With Sunday’s epic finale, Michael Green and Bryan Fuller’s adaptation of American Gods has wrapped its first season. While pulling a number of elements and characters from the books, the show still managed to tell a fresh story from the very beginning while adding plenty of new faces and plot threads. In fact, some of the most powerful moments came from altered material, like the relationship between Laura Moon and Mad Sweeney or the expanded role of Ostara. And while the captivating finale asked as many questions as it answered, it still pointed to a path forward for the show in its second season.
As the arrival at the House on the Rock is only Chapter 5 of the books, there’s still plenty of avenues for the show to explore over the course of one or more new seasons. There’s also no shortage of gods, both old and new, that can be introduced. From book characters we’ve yet to meet to new additions from the vast pantheon of world religions, the creators have plenty of source material to work with. Even the concept of the New Gods only gets lightly touched upon in Neil Gaiman’s novel, with a number of other modern forms of worship still unexplored. From old to new, here are the deities we want to see in season 2 of American Gods.
God(dess) of Social Media
When Gaiman first wrote his book in 2001, he was wise to add a god of technology and the Internet in the form of Technical Boy. Since that time, however, the Internet has became an entity of its own, arguably separate from our reliance on hi-tech devices like computers. While a case could certainly be made that each should be their own form of worship, one facet of the Internet absolutely needs its own god or goddess.
As demonstrated in the finale by Technical Boy and Bilquis, our online personas and the likes we acquire are the modern form of worship. As such, it would be interesting to see this idea expanded upon. As with Vulcan, Social Media uses an innovative form of worship. Every time you like something, receive a jolt of pleasure from checking your notifications, or share personal information on your profile, you’re saying a little prayer to Social Media. And while the gods and goddesses of the show have been oddly binary in the series so far, it would be interesting to see a more gender-amorphous god(dess) be presented on the series to reflect the breaking of traditions present in of the modern age.
Whiskey Jack
For a show about the deities of the Americas, we’ve yet to spend much time with any Indigenous gods. In ‘Lemon Scented You’ we met Nunyunnini in the opening story, and the White Buffalo has been snorting fire around the outskirts of the series, but we haven’t met any Native American gods in the present. Luckily, the show is approaching a point in the book where the perfect candidate arrives.
Though the series would have to skip ahead a bit, one of the characters Shadow and Wednesday encounter later in the book is the old troublemaker Whiskey Jack. Like many of the gods on the show, Whiskey Jack is a corrupted form of his real name. Once, he was Wisakedjak, an Algonquin trickster spirit akin to Loki or Anansi. Now, he lives out his days in the small town of Lakota that factors into one of Shadow’s side adventures. Interestingly, it’s there that he’s mistaken for another god, the spider-trickster Iktomi from the Lakota pantheon. With so few roles for Native actors on TV, American Gods is perfectly poised to explore some of the oldest religions in the history of our country.
Mama-Ji
Like Whiskey Jack, Mama-Ji will almost certainly show up soon on American Gods. While the first season ends with people beginning to show up at the House on the Rock, the finale for next season could revolve around a more cerebral gathering. While we won’t spoil things too much for those that haven’t read the book, the meeting of the gods at the House on the Rock is just one of many gatherings in the books. Another serves as a further exploration of Odin’s past while also introducing us to some new characters.
One of those is Mama-Ji, the series’ version of the Hindu goddess Kali. Known mostly as the goddess of destruction, she actually rules over all time, from creation to entropy. She also represents a fascinating corner that neither Gaiman or the show have really explored: living Old Gods. Like Jesus, Kali isn’t some long-forgotten figure. Though not having as much influence in America, she still has plenty of believers and worshippers. As such, she provides an interesting opportunity for the show to examine Old Gods who still have power, even in the modern world.
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Buddha
Technically, Buddha isn’t a god. Then again, neither are Mad Sweeney, the Jinn, or a number of other figures on the show. Still, he’s a powerful spiritual figure with idols, followers, and temples. Even the practice of meditation in his shrines constitutes of a form of worship and prayer. Like Jesus and Kali, Buddha also represents a living Old God. Even more like Jesus, but many different iterations of the Buddha exist, from the more historical accurate one to the rotund and smiling one. Even the adoption of Buddhism by affluent Westerners would likely create even more versions of Buddha, just like with Jesus.
Buddha isn’t touched upon in the book, but Jesus is only namechecked and he was able to flower in a number of episodes of the series so far. It’s not a guarantee, but it seems likely the creators will play with this similar concept in seasons to come.
Johnny Appleseed
As with Suibhne, the king that Mad Sweeney is based upon, Johnny Appleseed is more a myth than a god. Still, he’s part of a lineage of stories that help tell the tale of America. Of course, the stories of John Henry, Paul Bunyan, and Appleseed aren’t quite as popular today as they once were.
In the books, we meet John Chapman in Lakota where he lives with Whiskey Jack. His flesh is described as bark-like, his body covered in old skins. Fallen even more on hard times than he once was, Chapman represents a living American myth, and provides another intriguing angle for the show to explore. While the book gets into it a little, the beauty of a TV series is that it can really dive into all the different versions of myths and stories that help inform Gaiman’s work. To be honest, it’d be fun to see all of the characters from the Tall Tales appear on the series, so here’s hoping if Johnny Appleseed makes an appearance, he’s joined by his friends in an extended vignette.
Old New Gods
Another interesting avenue is the concept of Old New Gods. While Media and the Internet are obvious inclusions in the modern world, technology and the things humans worship are ever changing. As the war builds between the forgotten Old Gods and the all-powerful New Gods, it would be fascinating to touch on some antiquated gods of the new world.
From trains to the telegram, from the frontier to space travel, the recent past is full of examples of startling and powerful concepts and constructs for which the American people built altars. Like the Tall Tales and the living Old Gods, an entire episode could easily focus on Wednesday trying to recruit some abandoned New Gods who once held sway over the land.
Hinzelmann
One of the last major gods from the book we’ve yet to meet on the show is Hinzelmann. Like John Chapman and Whiskey Jack, he’s introduced much later in the story. Shadow meets him in the town of Lakeside during one of the book’s most fascinating side stories. It’s a sure thing for adaptation, though it could be a few seasons before it shows up. Still, the show has proven it’s willing to introduce us to gods on the show before we meet them in the books. With that in mind, we could easily see Hinzelmann being teased next season.
Though it’s difficult to discuss the character without spoiling things a bit, the gist of it is that Hinzelmann is very different from how he initially seems. As with everything in Lakeside, there’s something sinister just below the frozen surface. In mythology, Hinzelmann is the name of kobold, a German house spirit. Though known to bestow good luck on those he lives with, Hinzelmann can also be quite vicious if not given his due. As we’ve already seen on the show, not all of the Old Gods are necessarily good, and the introduction of the morally ambivalent Hinzelmann is all but guaranteed in the near future.
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With an estimated premiere sometime in the summer of next year, we could soon see images and promos teasing the next season of American Gods. Even before then, casting and story details will likely be arriving, cluing us in as to what gods we can expect for the coming season.
Though there are plenty of smaller characters from the books and no shortage of spiritual and religious figures that could be added to the show, many of the characters discussed above are likely. Hopefully, we’ll have a better idea of what to expect soon as we get closer to season 2 of American Gods.