WARNING: The following contains spoilers for American Gods Season 3, Episode 8, “The Rapture of Burning,” which aired Sunday on Starz.
It was revealed last week that the being killing off Mr. Wednesday's followers was actually one of his oldest friends, Tyr, another Norse war god. While the two have had a rocky relationship, with Wednesday courting Demeter during the late 1700s despite Tyr being in love with her, the war god turned dentist initially seemed to be on Wednesday's side, financially backing his war, swearing to fight beside him and even giving the Allfather advice on Demeter. However, this simply covers up the fact that Tyr is searching for retribution.
While Wednesday believes this is over Demeter, Tyr reveals exactly why he is going after Odin to Shadow Moon, who he has kidnapped in hopes of luring Wednesday to the Wolf's Den so he can kill him. In the world of American Gods, Tyr was the lord of the Norse gods before Odin. In many retellings of Norse mythology, it is true that Tyr was a war god as important as Odin; however, his prominence in stories was lesser, primarily being known nowadays for his role in the binding of Fenrir.
This tale, as well as how its defined Tyr in the eyes of others, is actually his motive behind bringing an end to Wednesday and his war. Fenrir -- a monstrous wolf -- was one of the children of Loki, and he posed a huge threat to the Norse gods, especially as he continued to grow. The Norse gods decided to bind the wolf so he wouldn't cause more destruction, and Odin even challenged Fenrir to try and break an unbreakable chain to prove his strength; however, the gods knew this was impossible, and they simply wanted to trick the wolf into being bound.
Fenrir, while confident in his strength, was suspicious of the gods, and he only agreed to be bound if one of them put their hand between his teeth for insurance. If he broke free, then he'd let go of the hand; he'd also release the hand if he didn't break the chain but the gods unbound him. However, if the gods kept him chained, then he'd bite off the hand. As Neil Gaiman explains in his book, Norse Mythology, while the other gods refused to volunteer, Tyr stepped up, which is in character for his American God's counterpart, as both understood the wolf needed to be stopped and both were willing to pay the price for this dirty but necessary trick.
Fenrir ultimately was bound, so Tyr lost his hand, and as the American Gods' character remarks, Odin used this sacrifice to further belittle the war god. Norse Mythology also explains how Tyr's sacrifice was overlooked, as all the gods present during the challenge laughed at Fenrir's predicament while Tyr lost his hand. In the world of American Gods, Odin's disrespect and actions, especially in regards to Tyr's sacrifices, are why he must pay.
Along with that, he sees Wednesday as an usurper, first losing his position as lord of the Norse gods to Wednesday, then losing Demeter to the Allfather and now fearing Wednesday will only cause more serious damage to the world with his war. Tyr believes he must step in to stop Wednesday, and while this can be seen as an act of revenge, Tyr is doing this in the name of justice, even if he gets pleasure out of besting the Allfather.
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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