Review: House of David Season 1… (Spoilers)

House of David is a show on Amazon Prime that’s yet another adaptation of the story of King David. It’s a multi-season TV show with Season 2 out now and overall, a lot of Christians really like the show (though there have been some who strongly disliked it). It has high audience and critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes, pastor Greg Laurie endorsed it, and it’s certainly better than 99% of what we’ve gotten from Hollywood. So, after reading through 1 and 2 Samuel where the entire story of David’s life is told, I decided to watch the first season of House of David to review it and compare with the Bible. But after watching Season 1, I gotta say, please don’t use this as a replacement for the actual story in the Bible.

#1: The Pros

To start off on a more gracious note, House of David is probably one of the best adaptations of a Biblical story in terms of production that I’ve ever seen. They were clearly trying their hardest to make it look like ancient Israel. Despite a few nitpicks I had here and there, such Johnathan’s armor bunching up (maybe leather armor just does that; I don’t know), and the opening to episode six that looked completely AI generated, it was really good. I also appreciated the fact that they put a disclaimer front and center at the beginning of each episode making it clear that they were going for Biblical accuracy, but artistic liberties were taken, changing some things. I think a lot of Biblical adaptations need that sort of disclaimer since so many people shape their theology off these adaptations instead of reading the Bible.

#2: The Cons

I have three big problems with the show. First is the fact that they made David an illegitimate child for no reason other than to provide angst. This storyline is a major one throughout the show to explain why David is an outcast, but nowhere in the Bible does it ever mention David being a bastard, and while it’s at best possible that he was, the Bible undermines this theory in several places. I did some research, and this plotline actually comes from rabbinic teaching, and even then, in the story about this from Torah.org, David is still technically a legitimate child.

The second issue I have is the use of the Book of Enoch to explain where the Nephilim are from, and thus where Goliath was from. I have several problems with this. First is superficial, since (as I mentioned before) the entire intro of episode 6 looked like it was completely AI generated. Second – and more importantly – the Book of Enoch is an extrabiblical work that is not reliable, nor does it have anything to do with Goliath. After the Flood, the Nephilim had been wiped out. From context, it seems that whenever the Nephilim are mentioned after that, it’s most likely referencing giant warriors, not actual Nephilim. In the case of Goliath, while he was massive, it’s more likely that he (and his relatives) had something like giantism or acromegaly, as neither he nor his relatives are never referred to as Nephilim.

The third issue I have is the incorporation of the still-small-voice theology, which comes up several times in almost those exact words. Characters such as David’s mother say that you just need to be still and listen to the quiet voice of God. I’ve talked numerous times about why this theology is dangerous and stupid, but as a reminder, it comes from a form of meditation from Hinduism called transcendental meditation. In the West, it’s called contemplative prayer, and you’re just opening yourself up for all sorts of spiritual activity, much of which likely is not from God. ‘Nuff said.

#3: Some Nitpicks

Overall, I thought House of David could’ve been cut in half. I understand that they’re trying to work with a very small chunk of text and stretch it out over a whole season, so they have to spend some time building the characters and making us care, but I felt like it dragged in places. I don’t care a ton about Goliath and his family life, I don’t care about Michal being a scribe and being in a love triangle between David and some other guy (I think his name’s Joab), etc. I just want to see the battle.

Another nitpick with this show is how they put some modern terms into the script. Now, if you’re not paying a ton of attention or you just don’t know, it’s not a big deal. I’m just weird and notice these things. One scene in the show is where Michal and David are chatting, she asks him what he sees in her, and he replies, “the ocean” or something to that extent. In Jewish and much world literature in general, the sea/ocean is representative of chaos. David literally called her the poetic equivalent of the crazy chick…and she went along with it.

Once again, not a major nitpick if you’re not paying that close attention, but I just thought it was funny.

In the end, I’ll give this show a 6/10. It has a lot of potential, but they really screwed up on some things.

Until next time,

M.J.