House of David Season 1 Episode 2: Recap, Review, & Analysis
House of David Season 1 Episode 2 begins slower, with some important character building moments but then climaxes with some of the most action-packed moments that we’ve seen thus far. Although this episode spends less time adapting specific biblical texts, it provides some much needed follow up to the dramatic biblical events of Episode 1 while also setting the stage for key biblical events to come. Below I will recap what happens in Episode 2 of House of David (*SPOILERS*), review the episode, and analyze some of the key themes. [Also check out my reviews for Episode 1 here and Episode 3 here]
What Happened in House of David Season 1 Episode 2 (Deep Calls to Deep)
Again, Episode 2 of House of David has two main storylines, one that gives us a peak into the family life and ambitions of David (Michael Iskander) and one that follows Prince Jonathan (Ethan Kai), Princess Mychal (Indy Lewis), and Queen Ahinoam (Ayelet Zurer) as they try to make sense of and respond to the strange madness that has come upon King Saul (Ali Suliman). It also includes a minor storyline following Achish (Alexander Uloom), one of the kings of the Philistines.
David in House of David Season 1 Episode 2
Episode 2 begins with a flashback to David’s childhood, in which he and his mother, Nitzevet, attend a special solar and lunar alignment. As they return, a Bethlehemite lashes out at Nitzevet and David for bringing shame on the house of Jesse and of Bethelehem for her strange visions. Unbothered, Nitzevet notes that he will soon be forgotten but her visions tell her that David will go down in history. Continuing on, Nitzevet talks to David about quieting himself to listen to the voice of God in his soul, as deep cries to deep, although David is not yet able to do so successfully.
Back home Nitzevet watches as Jesse’s other sons exclude David from their games. David asks to go out and she warns him not to go beyond the wall – a warning he promptly ignores. Out in the wild, David again tries to sense God’s voice – and as a result isn’t paying attention when the Old King appears. Suddenly, Nitzevet appears and bravely draws the lion away from David, only to be mauled. When Jesse arrives, he blames David for what happened. On her death bed, Nitzevet assures David that she loves him and that God has great things in store for David. Even so, Jesse sends David out of the house.
David recalls these memories as he hobbles back to town in the wake of his battle with the Old King. But instead of receiving a hero’s welcome, David is slapped by Jesse for having defied his orders yet again. Nevertheless, David proudly gives the lion’s claws to his sister Avva, assuring her that the Old King won’t scare her anymore.
Later, David performs at a wedding in Bethlehem. His eldest brother, Eliab (Davood Ghadami), returns from war, along with his cousin, Joav (Aury Alby), the captain of the King’s guard, and Adriel, the elder of Judah. They are accompanied by Mychal and Mirab, who have been sent to bless the union, forgive the debts of the couple, and offer them land and sheep. David is instantly smitten by Mychal, who in turn is impressed by his beautiful musical performance. When she approaches him, he explains it is a song he learned from his mother – but offers to write a song for her. Joav notices David’s interest in the princess and tries to separate the two – while also offering David a knife from the war. When David learns it comes from the Amalekites, however, he tosses it into a fire. Eliab then claims the knife for himself and warns David against crossing the cutthroat Joav. Meanwhile, Mirab eyes one of David’s brothers and questions why Joav isn’t so eager to defend her honor.
The next morning Eliab is doing target practice with David’s sling but struggles to hit anything. Taking the sling back, David shows off his skill and asks Eliab to ask Joav to give him a spot with the King’s warriors. Abinadab, one of David’s other brothers agrees with their father, Jesse – there is no honor among the King’s warriors. Eliab disagrees – but he isn’t going to go against their father’s wishes. Though David insists that his skill with a sling would make him a valuable asset, Eliab insists that he is not a man of blood. Hoping to discourage David’s pursuit of battle, he offers to take him somewhere where he can see death firsthand.
As they walk, David asks Eliab about his mother Nitzevet. Eliab expresses regret for how he and his brothers treated her cruelly, even though she was a person of great conviction and warmth. Arriving at the ruins of the border town from last episode, Eliab shows David Goliath’s handprint and tells him of Jonathan’s theory that the giants have returned. As David wanders off alone, he encounters King Achish, who has come looking for Anakim (more on that below). The two connect over the way that they have been overlooked by family members. Even so, the Philistines soon attack and Eliab has to fight them off to protect his brother. The two flee from the city, but as they run Eliab is struck by a Philistine arrow. He urges David to leave him and head home, but David refuses to do so, insisting that he is stronger than Eliab thinks.
The House of Saul in House of David Season 1 Episode 2
Back in the fortress of Gibeah, the new capital of Israel, Mychal is caring for Saul when he awakens from his mad slumber. When she reports the news to Jonathan, they wonder together what Samuel did to their father. Meanwhile, Saul meets with Abner and Ahinoam and tells them how Samuel is planning to anoint a new king. He dispatches Abner to follow Samuel, and Ahinoam takes Abner aside and instructs him to kill whoever Samuel chooses – along with his household.
Later, as Abner and Jonathan spar with one another, Abner tells Jonathan that he must be ready to assume the kingship sooner rather than later, in light of Saul’s madness. Even as he says this, however, Saul arrives and insists that he’s never felt better. Saul and Jonathan engage in a brutal sparring match, in which Saul demonstrates that he is still a force to be reckoned with. While he recognizes that Joanthan will be ready to take over when the time comes, he insists that he is still King.
Meanwhile, Mychal is busy in the Scriptorium, reading the story of Moses healing the people with the bronze serpent (Number 21) under the guidance of the High Priest Ahimelech. When Saul arrives, he proudly notes how growing up his town was too poor to have a copy of the law, much less one that could be afforded to a woman – a special privilege Mychal enjoys as the King’s daughter. As Mychal reflects on the story, she wonders whether it really happened and if so why God hasn’t healed Saul. But Saul insists that he has been healed. Taking her aside, he shows her a special necklace he has commissioned for Ahinoam to remind her of the simpler times they once spent together in their youth.
But it soon becomes apparent Saul’s hasn’t been healed as fully as he would like to think. Before bed, his servant witnesses him knocking into things and he confides in Ahinoam that he fears sleep. Ahinoam insists that he has defeated every enemy – indeed, they now live in what was once a Philistine fortress. As Ahinoam coaxes him to sleep, Saul expresses a longing for simpler times when all he had was her and that was enough.
That night, Jonathan removes a special armband, recalling how it was given to him when he married his (now deceased) wife. He offers the memento to the Lord, asking him to reveal his purpose. Suddenly, he hears cries. Rushing out, he finds Ahinoam fleeing from Saul, who is wielding an iron sword and raving about how he will cut her down like the tall grass the withers and fades and is forgotten. Jonathan is unable to stand against his father one on one, but Abner arrives just in time and together they are able to subdue him.
Achish in House of David Season 1 Episode 2
We are introduced to Achish, the king of Gath, as he gathers the five kings of the Philistines together and urges them to the unite together and not to fight amongst themselves. In light of Saul’s victory against the Amaleites, Achish is worried and urges the Philistine leaders to join together to attack him. But the other Philistine lords are not impressed by his plan. They believe he is driven by a blind desire to avenge his father, who was killed by Saull. But, unlike his father, Achish is not a warrior that can lead the people into battle. As they depart, Achish decides that he realizes that he needs “new gods” that can help lead his forces into battle.
Later, as I noted above, Achish travels to the Israelite border town that was recently destroyed by Goliath and the giants. He apparently has heard rumors of the Anakim and hopes to find them and recruit them to lead his battle against the Israelites.
Review of House of David Season 1 Episode 2
Episode 2 was a strong follow-up to Episode 1. I appreciated a few things in particular:
Creative Solutions to Biblical Problems: I’ve never really considered how Goliath and his giant brethren came to be aligned with the Philistines. The Philistines are, after all, latecomers to the area – Greek seafarers who settled Canaan sometime in the late Bronze Age. Having Achish seek out the giant clans in order to make common cause against Israel strikes me as a creative way of accounting for their presence – something the Bible makes little effort to explain.
Drawing out the implications of biblical stories: The laconic style of the Bible can describe Saul being tormented by a harmful spirit in a couple short lines. But what would it have been like for his family members who witnessed his madness without a clear understanding of what was happening or why? And how exactly would Saul have responded to his loss of sanity? House of David excels at imagining these kinds of implications.
Complex Characterization: Although we briefly saw Eliab and Ahinoam in Episode 1, Episode 2 gave us much more time with both characters and highlighted their complexity. It would have been easy to make Ahinoam either a devoted wife or a purely ruthless Lady Macbeth figure, but instead her character appears to contain both aspects. On the one hand, Saul looks to her as a source of strength and comfort, but on the other hand she has no qualms about ordering Abner to assassinate any potential rivals. Likewise, it would have been easy to make Eliab either a harsh older sibling or a caring brother, but we get to see both aspects come out. Saul also continues to be a fascinating character – torn between a desire to hold onto his kingship and a longing for simpler times. I’m also glad to see David finally experience a degree of fear so that he can actually struggle and grow. Oh, and I like how they’re already setting up a complex relationship between David and Achish of Gath.
Balancing characterization and action: As I mentioned above, Episode 2 has some pretty intense action sequences, which are well-choreographed and brutal. But it balances these with some very meaningful character-building moments. Indeed, some of the best characterization comes out in the action itself (e.g. when we see the lengths to which Saul is willing to go in order to assert dominance over Jonathan in their sparring match).
The production value, diegetic music, and performances all continue to be strong as well.
I only have a few critiques of the episode:
Opening Sequence: During my review of Episode 1, I bemoaned how David never seemed to really struggle with fear, making his eventual triumph less powerful. The flashback in Episode 2 finally shows us David afraid, but it comes too late. This scene feels like it should have come in Episode 1, when it would have allowed us to experience an actual emotional arc. We can’t retroactively experience catharsis. Moreover, the scene also provides important context for other elements in Episode 1. Part of me wonders whether the scene originally was a part of Episode 1 but was considered too slow of an opening to the show.
Unrealistic injuries: Although Nitzevet did eventually die, I was shocked that she survived as long as she did after her encounter with the Old King. Her injuries didn’t look nearly as severe as I would have expected from getting mauled. It also looks like Eliab is on track to survive getting shot in the back by an arrow. While I realize epic stories like this tend to involve a degree of improbable survival, these moments (especially the one with Nitzevet) did take me out of the moment.
Fridging: I'm not too bothered by what House of David does with Nitzevet, but it certainly opens the show up to being criticized for fridging. Fridging is a term used to describe how some stories introduce female characters whose primary plot-function is to die in order to motivate a male character. While that is essentially what House of David does with Nitzevet, but I do appreciate that she at least gets to have agency in her death.
Key Themes of House of David Season 1 Episode 2
Although Episode 2 is titled “Deep Calls to Deep” after Nitzevet’s words to David, this doesn’t strike me as a primary theme of the large episode. Rather, I would propose a few themes, which show up across both storylines in complementary ways:
Underestimating Our Kin
In Episode 2, we see several characters who are underestimated by those who are close to them. Saul’s continued vigor is underestimated by Jonathan and Abner, who believe he may need to retire soon. One might argue that Mychal’s intelligence is underestimated by society or by Saul who seems surprised to find her studying Scripture. Nitzevet’s character and wisdom is underestimated by the people of Bethlehem. David’s brothers underestimate his bravery and his prowess with a sling. And Achish has his political acumen underestimated by the other lords of the Philistines. Indeed, the connection between Achish and David is explicitly called out.
What are to make of the way characters regularly seem to underestimate those who are close to them? In the case of David, Nitzevet, and Mychal, House of David seems to be highlighting the ways in which our preconceived notions and biases can prevent us from seeing the true God-given identity and calling of others. Once we’ve pidgeon-holed a family member, it’s hard to be open to the surprising ways in which God may act through them. But it’s also easy to underestimate the ways in which sinful ambition and the desire for control can motivate those we care about. This seems to be more of what we see with regard to Saul and Achish.
Longing for Simpler Times vs. Longing for Adventure
There’s an interesting contrast between how Saul, as king, longs for the simpler times when he was satisfied merely to be with his wife, and how David, as an outsider, longs for a chance to prove himself in battle. There’s something good about both desires. Saul really would benefit from being freed from the burden of power. But David isn’t wrong to want to live into his God-given sense of calling. Even so, one can’t help but wonder whether David will find himself in Saul’s shoes by next season, wishing he never ventured into the murky complexities of politics and power. Indeed, David’s terrifying encounter with the Philistines may already have him questioning what he’s getting himself into.
Hope you enjoyed this deep dive into Episode 2 of House of David. Be sure to check out my recap, review, and analysis for Episode 1 and Episode 3 as well – and keep an eye out for future installments in the coming weeks. And also feel free to jump in the comments below to leave your questions and thoughts.
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