WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for American Gods Season 3, Episode 1, "A Winter's Tale," which aired on Sunday on Starz.
American Gods Season 3 sees the return of many familiar faces; however, one god is taking on a new look to adapt with the times, as is the case for Ms. World, who is the godly personification of globalization. In Season 3, Episode 1, "A Winter's Tale," Ms. World decides to present herself in a new form, with actor Dominique Jackson taking on the role.
Formerly portrayed by Crispin Glover, the god used to be a white man in his 40s with gray-brown hair. World often wore a dark fedora, white shirt and black suit with matching tie, but at the start of Season 3, the god decides to change things, taking on a new form. As Ms. World, the god is a Black woman, shedding the traditionally masculine clothes in favor of a pair heels, a form-fitting brown dress and gold accessories.
Ms. World appears to have made this change in order to appeal more so to the masses because, in the words of Technical Boy, "white guys are not on trend. Evolve or perish, am I right?" The New Gods are trying to keep their control over the mortal public, and with Ms. World leading the charge as she builds a "virtual church of the mind," how she portrays herself in the public eye is crucial.
This is not the first time a god has changed their look to adapt with the times, with the New Gods in particular being more prone to this. Back in Season 2, Media, formerly portrayed by Gillian Anderson, takes on a new title and look as New Media, portrayed by Kahyun Kim. No longer is she the personification of celebrity culture. Now she is the personification of social media, adapting to the more popular trends of the modern day.
This is also not the first time Ms. World has taken on a different form. For instance, the god has the power of projection, being able to possess others, like the Children. Ms. World's transformation also shows that the god's shapeshifting abilities go far beyond disrupting her "human" form, as seen in Season 1, Episode 5, "Lemon Scented You."
With Ms. World wanting to control the narrative and pull attention from the Old Gods, she's using modern technology and social media to appeal to the masses. She also needs to be willing to adapt herself to whatever is "on trend," even if that requires changing how she presents herself. It's unclear at this time if this is a permanent form for the god; however, if the panning shot of her array of varying shoes are any indication, Ms. World is open to changing herself yet again to stay relevant, whether that is simply changing her style or if its changing her body all together.
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.