‘House of David’ Season 2 premiere focuses on the battle after Goliath’s death

By Sophia Monastra

Last semester, a now-graduated Cedars writer reviewed the first season of “House of David,” both at midseason and end of season with incredibly positive reviews. Despite the reviewer’s praise, I put off watching the series until a recent showing of “House of David”’s Season two premiere at Cedarville University. 

He was right. I should have been watching “House of David” this whole time. Season one of “House of David” focused on the time between David’s anointing and the road to Goliath. Now, season two starts with Goliath dead and the pure chaos of the following battle. While David is present, he isn’t the main focus. 

“House of David”’s premiere balances multiple interconnected storylines, tying them together into a unified narrative. First, there’s David and his brothers. As David struggles to adjust during his first battle, his brothers and Joab have to find him in the chaos before the Philistines do. King Saul is also lost, fighting a ghostly King Agag. Pursuing him are his son, Jonathan, and Achish, a Philistine king with a personal vendetta. Back at camp, Princesses Mychal and Merab struggle to survive a sudden invasion. Above the battlefield is Samuel, praying for victory. Tied in are several black-and-white flashbacks that help add emotional emphasis and build the characters of Jonathan, Saul, Mychal and Samuel. And the battle itself is a story–despite the many moving pieces, Israel’s battle with Philistia has an overall progression, and I could tell what was happening and who was winning.

Of course, with so many plotlines, it’s easy for a new viewer to get lost. Despite a season one recap and my familiarity with the book of Samuel, I struggled to identify the characters. Watching season one gives this episode much more emotional impact for the viewer. Because of the many characters and plotlines that are featured, it becomes difficult to keep track of who and what is happening when everything is colliding in glorious warfare.

Artistically, the color grading is excellent, with beautiful night scenes and firelight from the multiple fires across the battlefield. Saul fights a duel in a forest of hazy, burning trees (which were created practically)–visually different from the dark blues and red-orange bonfires of the main battlefield. The show blends practical scenes, CGI effects, and AI-generated crowd shots together into impressive visuals. Stunts and fight choreography are engaging (if somewhat more reliant on the spin move than would be realistically possible). 

Not only did I get to attend the “House of David’s” season two premiere at Cedarville University, but I was also able to sit in a panel Q&A with co-executive producer and Cedarville graduate Parker Adams, as well as production assistants Matthew Black (a current Cedarville student) and Tyler Rossum. 

From the Q&A, I learned that the team shot both the first and last episodes in around 14-18 days, outside, in Greece, in the winter. The finale will likely also end with a battle. 

It’s amazing how much goes into the writing and shooting of “House of David”. For instance, in the first cut of the episode, it wasn’t clear who won. Scenes were added to enhance the  narrative arc, because one of the goals of production studio Project Wonder is to tell a compelling story that challenges viewers to go back to Scripture. “House of David” is a TV series, a medium that has time to develop characters and dynamics. It has time to develop the tension between David and Saul, something the Bible mentions but doesn’t illustrate. 

So far, the Project Wonder team has done an amazing job using the Bible, historical conjuncture and storytelling principles to create a show that feels like a high-budget TV series. I’m excited to see where season two is headed.

Now, I just need to carve out some time to watch season one.

Sophia Monastra is a Senior Professional Writing and Information Design major. She mourns the Oxford comma every day. 

Images courtesy of Project Wonder’s instagram. Talkback image courtesy of Prof. Jeffrey Simon

House of David Season two premieres October 5 on Wonder