'American Gods' Season 3 Episode 1 on Starz: Will Laura Moon's sacrifice really awaken a new Mad Sweeney?

The third season of 'American Gods' Season 3 introduces a different actor -- Crispin Glover -- as Mad Sweeney, can fans really accept him after Pablo Schreiber's exit from the show
PUBLISHED JAN 10, 2021
Pablo Schreiber as Mad Sweeney (Starz)
Pablo Schreiber as Mad Sweeney (Starz)

Spoilers for 'American Gods' Season 3 titled 'A Winter's Tale' ahead

'American Gods' Season 3 Episode 1 saw Laura Moon (Emily Browning) make an important sacrifice. The question, however, is if it will work in favor of the show or against it. One of the members who had left 'American Gods' after season 2 happened to be Pablo Schreiber and the role that he had portrayed was that of Mad Sweeney, a leprechaun. The coin that influenced his lifeline was used by Laura Moon to keep her from decomposing any further. At the end of season 2, however, Mad Sweeney died and Laura had promised that she will exact revenge for the same. 

Turns out the man that she would need to target is none other than the God who had killed her, Wednesday. Turns out she has been doing her best to find different ways to either get her revenge or bring Sweeney back from death and use him to help her gain revenge. In that vein, she tries to get in touch with the Lord of Death, one of the old gods that Sweeney had introduced to her to, to find out a solution for her problem. However, at the moment there is nothing that Laura can do except give up on the coin that had resulted in Sweeney's death in the first place. 

Pablo Schreiber and Emily Browning as Mad Sweeney and Laura Moon in 'American Gods' Season 2. (Starz)

The moment that the coin is out of Laura's body, she disintegrates into ashes and the coin that she tries to give to a dead Sweeney (now portrayed by Crispin Glover) also ends up landing somewhere else. Considering how Glover was playing a guest role, Sweeney as a character may never return and if the leprechaun comes back he may not be the same as before. This is something that would affect the show in a big way as it would serve fans as a reminder of how many talented artists have quit the show so far. 

So that brings us to the next question and that is if Laura gave up the coin for nothing. Will the coin end up being used by Wednesday instead of against him? That would be ironic considering how much Laura had hated Wednesday for manipulating and using her death in the first season to get Shadow Moon, her husband, to work for him. After all, the reason why Shadow had been released from prison was to attend his wife's funeral. Of course, he was quite shocked to see his wife who he had buried walk around as a half-decomposed dead but still alive person. After struggling through many obstacles, Laura had come far but all of that was wasted when Sweeney died. 

So with this, we may not see the return of Laura Moon again. This closes the door to Shadow's past and with it, the show also gets a chance to explore a new lover angle for Shadow himself.

'American Gods' Season 3 episodes will premiere at 12 am every Sunday on the Starz App and will then be broadcast on the Starz channel at 8 pm ET. 

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