House of David Trailer Breakdown and Analysis
Updated: 2 days ago
House of David, a new Amazon series (from The Wonder Project) adapting the Bible's story of David's battle with Goliath and his rise to kingship, just released a trailer in advance of its premiere on February 27. The trailer is jammed full of content and has me very excited for the new show. Join me as I breakdown the trailer down beat by beat (or watch my discussion of the trailer on YouTube). You can also find my review of Episode 1 here, Episode 2 here, and Episode 3 here.
House of David Trailer Breakdown
Opening: Can one stone change the course of history?
The trailer opens with a female narrator wondering whether one stone can change the course of history. It's an obvious allusion to the stone with which David strikes down Goliath and sets himself on a path to kingship. We see David standing at a river and selecting a eye-catching white stone. Having picked up the stone, he looks up and we see the face of Michael Iskander as David for the first time.
The Big Attraction: David vs. Goliath
From there, the trailer jumps us into the most famous part of David's story: his battle against Goliath the Philistine giant. Martyn Ford as Goliath towers over his fellow Philistine soldiers (the show apparently taking the Masoretic text's more mythic description of him as 9 feet 9 inches over the Septuagint's more realistic description of him as 6 feet 9 inches). We also see the kings of the Philistines, including Alexander Uloom as Achish, a key frenemy of David. Following the biblical story, Goliath castigates the Israel soldiers for being cowards and refusing to face him as the Philistine champion...
Finally, Goliath's challenge is met by a cry of defiance; As David charges out from the ranks of Israel to face Goliath, our narrator promises to tell us how one act of defiance can create a legend.
Backstory: David the Simple Shepherd Boy
Having set up the main attraction, the trailer now takes a step back and introduces us to David's background. The narrator promises to tell us the story of David, a simple shepherd boy. We see David playing his harp in the wild. Then we see David as a child, listening to his mother play him the harp.
As we hear David asking his mother why his brothers get to fight while he is stuck at home, we see his older brother, Eliab (Davood Ghadami) fighting against (presumably Philistine) soldiers. Interestingly, Eliab uses a backward spear stab - an underhanded move famously performed by David's commander, Joab. Although Joab is included in the cast list, this moment has me wondering whether the show may give some of his role in the story to Eliab. Or perhaps the reverse jab is a favorite family move. Sticking with Eliab, we hear him tell David that he is not a man of God, establishing a clear tension between the two brothers.
Key Theme: An Outcast Who Became King
Moving us along, the trailer gives us a quick glimpse of David being brought to Saul's palace, as the narrator explains that her story is about an outcast who became one of the most famous kings. We are then introduced to Stephen Lang as the Prophet Samuel and see him anointing David, declaring "God does not see what mans sees. he sees into you, into the heart, and you have the heart of a lion" (c.f. 1 Samuel 16:7).
Speaking of Lions: David in a Lion's Den
Keeping with the idea of lions, the trailer jumps to David in a dark cave. Later, he stands outside of the cave, dripping with blood. He's clearly just killed a lion in order to save one of his father's sheep - an adventure only briefly alluded to in 1 Samuel 17:34.
The Bigger Threat: Philistine Invasion
Having set up David's backstory, the trailer brings us back to the main threat: Israel's oppressive neighbors, the Philistines. A messenger arrives in King Saul's court to announce that the Philistines have assembled. We see Philistines shooting fire arrows on a defenseless Israelite town (including a woman and her child). Perhaps in the day after the attack, we see Ethan Kai as Prince Jonathan arriving in the ruined town, finding a bloody hand print "larger than a weaver's basket." The queen fearfully informs her daughter that the Philistines have a giant.
Facing the Threat: David's Bigger Faith
The introduction of the Philistine giant raises the question, who will stand against such a monster? As if responding to that question, the trailer shows us David coming to King Saul (Ali Suliman). Saul urges him to "Fight him with the same spirit you bring into this room."
We jump to a lush garden-like environment. It recalls Eden and (more to the point) David's hideout in En-Geddi. But I suspect this is the head of the stream where David goes to retrieve his stones. We're back where the trailer began.
Prince Jonathan apparently follows David to the stream. He recognizes David as someone who used to play music for his father and questions how he will be Israel's champion against the giant.
The Angel of Yahweh?
Now we get to one of the most interesting sequences in the entire trailer. Standing out in the middle of the stream where David is finding stones, we see a strange-looking soldier. He holds up a sword with intricate inscriptions, but it's hard to see his face.
My best guess is that this soldier is the angelic Commander of the Army of the LORD (aka the Angel of the LORD), a mysterious biblical figure who meets Joshua with a drawn sword when Israel is preparing to battle against Jericho. Although the Bible does not mention David encountering any angels before his battle with Goliath, it's a really interesting exercise in retroactive biblical typology. If I'm right, the show is seeking to highlight the connections between Joshua's battle against Jericho, a giant city filled with giant men, in which Israel won not by strength of arms but by trusting in God's strange (seemingly weak) way and, and David's battle against the giant Goliath, in which an apparently weak shepherd trusts in God's power. Dramatically speaking, it seems like the Commander is here to encourage David to find strength in God.
Key Theme: The Greatness of the Giant vs. The Greatness of God
Jumping away from David, we see King Achish unveil the massive shield and spear of Goliath and we see Goliath in battle. Again, we're left to wonder, how could David possibly stand up against such a beast? But then David gives us our answer: "It's not about the greatness of the giant; it's about the greatness of God." To the point, we see David taking stones from the stream - and his hand appears to be miraculously on fire!
It's another extra-biblical touch intended to invite us to see greater biblical significance. The fire should make us think of the Holy Spirit rushing on heroes to empower them to do great deeds. We might also think of the pillar of fire and cloud, especially since...
... in the next shot we see the waters of the rivers rising up in a wall - a clear echo of Israel's Exodus through the Red Sea and of Joshua leading Israel across the Jordan River. David's battle against Goliath is also being connected to these other key moments of salvation, in which God delivered his people from foes with superior strength through the hands of his faithful servants.
But this still isn't going to be a cake walk. David confides in his future wife, Mychal (Indy Lewis) that he is terrified, but she assures him that she believes in him.
A Foreboding of What's to Come
Up until this point, the trailer has remained focused on what I assume will be the events of the first three episodes. But now we get a brief glimpse of the future drama ahead. We see Prince Jonathan and King Saul, surrounded by Philistine soldiers, fighting a desperate battle. A massive army charging. A fortress (Saul's palace?) on fire. And: Saul cradling Jonathan's dead body. While a few of these moments may be randomly inserted, the battle in which Jonathan is slain appears to be the Battle of Gilboa (1 Samuel 31), which also leads to the death of Saul.
I wasn't expecting House of David to get to Saul's death in Season 1. There's just so much that needs to happen after David's victory against Goliath - his rise in popularity, his marriage to Mychal, the growing breach with Saul, Saul's pursuit of him, his time in the wilderness with the outlaws, his time serving with the Philistines. For context: some friends and I developed the outline for ten-episode season of television focused solely on David's time in the wild with his outlaw band. Now, it's possible that the show is just going to compress this story down in an effort to make David king as soon as possible (this show is called House of David after all). But I think it's more likely that this scene is some sort of vision/dream that Saul has foreboding Jonathan's death. I could even see there being a self-fulfilling prophecy element - perhaps Saul will fear that David's rise is going to bring about his son's death - only to unintentionally bring it about himself.
We get a few more action shots. The well-armed Philistine army charges against the ill-equipped Israelite army (I was very pleased to see the Israelite's wielding pitchforks, reflecting what the 1 Samuel 13 tells us about their lack of blacksmiths and swords). An assassin (perhaps from the increasingly jealous Saul?) tries to shoot David with an arrow and David jumps out a window and aims his sling. And Prince Jonathan fighting against his own father, Saul (most likely an amplified dramatization of Saul's attack on Jonathan in 1 Samuel 20).
Remember the Big Attraction: David vs. Goliath
The trailer ends by returning back to the main attraction. We see Goliath launch a massive spear, while David whirls around, preparing to fire his sling, while the narrator once again asks us if one stone can change the course of history.
Big Picture: What do we learn about House of David?
Apart from giving us plot details, this trailer tells us a few interesting things about House of David:
Is House of David biblical?
While the House of David will obviously contains extra-biblical moments, everything that we see in the trailer appears to be consonant with the biblical text. I'm sure that the show will have to take creative liberties here and there for the purposes of brevity and clarity, but the trailer suggests that the show is trying to be faithful to the general outline and details of the biblical story.
Perhaps even more important than the correspondence of specific plot details, the key themes highlighted in the House of David trailer are all central themes in the Book of Samuel, the biblical source of the story:
Human greatness and strength vs. God's strength
God looking not on appearances but on the heart
God's way of raising up the humble outcast and bringing down the proud and mighty.
Fear vs. Faith
Suffice to say, after seeing the trailer, I feel confident that the creators of the show "get" the biblical story and are representing it faithfully. Of course, Wonder Project and the creators of the show, Jon Erwin (Jesus Revolution, I Can Only Imagine) and Jon Gunn (Case for Christ) are both established Christian filmmakers, so that's not entirely surprising, but, if anyone was worried that Amazon's involvement would ruin the biblical story, the trailer should put those fears to rest.
Is House of David good?
It's still early to tell, but most of what I saw in the trailer left a positive impression. The production value looked strong. The battles looked epic. There was real blood (we're not toning down the story to make it fit for Sunday School). The extra-biblical typology was interesting. Performances worked. The themes were spot on.
Really, the only bit that gave me pause was Goliath. I kind of wish the show went for a six or seven foot giant (which is totally supported by the Septuagint) instead of the 9 foot giant. Of course, the 9 foot giant is more well-known, so there probably would have been complaints that the show was rewriting the Bible if they went shorter. But Goliath's appearance gives me some uncanny valley vibes. But I do like the terror that he seems to inspire - and the moment when Jonathan finds his huge handprint is pretty cool. So maybe it'll work out.
What kind of show is House of David?
In a recent article comparing Netflix's Mary with The Chosen, I argued that there are two popular types of biblical/historical adaptation: "mythic adaptations" (think: Mary, Noah, or, outside of the biblical context, 300) and "relatable adaptations" (think The Chosen, The Promised Land). Mythic adaptations focus on creating a sense of wonder and transcendence. They focus on biblical moments that are completely outside of our experience and feel strange but exciting. Relatable adaptations, on the other hand, try to connect biblical stories to life as we know it. They craft characters and stories in ways that highlight their contemporary relevance.
So far, the relatable approach to Bible adaptation has had far more success - in large part because many of the more "mythic" adaptations have showed relatively little respect for the biblical source material (e.g. Noah, Exodus: Gods and Kings). The House of David trailer left me excited, because it gives me the sense that the show is taking a more mythic approach to the material: we get even more supernatural moments than the biblical text calls for (the Angel of the Lord, David's fire hand, the waves). And yet apart from these extra-biblical details, the show appears to be strictly following the core of the biblical story. That leaves me hopeful that we're finally going to get a Bible show that does the mythic approach right.
All in all, as I said at the top, the House of David trailer left me pretty excited for the release of Episodes 1-3 of Season 1 on February 27. I'll almost certainly be reviewing and analyzing the show (and may do Bible studies and character studies if it warrants it and I have time), so be sure to check back soon for more content. And be sure to leave comments below, sharing your own impressions from the trailer and any theories you have about House of David.
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