History Fridge / AmericanGods2017

* What is the significance of the Technical Boy's goons attempting to hang Shadow from a tree, aside from being a reference to both Norse mythology and the lynchings of afroamericans? They are an [[LiteralMetaphor Internet lynch mob]]. This also explains [[TheBlank don't have faces.]] Like the members of such mobs, [[{{GIFT}} they hide their cruel, thuggish behavior behind anonymity.]]

* What is the significance of the Technical Boy's goons attempting to hang Shadow from a tree, aside from being a reference to both Norse mythology and the lynchings of afroamericans? They are an [[LiteralMetaphor Internet lynch mob]].
** Which also explains why his goons [[TheBlank don't have faces.]] Like the members of such mobs, [[{{GIFT}} they hide their thuggish behavior behind anonymity.]]

** And why's he so prejudiced towards Shadow? Not just because of the extreme mindset of the town that he built up around himself, but because he's a Roman god - the Romans were A-OK with slavery, which has mixed with America's history of enslavement.
* Why is Mad Sweeney fairly in with at least one form of Jesus? When Christinaity came to Ireland, it didn't quite wipe out the old religion but in fact absorbed several parts of it e.g. the Celtic cross, the triple goddess Brigid becoming Saint Brigid, etc.

* Why is Vulcan much more associated with weapons here than with smithies and forges? Well for one, his arms factory does include a large forge, and two, the mythological Vulcan/Hephaestus was famous for having made many a legendary weapon himself.

* Why is the "Coming to America" sequence from Lemon Scented You in animation instead of live-action ? Because Nunyunnini is long dead, so long that Mr Ibis never met him and therefore [[UnreliableNarrator this story is pretty much all guesswork on his part]].

* Why is the "Coming to America" sequence from Lemon Scented You in animation instead of live-action ? Because Nunyunnini is long dead, so long that Mr Ibis never met him and therefore [[UnreliableNarrator this story is pretty much all guesswork on his part]].

* What is the significance of the Technical Boy's goons attempting to hang Shadow from a tree, aside from being a reference to Norse mythology? They are an [[LiteralMetaphor Internet lynch mob]].

* Why is Mr. Nancy so much more aggressive than he was in the book? Well his people's suffering and the knowledge of what is to come is all very fresh and raw at this point yet isn't it.

* How did Shadow get caught? Laura was wrong. Laura's entire world view was proven objectively wrong; gods exist, the afterlife exists, the supernatural exists, life has greater meaning. If she could be wrong about all of that, then of course she could be wrong about something like basic human behavior and how predictable it is.

* Low-Key Lyesmith isn't named in his first few appearances on the show, whereas in the book his is one of the first names dropped. That it's [[StevenUlyssesPerhero basically his real name]] would give away much of the plot, and did for some readers. (Just seeing the on the page, it's more likely to slip under the wire. Spoken aloud, it's a dead giveaway.)

* Why is Wednesday so unfazed by Zorya Vechernyaya telling him that he'll die? [[spoiler: Because he's done it before.]]
** [[spoiler: It's even [[BatmanGambit part of ]] [[ThanatosGambit his plan]] ! ]]
* How did Shadow get caught? Laura was wrong. Laura's entire world view was proven objectively wrong; gods exist, the afterlife exists, the supernatural exists, life has greater meaning. If she could be wrong about all of that, then of course she could be wrong about something like basic human behavior and how predictable it is.
* Media claims that, when ''The War of the Worlds'' was broadcast in the 1930s and people allegedly panicked, due to the power of belief, there potentially really were 'starmen in the sky'. And we're talking walking tripod, human devouring starmen. What exactly happened? Did the power of belief really create an alien invasion?
* Why is Laura so much more sure of her love for Shadow after she comes back from the dead? In life it's likely she was suffering from severe depression. It's entirely possible that because she's not beholden to her brain chemistry anymore that she's finally able to feel the full range of emotion for him she actually had in life.

* Media claims that, when ''The War of the Worlds'' was broadcast in the 1930s and people allegedly panicked, due to the power of belief, there potentially really were 'starmen in the sky'. And we're talking walking tripod, human devouring starmen. What exactly happened? Did the power of belief really create an alien invasion?

* Why does Zorya Polunochnaya look so young compared to her sisters? She was created specifically by Neil Gaiman for the book and is only shy of twenty years old.

!!FridgeBrilliance:

** NeilGaiman is a fond of using TheHecateSisters in his works. Zorya Polunochnaya is a representation of the Maiden.

* Media claims that, when ''The War of the Worlds'' was broadcast in the 1930s and people allegedly panicked, due to the power of belief, there really were 'starmen in the sky'. And we're talking walking tripod, human devouring starmen. What exactly happened?

* How did Shadow get caught? Laura was wrong. Laura's entire world view was proven objectively wrong; gods exist, the afterlife exists, the supernatural exists, life has greater meaning. If she could be wrong about all of that, then of course she could be wrong about something like basic human behavior and how predictable it is.

* Why does Zorya Polunochnaya look so young compared to her sisters? She was created specifically by Neil Gaiman for the book and is only shy of 20 years old

* Why does Zorya Polunochnaya look so young compared to her sisters? She was created specifically by Neil Gaiman for the book and is only shy of 20 years old

* Low-Key Lyesmith isn't named in his first few appearances on the show, whereas in the book his is one of the first names dropped. That it's [[StevenUlyssesPerhero basically his real name]] would give away much of the plot, and did for some readers.

* Why is Wednesday so unfazed by Zorya Vechernyaya telling him that he'll die? [[spoiler: Because he's done it before.]]

* Low-Key Lyesmith isn't named in his first few appearances on the show, whereas in the book his is one of the first names dropped. That it's [[StevenUlyssesPerhero basically his real name]] would give away much of the plot, and did for some readers.

* Why do we hear Mr. Nancy in English while the African slaves are subtitled? Because as a god, we are all hearing him in our native tongues, the men on the boat in the many languages that came with them to America and us, the Audience, in modern times. Being a god, understanding just happens.

* In the book, at least one Native American tried to befriend the Vikings only to be used as a HumanSacrifice by them. In the show the Vikings never even get a chance to step off the beach they landed on before one of them [[HumanPincushion is filled with arrows]]. Presumably the gods of the Natives were a little more on the ball about the potential danger of the Vikings and warned their followers about this in the show.

* What is the significance of the Technical Boy's goons attempting to hang Shadow from a tree, aside from being a reference to Norse mythology? They are an [[LiteralMetaphor Internet lynch mob]].