House of David is an epic and gripping retelling of the biblical account of King David and is a must see series on Prime Video.
House of David tells the story of the ascent of the biblical figure, David, who eventually becomes the most renowned and celebrated king of Israel. The series follows the once-mighty King Saul as he falls victim to his own pride. At the direction of God, the prophet Samuel anoints an unlikely, outcast teenager as the new king. As Saul loses his power over his kingdom, David finds himself on a journey to discover and fulfill his destiny, navigating love, loss, and violence in the court of the very man he’s destined to replace. As one leader falls, another must rise.
The series is based on the biblical account of David, from shepherd boy to king, the series does follow the biblical account, though there is a lot of artistic licence used as mentioned before each episode. They have taken inspiration from non-biblical sources, and given back story to the characters, there are also some time-shifts and inaccuracies, however this doesn’t deter from the message and the main parts of the scripture are there. This will encourage people to read the account for themselves in the Bible and even learn or remember parts of the story they haven’t before. Some people are going to like this series but others may be divided but if it encourages people to open a Bible that is worth it. They’ve done a good job of keeping in the scripture while adding backstory and making it into a strong series.
A lot of the episodes are however violent, as it was during those times, so will not be suitable for people who are sensitive to violence.
The episodes of House of David do feel epic, there is fantastic cinematography and locations and the cast really bring the story to life, lifting it from the pages of the Bible, with exceptional performances from Ali Suliman as King Saul, Ethan Kai as Jonathan, Davood Ghadami as Eliab, David’s eldest brother and Michael Iskander as David.
Each episode just keeps getting better and better and builds from the first with the story and direction getting stronger. House of David is a strong epic series that has long been anticipated, it is accessible to those of faith or no faith and it is a must see.
We’d love to see a similar epic series on Moses, Elijah and other biblical figures.
See below for a brief episode overview and some thoughts on each episode as they are released:
Episode 1 – A Shepherd and a King
One thousand years before Christ, Saul, the first King of Israel, loses God’s grace and consequently also his own sanity. Meanwhile, far away from the palace, the legendary seer Samuel becomes aware of a talented young shepherd named David. One of the greatest stories ever told is set in motion.
This episode sets the scene and starts with a flash forward to David’s fight with Goliath asking the viewer if one stone can change the course of history – it is a bit of an odd start and doesn’t quite feel as epic as it should, perhaps we had very high expectations. The episode does feel quite slow but does introduce us to the characters with David out in the fields searching for the lion that attacked his flock, it would have been good to see David take down the lion but this happens off screen.
Overall a slow but promising start to the series.
Episode 2 – Deep Calls to Deep
Saul’s family watches the king’s deteriorating mental state with great concern, and is ready to do anything in their power to defend his reign. David is hungry for a life outside of his home,
but what he finds beyond the hills of Bethlehem is danger beyond his wildest expectations.
This episode builds upon the first, the pace picks up a bit and adds some nail-biting elements as well as some humour with some great interactions between David and his family.
Episode 3 – The Anointing
The court must deal with the consequences of Saul’s madness, Samuel is on the run from a sinister agent, and a nefarious shadow assembles a legendary ally in his plan to conquer Israel.
Out in the fields of Bethlehem, David has an encounter that will change the course of history forever.
As King Saul is going mad, his family are asking questions and want Samuel caught. This is another gripping episode and builds to the anointing of David.
Episode 4 – The Song of Moses
A member of the palace faces serious allegations that force the royal family to react. Samuel suffers a grave loss and sees himself confronted with the consequences of his prophecy. David
discovers a new world where he finds secrets, dangers, but above all, love.
This episode is where David starts to shine and his character develops. It is a exciting and gripping episode with great pace and intrigue and really starts to bring a strength to the series.
Episode 5 – The Wolf and the Lion
Queen Ahinoam hosts a feast to welcome an important group of guests in her home. The politics at court are full of deceit, and every player has their own secret mission. David learns to navigate his new life and comes one step closer to his destiny.
The interactions between David and Saul in this episode are incredible that foreshadow to David’s destiny. This episode is extremely well written and directed.
Episode 6 – Giants Awakened
Dark powers strengthen outside Saul’s kingdom as Israel’s enemies summon legendary warriors that were long deemed myth. A relationship at court complicates the lives of the
heroes severely and Queen Ahinoam must take drastic actions to help King Saul.
This episode seems to serve as a filler but does work very well in moving the story along, setting the characters to the right places for the epic battle of David vs Goliath.
It does however start with an intro that shows the fall of angles who interact with humans resulting in the nephilim, with inspiration taken from some biblical and non-biblical sources. AI was used to created this into and in places it is noticeable.
The story flows very well and is set at a good pace, it is gripping and builds up getting you ready for the two-part series finale.
Episode 7 – David and Goliath – Part 1
Kings, heroes and villains grapple for the crown in a final face-off. War is inevitable and on the ancient battlegrounds, the players prepare for a colossal fight that will decide the fate of Israel forever.
This is a gripping episode and is probably the episode that deals the most about having faith in God and really hits the nail on the head where Samual says that when people ask if God is with us, they should really be asking are we with God, this is the highlight line of the series so far.
We also get a glimpse of the love Jesse has for David and the calling David has received upon his life.
This is a strong episode and take us from to battlefield to David becoming ready to fight Golieth.
Episode 8 – David and Goliath – Part 2
An epic clash of forces puts a prophecy to the test. One of the most legendary battles in the history of mankind impends and the heroes must face their deadliest and mightiest foes yet.
How will the monumental story unfold? Who will be victorious in the struggle for the kingdom?
Wow Episode 8 is a visual masterpiece, it is stunning, the cinematography is just awesome. This is by far the best episode of the series, and all the episodes have been leading up to this.
The episode wonderfully portrays the David’s feelings and faith and there is such a wonderful scene where Jonathan realises that David has been annointed.
In terms of scripture, a lot of the dilogue is directly from the Bible, there is still artistic licence and many may not be happy with the David vs Golieth fight – warning spoilers ahead:
David gets injured in the episode while going towards Golieth, this is not mentioned in the Bible and I doubt enters anyones thoughts when reading the scripture. – But hold on, perhaps this is a foreshadowing of Jesus, Jesus has his side pieced, dies and resurects, deafeating sin and death – or we’re reading too much into the scene.
Overall the filmmakers have done an outstanding job of creating an epic episode and series with superb acting and cinematography, this is a must see series and we look foward to series 2.