American Gods S1E4 "Git Gone" Recap

The episode serves as an extended flashback about Shadow's late wife Laura, whom we last saw waiting for Shadow in his motel room seemingly alive once more. She is introduced as a worker at a casino, living alone with a pet cat to keep her company. She is depressed to the point of attempting to commit suicide. She first meets Shadow when he comes into the casino she works at and tries to rob the place. She talks him out of going through with robbing the place by telling him of all the security measure in place but doesn't tip the guards off to his attempts. When she is leaving the casino, Shadow approaches her and the two go home together. The two embark on a relationship and get married but Laura's depression keeps her unhappy. Shadow gets a job at Robbie's gym.

Laura, discontent with the state of her life, coaxes Shadow to try robbing the casino again but this time she will be able to make the plan a success due to her being the inside man. Laura insists that she does love Shadow but it's just the state of their life that she isn't happy about with their modest jobs and no likelihood of their income growing. The plan doesn't work and Shadow gets caught trying to rob the casino. When visiting Shadow in prison, Laura insists that the plan was perfect and someone must have screwed them over. Laura wants to admit her role in the crime so that both of them can serve 1.5 years as opposed to Shadow likely serving anywhere from 3-6 years with Laura alone on the outside. He asks her to wait for him and she promises to do so.

Some time later, Laura begins having an affair with Shadow's boss Robbie. On the night before Shadow was going be released, Laura and Robbie get into a car accident mid-fellatio. Laura wakes to find her dead body thrown out of the car. Her surroundings then change into a desert where she meets Anubis. Anubis tells her she will be going through to darkness but Laura wants to go back. Anubis tells her her body has already begun to decay and that she will not have a choice in the matter. Before Laura can be sent to the afterlife, her body is pulled back to her own body.

Laura crawls out of the grave and is drawn towards a warm, golden light which is actually Shadow. She feels compelled to go to him and sees him hanging in the tree during his earlier assault after her funeral. She was begins destroying his attackers, as she now possesses superhuman strength. She releases him from the noose that had strung him up in the tree and carries on pulverising the rest of Shadow's attackers.

Despite this newfound strength, Laura's body is still rotting and one of her arms falls off from the fight. She carries it in her other hand and returns to her home to wash off and change. She must hide when Shadow returns to pack up the home. Laura goes into Audrey's (Robbie's wife) home and unsuccessfully attempts to sew her arm back on using a needle and thread. She is caught by Audrey, who screams in a panic but eventually is forced to settle down somewhat. Laura is sick, continuing to leak embalming fluid. Audrey confronts her about the affair and when asked, admits that Robbie is still dead, or at least she hasn't seen him walking around like Laura is. Laura also learns that Shadow knows about the affair and that Audrey tried to have sex with Shadow on Laura's grave. Audrey helps Laura temporarily sew her arm back on and gives her a ride to try to find Shadow.

The journey is interrupted by two morticians in the road, Mr. Ibis and Mr. Jacquel. They bring her back to their establishment and restore her decomposing body as best as they can to look how she was when alive. Mr. Jacquel is actually Anubis, whom Laura recognises from her time being dead. Anubis promises to complete his task and deliver Laura to darkness after she completes her quest. When she is finished being restored, she heads to the motel and gets changed before waiting in Shadow's motel room where they are reunited.

American Gods airs on Sundays on Starz at 9/8c.