The Death of Wednesday
Murdered at a parley in the novel, speared by Laura in the series, and both times by his own design.
Mr. Wednesday, the incarnation of Odin, dies in both versions of American Gods. In Neil Gaiman's novel the New Gods ask for a parley with him and murder him at the meeting; the killing is witnessed by the Old Gods and galvanizes them to face their enemies in battle at Rock City.
Quick Facts
- Character involved
- Odin (Mr. Wednesday)
Lore & Background
The murder was part of a 'two-man con': Loki, as Low Key Lyesmith, had arranged it so that the battle between the Old and New Gods would become a sacrifice to Odin, restoring his power while Loki fed on the chaos. Shadow, bound by contract, holds Wednesday's vigil by hanging from the World Tree for nine days, and at Rock City confronts the wounded Loki and the ghost of Odin.
Reader's Guide
In the TV series' third season Wednesday arranges a meeting with Mr. World to seek peace, and Laura Moon, tipped off by Mr. World, kills him with the spear Gungnir thrown with the luck of Mad Sweeney's coin. Mr. World then sells Laura out to the Old Gods as the assassin. While Shadow hangs from the World Tree, Wednesday reveals in a dream that he engineered his own death, and that Shadow's death on the tree is a blood sacrifice that gives him immense power; Wednesday's corpse then vanishes.
More in Narrative Arcs & Events
Elsewhere in American Gods
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