Saul will fall.
Note: Of Kings and Prophets premieres tonight at 10/9c on ABC. This is an advance review with minimal spoilers.
Of Kings and Prophets is the type of show that would have thrived in 2006 — a hyper-violent, hyper-sexual retelling of the Biblical Books of Samuel, complete with slow-motion action scenes, sepia color grading and a one-woman wail for the soundtrack. These days, it would probably be compared to HBO’s Game of Thrones, but honestly the new series bears more of a resemblance to movies like Gladiator, Troy and 300 — only not as edgy because it’s 2016 and on network TV.
But despite its passé tendencies, ABC’s Old Testament drama has familiarity on its side, including well-known figures like King Saul (Ray Winstone), David of Bethlehem (Olly Rix), Michal (Maisie Richardson-Sellers), the Prophet Samuel (Mohammad Bakri) and Goliath (Garth Collins). That said, they’re probably only familiar to kids who paid attention in Sunday school, and even then the characters have been sexed up and machismo’d beyond recognition. (Suffice to say, some Christian viewers won’t be happy with this depiction.)
For the uninitiated, the story follows Saul, the King of Israel, who has arranged the marriage of his daughter Merav (Jeanine Mason) in the hope of uniting the 12 Israelite tribes against the Philistines. However, just days before the wedding, Samuel receives a message from God telling Saul to wipe out the relatively harmless Amalekites — much to Saul’s dismay. At the same time, the young shepherd David, armed only with a sling and a few pebbles, contends with a lion that has been ravaging his flock.
We want to hear it.
In terms of performances, Winstone is the clear standout in the premiere. As a man literally going through a crisis of faith, Saul reluctantly butts heads with Samuel at every strategic turn. And for a king who is generally depicted as bloodthirsty and ruthless, Winstone brings a very human quality to the character that is usually left out of other depictions. Indeed, his few scenes with Bakri are among some of the strongest in “Offerings of Blood.” In a time when religion and politics are wisely kept apart, it’s interesting to see how the two ideologies once clashed hand in hand, with the eponymous Prophet and King as their respective mouthpieces. Meanwhile, David’s storyline is the more traditional of the two and taps into the Bible’s more iconic elements.
Unfortunately, most of the first episode centers around straight gore and melodrama. This includes all the usual trappings, from angsty monologues and forbidden hookups to cunning betrayals and mass slaughter. And, given the context, it’s a little hard to tell who the show is aimed at. Faith-based audiences will likely be turned off by the explicit nature of the storytelling, while sword-and-sandal junkies won’t find anything new or interesting about the show’s mundane approach to sex and violence.
Regardless, the production values are quite impressive. Filmed on location in Cape Town, South Africa, the series’ Israeli sets are both unique and immersive, and serve as a great backdrop for the story. Of course, considering the show is only based on a few books in the Bible, there are only so many characters and moments that can be rendered onscreen. That’s not to mention the fact that we already know Saul and David’s trajectory, which diminishes the excitement somewhat. In the end, Of Kings and Prophets delivers a solid portrayal of Deuteronomistic history, even if it is entrenched in peplum genre tropes.
ABC’s Biblical drama Of Kings and Prophets feels pretty generic by today’s standards, especially coming off of meatier shows like Game of Thrones, Vikings, Spartacus and Black Sails. However, it does have a few things going for it, including high production values and intriguing political and religious themes. Right now, the new series seems more focused on shoehorning in as much sex, violence and backstabbing as possible, but it definitely has potential; it just needs to play more to the source material’s strengths.
