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 7, David and Goliath Pt 1, which, as the penultimate episode of the season, brought many plot threads to a head. Our worry was whether the showrunners and Amazon Prime could stick the landing with the final episode of what has been an entertaining season thus far.
Did they do it?
***Spoilers Ahead***
Episode 8: David and Goliath Pt 2
You can see where the money was spent when David and Goliath Pt 2 begins with a gorgeous shot of the valley of Elah and the Philistine camp. Saul’s son Jonathan is in the midst of his assassination attempt on Goliath when he is betrayed and forced to kneel by the Philistine King Achish.
Saul’s daughters, Mychal and Mirab, arrive at the valley while the Zebulun tribe of Israel retreats in the dead of the night. However, the tribe is surrounded by the Philistines who press their attack. Again, the set pieces of this episode are amazing as we see a battle from high angles that was clear to the eye even though it was filmed at night.
The next day, the remaining Israel army is not doing well. They fight over scraps of food while the Philistines and Goliath renew their psychological torture by beating drums and mocking their God. Goliath adds to the torture as he tosses the heads of the assassins sent with Jonathan and admits they have the prince captive.
Back at the Philistine camp, King Achish questions Jonathan. He implies that Israel has loss the favor of God as their seer, Samuel, is not there. This has to be the information Doeg relayed to the king in the previous episode. There is a great history lesson here, as the King mocks Israel, saying they were meant to be slaves, but Jonathan’s faith in God is remarkable in this scene. If there is a theme for this episode, it is having faith in the Lord even in adversity, and we can all use this lesson.
Mychal arrives at Saul’s side, who is being haunted by the vision of Agag. She is able to bring him out of his dark fever dream by reading a sacred text and begging him to return to God. This is when David finally arrives and the episode takes off. He sees Goliath again mocking God and is shocked when no one from Israel steps up to face him.
When David arrives at the Israel camp, he challenges the people there, asking how they could have forgotten the greatness of God to Israel in the past. Saul’s general Abner sends David to sooth the king with his song and David’s brother Eliab warns him to do just that and nothing else. Yet, when David arrives at Saul’s tent, he volunteers to slay Goliath, much to the shock of his brothers. David is so convincing with his conviction that even Saul can feel the Holy Spirit within him.
I am really not doing this scene justice. I got chills from Michael Iskander’s acting and his portrayal of David’s faith in God.
And that was not the last time I got chills in the finale episode David and Goliath Pt 2. I am ending my review here because this is a must watch episode if you’ve been following the series thus far. If you are a Bible reader, you know how this ends, but I have to applaud how the showrunners were able to portray this important point of history with such glory.
The set pieces were gorgeous, the acting was brilliant, and they made sure to impress faith in God throughout the episode. David and Goliath Pt 2 very much sticks the landing and puts the House of David in the upper echelons of biblical shows. Seriously, watch this episode. I have several times.
****
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English (US) · 