18 Best TV Episodes Of 2017 (So Far)

5. Git Gone - American Gods

American Gods, Bryan Fuller's lush adaptation of Neil Gaiman's epic novel, looked great in its opening episodes, but it was a bit of a dizzying mess. That's not to say it was bad, but it needed something to ground viewers as the worlds of old Gods and new started colliding.

Enter Laura Moon. The deceased wife of Shadow doesn't feature too prominently in the book, popping up now-and-then, and the biggest and best change Fuller and co-creator Michael Green made to the source material is expanding her role. Shadow is the narrative anchor, albeit one often as confused as we are, but with Git Gone Emily Browning's Laura becomes our emotional tether to the show.

Instead of progressing the story, we instead get to see how her and Shadow met - she worked at a casino he gambled in - and fell in love. Shadow is very much a Neil Gaiman figure, whereas Laura Moon, at least in the way she's adapted, fits more to Fuller's style, and that's clearly to her strength. Git Gone serves as a wonderful character piece, making you care more for both Laura and Shadow, as well as one that is still disturbing, and extremely funny (the bathroom scene with Laura and Audrey is one of the season's most hilarious).

It's the kind of human element that American Gods needed, and does wonders for Laura, Shadow, and the show as a whole.