Amazon’s ‘The House of David’ Gets Power Right In A Larger Culture That Doesn’t
(REVIEW) “The House of David” is one of the best things the faith-based film space has ever made. Created by Jon Erwin (“I Can Only Imagine”) and co-produced by his company The Wonder Project and Amazon/MGM Studios, the Biblical drama series’ first season premiered at No. 3 on Prime Video in 2025 and quickly climbed to No. 2 (right behind the new season of Amazon’s flagship show: “Reacher”). It eventually landed at No. 1 by the end of the season.
The second season debuted earlier this month on The Wonder Project’s exclusive streaming service. Now the second season is fully available for free on Prime Video. This is really great because I believe “The House of David” is telling exactly the story our culture needs right now: One that teaches how to wield power without being corrupted by it. This is countercultural to an industry that praises unaccountable power like in “Superman” or power as inherently corrupting like “Dune.”
“House of David” follows the famous Biblical hero’s rise from shepherd boy to giant slayer to king of Israel. Season 2 picks up where the first season left off — with Goliath dead — and continues the story as Israel nears collapse as Saul’s reign falters. David rises from shepherd to warrior, caught between loyalty and destiny, while the Age of Iron transforms warfare. As families fracture, forbidden loves spark and alliances shift, faith and power collide in a struggle that will decide Israel’s future.
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Reception from Christian critics from both seasons has generally been positive. Brett McCracken at The Gospel Coalition said: “I’m increasingly delighted to praise quality offerings [like House of David]—not because they’re not awful but because they’re genuinely praiseworthy.” Peter Chattaway at Christianity Today praised season two as even better than the first, though he argued a lot of it felt like padding till the finale.
Jewish critics generally consider the show a Christian one made for Christians, even though it is based on one of their stories as well. Some appreciate it for that. Batya Ungar-Sargon at The Free Press called it “freaking phenomenal” and argued it showed most American Christians see Jews “ not as an oppressed victim caste who killed Christ and should be loathed for it, but rather as an ancient, noble tribe of warrior poets and kings favored by the blessing of the God they serve.” The Jewish Chronicle was less enthusiastic, calling it a “hokey biblical adaptation” that “rings hollow.”
I’m pretty much in agreement with both the series’ praises and critiques. From the start, I’ve been a fan of the show’s shameless mashup of male hero’s journey fantasies with sword-and-sandal war epics, cheesy love stories, Shakespearean political tragedy and Biblical themes. I’ve also criticized it for the awkwardness of this mashup and for where it embraces anachronistic Western cringe “follow your heart” tropes, as well as its shameless padding. David and Mychal are particularly annoying in this regard.
What’s great about Season 2 is that most of the good stuff is better and most of the bad stuff is also less bad. The action scenes are more epic, the embrace of color and shadow to give the show a distinctive flavor is done more confidently and the writing better balances heroism and tragedy with less cringe.
The way the writers focus on the natural consequences of winning the battle with Goliath and being swept up into the House of Saul’s toxic “Game of Thrones” family dynamic is compelling. How do you lead Saul’s army when nobody respects you because you’ve never trained before? How do you remain faithful to God’s call and God’s laws when your king demands your first allegiance — and God demands allegiance to your king as well?
But handling character growth remains the show’s Achilles heel. David and Mychal are the protagonists and have the least (or at least the slowest) character development. He is an idealistic young hero and she’s his doe-eyed love interest. Where they’re at their best is when they are struggling with their contradictions. This is most prevalent in the finale, when she finds out he lied to her about being God’s anointed. She loves him but hates the fact that he lied to her and starts to believe that the throne corrupts whoever it touches. David loves Mychal but struggles with the fact that she won’t overlook his transgressions.
David is a protagonist who knows he’s the protagonist and feels entitled to be the protagonist. When the show finds the balance between validating this and being self-aware enough to know this is going to be a costly character flaw in the future, it’s at its best. But often it takes too long for the story to get there. Characters feel like they go in circles. Saul is cursed and then he’s not, except he is. Mirab's attempt to marry David goes nowhere. Other subplots have much more forward progression, such as Queen Ahinoah, Prince Achish and Eliab.
Season 2 starts strong and then wanders, but its finale really lands. The triumph and tragedy of David are both validated. He defeats his enemies but has to run from Saul. He’s betrayed by his king but his brothers and army follow. He gains Mychal but loses her. He gains Jonathan’s friendship but leaves him behind. Saul continues to destroy his legacy and his family — in even more tragic ways — keeps eating itself alive. This series validates David’s heroic journey without sentimentalizing it.
This makes “The House of David” interesting not just in faith-based conversations but in conversations about Hollywood fantasy myths about heroism in general. Lately, the genre discussions have been defined by “Lord of the Rings” versus “Game of Thrones” and “Dune” perspectives on heroic fantasy. In the “Lord of the Rings” model, the battle of good vs evil is clear.
People can fall away from good and embrace evil by grasping power tainted by evil, but as long as they don’t do that, they can wield absolute power without any moral fear. Hence, there’s no fear of Aragorn being an unjust king. This view has come under criticism. George R.R. Martin questioned “The Lord of the Rings” rosy picture of men in power and portrayed his “Game of Thrones” world as one of near-nihilistic, morally gray power-grabbing.
The incredibly popular “Dune” is a direct repudiation of this hero myth. The movie — even more explicitly than the book — is about a young space prince who resists becoming the messiah of an oppressed people because he’s afraid he will become a genocidal tyrant. Eventually he believes he has no choice, but his fears come true. Frank Herbert wrote his story explicitly to critique hero myths. Tolkien, for his part, hated “Dune” with a passion.
“House of David” does something different. David is neither a perfect nor fake hero. He’s an imperfect hero serving a perfect God. God raised up Saul but because Saul violated God’s will, God took it away and gave it to David. The show’s two main conflicts are rooted in this idea. In this show, God’s people are called to wield power but it’s deeply conditional.
God has the power and raises up people into power to rule according to his standards. When people violate those standards, God takes their power away. In this reading, power is not evil, nor is it evil for God’s people to wield it; its existence and justification are simply conditional upon obedience. Yet it’s an obedience that humans, even heroes, struggle to maintain.
“House of David” is a rare faith-based property that has something to say not only in faith-based conversations but in cultural conversations in general. That means if the show can keep up — or exceed — its present quality, it’s not just Christian culture that will be better for it.
Both seasons of “House of David” are available now on Prime Video and The Wonder Project.
Joseph Holmes is an award-nominated filmmaker and culture critic living in New York. He is co-host of the podcast “The Overthinkers” and its companion website theoverthinkersjournal.world, where he discusses art, culture and faith with his fellow overthinkers. His other work and contact info can be found at josephholmesstudios.com.