Anansi sure knows how to make an entrance.
The second of American Gods, âThe Secret of Spoons,â kicks off with one of the most memorable character introductions in ages. Itâs one of the showâs âcoming to Americaâ vignettes, set aboard a Dutch slave ship on the Atlantic Ocean in 1697, and it highlights that not everyone who arrived in America with their gods came of their own free will. A man named Okoye, shackled and scared, called out to Anansi for help and offered gifts if his prayers were answered.
âLet me tell you a story,â Anansi started softly. âOnce upon a time, a man got fucked. Now howâs that for a story? âCause thatâs the story of black people in America!â
For the next few minutes, the men on the ship (and some of the audience at home) are given a rude awakening. Itâs a blunt and candid summation of what black people in America have waiting for them after reaching those shores for the next few hundred years. Although the men on that ship might have no idea what Anansi means when he tells them what will happen, the audience knows exactly what heâs talking about.
Anansi is an expert storyteller, and in the hands of Orlando Jonesâwho grew up hearing stories of Anansi long before he read American Godsâheâs absolutely captivating. He can enthrall and spin webs, rile up those who listen, or calm them down if he needed to. (In this case, he pulls absolutely zero punches.)
âI was blown away,â Jones told reporters last month during an American Gods press junket. âI joked when I first read it, I was like, âMan I didnât know these guys [showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green] were Black Panthers.ââ
âItâs a brutally honest accounting of obviously the historical elements that come to play,â Jones continued. âItâs in the same way that I think weâre responding to all of our dialogue as the characters in that way that thereâs a core resonating through it that we recognize as completely truthful, and youâre almost like, âAre they gonna let us say this?ââ
They do that and more as Anansi convinces the men on the ship to kill all of the âDutch motherfuckersâ and burn down the ship, which will certainly kill them in the process. And Anansi has a message for them, one that might end up resonating with audiences after the show.
âAngry is good,â he said. âAngry gets. Shit. Done.â [x]
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