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Author
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Topic: American Gods (2017) (Read 45866 times)
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Rendakor
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Posts: 10131
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A book book.
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"i can't be a star citizen. they won't even give me a star green card"
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Samwise
Moderator
Posts: 19227
sentient yeast infection
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Is it a book book or a comic book?
Book book. Neil Gaiman, not one of his best IMO but still worth the read.
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"I have not actually recommended many games, and I'll go on the record here saying my track record is probably best in the industry." - schild
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Signe
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Posts: 18942
Muse.
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Weird and funny. I just saw in the downstairs WC a very old looking copy of this book. I guess my bro in law was inspired by the TV series to read the book again. I would read his copy but it's in the bathroom and he's probably touched it with bathroom hands. I'll get a Kindle copy, I think.
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My Sig Image: hath rid itself of this mortal coil.
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MahrinSkel
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10858
When she crossed over, she was just a ship. But when she came back... she was bullshit!
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I distinctly remember buying the book, but apparently I never read it.
--Dave
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--Signature Unclear
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Rendakor
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Posts: 10131
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I read it ages ago, but don't remember it well. Never got the Gaiman hype, honestly; only thing of his I really like is Good Omens and that was half Pratchett.
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"i can't be a star citizen. they won't even give me a star green card"
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Bzalthek
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Posts: 3110
"Use the Soy Sauce, Luke!" WHOM, ZASH, CLISH CLASH! "Umeboshi Kenobi!! NOOO!!!"
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I thought the book is well done, but if you can get the audio book, there's a great ensemble cast reading of the anniversary edition. The narration is top notch.
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"Pity hurricanes aren't actually caused by gays; I would take a shot in the mouth right now if it meant wiping out these chucklefucks." ~WayAbvPar
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Ironwood
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Posts: 28240
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There was always a mystery around Shadow in the book, I don't think he was intended to only be purely the bland every-man character. You were immediately wondering why he was chosen for all this, and he has the tendency to instinctively know the right thing to do that hints at bigger things.
We're verging into book-spoiler territory here, so I'll desist, but one thing I do think is that we're truly missing the internal dialogue of the character of Shadow. We're not seeing enough of HIS strangeness, since that becomes crucial later. I'll also say that I think you're wrong here.
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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MediumHigh
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Posts: 1982
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I'm about 15% through with the book and for all intent and purposes he is the character insert with enough inherent inertia to push the plot forward.
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MahrinSkel
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Posts: 10858
When she crossed over, she was just a ship. But when she came back... she was bullshit!
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There was always a mystery around Shadow in the book, I don't think he was intended to only be purely the bland every-man character. You were immediately wondering why he was chosen for all this, and he has the tendency to instinctively know the right thing to do that hints at bigger things.
We're verging into book-spoiler territory here, so I'll desist, but one thing I do think is that we're truly missing the internal dialogue of the character of Shadow. We're not seeing enough of HIS strangeness, since that becomes crucial later. I'll also say that I think you're wrong here. I think they fixed that a bit with this last episode, as well as give us a clue how they will make this into 4 seasons. If all of their "something like this had to have happened, but it wasn't in the book" padding is this good, I will have no complaints. --Dave
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--Signature Unclear
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DevilsAdvocate25
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Posts: 321
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Last episode was pretty good. An explanation of his wife's life and death.
My favorite part:
The only part I had an issue with:
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Ironwood
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Posts: 28240
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You know, I just realised that one of the fun things about watching this is that the wife doesn't know what's going on. She literally has no idea who Wednesday is.
I find it gigglesome.
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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apocrypha
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Posts: 6711
Planes? Shit, I'm terrified to get in my car now!
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My wife doesn't either, but she worked out Wednesday. She's always been into mythology a bit though.
My only gripe with this episode is that I don't think Emily Browning is a very good actress.
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"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
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Threash
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Posts: 9170
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I didn't think she was a good actress until watching this episode, she knocked it out of the park.
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I am the .00000001428%
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Ghambit
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Posts: 5576
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The last epi. was a pretty brilliant piece of interpretive TV (the fly trope especially, which alleviates some concerns in this thread on what being 'dead inside' actually is). Obviously not an epi. that is in the book, but fills in the blank spaces pretty damned well.
My biggest issue was Browning clearly not trying to be naked, even though her character is an utter phreakshow in the bed. It was off-putting, especially knowing much of Browning's work has been in the buff. I don't understand why they went that route. I'm not big into nudity in film except when it would clearly push the theme/art; and in this case it would have... especially in the funeral parlor.
Maybe they just didn't want to overdo it given the prior epis.
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"See, the beauty of webgames is that I can play them on my phone while I'm plowing your mom." -Samwise
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jgsugden
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Posts: 3888
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They either needed to show up or do a better job of making the attempts to avoid nakedness feel more natural. It was distracting how far they went out of their way to avoid the naughty bits.
However, after 4 episodes - 3 focused on Shadow and one on her - I find her the more compelling character. That is a problem. Ricky Whittle just doesn't have the presence I feel this character should have. The guy was a con man - a man that lived off his confidence game. Yeah, he may be a bit broken by recent events, but I still expect something to pull me in to the character. I wonder what someone like Richard Brooks (yeah - too old - but he lept to my mind as the perfect guy to be sitting at that blackjack table) or Coleman Domingo might have done with the character. Whittle feels more like The Rock than a con man.
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2020 will be the year I gave up all hope.
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Ghambit
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Posts: 5576
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Frankly I think Shadow is being played perfectly. :shrug He's a hollow character, more just the point of narration (in the book) than anything else. And he was always more brawn than con; with an uncanny mental capacity (that they've so far only glossed over on the show). Wednesday is supposed to over-shadow him (pun intended) most definitely... but, as we know that changes towards the end.
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"See, the beauty of webgames is that I can play them on my phone while I'm plowing your mom." -Samwise
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Ironwood
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Posts: 28240
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Um, what ?
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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Der Helm
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Posts: 4025
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Can't say I remember much from the book, I read it ages ago.
But I would be surprised if I had forgotten such copious amounts of dick.
I was not prepared.
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"I've been done enough around here..."- Signe
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Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240
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There was a lot of dick in the book actually. Yeah. I wasn't really prepared then either. And then Morgan started doing it in his books and I wasn't prepared for that too.
But I respect the right to put it in. Phrasing.
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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Der Helm
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4025
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So if American Gods came out in 2001, I would have been way in my twenties and I can't believe I would have forgotten lines like these ... “It is an hour or more before the ifrit comes, thrusting and grinding into Salim’s mouth. Salim has already come twice in this time. The jinn’s semen tastes strange, fiery, and it burns Salim’s throat.” Now I doubt if I read the book at all. Or were there abridged versions of it omitting these scenes and I got my hand on one of those ? I am thoroughly confused. Also, that scene in the show was just ... I don't even.
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"I've been done enough around here..."- Signe
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MahrinSkel
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Posts: 10858
When she crossed over, she was just a ship. But when she came back... she was bullshit!
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There was a censored US version, which Gaiman has had resigned to the shredder, then an Anniversary Edition that is the "official" version. So I think it's likely that the sex scenes may have been tamer or missing in the version you read originally.
--Dave
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--Signature Unclear
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Ironwood
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Posts: 28240
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Ha. What a shock.
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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apocrypha
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Posts: 6711
Planes? Shit, I'm terrified to get in my car now!
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Is the show being show uncut in the US? Erect penises and all? Because that's still unusual to see on TV in the UK even.
I liked Emily Browning better in this episode, felt like she had more to get her teeth into. Her nudity in this episode does make the concerted effort to avoid it in the previous one seem odder. One problem I'm finding that I don't remember having when I read it is that there's no explanation of who the new gods are. Even just giving them a name would help. Media, for instance.
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"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
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MahrinSkel
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10858
When she crossed over, she was just a ship. But when she came back... she was bullshit!
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Is the show being show uncut in the US? Erect penises and all? Because that's still unusual to see on TV in the UK even.
I liked Emily Browning better in this episode, felt like she had more to get her teeth into. Her nudity in this episode does make the concerted effort to avoid it in the previous one seem odder. One problem I'm finding that I don't remember having when I read it is that there's no explanation of who the new gods are. Even just giving them a name would help. Media, for instance.
Media is never addressed as such explicitly in the book (mentioned in passing by one of the Old Gods). The only New God ever referenced by name is Technical Boy, which they reproduced almost exactly in the book. Old Gods referenced explicitly by name tend to be the more obscure ones (Anansi and Ibis are probably the best known, and even those won't ring a bell with the typical reader/viewer). Except Horus, I guess. Wednesday is never named by his best known spelling/pronunciation until . --Dave
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« Last Edit: May 29, 2017, 01:59:04 PM by MahrinSkel »
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--Signature Unclear
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DevilsAdvocate25
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Posts: 321
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Caught up on the last two episodes. This show is so good at hooking me in. The mixing of the surreal and the mundane is outstanding.
My favorite scene in the last episode:
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Threash
Terracotta Army
Posts: 9170
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They are deviating quite a bit from the book, so far in a good way. As long as they get to right ending it doesn't really matter. I would have liked to see Laura working the graveyard shift at a quickie mart and getting fired for stinking, but that doesn't look like the plan atm.
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I am the .00000001428%
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apocrypha
Terracotta Army
Posts: 6711
Planes? Shit, I'm terrified to get in my car now!
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Media is never addressed as such explicitly in the book (mentioned in passing by one of the Old Gods). The only New God ever referenced by name is Technical Boy, which they reproduced almost exactly in the book. Old Gods referenced explicitly by name tend to be the more obscure ones (Anansi and Ibis are probably the best known, and even those won't ring a bell with the typical reader/viewer). Except Horus, I guess. Wednesday is never named by his best known spelling/pronunciation until . --Dave Ahh, OK fair enough then. Been far too long since I read the book so I've forgotten all of that kind of thing.
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"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
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Abagadro
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Posts: 12227
Possibly the only user with more posts in the Den than PC/Console Gaming.
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Caught up on the last two episodes. This show is so good at hooking me in. The mixing of the surreal and the mundane is outstanding.
My favorite scene in the last episode:
That last line was an ad lib per Fuller's Twitter.
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"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
-H.L. Mencken
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Wasted
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Posts: 848
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The show is good but if they decided to go off book and just make it the Mad Sweeney Show I would be happy with that.
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Abagadro
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Posts: 12227
Possibly the only user with more posts in the Den than PC/Console Gaming.
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Mad Sweeney and Deaf Wife are....the New Odd Couple. Badewbadewbadew dewpadew eupadewwoo.
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"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
-H.L. Mencken
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Rasix
Moderator
Posts: 15024
I am the harbinger of your doom!
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Mad SweeneyGinger Minge and Deaf Wife are....the New Odd Couple. Badewbadewbadew dewpadew eupadewwoo.
Better now.
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-Rasix
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Tebonas
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Posts: 6365
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While the Road Movie with is undoubtly the best part of the series right now (additionally enhanced by Salim, the gay straight man), I also liked the additon of Vulcan to the lore. That was one creepy town, and it even fits well as foreshadowing
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« Last Edit: June 06, 2017, 11:05:24 PM by Tebonas »
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Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240
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The Saxophone. It needs to stop.
Stop with the fucking 'moody' saxophone. Or Trumpet. Or whatever the fuck it is. At the current level of annoying it may as well be a vuvuzela.
Fucking knock it off.
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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Hoax
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Posts: 8110
l33t kiddie
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I watched eps 1-2 originally then 3-4 and yesterday 5-7. This last batch was by far there best. You could say a lot of snarky not nice things about why that might be and how it shows a failure of some characters versus others to be interesting/entertaining. But overall I think its a very different show that is up to something pretty cool and its enjoyable. The radio songs they pick are always great, the visuals are nutty in a way you don't get elsewhere and the story was a fun idea when I read the book and still is now. The season finale airs tonight which means there is a marathon of past eps leading up to it on starz(?) and I'm looking forward to it.
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A nation consists of its laws. A nation does not consist of its situation at a given time. If an individual's morals are situational, then that individual is without morals. If a nation's laws are situational, that nation has no laws, and soon isn't a nation. -William Gibson
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DevilsAdvocate25
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Posts: 321
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The finale was great.
I like that Dead Wife is figuring everything out and that Shadow is still so clueless. Outstanding show.
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