Review: Prime Video’s ‘House of David’: A Journey Home (S02, E02)

3 weeks ago 13

13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.

14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee. – 1 Samuel: 13-14

House of David is a sprawling epic tale detailing the life of David who went on to become the second king of Israel. David was a man whom God called a man after his own heart, and it was from his lineage that the Lord promised the Messiah would come that was in the form of Jesus Christ.

House of David is back for season two. I reviewed episode one, but if you are interested in House of David season one, check out my review of every episode here.

House of David Season 2 Official Trailer | Watch only on Wonder Project on Prime Video October 5th

The episode begins with a flash-forward, where King Saul (Ali Suliman) confronts David (Michael Iskander) about his anointment and shows the famous spear-throwing scene from the bible where Saul attempts to kill David before he can supplant him as king.

But the majority of the episode is told from the past, where Saul, David, and the Israeli army returns to Gibeah in triumph from the battle of the first episode. Saul’s daughter, Princess Michal (Indy Lewis), is happy to see David as his ascension means they no longer need to hide their feelings for each other. Saul celebrates David as the Giant Slayer, promises him his daughter’s hand in marriage, and gives him command of a thousand men, which becomes an issue later.

Eshbaal (Sam Otto), Saul’s son who was sent into exile for defiling the leader of the tribe of Dan’s daughter in season one and was anointed King by Queen Ahinoam (Ayelet Zurer) when they thought Saul had died by the Philistines, is embraced by his father for his return. But Eshbaal seems different. Not as flippant, rebellious, or fool-hardy as he was in season one. This Eshbaal seems far more serious, which presages events to come.

We then see a quick resolution to the issue I noticed in episode one. Saul had the prophet Samuel (Stephen Lang) arrested at the end of episode one, which clearly did not occur in the bible but was resolved when Samuel used a clever way to escape.

There is a subplot with Saul’s son Jonathan’s (Ethan Kai) injury from the battle at the Valley of Elah from an arrow wound that grows worse during the episode. The servant Kazia (Inbar Saban) ferries Jonathan to a healer named Sara, and there is a mutual romantic interest between them. Jonathan continues to be my favorite character in the series as Ethan Kai plays him with a disarming charm that you would imagine from the biblical figure.

Jonathan awakens to see that Eshbaal had been at his side for days. Eshbaal has been sneaking around this entire episode, planting seeds of upheaval throughout the kingdom. Eshbaal even seems to turn Mirab (Yali Topol Margalith), Saul’s eldest daughter, to his cause by using her broken marriage arrangement in season one to curry her to his favor.

Reeling from their loss at the Valley of Elah, the Philistine King Achish (Alexander Uloom) is visited by Dagonor (Daniel Nuta), the son of the Philistine King we saw die during the battle. Dagonor tells Achish he is there to prove a point and easily defeats him in a well choreographed, yet one-sided sword battle. Dagonor is able to easily defeat Achish because he uses an iron sword that easily breaks Achish’s bronze sword. Achish realizes the power of the new metal, and the Philistines are about to introduce the Iron Age to Israel.

As David and his family bury his brother Nathaneel who was also slain in the valley, his warrior brother Eliab (Davood Ghadami) picks a fist fight when he learns that David is now his commanding officer. David is game, but Eliab’s skill and experience is apparent, and he easily chokes out his younger brother. Eliab tells him that they buried one brother, but under David, they will bury thousands. Eliab refuses to follow David’s command.

Finally, the day has arrived when Saul is to make his marriage announcement. In front of all the nobles, Saul takes David’s hand, who stares at his love, Michal. But there is a twist where we see one of Eshbaal’s seed of division come to fruition. You would think the episode would end on that cliffhanger, but there is another that directly puts David’s life in danger.

After that epic first episode, A tale of Two Swords, you knew episode two would be dedicated to the fallout. Many storylines were introduced, and the protagonists are aligning against King Saul and David. Eshbaal, especially, is turning into an intriguing figure as his intentions continue to be a mystery.

You can watch House of David on Amazon Prime exclusive Wonder Project here for 8.99. For those who do not want to pay for another subscription, it is reported that House of David season two will be available to all Prime subscribers at a later date.

****

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