Warning: This story contains light spoilers for S1 of American Gods

The first season of American Gods surpassed whatever our expectations were for an adaptation of the beloved Neil Gaiman novel. Starz evidently felt the same way, quickly renewing it for season two and telling attendees during last month's Television Critics Association press tour they'd be happy to have the series go beyond that.

"We're on board as long as the show makes sense for Starz," CEO Chris Albrecht said during his network's event. "The vision of Neil Gaiman is the guiding light for all of us, and Bryan Fuller and Michael Green are the guiding lights of that."

This week, home video options were announced for October (and streaming options are available now), reminding us that we'd been sitting on a pair of end-of-season Q&As with two of our favorite characters. Yetide Badaki (aka Bilquis) and Bruce Langley (aka Technical Boy) quickly captivated viewers with two very emphatic introductory scenes, and season one wrapped with a big showcase episode for the two actors (in which their characters coincidentally began to intertwine).

Before the finale aired—but after we had a chance to view it—Badaki and Langley kindly connected with Ars for interviews originally meant for a bonus episode of our Decrypted podcast. But since our audio productions took an unexpected summer vacation, we're sharing these chats as full Q&As below.

Note: These interviews were lightly edited for clarity.

Bilquis

Ars: You're a well-regarded sci-fi/fantasy geek in Hollywood and said in past interviews you read the book back when it came out. How did that impact your decision to get involved or to approach your character?

Badaki: First of all, just being such a fan of Neil Gaiman, the idea that I'd get to play in that sandbox... if you told me 10, 15 years ago, it wasn't a germ of an idea at that point. But I was such a huge fan of it. Having all those ideas marinating 15 years before the audition, it brought a whole other level I don't think I've brought to another project. Actors don't usually get that kind of time to think of ideas and concepts.

So, yes, it heavily influenced the audition and the acting process. I had full grown ideas I got to play with, and that's such a gift in acting.

Not only is the book a decade-and-a-half old, your character is hundreds of thousands of years old. Once you found out you'd be playing Bilquis, did you still find yourself in a research rabbit hole?

Oh yes, and that to me is the juiciest part of any role—where you get to research. With Bilquis, even though you have all these different texts from all these different cultures referring to her, they don't say much. Even with the book, you have two scenes to get to know her—so there's a whole wide universe to fill in. That can be a little scary, but it's also really exciting to fill in those blanks.

As for the research, the fact that she was only ever referred to in reference to this man said a lot. Everything in between what's said sometimes screams louder than the actual words. What we tend to know about the Queen of Sheba or Bilquis is through her meeting with King David and Solomon, and that says a lot about the character. It speaks to the idea of the feminine and agency through the years and centuries. Even in that story, you see that she goes to meet Solomon but she's an incredibly powerful woman who can tell him to wait and who comes with all these gifts, all this wealth she brings. She also questions him with all these riddles, which speaks to great intelligence. It was fun to see where different traditions place her.

The show approaches Bilquis in that way, too—early on, you're unsure if she's a new or old god, if she's good or evil. It's not until episode eight that she's really flushed out.

Exactly, it's a perfect mirror. Even through history, the idea of the Queen of Sheba is still a little spotty. So we all get to go on that journey, who is Bilquis?

How was the fan reaction to you as Bilquis? Would people ask about the showy scenes from early in the season or are they interested more in who this character is and what's to come?

The fan base has been pretty adept, showing such intelligence and attention to detail. Fans caught the connection to Technical Boy early, and I had to work really hard to not give anything away. [For instance], fans noticed that I was swiping in an early scene—they're really quick.

Fans from all over have been loving the representation, which has been an incredible surprise. And many want to know more—why is she where she is? What is she about? They wanted to see the journey. I like to say even though we deal with a show called American Gods, it's very much about the human experience. And there's such a need for actual human connection in Bilquis, and a lot of people have responded to that. She sparked discussions about intimacy in the present day/age of technology, and that's been refreshing and fascinating.

Some of those issues were around when the novel first came out, but 15 years later they've only been amplified.

Definitely, I've referenced a New York Times article that talks about how this generation experiences intimacy different than previous ones, and that includes sex. You'd think there'd be more given all the different ways to access it but—because it's not just the act, it's about intimacy at the end of the day—we're having way more difficult connecting. It was occurring 15 years ago, but now it's incredibly amplified. We're a little more disconnected as we connect more through different devices.

Let's touch on the finale—how do you feel about the predicament Bilquis finds herself in as we finally get her backstory?

First of all, it's delicious story. No one on the show comes off squeaky clean if you dig deep enough. Even our protagonist, he did some bad things at the very beginning.

So I love that she's now so three-dimensional. I think people can identify with the idea of survival and individuals working very hard to survive. Second, anything you assume you know [on the show] can ultimately blow up; assumptions are constantly blown up on the show. You might see this interaction with Technical Boy and think one thing, but it may end up in a totally different direction. Sometimes there are even misdirects within the misdirects. I like to joke that she's the goddess of love and she just wants everyone to get along, but she's also an old god. Old gods are old gods for a reason, and when you've been around for centuries or eons, time is a different experience for you. Different choices may seem a lot more temporary and part of a much larger chess game—I think fans can look forward to that idea being played with. When you have all the time in the world, how do you take up your time?

Do you have a favorite character from the book and has that differed from who you gravitated towards on the show?

I enjoyed Laura Moon in the book, but in the show I'm fangirling like crazy. But watching Cloris Leachman and Ian McShane, these were fascinating characters in the book, yes, but seeing them brought to life in a fascinating way really makes it hard to pick a favorite. But in the book, I really enjoyed reading that little section about Mama-Ji; I found it fascinating, and I'm curious to see that play out. It's still hard to pick a favorite, though like the fans I'm eager to see the character Sam come out.