My reviews may have been somewhat... stiff, lately. That is, I explain what makes a certain book/movie/whatever good, but I’m not sure I’ve done so well giving you a taste of the experience I had with that story. So I’m trying something different— throwing my typical review structure to the wind and saying this: The Chosen is freakin’ AWESOME and you should watch it. In case you’re not familiar with that of which I speak, The Chosen is a recently debuted TV show that boldly and adeptly adapts the Gospels. Gone is the stereotype of Christian media as corny, pandering, and full of one-dimensional characters. The characters of The Chosen feel almost as real as the people they must have been, from Simon Peter to Mary Magdalene to Jesus Himself. The Chosen strikes a masterful balance between compelling storytelling and fidelity to its source. The first season follows four main characters— Mary Magdalene, Simon/Peter, Mathew, and Nicodemus— and gives each one a rich backstory built on the details found in the gospels. In scene that are drawn directly from the Bible, most of the dialogue is preserved verbatim, although additional lines and body language lend conversations a smoother flow. Mathew Mathew the tax collector has Asperger’s, a bold move that adds depth to his character and explains why he would choose the life of a tax collector— a social outcast. Oh, and it provides comic relief. I love it. Peter We first meet Peter (Simon, actually. Jesus hasn’t gotten around to changing his name yet) trying to cheat his in-laws. He has an excellent character arc leading up to his first encounter with Jesus, and later his banter with the other disciples is great. His wife, Eden, is also particularly well-written. Mary Magdalene The main thrust of Mary’s arc wraps up in the first couple episodes. She fades mostly to the background afterwards, but I look forward to seeing more of her in future seasons. Her first encounter with Jesus brilliantly parallels the account in the gospel of John of her meeting with resurrected Christ, which shows me that the makers of The Chosen have really thought this thing out. Nicodemus Nicodemus gives a human face to the Pharisees, a group that can appear to modern readers of the gospels as merely a cabal of nameless villains. Of the four major characters, his arc is the last to reach its climax, so he continues to provide a source of tension throughout the last few episodes, where the plot becomes a bit scattered. Jesus We first meet Jesus in a bar. No, He’s not there to get drunk (quite the opposite), but it’s as if The Chosen wanted to give its viewers the clear message that this is not your grandmother’s clichéd sanitized Christian TV show. I appreciate it. The Chosen rises to the challenge of portraying a character that is simultaneously 100% human and 100% divine. This version of Jesus laughs, prays, jokes, and weeps in addition to performing miracles and speaking with an authority beyond any on earth. The setting Nobody’s going to be able to visit Israel for awhile, what with the pandemic and all, but watching The Chosen is not a bad alternative. Seeing ancient Israel— the houses, the fishing boats, the tax booths— helped me visualize what I’m reading in the gospels. Particularly enlightening was a scene in which a character uses a winepress. I’d read about winepresses, of course, in the Bible, but never given a second thought to what they looked like or how they worked. Too many characters! The Chosen has a huge cast— disciples, Pharisees, Romans, people in need of Jesus’s healing. It handles this well, although I would have preferred a more focused story that developed our four main characters deeper. However, I’m not sure there’s a way to do this without sacrificing a bit of fidelity to the source text, as Jesus did talk to a lot of people over the course of his ministry. Most of the minor characters, such as those woman at the well, manage to be distinct and memorable. Conclusion Watch it. The Chosen is available for free on VidAngel until April 30, 2020. If you’re reading this after that date, watch it anyway. The Chosen is worth your money. (I love the first season so much that I donated to help fund the production of season two).
1 Comment
5/13/2020 11:16:53 am
My family just started watching this and we are really enjoying it! It's very well done, though personally I consider it Biblical fiction rather than adaptation.
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Progress on Doombear, Rough draft:10%
Progress on The Lore of Yore, third draft:
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"In truth, by leaving, I was seeking only one thing. A journey."
-Oathbringer, pg 981 Types of blog posts:
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