The following morning a guard wakes him and he’s brought to see the warden. Trees reach out and strike him in the face and a noose hangs in his path. He dreams of his wife and then the dream changes to one of him walking through a strange forest littered with human bones (the Bone Orchard of the episode’s title).

He’s restless in his cell, but finally falls asleep. They exchange I love yous, yet Shadow remains on edge. She assures him everything is fine and that they’re planning a surprise party for him to celebrate his return home. Later, he calls his wife and tells her “something feels weird.” He can’t quite figure out what’s off, and Laura ( Emily Browning) reminds him he has 120 hours left before he can come home. Shadow tells fellow inmate “Low Key” Lyesmith (Jonathan Tucker) he feels as if an axe is hanging over his head. He’s in prison pumping iron, just trying to make it through each day. The story shifts to the introduction of American God‘s lead character, Shadow Moon ( Ricky Whittle). We’re told when Leif, the son of Erik the Red, arrived 100 years later, his god was waiting on the shore where he’d been summoned.

The wind finally arrives and those who’ve survived flee the New World, and none will ever set to sea again. When their god still doesn’t show, they engage in bloody, incredibly gruesome hand-to-hand combat. The wind remains elusive so they sacrifice members of their party by burning them alive. They’re unable to sail away as the wind refuses to help, and they begin sacrificing their eyes to their god. Biting insects and snakes greet them, and they’re immediately fired upon with arrows when they attempt to leave the beach.

When they reach the shore, their fortunes don’t improve.

The year is 813, the Vikings are hungry, and the ocean is inhospitable. The tale of a voyage to America is told as episode one of Starz’ American Gods begins. Ian McShane and Ricky Whittle in ‘American Gods’ episode 1 (Photo Credit: Starz)

American gods season 1 episode 3 cast