American Gods Season 3 almost certainly taking us to iconic book location

It was quite a weekend for genre-related entertainment, and though Avengers: Endgame and Game of Thrones took most of the spotlight, Mr. Wednesday and the rest of the cast of American Gods had plenty of lightning to bring to the party.

The show finished its second season on Sunday, and fans (especially fans who know the book by Neil Gaiman) were left with a pretty good idea of where Season 3 will be taking us. Season 2 gave us the House on the Rock, and a lot more time getting to know the funeral parlor of Mr. Ibis and Mr. Jacquel. With new showrunner Charles Eglee on board, the third season is almost certainly going to take us to another iconic location from the book.

**SPOILER WARNING: From this point forward, there will be spoilers for American Gods Season 2, as well as the book American Gods. If you do not wish to gain knowledge from the branches of Yggdrasil, then turn Betty around and drive the other way.**

The show took a different route getting us there, but Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) ended Season 2 by claiming a new identity — that of Mike Ainsel. He is done with all of the god drama, and we see him on a bus, venturing off to a place where he can hide out and possibly live in peace. He's bundled up for the cold, too. For those who know the book, it's fairly obvious where he's headed. The show wasn't subtle about it, as it was similar to how the House on the Rock was teased last season. Our destination is a place that Gaiman himself has been eager for the show to visit, as he tweeted a couple of weeks ago.

When asked what he was most excited to see in the show, Gaiman responded with one word: "Lakeside."

In the novel, Shadow is taken to this creepy (and cold) town by Mr. Wednesday to hide out while Wednesday goes off and continues his endless scheming and cheap violin purchasing. Shadow assumes the identity of Mike Ainsel while there, and encounters a town seemingly packed with characters straight out of a Coen brothers movie. There's also something going on with this car that's parked on the frozen lake in the middle of town.

The television version of Shadow is making his own way there, but the destination (and drama) could likely be similar. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Neil Gaiman addresses Shadow venturing off on his own.

“Shadow is going to try and find a place to be safe, and we’ll find out how well that works for him," Gaiman says. "Wednesday is also going to be determined to get Shadow back, and we’ll find out how well that works for him. He believes the madness is over, that his dead wife is gone from his life, Wednesday is gone, and he’s going to adopt a new identity and know who that is.”

Will "Mike Ainsel" find peace in Lakeside? He doesn't in the book, and he probably won't on the show. One thing that we can possibly look forward to is Shadow trying to date, which Gaiman also mentions in the interview.

“We haven’t seen Shadow awkwardly dating, he hasn’t until now had to deal with anyone except Laura," Gaiman says.

Going to Lakeside would be good enough, as many book readers may not have expected that section to make it into the show. Lakeside, plus Shadow "Mike Ainsel" Moon awkwardly dating? So much the better.

For more coverage on American Gods, watch star Ricky Whittle play a little game of "Roll for Questions," as well as a video of Whittle and Pablo Schrieber discussing that epic Mad Sweeney episode.