We Need to Talk About ‘American Gods’ Latest Opening Scene

Nearly every week, ‘American Gods’ has presented the audience with a “Coming to America” scene to open the episode. These scenes have shown various groups of people, all throughout time, attempting to make their way into America. This week’s latest scene, however, shows the first modern day equivalent of people coming into America.

We see a group of Mexicans — men, women, and children — praying and then crossing the river to get into the States. The leader of the group, a Mexican woman, says it plainly in Spanish, “if you can’t swim, don’t cross”.

It’s painfully obvious what will happen, as the camera lingers on one Mexican man, who clearly can’t swim. When the first person makes it across, he thanks God for the opportunity that he has been given. We see everyone making it across, until that one man, the one who cannot swim, starts drowning.

Now every incarnation of the “Coming to America” story thus far has shown the particular group of people’s god appearing in some manner. Whether it be to their aide or detriment, a god always shows up. What makes this scene particularly unique is about who shows up.

As the man starts drowning, he’s pulled out of the water. The camera pulls back to show a person walking on water, as all of the Mexicans sit there in awe. When the drowning man gets to land, he says “thank you” to the mysterious stranger and asks, “who are you”? The stranger turns around and says to him, “you know who I am”.

It’s made pretty clear, by the walking on the water, by long hair and the biblical beard, that this man is Jesus himself (we got the confirmation that Jesus exists in this universe from Wednesday last week). A Mexican verison of Jesus. Which is precisely what makes the next part, incredibly interesting.

A bunch of pick-up trucks pull up; you can sense the dread immediately. Before the leader of the Mexicans can shout for her people to get back in the river, she gets shot in the hand. A group of people pop out of the trucks, all dressed in typical cowboy flair, unloading on this group of innocent people. One of the attacker’s gun even has written on it. “thy kingdom come”. Are you sensing the irony here?

Jesus, being Jesus, runs in front of the people and is shouting for them to stop. Jesus gets shot in both hands, and his heart. And when he dies on the ground, he looks exactly the same way he does when he dies on the cross.

This is, I believe, the first time that we have seen a rendition of the “Coming to America” story where the same god who tried to protect these people, is seemingly (even if they absolutely are not acting like it), the same god that the attackers worship.

I’ve been racking my brain to try and figure out what this means exactly; what the show is trying to say about this. Is it a critique of so-called Christians in the States, showing their hypocrisy and how they are not even Christians? Is it to say that these people have killed god themselves, and are no better than the Pharisees and unbelievers that killed Jesus in the past?

I’d say it’s a combination of both. ‘American Gods’ has not been subtle about showing the racist, hate-filled, violent history of America. This modern take represents the reality that this same sort of rhetoric is continuing today. Even more so, it shows us the difference between actual believers and non-believers. And boy, is it ever painful.