, they would want to know who did this to him, and that Laura would of course want to get vengeance. Before she died, Laura was a numb person, Browning said. She just did not care at all. Before she died, she just thinks that she is in love with Shadow, but she's really not.
She only realized how much she cares for him when she came back.
Browning clarified that her character is not a god, and although she has come back from the dead, she is not a zombie either. When asked to describe her character, she said that Laura is an abomination. Browning also said that when her character saw what happened to Shadow, she thought, "I love this person. I need to save him." She just had to make that person pay, even if it meant ripping his spines out. "American Gods" airs Sundays on Starz.
