Review: Prime Video’s ‘House of David’: David and Goliath Pt 1 (Ep. 7)

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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.

Last week we reviewed episode 6, Giants Awakened, which was stuffed with plot points that led into the two-part season finale. Can Amazon and the show runners stick the landing of this so far entertaining first season of the House of David?

Spoilers Ahead

Episode 7: David and Goliath Pt 1

The Philistines have gathered for war! While David sings about God while watching the flock, his father Jesse prepares to send his sons off to war. His son Nathaneel begs his father to stay behind, reminding him that he does not even like Saul. Yet, Jesse reminds Nathaneel that he sends him to fight for God. David tries to take his place, but Jesse refuses to allow him to go.

After the shocking ending of Giants Awakened, Goliath and his brothers are onboard with the Philistines and they and King Achish watch as the massive army gathers in the valley of Elah below.

Saul prepares for war as well, but he tells his friend Abner that after thirty years he begins to grow weary. There is a blink and you’ll miss it moment of Saul drinking the potion that the Baal sorceress Besai made for him in the previous episode. It appears that the potion is holding back Saul’s madness.

This is where additional episodes would have helped impress just how dangerous a united Philistine army could be. In the Israel camp, we learn as Jonathan speaks with Joab that the Philistine army at that time numbered 150K, which outnumbers the Israel forces 3 to 1. Adriel, the leader of Judah who Saul embarrassed in The Wolf and the Lion, arrives to fight, but there is still tension between Israel and Judah. Saul and Jonathan try and rally their troops, but you can see the difference between the Israel soldiers and the Philistines as they wield common weapons and little armor.

The battle draws near. On the battlefield, the Philistine leaders plant their flags before Saul who notices there are only four, so King Achish had not united all the tribes. Yet, we learn that the Philistines now number 200K. One of the Philistine kings tells King Achish they should attack now that they have the superior numbers. King Achish says that superior numbers never mattered against Israel in the past – indicating their covenant with God saving Israel – and that the Philistines must take their spirit first.

This is when Goliath marches out and calls out the Israel forces. He mocks the soldiers and their God, saying he will fight for his against theirs. The Israel army is visibly afraid. Saul asks if Goliath is even a man as he begins to dream of fire and death. His horse senses the trepidation and bucks him to the ground where the potion breaks. Saul breaks from Jonathan’s arms and flees to his tent, shouting like a madman that he will give his daughter to any man who can defeat Goliath. This was a great and intense scene as Saul’s fear permeates through the Israel army.

Back in the capital, Queen Ahinoam is given word of the state of the battle, which isn’t good. She shares the news with her daughters, who are told that the king is trapped in his darkness. Mychal tries to pray with the Queen, but she refuses, saying she grows weary of praising God. The Baal cult is slowly taking the queen.

Being the dutiful daughter, Mychal searches the old text for answers, and tells her sister Mirab she will go to the battlefield to help her father.

While all of this was occurring, Samuel visits David and Jesse again. Jesse welcomes the prophet and offers him meager food, saying he sent his best to Saul. Samuel quizzically asks “did you?”, as he glances at David. Samuel tells Jesse that he had come to redeem their house with a sacrifice. After the sacrifice, Samuel tells an awesome story to Jesse about what the sacrifice meant. That a person is asked to give up what they care for the most for God.

The story prompts Jesse to tell David the history of his mother. He does not keep David behind because of shame. He does so because he reminds him of the best in his mother, but he realizes that he has to let him rise. Finally, Jesse allows David to join his brothers in battle.

Back at the Valley of Elah, Goliath calls out the Israel army again, and again, and again, until many of the tribes begin to flee. Taking advantage of the situation, Adriel does his best to push the tribes against Saul. Seeing things falling apart, Jonathan girds himself to battle against Goliath, but Abner says there is another way. He introduces him to a pack of mercenaries he could use to kill Goliath in his sleep.

The sneaky Doeg arrives and tries to coax Jonathan into letting him kill the anointed, but the good son rebukes him. He knows the truth from Samuel and wants nothing to do with the assassin. He returns Saul’s ring to him and tells his attendant that if his father awakens, to ask him to pray for his success before he walks away.

David and Goliath Pt 1 is the penultimate episode that finally brought us to the point we’ve waited all season for. Many of the storylines and plot threads are coming to a head in an entertaining way. I still believe more episodes were needed to build up the threat of the Philistines. We can see it in this episode, but it’s always better to have that fear simmering in the background like Game of Thrones was able to successfully do with the threat from the white walkers. I look forward to seeing if the final episode can bring this season home.

****

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