American Gods Recap: A Murder of Gods

Season 1/ Episode 6/ Starz One of the most annoying habits fans get into with adaptations is the faux-foresight that readers of the original text hold over newer fans. I’ll admit it, I’m guilty of this myself. To help even the score, much like the Game of Thrones series leaving the books in their dust, episode six of American Gods pulls practically nothing from Neil Gaiman’s novel, leaving everyone in the dark for once. It’s probably my second favorite episode of the season for that same reason. “A Murder of Gods” starts out with exactly that. But it’s not some foreign deity that the common person has barely ever heard of that gets the curtain call. It’s none other than the Bread of Life, a.k.a the Good Shepherd, a.k.a. the King of Kings, b.k.a. Jesus of Nazareth himself! (I always knew this is what I use 15 years of Catholic school for.) The episode starts off showing a group of Mexican migrants crossing what’s implied to be the Rio Grande into the United States. The leader of the group stops to make sure the coast is clear before turning back and telling everyone to only cross if they know how to swim because the water gets pretty deep. But what can you expect? Why would some water make them turn back after coming so far? Well, besides drowning. Watch the tale of Mexican Jesus. It is good stuff. Lo and behold, one of the men in the group lags behind as you see the hesitation and fear intensify in his expression. Soon, the water’s past his neck and he’s sinking towards the b…