Stream It Or Skip It?


We didn’t like the first season of House Of David, because we were likely so spoiled with how well The Chosen was able to take Biblical characters and make them humans in a 21st century streaming drama. House Of David didn’t reach those heights in Season 1; can it do better in its second season?

HOUSE OF DAVID SEASON 2: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: The Philistine giant Goliath (Martyn Ford) falls dead after the Israelite David (Michael Iskander) launches a rock from his slingshot, hitting the giant in the head. He grabs Goliath’s massive sword and makes sure the giant is dead. Then a massive battle ensues.

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The Gist: During the battle, Jonathan (Ethan Kai) and Eliab (Davood Ghadami) lose track of David, and they’re determined to protect the young shepherd/warrior. In the meantime, King Saul (Ali Suliman) goes into battle, over the objections of his daughters Mychal (Indy Lewis) and Mirab (Yali Topol Margalith), leaving them at camp to defend themselves. Samuel (Stephen Lang), the great seer, prays to God to help the Israelites hold their territory.

The battle evokes memories for all of Saul’s children. Jonathan remembers when his father killed the king of Gath in front of his people, including his son. Mychal remembers when she was a girl, she asked her father why he and the tribe fight, and she wants to learn to defend herself if needed. Of course, that comes in handy when a Philistine soldier comes for them at the camp.

Jonathan finds David in the battle and orders him to get out of the field, saying he’s done enough. But David wants to find his brothers. Nathaneel (Aziz Dyab) is hit, right in front of Eliab. Even Samuel has to defend himself. Saul, still tortured by Samuel’s words condemning his reach for power and wealth, confronts King Agag (Jeremy Xido) for the final time, with Jonathan and David coming to his aid.

House Of David S2
Photo: Jonathan Prime/Prime

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? House Of David is trying to pattern itself after The Chosen, but with a lot less success.

Our Take: As we thought when we reviewed the first season of House Of David, it’s pretty obvious that the show’s creator, Jon Erwin, and his writers are looking to follow The Chosen‘s blueprint, making the characters in the story of King David feel as relatable and possible. But, as we also thought during the first season, they fall well short of that goal.

Aside from perhaps Saul, who is tortured by Samuel telling him that he’s no longer leading Israel for virtuous purposes, most of the characters in the show are still too flat and virtuous to really connect with. Audiences want to connect with human characters, not figureheads that sound like they’re speaking verses instead of real modern dialogue. The popularity of The Chosen has proven that audiences are desperate to connect with these millennials-old figures on a human level, and House Of David just can’t make David or anyone around him flawed enough to matter.

The first episode takes far too long to go through the battle that ensued between the Philistines and Israelites, much of which takes place in the dark. Not sure how Erwin and company decided that, in a show where just about every actor looks more or less alike with dark hair and beards, having battles shot in shadow and backlit by fire was the right choice. But the battle between Saul and Agag was interminable precisely because you had no idea which bearded combatant had the upper hand.

With David being a part of the House of Saul after the battle, the second season will likely detail the alliances and rivalries that are made, the secrets kept, etc. But at a certain point, David will have to ascend the throne. Will viewers have to wait for Season 3 for that to happen?

House Of David S2
Photo: Jonathan Prime/Prime

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: Saul has Samuel arrested for, um, whatever he thinks Samuel did.

Sleeper Star: We’ll give this to Indy Lewis as Mychel because she narrates the opening scenes, before the huge battle starts.

Most Pilot-y Line: We’re still trying to adjust our TVs after some of those pitch-black or backlit battle scenes. We really have no idea who was fighting who in some of those.

Our Call: SKIP IT. Even though House Of David will likely appeal to faith-based audiences, it still hasn’t been able to make its Biblical characters into people 21st century audiences can connect with.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Tim




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