House of David, Season 1 (2025)

 

House of David is a sprawling historical / scriptural retelling with memorable characters and an epic confrontation between the hero and Goliath. It suffers from pacing issues and questionable characterizations, but each episode improves on itself, in time for a rousing, spiritually uplifting season finale.

 

King Saul (Ali Suliman) has defeated the Cainite army on the battlefield, but rather than put their defeated cannibal king to death, he brings him and the spoils of war into the Jewish camp for public humiliation. Before long, the stern figure of the prophet, Samuel (Stephen Lang), arrives amid a foreboding thunderclap to inform Saul that he has broken God’s orders, heaped too much praise upon himself, and will now be dethroned. By removing the anointing of kingship upon Saul, Samuel leaves him a broken man, now tormented by nightmares, paranoia, and increasingly erratic decisions, which concern his wife, Queen Ahinoam (Ayelet Zurer). Samuel hacks the Cainite king to pieces and vanishes into the night, his quest now to find the next anointed king.

 

Little does anyone suspect it will be David (Michael Iskander), the youngest son of a man expelled from his Jewish tribe for the sin of marrying a Moabite woman. Young David has a beautiful singing voice, a heart for obedience to God, and a rebellious streak. When the same lion who terrorized and killed his mother returns to prey on his flock, he goes after it and kills it despite his father’s demand he wait for the support of his half-brothers. In the meantime, he meets the beautiful princess Mychal (Indy Lewis) at a local Jewish wedding, where she appears in gratitude for that tribe’s support of her father on the battlefield.

 

Furious about the defeat of one of his allies, the King of the Philistines goes on a quest into the Valley of Giants, to recruit one of the fabled sons of the Nephilim to challenge King Saul in battle, accumulating in events that carry David toward the future the Lord intends for him.

The Chosen’s success paved the way for this Wonder project, which, in association with Amazon Studios, brings the story of a young David to life with vivid realism, majestic set designs, and wonderful performances, largely from unknown Middle Eastern actors. It starts out slow, but it gains momentum as it progresses, and the last two episodes of the first season are spectacular, spiritually moving, and triumphant, while setting the stage for events in season two. The finale, with David’s quiet but unshakable belief in God as he faced a gargantuan warrior, brought me to tears, as did Mychal’s faith in David, when from the sidelines, she saw him cut down and whispered, “Now rise up!” When we as Christians have been denied biblical epics for so long, it’s wonderful to find a well-cast, well-directed show equal to anything from a secular studio, which tells a familiar story in a creative and artistic way.

 

Not that I agree with all the writing choices, or that they couldn’t improve on the scripts in the future; just it’s a massive step in the right direction for faith-inspired filmmaking. The key problems come from the show trying to follow in the footsteps of Game of Thrones, and to tell too many stories all at once. The first several episodes are confusing, as we move around in Judea, from Saul’s court to David’s house to the Philistine encampment. Many of the secondary actors look so much alike, it’s hard to remember who is who without multiple viewings. Saul’s arc winds up being the most interesting, because he and his family feel real. Each one has a distinct personality. Mychal is a lovely, sweet girl who takes a shine to David and teaches him how to read. Jonathan is a fiercely loyal and courageous prince. Another brother is an ambitious womanizer, and the older princess, Mirab, is full of snide remarks. But it’s their mother who largely commands the narrative, with her scheming ambition and understandable desire to secure her family’s future. She dabbles in darkness by inviting a witch from Endor to cast spells to lift the curse from Saul, who becomes increasingly more erratic, dangerous, and tries to kill members of his own family amid his delusions. It does a good job of showing how violent, unstable, and frightening the situation was for them, while their friends and enemies spread rumors and made subtle bids for power.

 

The problem is, David is a little dull by comparison. He is strong-willed and never listens to his father, with whom he has a tumultuous relationship. And I don’t like it much. His father slaps him for disobedience and sends him out to tend the sheep. Until almost the end of the season, we’re led to believe David is a bastard (in reality, his parents were married, but as a Moabite, her mother was an outcast), which understandably, some viewers will be offended by. He has a soulful look and an innocent idealism to him, but pales compared to his older warrior brother. It’s hard to take a legend and breathe life into him.

 

For the first five episodes, the narrative is trying to tell too many stories, and has way too many characters, about half of them unnecessary. For example, a secular assassin who tracks down and murders Samuel’s apprentice for information and later kills another person to further the Philistine agenda. The show could have threatened Samuel and convinced Goliath to fight for the Philistines without this character’s involvement. It tries to introduce us to minor characters, but lacks the screen time to give them much personality. The last four episodes are better, because they are tighter, more focused on Saul and David, and are leading to a confrontation with Goliath.

 

Then there’s the violence. It’s frequent and intense, and half of it is unnecessary and/or involves invented plot lines (such as the torture and murder of Samuel’s friend, even if it largely happens off-screen). My mom quit watching the season halfway through, because of the disturbing nature of it. Outside of that, though, it’s well done, and Samuel is an excellent characterization. The show captures well the mixed awe and terror the people had of prophets, since he rarely comes just to congratulate them, and more often turns up with the wrath of God. Samuel is both stern and likable, fierce one moment and laughing the next about how unpredictable God is in always choosing the least likely person for a task. And the episode that tells the myth of how Goliath came to be (the fall of the angels, them choosing human wives, etc.) is EPIC. So stinking cool. For a first season, it lays down a lot of excellent groundwork and learns as it goes. Many of the characters are likable, and I am excited to see what happens next.

 

Sexual Content:

One of Saul’s sons makes a pass at a servant girl, whom we later learn he slept with. Her father demands he either marry her or be stoned to death; his mother banishes him instead. It’s unclear for a long time whether David was born “in sin” (a bastard) and various characters believe he is illegitimate. References are made to fallen angels impregnating a mortal woman.

  

Violence:

Lots. Men are stabbed, speared, and skewered by flaming arrows. Flashbacks to violent battle scenes. The Philistines rain down fiery terror on trapped Jews and kill them all. We see a woman attacked by a lion and dying later on a bed; her son attacks the lion and kills it amid shadows in a cave. Saul, amid a violent vision, plunges his spear into an innocent servant boy, killing him on impact; he also tries to stab and strangle Jonathan. An assassin threatens a man with torture and kills rats for his own entertainment; Samuel later finds the body burned to bones. An old woman is graphically stabbed and left to die. David fights Goliath and hacks off his head, raising it up to show the Philistines. Before this, Goliath gives them back the severed heads of their fallen brethren. A man attacks David and threatens to throw him off the castle wall. His father hits him for disobedience. People talk about being stoned. A prince is rescued after everyone around him is killed by flaming arrows.

 

Other:

The cannibal king torments Saul in his hallucinations, raising suspicions toward people in his mind. His wife hires a witch to use black magic to help him; she performs sinister rituals, talks about the demons that follow him, and says she can break the curse, but only if she can do anything her gods require.