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A Review of House
of David, Season 2 by Nick Olszyk
Distribution Service: Amazon Prime
FCC Rating, PG-13
OSV Rating, Not rated at the time of this review
Reel Rating, Four Reels
King David
is arguably the most important character in the Old Testament. Yes, Abraham
started it all and Moses was the lawgiver, but only David is described as
“having a heart for God.” Despite his many flaws, he was held as the standard
for every king afterwards and eventually became the primary ancestor of the
Messiah. The first season of House of David focused on his origins and
now the second sees his meteoric rise to fame and power in Israelite society,
which occurs not without plenty of bumps along the way.
The first
season ended with the defeat of Goliath, and the next picks up in the immediate
aftermath. Seeing their champion victorious, the Israelites charge into Philistine
line which becomes a dark, cloudy, chaotic battle. The people of God are victorious,
and David is given a hero’s welcome in Jerusalem. Saul, seemingly free of
madness, is overjoyed to have a new champion and quickly makes David a general
in his army and even promises one of his daughters in marriage, which will make
him part of the royal family. Things couldn’t be better until the ways of the
world catch up with him.
The two
keys that make this series work are the brilliant performances of Michael Iskander
as David and Ali Suliman as Saul. I had the good fortune of speaking with Mr.
Iskander a few days ago, and there is no better actor to play this great hero.
He not only understands the role but the man. He not only spoke of battle
training, reading the text, and consulting scholars but the necessity of
“praying to St. David every day.” This is a living soul in Heaven, so why wouldn’t
you go straight to the source? His background in Broadway and even experience
as a shotput athlete in high school all seem to have uniquely prepared him for
this moment. In the series, he is portrayed as having been born out of wedlock and
thus marginalized his whole life, especially by his older brothers. He learns
not just humility, but that God has a heart for the poor. When he quickly rises
in station, he thus understands it is a gift from God, not his own effort and
gives all the glory back to Him.
Suliman is
not just a native to the Holy Land but was born in Nazareth. He portrays Saul
as a man who initially wants to do God’s will but always through the lens of
his own understanding. He likes the idea of being king more than reality of
service. During the battle, Saul rides out willingly to be with his men but is soon
distracted by his own madness and leaves the fighting. He is more than happy
the next day, however, to take credit for the Israelite victory. He does an
amazing job outlining Sual as a sad, tragic figure who could have been so much
more.
David had a
radical trust in God. No one wants to fight Goliath because they put faith in
their own strength, yet David understands the Lord oversees everything. This
trust continues even as Saul starts to suspect David will take over as king and
begins to plot his death. David’s spiritual life can best be described by the
Psalms which Michael Iskander beautifully described as “David’s diary.” In
them, you find a whole range of emotions from joy and thanksgiving to fear and
anguish. Yet even in Psalm 22, which famously starts with the line, “My God, my
God why have you forsaken me?” ends proclaiming God’s righteousness, that “He [has]
done it!”
The
production values of House of David are fantastic, especially
considering the limited budget for a Biblical based streaming program. The
cinematography is compelling, especially during the fight sequences. Everything
is dirty, brown, and well used. In other words, it is real and immersive rather
than the clean, otherworldly feel of some biblical pictures.
Narratively, House of David leans
heavily on the genre of political intrigue like Game of Thrones or Succession.
What this series adds, from the Biblical source, is that God is the hidden hand
behind every rise and fall. Thus, the events, while motivated and perform by
free choice, work towards God’s purpose. The news is full of politicians trying
to spin the wheels of chance in their own favor, and the common man always
suffers. Yet there is hope in Joseph’s famous closing line from the Book of
Genesis: “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in
order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive.”
Right now,
St. David the King is having a renaissance with multiple series and films in
just the past six months. The world is starving for righteous leadership and
someone to bring peace this chaotic existence. It would be easy to say we need
someone like David, but he would have the wisdom to say “no, who you really
need is the Lord.”
This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on April 11th, 2026.
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