WARNING: The following contains spoilers for American Gods Season 3, Episode 9, “The Lake Effect,” which aired Sunday on Starz.
Throughout Season 3 of American Gods, there has been a major mystery in the idyllic Lakeside. Shortly after Shadow Moon's arrival, Alison disappears. Shadow is initially a suspect, but thankfully he has an alibi, and the mystery continues. As time goes on, some residents hold onto hope, while others believe they should be looking for a body.
Along with the missing teen, someone has been breaking into homes and stealing women's underwear and bras. A few citizens believe this thief is also behind Alison's disappearance; however, Shadow discovers the burglar is Derek, a waiter from Mabel's. Shadow and Chief Chad Mulligan do not believe Derek could do this, but in the most recent episode, it appears Derek commited suicide, and Alison's jacket was found in his home. This doesn't add up, and with what Shadow learned on his trip to Florida, it's clear something is up with the children of Lakeside.
At the end of Episode 8, Shadow decides to go to Florida before heading home. Marguerite Olsen's son, Sandy, supposedly ran away to Florida to be with his father; however, this was mostly an assumption. Sandy never responded to any of Marguerite's letters or calls, and when Shadow shows up at her ex's house, he learns this is because Sandy never came to Florida.
In the new episode, "The Lake Effect," he tries to talk to Marguerite about this, especially in light of Derek's suicide. Shadow knows there is something much larger at play, but Marguerite is in denial, refusing to accept that something terrible could've happened to Sandy. While Marguerite shuts Shadow down, he continues to dig deeper, discovering that Alison is not the first missing kid.
Every few years, a child goes missing toward the end of December -- around the time of Lakeside's winter festival. This is also around the time that Alison vanished and Sandy supposedly ran away. This prompts Shadow to got to Chad with what he's found, reminding him that Derek wasn't the type of kid who would kill another person. Instead, Shadow believes someone is framing Derek, and there is something darker and larger at hand.
While Chad agrees to look into what Shadow found, this isn't enough for Shadow. At the festival, he gets a divine sign in the form of a coin. He found a similar coin by the clunker -- the car on the frozen lake -- when he was ice skating with Marguerite earlier on, so he believes he needs to investigate the car.
Once on the lake, Shadow manages to unlock the trunk, discovering Alison's dead body. Shadow is unable to report this since the ice cracks beneath him and the car. As he sinks, he sees Alison's spirit. He also sees a graveyard of sunken vehicles, as well as the spirits of the other kids. This confirms Marguerite's worst fears about her son, and it proves Lakeside is much darker than it initially appears.
Based on the Neil Gaiman novel of the same name, American Gods stars Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Bruce Langley, Yetide Badaki, Ian McShane, Omid Abtahi and Ashley Reyes. The series airs Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Starz.
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