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calamity-bean · 5 years

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How do you feel about the promo for the finale? Personally, I don't think it revealed anything except maybe that Laura and Shadow will finally part ways and accept the truth that they aren't meant to be. But other than that, nothing. No status on Sweeney except that he is still dead (with Laura over him). Hopefully, they are doing this on purpose, because I feel like if he were gone for good, more of the promo would have been focused on him just being dead. Or not show him at all.

This got a bit long, so I’m putting it under a cut for length as much as for spoilers. Analysis of the preview for 2.08 below, regarding the fate of Mad Sweeney as well as other aspects!

Yeah, as regards Sweeney, I don’t think the promo told us much that we didn’t already know (i.e., he dead, and Laura’s gonna get to the funeral parlor and find out about it). The shot of Laura just standing there looking at the pool of blood… :( The one glimpse of Sweeney we got is a bit interesting, imo, because we can see that he’s been moved to the morgue and is lying on a mortuary table:

If Sweeney’s gone for good, I’d expect them to hold some sort of wake or funeral for him and presumably to clean him up for that… But in the season promo shot of Laura carrying him down the road, we can see that he’s still wearing the same outfit, bloodstains on his jacket and all. Presumably this means she body-snatches him before any further funerary preparations can be made. Why do that unless she refuses to accept his death?

I do expect him to remain dead for the whole episode, unfortunately, and for at least part of season 3 as well. But, as I’ve been doing for the past couple weeks, I’m clinging hopefully to the idea that Laura’s not gonna let this stand.

And YEAH, I’m actually really excited to see this little cemetery conversation between Shadow and Laura! I’m too sleepy to go looking for it now, but I’m pretty sure there was an interview where someone (Emily?) mentioned something about Shadow and Laura getting closure this season, as well as some other interviews mentioning that Laura’s arc this season is about finding a purpose outside Shadow. Personally, I don’t want Laura to stop caring about Shadow, nor Shadow about her… But I think the show has made it clear, especially this season, that their romantic relationship was built on a very faulty foundation in the first place and cannot be repaired, especially now that so much development has gone into Laura’s individual arc and relationship with Sweeney. Both Laura and Shadow need closure if they’re ever going to move on — to other romantic interests or just in general.

The one thing about that part of the promo that made me groan a bit was that — at least by the way the footage is edited— it SEEMS to suggest that Shadow saying “I don’t believe you” is in response to Laura telling him Wednesday’s to blame for everything. Which, if so, is a bit frustrating to me, because I’d hoped that the things Sweeney told him during their fight would have more of an impact on Shadow’s opinion of Wednesday! I mean, you’d think he’d care that Wednesday straight-up had his wife murdered in order to get to him, yeah? But my initial interpretation of that dialogue may not be how the conversation actually goes anyway; promos can be edited in such a way that the flow of dialogue isn’t what it seems. So I’m not gonna dwell on that too much yet.

There’s another aspect of the promo that intrigues me, but it involves discussing spoilers from the novel. The BIG kind of spoilers. If you don’t want to read about that, go ahead and stop here.

Ready? Okie dokie, major spoilers from the novel below!

“Shadow’s ignorance gives them power,” Anansi tells Ibis, right after a title card that reads “A REVELATION.” Now, when I think of Shadow and revelations, there’s one big one that immediately springs to mind. Over the course of this season, we’ve watched Shadow come to understand that Wednesday didn’t choose him at random — he has some sort of significance to Wednesday, some sort of value. We also got the flashbacks of Shadow’s mother (discussing the “light” she gave him) and of Donar/Thor, whom Wednesday directly compares to Shadow. All of which, of course, foreshadows the eventual revelation that Shadow is Wednesday’s son, Baldr, who shines with light as from within. I can’t remember exactly at what point in the novel Shadow learns that, though it’s certainly later than this… But all this talk of Shadow’s ignorance, and all this foreshadowing, makes me wonder whether the show might be moving that little plot twist up?

The problem with that, of course, is that I don’t know why Anansi and/or Ibis would know this. Perhaps Anansi is simply referring, more generally, to Shadow’s ignorance about the world of the gods.

Another potential event that occurred to me as I watched the trailer — and again, this would be happening a lot sooner than it did in the novel — is maybe more of a stretch… But the IMDb description says that Wednesday has disappeared, so from the promo I’m guessing that we’ll be seeing him but that he’ll be separated from Shadow and company. Then there’s this shot of what appears to be a sniper:

Is it possible that the show could already be getting to Wednesday’s assassination…? That would be moving things up by a whole part of the novel, and it would be a LOT to pack two major character deaths into the final two episodes of a season, so maybe it’s unlikely. Still, I can’t help but wonder. Either of these two possibilities would profoundly impact the flow of Shadow’s arc, that’s for sure.

#american gods #mad sweeney #laura moon #shadow moon #mr wednesday #arkadiaschancellor #ag spoilers #ag 207 spoilers #ag 208 spoilers #ag meta #my meta #op #asks #agspoilers #ag 207 #ag 208

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rorykillmore · 5 years

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so i have an extraordinary number of friends with march/april birthdays, and now that it’s technically the 26th, it’s @tailsthesales!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIZ!!! they asked me to write a little leon/laura thing for our panfandom site soooo i gave it a shot! luv that alliteration they have goin’ on,

but first, to get mushy for a second... giz, i know you deal with a lot. you’re not one to complain very much or put it on other people but.... i know you do and i also know that you work so hard to stay strong and positive and kind for your friends and i love that SO MUCH about you. thank you so so much especially for everything you’ve helped me with staff-wise on denny lately and just, in general, for making my life a little brighter and better. i hope you have a wonderful birthday because you deserve the WORLD <3 <3 <3

anyway now enjoy leon and laura laughing alone with salad(tm) at the gala event

What is it with her and nice guys?

Okay, not ‘nice’ -- genuine, kind, decent fucking human beings. They make Laura feel so empty in comparison.

In life, Laura had never considered herself a self-conscious person.

In death, she’s sheer, walking defiance. Mad Sweeney cracks his seventieth dead wife joke, and she doesn’t give a fuck. Random passersby stare to her pale, discolored face half-masked by the usual giant pair of sunglasses she wears, and she doesn’t give a fuck.

As a rule: she generally does not give a fuck. It’s one of the best things about being dead.

It’s one of the things she doesn’t miss feeling.

But there’s something about getting glammed up to go to a high-end political gala that’ll smack the self-consciousness right back into a gal.

No amount of washing, it turns out, will give her hair back the natural sheen and bounce it had when she was alive, and no amount of make-up is going to convincingly return the glow to her skin. Laura guesses she was pretty, once. It had never been very high on her list of concerns, mostly because Shadow would have looked at her like she was the most beautiful woman in the world even on a terrible day.

Tonight, she’s just trying for presentable. But Leon beams at her when she actually shows up anyway, kind of like Shadow might have, and she’s not sure if it makes her feel better or worse.

“Hey,” she says when she’s close enough to greet him, feeling a bit silly as she wonders if that was somehow too informal.

“Hey, Laura,” Leon returns amicably. “You look great.”

Laura raises her eyebrows at him, in a ‘come on, you can say it’ kind of way, but as per usual, Leon seems nothing if not sincere. She decides not to ruin his mood by griping, even if she can’t understand how someone who’s been through everything he has can look at a dead woman and feel anything but uneasy at best. “Thanks. You too.”

It’s not a lie on her part: Leon cleans up nice. It’s a little jarring to see him in something other than casual attire, but his clean, pressed black suit makes him look a little less weighed down, somehow.

Or maybe it’s just the vibe of this place. Laura can already tell from out here that the gala is thrumming with a kind of excitable energy that even she can kind of feel. She guesses most rifters haven’t had anything quite like this to look forward to in a long time.

“Shall we?” she asks Leon, only a little sardonically. He offers her his arm and she rolls his eyes and takes it carefully, quietly grateful that it’s not skin to skin contact.

“You’re taller in heels.” Leon notes, catching Laura off guard by teasing her.

“Shut up.”

The banter settles her nerves a little, and they head inside. Everything’s a little too bright, or at least it feels that way to Laura, fresh out of the night and down her usual pair of shades. Maybe ‘zombie’ has been missing the mark, this whole time. Maybe she should’ve been making vampire jokes this whole time.

“You okay?” Leon asks her, and Laura tries not to feel taken aback at how quickly he notices her discomfort.

“My eyes are a little sensitive, that’s all. You know I don’t even really see in color anymore?”

“That’s probably lucky, in this particular situation.” In mild amusement, Leon watches some kid strut past, and even Laura can tell that his suit’s the gaudiest fucking thing she’s ever seen.

Wait --

“Let’s go this way,” she says suddenly to Leon, tugging his arm perhaps a little harder than she meant to and unbalancing him as she jerks them both out of the Technical Boy’s eye line.

“Hey --” It takes Leon a moment to find his footing. He glances over his shoulder. “Who was that?”

“No one important,” Laura says, knowing it’s technically a lie but also that it isn’t, because that particular God is not particularly important to her. “Just one of those awkward ‘I don’t want to run into anyone I know’ situations.”

“Why was he dressed like that?”

“I ask myself that question every time I see him.”

Leon chuckles, and Laura manages to smile a little despite her slightly frazzled state. “What about you?” she continues. “As an... official member of the MLD, you’re probably expected to do some socializing, or something. Right?”

Leon glances at her, slightly pained.

“Shitty co-workers?” Laura prompts, and is a little pleased to hear him laugh again.

“I just don’t know them that well,” he tells her gingerly. “Except for the chief -- Felix? He’s actually pretty decent.”

“Surprising, for a police chief.” Idly, Laura scans the room as if she thinks she might be able to pick Felix out on sight, even though she’s never met him before. “Well... if you don’t want to introduce me, what do you want to do?”

He looks pensive for a second. “We could get some drinks?” Then he nearly stammers over his own words, giving her an apologetic double-take. “-- Sorry. I forgot.”

“You forgot?” Laura needles him, though it’s entirely playful. Somehow, some of her earlier self-consciousness has ebbed away without her noticing. “It’s fine, Leon. I don’t care if you wanna get a drink -- you’ll probably need it.”

But Leon is shaking his head, and his expression is different now in a way that Laura can’t quite read. “...Or... we could dance?”

Laura stares at him, deadpan.

“Is that a no?” Leon asks, smiling easily, and Laura knows that if she did say no he wouldn’t push her. But that doesn’t make her feel any less like she’s starting to put a damper on his night.

“No. I mean, yes. I mean --” She huffs a little, or at least goes through the motions, since she doesn’t technically breathe anymore. “Nevermind. What kind of asshole comes to a thing like this and says they don’t want to dance? Let’s go.”

She leaves his side to stalk out onto the dance floor, praying that whatever universal karma is almost definitely working against her at this point doesn’t prompt the DJ to start playing Thriller, or something. Leon follows a little more slowly, and looking back at him, Laura suddenly wonders if he hadn’t expected her to say yes. The slight uncertainty in his posture makes her feel a little better about her own nerves, at least. She doesn’t think she’s done this since her’s and Shadow’s wedding, and even then, she wasn’t stellar at it.

“So...” Leon begins as they come to a standstill. Laura can’t bear the thought of them awkwardly sizing each other up any longer, so she reaches up to put her hand on his shoulder, and uses her other to take one of his. She knows she must be cold to the touch, as she always is, but to Leon’s credit he doesn’t flinch.

“You lead,” she tells him. “‘Cause I will definitely fuck us up.”

Leon carefully settles his other hand on her waist, and Laura only thinks about the fact that there won’t be any pulse for him to feel for a second. She’s more preoccupied with trying to remember how to slow dance without looking like an idiot.

Not that anyone said that this was supposed to be romantic, but it’s so entirely the opposite as they both try to find their footing that she kind of wants to laugh. Which, in a weird sort of way, makes her feel a little better. Soon, they settle into an easy, swaying rhythm with the music, and -- sure, maybe it’s not the total, cheesy, embarrassing nightmare she might have imagined it as.

It’s almost kind of nice. And because she can’t let herself have nice things for too long, Laura starts to circle back around to feeling guilty again.

What is it with her and nice guys?

Okay, not ‘nice’ -- genuine, kind, decent fucking human beings. They make Laura feel so empty in comparison.

But then again, pretending that Leon isn’t capable of being a reasonably aware judge of character after all he’s been through is probably doing a disservice to her. And telling herself that nothing has changed - that nothing will ever change - since she was alive won’t get her anywhere.

And Laura’s not sure where it is she wants to be... but she doesn’t want to be standing still.

Neither does Leon, she thinks. That’s why he’s always pushing forward, why he’s already secured his position in the MLD, why he still wants to help people even though Laura knows he’s probably met too many people who were beyond helping to count.

It’s not like Laura wants to be his charity case, or anything, but she’s not so sure she likes the idea of being beyond help either. So maybe they can help each other.

If only for tonight. If only a little, in passing moments like this one.

#i wasnt sure id have time to post this until waaaay later in the day tomorrow so #instead i figured id leave it for you to wake up to!#i love these two the like... warmth of their dynamic is such a SURPRISE #but i love them!!!#happy birthday again giz #tailsthesales #fic

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princessasmosprincess · 7 years

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The Ultimate Musical Theatre Questionnaire

This is not originally mine, the link is below. I just filled in my answers.

Ultimate Musical Theatre Questionnaire

Some of these will include a Top 5-10…

1. What is your “go-to song” when you’re feeling sad?

It really depends on what “sad” means that day. If I need a boost of confidence “Watch What Happens (Reprise)” or “Once and for All” usually does it. If I need to get out some anger “I’m Done” from Rocky is a fun one to sing. Comforting songs are good too, like “A Little Fall of Rain”.

Honestly, playing a cast album like Newsies or Cinderella really lifts my spirits.

2. What Broadway song do you relate to?

SO MANY!

Watch What Happens ~ Newsies

Santa Fe ~ “

If I Loved You ~ Carousel

Before the Parade Passes By ~ Hello, Dolly!

3. Favorite female voice? Favorite male voice?

This one is so hard. Obviously this isn’t a complete list but this is what comes to mind at the moment.

Female:

Barbara Streisand

Laura Osnes

Laura Benanti

Sierra Boggess

Megan Hilty

Kelli O’Hara

Lea Salonga

Phillipa Soo

Male:

Jeremy Jordan

Alfie Boe

Ramin Karimloo

Santino Fontana

Aaron Tveit

Christian Borle

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Hugh Jackman

4. What is your favorite show based off the music?

Bonnie and Clyde

Death Takes A Holiday

Meet John Doe

The Secret Garden

Chaplin

Literally anything Rodgers and Hammerstein. Even if I don’t care for the show, I usually love the music. I love the wit behind the lyrics.

5. An overrated song.

Seasons of Love ~ Rent (I love to hate this one. It’s catchy and fun to sing… SOMETIMES…)

All I Ask of You ~ The Phantom of the Opera (I read the book, I’ve seen the movie, the live tour, and the 25th anniversary, but I just don’t like Raoul...)

I’m Not Afraid ~ Songs for a New World

Sixteen Going on Seventeen ~ The Sound of Music (there are other really great songs in this show!)

Tomorrow ~ Annie

I Feel Pretty ~ West Side Story (I mean, really, this is one of the defining songs of this amazing show? America, Maria, and Tonight are so much better in my opinion).

Green Finch and Linnet Bird ~ Sweeney Todd

6. An underrated song.

Without You ~ My Fair Lady (everyone always does “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” and “I Could Have Danced All Night” but I don’t think those two songs are the best in the whole show).

How Can Love Survive ~ The Sound of Music (this one wasn’t in the movie but it is an amazing song. It’s so witty and the tune is beautiful. Actually I did this one as a solo for a cabaret show).

Raise A Little Hell ~ Bonnie and Clyde (This one gives me chills every time)

7. An overrated musical

Avenue Q ~ I am so tired of hearing about this one, and I don’t like the concept or the music.

Book of Mormon ~ I know there are a few good songs but as a Mormon and as a decent human being I find it offensive… Jk about the decent human being thing, but still, I don’t like this one…

Rent ~ I do appreciate that it’s based off of La Boheme, and that it’s a very revolutionary piece, but I’m tired of hearing about it.

Cats ~ why?

Chicago

Little Women ~ Everyone has Sutton Foster Fever and they need to stop. She’s a great actress, but there are other actresses out there and these songs are played too much.

Into the Woods

Songs for a New World ~ BIG TIME. It really bothers me that the songs I like from this show are less popular than the ones everyone raves about.

You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown ~ Any of the Charlie Brown musicals… I don’t really have a connection and I don’t think the music is particularly clever…

Seussical ~ I’ve been in one full production of this and I also played the Cat in the Hat in a dance recital (that one was actually fun), but I LOATHE this show. It’s very childish, and I get that that’s the point, but it’s really childish. It’s on a similar plane to Charlie Brown in my eyes.

Grease ~ Seriously, the story to this one is terrible. Yeah, go ahead and change yourself for your crush because he’s not man enough to tell his friends and society that your social status shouldn’t matter when you’re in love… Also some of the music gets on my nerves, and I don’t really like the movie either.

A Chorus Line

The King and I ~ Personally not my favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein show. There are some good songs but I like some of their other shows far more.

How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying ~ Ugh…

Cabaret ~ Another really poignant show but no one really focuses much on the story, they just like the suggestive and scandalous songs.

Pippin

Annie

Oliver

Sweeney Todd

Falsettos ~ Now I know I’m going to get a lot of hate for this one but I still had to say it. It is a really great show and I don’t hate it. It’s just there was so much hype before the Tony’s and so much hate directly after. I just don’t like how negatively people acted when it didn’t win Best Revival. (I thought that Miss Saigon was going to win but whatever). I just really dislike the hate that goes along with not liking this show. I don’t think the writers would have appreciated that, and I don’t really think the actors would either.

I’m adding an extra category because there are some shows that are overrated but I still like them a lot...

The Lion King ~ -ish… I still like the show, but everyone raves about it when there are some other really great shows out there.

Hamilton ~ Again, I like the show, but everyone is obsessed…

Dear Evan Hansen ~ I don’t know whether it really deserved to win best musical… But then again the lyrics and staging were really on point.

In The Heights ~ There is so much good about this show but I do think it’s a bit overrated...

8. An underrated musical

Rocky (I think the music is adorable, but then again I’m a South Jersey girl so Rocky holds a special place in my heart)

Love Never Dies ~ Lots of people hate this but I really like it. This is definitely one that you need to actually see to appreciate it. I really like the character development, if you can get past all of the weird Coney Island stuff. Plus, you know I hate Raoul.

The Scarlet Pimpernel

Dracula

Show Boat ~ This one is a classic but still, it doesn’t get nearly enough attention.

Death Takes A Holiday

Bonnie and Clyde

Meet John Doe

Chaplin ~ I will never get over how CRIMINALLY underrated this one is.

The Woman in White ~ Why doesn’t anyone talk about this?!

9. How many cast recording albums do you own?

Technically… I own Newsies, Cinderella, and the celebrity version of Finding Neverland...

Of course thanks to the library I was able to download quite a bit to my computer so…

Wicked

Beauty and the Beast

The Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary

Bombshell ~ Smash, I count this one.

Mary Poppins

South Pacific

I also have various songs from some different shows.

10. Do you buy the whole cast recording, even if there are songs you are not fond of?

Depends. I don’t really have that many. If there’s only a few songs I like I’ll just buy the songs separately, but if I like the majority of the album I would definitely buy the whole thing.

11. What was the first cast recording you owned?

Newsies, but I think I had some songs here and there before that.

12. How many playlists do you have on your mp3 or iPod? If just one playlist, how many songs?

I’ve got at least 5 different Spotify playlists. Usually I listen to songs on Pandora so I can get some new suggestions.

13. Song that reminds you of someone else?

Beauty and the Beast ~ Technically the movie version but… This was going to be my parents’ wedding song.

The entire album for Show Boat

Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again ~ The Phantom of the Opera

The Love I Meant To Say ~ Smash. Also not really from a show but this one touches my heart so much.

14. Stephen Sondheim or Andrew Lloyd Webber?

This is a really tough one. I think ALW’s music is a bit more accessible to me and he has many great shows (and some really overrated ones). Stephen Sondheim is also extraordinary, but I like his more melodic songs which can be few and far between. Sondheim is challenging to sing and understand sometimes.

15. Favorite choreographed number?

King of New York ~ Newsies

I’m sure there are others but I can’t think of any right now.

16. What do you think of shows based around the music of other artists? (i.e. American Idiot, Mamma Mia)

I like Mamma Mia, and I’ve heard that All Shook Up is really good. If the storyline is as compelling as the music, then I’ll love it.

17. Favorite song cut from a show?

The Truth about the Moon ~ Newsies (I want sheet music so bad!)

One Man ~ Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

18. Most powerful (vocally) song

Female:

Once Upon A Time ~ Brooklyn

When It All Falls Down ~ Chaplin

Male:

Who Am I ~ Les Miserables

Raise a Little Hell ~ Bonnie and Clyde

Music of the Night ~ The Phantom of the Opera

19. Favorite song from your least favorite show.

I’ll just name one, “Stars and the Moon” from Songs for a New World

20. No-Dry-Eye Broadway song.

I cry in almost everything…

Letter from the Refuge ~ Newsies

Santa Fe (prologue) ~ Newsies

Santa Fe ~ Newsies

The entire score to Les Mis

I’ll Be Here ~ Ordinary Days (listen to it and you will bawl your eyes out if you have a soul)

Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again ~ The Phantom of the Opera

When the Phantom sings a reprise of “All I Ask of You” during “Past the Point of No Return”. Also his reprise of “Masquerade” at the end and when he sings, “Christine, I love you…”

Dyin’ Ain’t So Bad ~ Bonnie and Clyde

Hold On ~ The Secret Garden

You Don’t Know This Man ~ Parade

21. Your favorite Broadway duet

Love Songs

If I Loved You ~ Carousel

Something to Believe In ~ Newsies

Non-Love Songs

A Little Fall of Rain ~ Les Mis

How Can Love Survive ~ The Sound of Music

Chip on My Shoulder ~ Legally Blonde (can’t actually remember if this is a duet or not…)

22. Do you reenact/sing in front of the mirror/pretend you’re the character when you’re singing along to a song?

All the time.

23. Top five Broadway songs.

Nope, can’t do it.

24. A broadway song that makes you cringe. (i.e. least favorite)

I’m Not Afraid of Anything ~ Songs for a New World

Seasons of Love ~ Rent

25. What shows have you seen?

On Broadway:

Newsies (Once with Jeremy Jordan and once with Corey Cott)

Cinderella

Wicked (With Aaron Tveit when I was 13 and didn’t even know who he was…)

On Tour/Professional:

Mary Poppins

The Phantom of the Opera

Emma The Musical (I don’t think this one has been on broadway but Colin Patrick Hanlon and Annelise Van Der Pol were in it)

Peter and the Starcatcher

26. If you could play any role on Broadway, what would it be?

Katherine Plumber

27. Name some stars you’ve met at the stage door.

Jeremy Jordan, Corey Cott (I chased him down the street before the show…), Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Annelise Van Der Pol, Carpathia Jenkins, Andy Richardson, pretty much the entire OBC from Newsies.

EXCEPT FOR TOMMY BRACCO...

28. If you could go up to New York and see any and every Broadway show you want to, what would you go see?

There are so many shows… Right now maybe Dear Evan Hansen or The Great Comet (if it’s still running…)

29. Which Broadway star do you want to see live more than anyone else?

Laura Osnes, Hugh Jackman, Neil Patrick Harris, Laura Benanti, Christian Borle, Andy Mientus, Santino Fontana.

30. Favorite Tony Awards host?

Neil Patrick Harris

31. Least Favorite Musical

Any of the overrated ones, but for the sake of time Cats.

32. What is your go-to shower song?

A crazy patter song like “Watch What Happens” (Newsies)

Also “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair” from South Pacific. My grandmother used to sing this song to me when she gave me baths when I was a toddler and young child.

33. What does Broadway mean to you?

It’s my life. I love Broadway and everything about it, and one day I will be performing there.

And I’m too tired to write anymore...

#the ultimate broadway theatre questionnaire #broadway questionnaire #broadway #theater #theatre #broadway musicals #musicals #musical #questions #answers

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aion-rsa · 6 years

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American Gods Season 2 Hopes to Move Past Behind-The-Scenes Drama

https://ift.tt/2NH8Srd

Neil Gaiman and the cast open up about the many changes the American Gods Season 2 production has faced during NYCC.

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Interview

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Andrew Husband

American Gods

Oct 15, 2018

American Gods Season 2

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Neil Gaiman

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NYCC 2018

While executive producer Neil Gaiman may have grandiose plans for three more seasons of American Gods at Starz, the television adaptation of his 2001 fantasy novel has endured a great deal of seemingly divine intervention since airing its first season last year.

Showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green exited the show after the pair had reportedly completed about half of the season two scripts. Cast members Gillian Anderson and Kristin Chenoweth subsequently left, and after stepping in as the new showrunner for a time, Jesse Alexander was asked to leave the series. Gaiman, who was already spearheading Amazon’s adaptation of his and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens, stepped in to salvage things.

Despite all of this, American Gods showed up at the 2018 New York Comic Con with Gaiman and the cast to promote its return in 2019. (Ian McShane was not in attendance because, as Gaiman explained, he was busy “zapping kidney stones that he will be pissing out.”) They debuted the first trailer for the new season and, among other things, confirmed which sections of the book would be adapted for its current storyline.

Aside from an allusive comment Gaiman made about the cast’s “not compromising” during the second season’s production, however, very little was said about the showrunner shuffle at the American Gods panel.

Pablo Schreiber, who plays fan-favorite Mad Sweeney, mentioned Fuller’s name, which elicited a small cheer from the audience, but that was it. Speaking to the press afterward, Gaiman and the cast were slightly more forthcoming (and optimistic) about what had happened, and where American Gods would be going next season.

“My metaphor for season two is basically we're back at the same school but we're in a different classroom,” Yetide Badaki, who plays Bilquis, tells Den of Geek. “We have some different teachers, but we still have mostly the same schoolmates, as well as a few new people who came in from out of town.”

Emily Browning, who plays the once-dead Laura Moon, speaks with far less metaphor, though not before joking about being monitored by drones operated by Starz executives.

“If you had have spoken to me about it a few months ago, I would have been in a very different place with it. To be totally honest, I think we were all nervous about it in the beginning. We all loved Michael and Bryan, and this was their vision, so losing them was terrifying,” she tells us.

Gaiman himself spoke about the behind-the-scenes drama, though largely from the perspective of simultaneously running two different shows whose productions were taking place in wildly different time zones. He also explained his process working with Alexander early on in season two, but didn’t dwell on the nature of his dismissal from the series.

“Everybody knew I was going to be the showrunner on Good Omens, which meant that I wasn’t left a lot of time for American Gods,” he says. “Jesse came out to New Orleans, where I was at the time, and I spent two days briefing him on exactly what American Gods means. Not just what it is and what the plot is, but where we could take it in season two and what parts of the book we would be doing.”

While Gaiman’s comments help make more sense of the timeline (he was able to spend more time on American Gods after San Diego Comic-Con in July, and Alexander was asked to leave the show in September), they don’t necessarily explain what had happened. He did call the initial reports of Alexander’s being sidelined “bullshit,” but that was the extent of any explicit remarks about it.

Instead, Gaiman praises the show’s cast who, as he frames it, succeeded in defending their characters as initially contrived in season one despite apparent issues with new writers trying to change things up.

“We have a fantastic cast. They know who they are and they know who their characters are. They care about them. They've researched them. This is especially helpful when you’re getting new writers coming in, who might be a little wobbly on things that characters would do or say. The cast absolutely saw it and said, ‘No mate, the character wouldn't do that because of this, this and this.’ So things would get rewritten and stuff would be fixed, thanks to them.”

Interestingly, Gaiman may have been referencing one of the more fantastic aspects of the initial report about Alexander’s removal, which claimed he and McShane would partake in “screaming matches” over the quality of the season two scripts. The finale was even totally scrapped. Talking about it now, Gaiman admits that he was more involved in the scripts for the final three episodes, but leaves it there.

Even so, the American Gods cast now seems quite confident in the work they’ve put into the new season. They’re also just as confident in Gaiman’s ability to steer the show out of its troubled water and into the much wider (and hopefully less dramatic) seas ahead.

“These characters were created by Bryan and Michael, so they're based on Neil’s characters, but they’re different,” says Orlando Jones, who plays the African trickster god, Mr. Nancy. “I'm a lot like Nancy in the book in many ways, and I’m also not like Nancy in the book at all. Shadow Moon never got lynched in the books. He's living in a different America today.”

“I think there's a nuance there, and Neil really is the person that comes in and goes, ‘Stay on the theme, guys. The theme is here. Stay focused here.’ He's a master storyteller, so why do anything differently?”

Browning is also quick to note that the loss of Fuller and Green after season one, and Alexander toward the end of season two, never really meant the end of the series. After all, so many other people were helping to make American Gods a reality.

“All of that went away after we saw a bunch of footage. We grew less worried after we saw a few rough cuts from the first few episodes, especially the stuff that Chris Byrne showed us,” she says. Chris Byrne, who served as the first season’s second unit director, is now the show’s producing director. He’s also, as Browning puts it, “the fucking hero of American Gods” and partially responsible for how amazing season two looks.

“He is the vision of the show. The way the show looks has always been thanks to him, and it's still him. He is an angel, he's our savior and he's incredible. Seeing the stuff that he showed me, I was like, ‘Oh wow, we did it! This is our show and it actually looks kind of incredible.' It was scary. We obviously had a huge road bump to get over, but I feel like we're going to give you guys something really cool in the end.”

American Gods Season 2 premieres sometime in 2019 on Starz.

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