WARNING: The following contains spoilers for American Gods Season 3, Episode 10, “Tears of the Wrath-Bearing Tree” which aired Sunday on Starz.
American Gods Season 3 comes to an end, and this season has been unlike the others, taking place after Shadow Moon has learned the truth about his father. As the son of Wednesday, he is a demigod, further connecting Shadow to the world of gods and magic; however, this season saw Shadow trying to take destiny into his own hands as he tries to separate himself from the Allfather. Given how much Season 3 focuses on Shadow’s identity, his actor, Ricky Whittle, sat with CBR to discuss Shadow’s evolution, his relationships to the gods and his future.
CBR: My first question for you is you’ve been with the show since the very, very beginning, how is Season 1 Shadow different from Season 3 Shadow for you?
Ricky Whittle: Wow, I mean, it’s a huge difference. It’s been quite an evolution for Shadow Moon. But as an actor, it was something that I projected from the very beginning. I’ve been very fortunate that there is a beautiful book out there by Neil Gaiman that was released in 2001, so I knew my beginning, my middle and my end, and I know where, in a Season 4, where Shadow’s gonna be and where my full character will have evolved to.
And what I had to do was kind of break that down and work backwards to introduce you to the very first Shadow, the lowest of the low, where he’s a broken shell of a man, where he lost his mother when he was 15 to cancer, had no father figure, his wife has just died. So we’ve kind of got this kind of empty void of charisma and personality, and I’ve been able to kind of build that up slowly throughout the seasons, which has been fun as an actor. And then, with that, comes the knowledge that the character kind of gathered as well in the fact that he’s living in a world of gods. And at the end of Season 2, he then realizes that he has a father and that his father is indeed Odin. And so Season 3, we kind of have this evolution of this petulant teenager who just doesn’t want to speak to dad and is fighting his destiny because he just wants a normal life.
And as we kind of near towards the season finale, we have this kind of realization in Shadow, where he’s realized there’s only so long you can run from your destiny before it finds you. And when they said in the beginning of Season 3, and there’s a curiosity in the power that comes with being a demigod, and I think Shadow is definitely getting his head turned by that power, and it may be kind of, it’s gonna address it. And that’s something we need to figure out. What kind of god Shadow is going to become?
Right, and speaking of Shadow’s destiny, that was a huge part of Season 3, is Shadow coming to terms with who he is, his ancestry, his destiny. What about that was the most challenging thing for you to bring to life on screen, and what was the most exciting thing about that journey to bring to screen?
I think the exciting thing is that Charles Eglee and Neil Gaiman had more time in the hiatus to really develop this whole story arc over a Season 3 and 4. So for me, it’s the fact that the season’s gonna end on such an epic climax and hook that, you know, people are going to be so angry and desperate to see how that story finishes because it really is so well thought out. And where we have a kind of Shadow Moon is he’s had his head turned by the power, and he’s kind of been raised by his mother, so he’s always been his mother’s child, full of life and love.
But you are always kind of a little bit of each parent, and I feel that this is the first time we see a little bit of Wednesday in him and that he did have his head turned by power, and he does kind of have that curiosity about how much power he has, what he can become. And so you kind of got this kind of journey of self discovery that Shadow has and where that power comes from. And with all the dream sequences that have been happening to Shadow, this puzzle has been slowly coming into focus, but was it too late for him to realize, with the farmers in the field — in the slave fields — and the Orisha, who have been trying to guide him this whole time and make him realize where his power comes from and where his loyalties should lie.
And so it’s been an exciting kind of race against the end of the season to see whether or not Shadow is going to figure out who’s on whose side and where his power comes from. And that’s gonna be something very interesting moving forward, as Shadow really does become the Shadow that I want him to become, and that I know he’s going to become, and that I hopefully think that an audience will really respond to. It’s going to be a very exciting future.
And as you were talking about how he was raised by his mother, he’s always been his mother’s child, but with this discovery that he has this connection with the gods, what can he learn from that god side of himself? And what can he learn from that humanity side of himself?
Well, I guess with Shadow it’s bringing the best of both worlds. It’s kind of bringing that humanity and realizing what’s important. I think that’s what the Orisha have been trying to teach him, and what Bilquis has been trying to also help him with after she learned herself — through her own journey of self discovery — that we is more important than the I. And that’s what Shadow needs to try and bring is that we is important. People as a whole can rise together, where is I feel that we’ve seen from our show that all the gods are probably the most selfish, flawed people in the whole show, and they’re all very much in it for themselves and their kind of quest to not be forgotten, none more so then then Mr. Wednesday.
So it’s about bringing that power, but also kind of realigning what’s best for the people. And that’s kind of bringing that belief that everyone is important, and everyone should be, you know, ride together instead of one person kind of overpowering everyone, like Wednesday seems to be doing right now. He’s kind of this dictator who is manipulating everyone and suppressing everyone to kind of follow his ways. I think what Shadow is going to try and bring is a little bit more stability, and you kind of have this tension between a father and son. And it’s gonna be very interesting moving forward to see where that goes
Right, and one of the most amazing things in American Gods, to me, is the blending of magic and myth to ground and elevate these very real messages and themes in the show about issues like race, immigration, religion, sexuality and so on. When it comes to using the fantasy, for you, how does that help elevate or drive home those messages?
At the end of the day, it’s a TV show, and it’s just entertaining and fun and an escape, especially in the current climate where we’re kind of stuck and need a bit of positivity in our lives. But to be honest, I feel it’s almost the opposite, and that we have this fantasy, sci-fi world of gods and leprechauns and dead wives coming back from the great beyond, and it’s actually the beautiful human moments that ground this show, that make it more relatable, because as much as you watch a scene between Shadow Moon and his wife, who’s dead — a literal walking zombie, everyone can relate to the relationship problems that they’re having, where two people who just fell out of love or drifted apart.
And you’re really watching the beautiful moments between people, human interactions, when we see Salim in his world, and we see kind of Bilquis trying to find herself. I don’t think there’s a woman out there who’s not had the world try to define them, instead of her just kind of defining herself and not paying attention to what people think. You know, everyone needs to reach inside themselves and just to worry about themselves and find that strength to be whoever they want to be, without the world kind of trying to mold you or dictate your life. And in Bilquis, even though she’s a god, she’s having those very human problems that we all suffer from each day. So I think that the two very much work together, but I think the beauty is that the sci-fi and fantasy is actually grounded by this humanity instead of kind of the human stuff being fantasized by the sci-fi.
And speaking of Bilquis, we’ve seen in past seasons your dynamic with other gods, like Wednesday, but with Season 3, we see this emphasis with Bilquis’ story, as well as how her destiny is overlapping with Shadow’s. What about exploring Bilquis’ story alongside Shadow’s excited you the most?
First off, working with the incredible actress that is Yetide Badaki. She’s phenomenal in her craft. And you know, we’re obviously all best friends off set as well. So for me, this season’s been a real blessing because I’ve literally got to work with everyone this season, which has been so much fun.
And I feel that a lot of characters have been kind of paired up with new relationship dynamics, and a lot of characters have their kind of storylines be mirrored, where you have Laura and Salim, both kind of mourning the loss of their loved one, whilst projecting to the other one, kind of saying, “you need to get over it,” which has been hilarious and great comedic value, and I’ve loved watching those two kind of develop this fantastic new and old relationship.
With Bilquis and Shadow is a real kind of learning and self discovery between the two as, like I say, Bilquis has had this world project on to her and define her, where she didn’t actually know who she was. And she’s finally found herself and her true form and her true kind of faith in herself, and it’s made her so much more powerful and so much more happy. And now she’s kind of using that wisdom to help Shadow find his destiny, which is a beautiful thing and very much Bilquis in that she’s the Goddess of Love. And what she’s trying to do is that after finding her own love and her own self worth, spread that love and try and help others find theirs, and what she’s going to be doing with Shadow is building that alliance and helping him find the guidance necessary through her and the Orisha to move forward in a positive and beautiful way. She’s going to become a very powerful ally for Shadow moving forward.
And when it comes to Season 3 wrapping up, with only I believe two episodes left, what has been one of your favorite moments from the season so far and why?
Episode 5 straight away. I mean and the finale, obviously, because the finale, as soon as I read the script, I turned the final page, I sat for about 20 seconds, and then I text Chic Eglee and the writing team, “Wow.” It blew my mind. It was like, “What? No way. People are gonna be so pissed. We need to get back filming. I need a Season 4 now,” because the hook was so great.
But I just feel Episode 5 and 10 you really see a change in Shadow’s personality, almost like he goes to a different level. And we see a bit of the old Shadow in Episode 5, and it kind of really was this Ocean’s Eleven episode, where he has fun. I got to work with all the different characters, and you see the empathy that he has with Bilquis and the relationship he has there. You see the fun he has with Cordelia. You kind of see that relationship and the chemistry that he has with his father, Mr. Wednesday. And we saw Tech Boy in beginning, this kind of disdain buddy-buddy cop thing that we have going on, which is also a lot of fun. And then you see Laura arrive at the end of the episode. And you kind of saw this whole spectrum of Shadow being and how he reacts with each different character.
We saw Shadow smiling, having fun, enjoying life. And as an actor who’s been involved in this character, it was nice for me to be able to put that out. Knowing that back in Episode 1, Season 1 where I wanted to take Shadow, and it’s something that you’re going to see a lot more moving forward, as Shadow evolves into the character he’s going to become in Season 4.
And when it comes to Shadow’s future after the finale, what are you looking forward to the most?
I mean, showing the people and showing the audience the character that I forecast from the very beginning. I feel like I’ve almost been running this race with, you know, with one leg kind of strapped up, and I’ve been hopping away. I feel like Shadow’s stuck in second, third gear right now, and he really needs to just open up. And it’s been very kind of tough for me to be patient and to kind of hold Shadow back from doing too much too soon. I feel that starting with this character who is broken and vulnerable and empty of charisma and personality and that emotion in the beginning after losing everything, he has to earn his personality, he has to earn his strength.
And I feel that now we’re starting to come to a position where Shadow’s being proactive. He’s starting to own that destiny, that power, that strength that he’s got within. He’s starting to learn more about himself, but he’s also having fun. So he’s strong, he’s having fun, he’s secure in himself, and I’m looking forward to kind of really showing the final character that I’ve known, the place where I wanted to take Shadow from the very beginning, but I just had to kind of be patient and wait it out. So for me, I’m looking forward to kind of seeing the complete Shadow and what he can achieve.
And wrapping this up, what do you hope audiences take away from Season 3 of American Gods?
I hope they take away some fun, you know? This is a very tough time. At the end of the day, TV and movies, they’re a great escape. And we’ve got some beautiful, fantastic things on the show that I hope remind people of what’s important here.
In a world of technology and social media and things and staying connected, it’s very important that we evolve and that we see technology in our life that allows us to connect with people who might not be with us, in the household or in the country or the state, wherever that may be. But after we go into a new normal, hopefully, we take on some of the word of the Old Gods and that humanity, whereby we go around each other’s homes, and we go have dinner, and we hug each other, and we shake each other’s hands, and we don’t take for granted those things that maybe we did before those moments with each other, because that’s so important.
And I feel that this show is a great way of highlighting the beauty of everyone’s individuality, the beauty of everyone’s kind of background, whatever that may be, whatever your sexual orientation, your race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, beliefs. We’re all on that same struggle, and I think the world has really realized that. Everyone’s got the same struggle each day. We just want to get to the end of the day. We want to get to bed safe and sound, tucked up with our loved ones. And hopefully, this show kind of puts out a positive, light message about how beautiful everyone is individually, and how together, if we kind of work together, we can move forward in a positive way, and in an entertaining way in American Gods.
Based on the Neil Gaiman novel of the same name, American Gods stars Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Bruce Langley, Yetide Badaki, Ian McShane, Omid Abtahi and Ashley Reyes. The series airs Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Starz.
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