By Ben Konuch
“As Saul’s arrogance grows, a rift between him and Samuel festers. With each new victory, the people of Israel trust more in a throne than their God.”
We’re probably familiar with this story. After 25 years of a good and righteous reign over Israel, God’s appointed king, Saul, grows prideful and arrogant. He rejects the promises and faith of the very God that ordained him as king, and God’s judgment declares that Saul’s legacy and house shall be removed from Israel.
With the promise of a new and better king coming, Saul descends into madness and his house struggles to pick up the pieces while David, a young, faithful shepherd, is propelled into an unexpected destiny.
From John Erwin, director of Christian films “I Can Only Imagine” and “The Jesus Revolution” comes “House of David,” a faith-based Amazon Prime Original Series unlike any other. Much in the vein of “The Chosen” that came before it, “House of David” seeks to tell a Biblical story through a compelling, gripping drama. To do so, it takes some liberties with historical “what-ifs” that complement what is known in Scripture to enhance and pad out the gaps that we have in David’s story.
The result is that “House of David” stands in the realm of action-infused medieval thrillers such as “House of the Dragon” while maintaining a PG-13 intensity and a focus on the power of God – and I couldn’t be happier.
“House of David” functions as an exciting and tense political thriller that just so happens to be about the Bible. I’d recommend it to non-Christians and Christians alike because Erwin has managed to translate Scripture into an episodic format that never feels preachy, cheesy or low-budget.
The world of early Israel is one of violence, oppression and heroes, and “House of David” shows us the weight of danger in the land and the divided spiritual state of its inhabitants. No one here denies that there must be more to life than the physical, but whether or not the people trust the promises of God through His prophet Samuel or seek that power elsewhere remains the driving tension of the series.
The first four episodes of “House of David” are defined by the tragedy of the fall of the house of Saul. One of my favorite scenes so far comes at the end of the first episode as Samuel pronounces the Lord’s judgment on Saul and yet agonizes over the king’s failure. This is not only a God and prophet who come to declare judgment, but ones who mourn and lament the downfall of a good man into a tyrant. This is where “House of David” is strongest, in the characterization of people who we often look at as “characters” or “moral lessons” and less real people with real lives and emotions.
The family dynamics are the heart of the series, both with Saul and his house and the family behind the shepherd who would be king. The dynamic between David and his brothers brings out themes of the story that we may not focus on often enough, primarily in the way that Jesse and his other sons seem to be ashamed of David despite his heart after the Lord. Each member of Saul’s family is expertly written, from the heir Jonathan with the heart and bravery of a leader to Michel, Saul’s daughter, who begins to fall in love with a certain young shepherd from Bethlehem, and even to Saul’s wife, whose resentment of God and his prophet results in a queen who steers her people closer towards a dangerous evil.
Not only do each of the actors involved bring their characters alive through quality performances, but the dialogue writing is exceptional and reveals unique aspects of the characters. For example, Samuel is written with a nuanced pen, showing his devotion to the Lord as well as a cynical sense of humor and a deep love for his wife.
Some scenes utilize lines taken directly from Scripture, and the believability of these characters comes directly from grounded and nuanced writing. The previously mentioned confrontation between Saul and Samuel is a testament to this, bringing Scripture to life through a blend of strong scriptwriting and defined performances to create a genuine emotional gut-punch even if you already know how the story goes.
Complementing the acting and dialogue is a remarkably high production budget utilized in all the right places, with scenes filmed on location in Greece bringing the climate and countryside of Israel to life. Sets and costumes have been constructed with great detail to both accuracy and functionality, exemplifying “House of David’s” secret strength: its action sequences are surprisingly spectacular.
Intense fight choreography and tight camerawork give these fight scenes a sense of weight and urgency, with an unexpected battle in episode two leading to an especially thrilling sequence with high stakes. These aren’t PG battles, and the intensity and unexpected yet accurate gore give the series a real sense of danger and realism. This isn’t a “Sunday School” version of the story where the world is clean and violence isn’t scary, it’s an accurate depiction of an intense historical event that allows God’s power over man’s evil to be on full display.
But when each episode rolls credits, “House of David” isn’t Scripture. It takes historical liberties and proposes possible explanations for the gray areas of a story that Scripture doesn’t tell us. And yet, every episode points clearly to the power of the God of Israel, a God very much in control whose power doesn’t end once the credits roll. Every episode has left me on the edge of my seat in a way that makes me want to go back to the source material to get more out of it with every single episode.
I give the first four episodes of “House of David” a score of 9/10
“House of David” is airing new episodes weekly on Prime Video.
Ben Konuch is a senior Strategic Communication student who serves as a writer for Cedars A&E and as their social media lead. He enjoys getting sucked into good stories, playing video games and swing dancing in the rain.
Images courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios.
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