American Gods' Emily Browning on Laura Moon: 'People don't need to like her as a person'

“Hi, Puppy.”

With just two words, Laura and Shadow Moon’s (Emily Browning and Ricky Whittle, respectively) lives were forever changed on American Gods.

This week, Browning and Whittle drop by EW’s American Gods: Inside the Episode — hosted by Orlando Jones, who brings Mr. Nancy to life on the Starz drama, and EW’s Marc Snetiker — to discuss “Git Gone,” which gives viewers a glimpse into Laura’s life (and afterlife) leading up to the moment she’s reunited with her husband in the hotel. For Browning, the script for this episode wasn’t just the first one she read for the series, but it’s also the episode that made her love Laura, a character she notes isn’t likable right away.

“I’ve never read a character like this, who is completely unapologetic and crass and really complicated and not instantly likable,” says Browning, who discussed that particular facet of the character with showrunners Michael Green and Bryan Fuller. “I love the fact that there was no pressure to be likable… People don’t need to like Laura as a person. They just need to like watching her.”

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Browning also notes that the show expands Laura’s role from the book it is based on.

“I love Laura in the book, but you never get to see her on her own. She just exists in relation to Shadow, really,” she says. “So I think it was important to go into her history a little bit so that you can see that she’s going through the motions and clearly isn’t happy in her life and doesn’t know what she wants… I think when you see that, it doesn’t necessarily justify the things that she does, but it helps you empathize with her a little bit.”

Watch the entire video above to find out how Laura and Shadow’s reunion will play out next episode, as well as how she and Shadow are both dealing with each of the death sentences looming over their heads.

American Gods airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Starz.