MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus loves American Gods. Unfortunately, the gods series was cut short because there was too much chaos at some point. But that is precisely what gives it its charm and drives the mythology nerd in him.
American Gods is a masterpiece. I actually love all adaptations of the works of Neil Gaiman, although I have only read a few of his books and none of the comics. The series about the war of the old and new gods is absolutely unique:
It’s about the gods fighting for supremacy in the world. Or… well, in America, but in Hollywood, that is usually the same thing. The creators not only bring the Norse pantheon, but also a ton of notable figures who go to war against the new gods: the media. In the middle is a seemingly uninvolved guy from next door, Shadow Moon.
The series is fantasy for adults, bloody, brutal, full of sex, and sometimes has coarse humor. And by the way, it is also one of the inspirations for the massive success of Baldur’s Gate 3 and that says something.
Originally, the series comes from Starz, and in Germany, it can be seen on Amazon Prime, but it only spans 3 seasons. Too few, I think, but there’s a reason: After season 1, the ratings went down considerably. What everyone criticizes is actually an incredibly good stylistic device.
American Gods loses actors and thereby support
On IMDb, American Gods has a rating of 7.6/10, so quite solid. However, the critics’ site Rotten Tomatoes goes a bit more into detail:
- Season 1 receives a strong tomato rating of 91% with an 84% audience score.
- Season 2, on the other hand, plummets dramatically: 61% on the tomato meter, 63% with the viewers.
- The third season is only slightly better and has a 79% tomato score, but falls to 62% with viewers.
The reason for the poor ratings is things like missing congruence and fluctuations in storytelling. That is clear, because American Gods changed showrunners several times and numerous cast members have left.
These actors have been lost by American Gods
- Orlando Jones as Anansi, or Mr. Nancy, was no longer allowed to participate after Season 2.
- Mousa Kraish, who plays a gay djinn, also had to leave after 2 seasons.
- Gillian Anderson, known as Agent Scully from The X-Files, played Media in a few episodes, but then left again.
- The Broadway actress Kristin Chenoweth is perhaps the worst loss for me because I had expected more from the story about the goddess Ostara. She and Anderson allegedly didn’t return because showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green left.
A fourth season of American Gods is not supposed to happen. However, a movie may be planned, as the colleagues from GameStar know.
Season 2 is total chaos and unintentionally good
Due to the many losses and the reshuffling in production, there were ultimately two realignments of the series. Instead of continuing to tell old stories, American Gods has started over several times.
There are hardly any critics who name any concrete examples. Often it is simply said: “The writing got worse,” or: “The story no longer sticks to the book, has a different focus.” Fans of the books were bothered by that. I found it great.
Because if you don’t know the story, this constantly rediscovering fits exactly with the narrative:
The world is changing, so there are new changes every day. Nothing is certain, much is not as it seems. The main character, Shadow Moon, doesn’t know who he is anymore and what he should do.
And yes, the season had some weaknesses, also in the narrative. The dead wife is simply annoying. But that which is often criticized is actually an unexpected strength.
That the story itself makes jumps and starts over again and again has portrayed exactly this uncertainty of the world and the turmoil in Shadow as a stylistic device well – even if it was not intended.
If there had been a fourth season, all these new storylines and the misguided ideas could have been picked up again. In doubt as a big plan by Mr. Wednesday, the mastermind of the series.
Ian McShane is actually the star of the series
I haven’t actually watched American Gods in a while to see what happens to Shadow. I was much more interested in the fate of Mr. Wednesday – or Odin – played by Ian McShane.
The top Norse god doesn’t actually go through any development in the series. More and more of his plans are revealed, and the scene in which he finally reveals himself is simply grand:
As a mythology nerd, I always spent an hour or more after each episode on Wikipedia and Co. to read up on who all the gods are that I had met. And as a self-proclaimed Ásatrú believer, I was always a bit jittery when something happened that I somehow recognized from the stories.
I can understand if fans of the books are disappointed that American Gods is not like the source material. But: A series is indeed a work of its own and should be viewed as such. And as a series with its own story, American Gods was outstanding.
There are simply too few series that successfully implement fantasy for adults. That’s why the end of American Gods hit me quite hard, especially since Supernatural had just recently come to an end after 15 seasons. It’s hard to find good alternatives to the two – colleague Marie Friske tried it anyway: 7 series like Supernatural with strong reviews on IMDb
