Each episode of "American Gods" offers something new to viewers, and its third one is no exception, with a new god introduced, a new heist planned, and a seemingly dead character being confirmed as having been brought to life.
Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) is helped by the third Zorya sister, Zorya Polunochnaya (Erika Kaar), a character which, according to Vanity Fair, is not based on mythology but was created by Neil Gaiman specifically for "American Gods." In the third episode, Zorya plucks the moon out of the sky, transforms it into a Silver Liberty dollar, and gives it to the ex-convict for protection.
"Don't give it away," she cautions him as she hands the coin, emphasizing that he has been given the protection of the sun once but he has given it away. The two then share a kiss. The coin seemingly changes Shadow's luck, as he is able to beat Czernobog (Peter Stormare) at checkers. His victory means that the god will have to join him and Wednesday (Ian McShane). It also temporarily extends his life. In episode 2, Shadow and Czernobog play for the second time, with an odd bet — if Shadow wins, he and Wednesday can join Czernobog in the fight against the new gods, but if Shadow loses the match, Czernobog gets to kill him with his sledgehammer. At the end of the episode, Shadow loses the match, leaving the audience with a cliffhanger ending.
Unfortunately, the one to whom Shadow inadvertently gave the sun's protection may not be appreciative of the kiss between Zorya Polunochnaya and Shadow. Laura Moon has been confirmed to have been revived by Mad Sweeney's (Pablo Schreiber) coin.
Meanwhile, the episode also hints that Shadow might have powers of his own. When Wednesday tells him to think of snow, the weather changes and snow appears. The snow also enables them to successfully pull off their bank heist.
The episode also introduces a new god at the beginning: Anubis, the jackal-headed Egyptian god of the dead. Also brought into the story is an Ifrit (Mousa Kraish), who swaps identities with a salesman after a sexual encounter.
"American Gods" airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. on Starz.
