American Gods Review: The Rapture of Burning (Season 3 Episode 8)
With multiple characters on urgent quests, American Gods is in a race against the clock as it nears the end of its third season. On American Gods Season 3 Episode 8, “The Rapture of Burning,” we find the show zipping through a lot of plot with varying degrees of success.
For some characters, who have gotten relatively little to do in this season, “The Rapture of Burning,” does a good job filling in their stories.
This is especially true of Salim’s story. Instead of following Laura around like a lost puppy, he regains agency on this episode thanks to an encounter that helps him embrace his sexuality.
His discussion about shame with Toni (Dana Aliya Levinson), a transgender woman who owns the hotel they’re visiting, interrogates Salim’s inner turmoil in a way we haven’t seen since Season 1. More than just making this story about him accepting the loss of the Jinn, which he also does, it’s about him truly accepting himself and reconciling his faith and sexuality.
By the end of the episode, we see a freer Salim who confidently proclaims he’s done hiding. He even inspires Laura who parts ways with Sweeney’s ashes and lucky coin and finally accepts his death.
Similarly, Technical Boy also confronts his truth while imprisoned by Ms. World. It’s far less sentimental than Salim’s storyline and involves him exchanging insults with his subconscious, but it’s still important in helping the character move forward.
Technical Boy learns to accept his emotions instead of trying to fix them and realizes what he wants is freedom from Ms. World’s control. It sets up an interesting new conflict, creating a threat for the New Gods from the inside of their organization.
When you add these storylines up with Bilquis’ journey, there’s clearly a theme in this season about accepting your truth. It wouldn’t surprise me if these final two episodes bring everything full circle with Shadow finding his truth and learning about his destiny as prophesied by the Orishas.
Unfortunately, this is a lot to cram into one 50-minute episode considering there is also an important conflict between Tyr and Odin set up at the end of American Gods Season 3 Episode 7, “Fire and Ice.”
There are several reasons the show’s revelation of Tyr as a big bad doesn’t work. For one, he lacks motivation aside from a centuries-old grudge that is conveniently left unmentioned in the entire season until now.
The character’s lack of screen time in this season also means we don’t get a chance to invest in him or his conflict with Wednesday. It’s a stark contrast to the long game American Gods plays with the New Gods.
The biggest reason it doesn’t work is pacing. Although Tyr pops up here and there throughout the season, it’s not until Episode 7 that we even get a clue that he might be working against Wednesday. Heel turns are a common trope, but this one feels unearned and rushed.
The fact Wednesday defeats him in just one episode also contributes to an overall anticlimactic storyline. In the end, Tyr is just one more Old God left in the path of Wednesday’s destruction who the show and audience are sure to soon forget about.
There are still a lot of questions left unanswered leading into the final two episodes. It will be fascinating, and potentially frustrating, to see how much American Gods actually addresses by the finale and what it chooses to leave for future seasons.
Additional Thoughts:
- I was dreading the introduction of another leprechaun on the show but pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Iwan Rheon’s character Liam Doyle. Hopefully, we see more of him at some point.
- The switching back and forth between Mr. World, Ms. World, and the other Mr. World seems to lack any logic now.
- Watching Yetide Badaki acting as Bilquis acting as Technical Boy’s subconscious is some of the most fun I’ve ever had watching this show. She nailed his mannerisms.
- I missed Cordelia on this episode. Her presence really does make the Wednesday storylines more tolerable.
What did you think of this episode of American Gods? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
American Gods airs Sundays at 8/7c on STARZ.
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Breeze Riley
Breeze Riley is a pop culture enthusiast who decided to turn her love of watching too much TV into a hobby writing about it. Although she's a convention-going sci-fi and fantasy nerd, she's just as likely to be watching an off-beat comedy or period drama. She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic.