In the House of David, marriages make or break an empire. The union of two people for love is futile unless it avoids invasion and forges political partnerships. Countries have combined bloodlines for a millennium, creating coalitions and binding borders. Season 1, Episode 5,” The Wolf and the Lion,” concerns itself with exactly that, but delves into the dramatic repercussions of relationships made in this manner. Within the walls of Gibeah, an ancient Israeli stronghold, King Saul is weighing up options, fearful for his family and the legacy he might leave.

Safe within his throne room, Saul shuffles personal relationships like pieces on a chessboard. Families are complex and convoluted things, even without the pressures of governing to contend with. However, when your subjects include a wife and daughters, only then is the real cost of power clear. With an anointed grip on the throne and competition from all quarters, true friends are hard to find. Thankfully, some friendships have no rhyme or reason, which is why this sovereign finds time for a lowly shepherd. Together, they stand in silence, sensing a common ground — one that binds them but may yet be their undoing.

This Has Old Testament House of Cards Rules

King Saul Defies the Almighty

For the first time since this biblical epic aired, Samuel is nowhere to be found. This galvanizing force and self-appointed voice of God takes a backseat, allowing others to come center stage. Now more than ever, House of David has morphed into a series defined by political power plays, instigated and overseen by Queen Ahinoam. This Amazon original has now become a cloak and dagger game of false promises, promoting allegiances to ensure lasting peace. God also goes on the back burner, allowing King Saul to bring his full presence to bear, unhindered by supernatural interruptions. What evolves because of this conspicuous lack of spirituality is a seasoned ensemble cast in Ali Suliman, Stewart Scudamore and Ayelet Zurer, intent on holding court.

Like a low-key Cersei Lannister, Queen Ahinoam coerces and controls her husband, quietly pulling strings like a Middle Eastern Svengali. More than ever, Season 1, Episode 5, “The Wolf and the Lion,” continues to enthrall audiences because it focuses on their relationship. Against a backdrop of sumptuous set design and Old Testament theatricality, House of David embraces universal themes. One being the fallacy that people in power marry for love, that influence lessens accountability, and happiness is guaranteed. In this world, those who choose to play by the rules are no better off than their corrupt counterparts. It’s a situation that grants this series shades of grey, gives these characters moral quandaries, and makes it feel more like a conventional drama.

Outside the royal rumble, Samuel’s chosen one is waiting patiently. No more or less embroiled in personal politics than anyone else, David is biding his time, choosing the moment to make himself known. That impetuous nature, born of youth and ignorance, adds a lighter side to this fortress-based melodrama. Like an innocent trapped in a palace full of predators, his naïveté may be a blessing and a curse. This unwavering belief that God will protect him from being murdered by a paranoid monarch opens the debate around faith versus the individual. Exploring the dividing line between religious derision and individual liberation, where people choose to place faith in themselves rather than rely on guidance from a higher power. It gets to the moral center of this series, since King Saul was ousted by God because he began to believe his own hype. Gone is the humble nature and devotion to a deity that saw him rewarded with a kingdom. In its place is a pompous and entitled ruler unwilling to relinquish his throne out of vanity. A belief that moves beyond religion and threatens to undermine King Saul’s relationships with his closest allies.

Love Knows No Bounds in House of David

The Sovereign and The Shepherd Finally Meet

House of David also explores the class system in this episode, digging into assumptions that have divided people for eons. David may stand in opposition to King Saul, both morally and spiritually untarnished by the seeds of ambition, but other obstacles hold him back. Not least of which is his position as a musician at court, employed to play but afforded no more intelligence than that. In contemporary cultures, where developed countries are supposed to have classless societies, people still run into the same problems where power and status come down to upbringing. Those born into the right families meet the right people, move in the right circles and support an illusion of openness towards others. This sense of unearned entitlement stems back to the central debate around religion versus the individual that drives House of David.

The other conundrum that also drives Season 1, Episode 5, “The Wolf and the Lion,” comes down to love, pure and simple. That romantic notion which pushes two people together and sparks an instant attraction, irrespective of class or status. Either through literature or through music, love in a palace like this, unsullied by ulterior motives, flies in the face of convention. However, the impulse that drives this love affair to continue is still rooted in the same impulses that govern King Saul. Within this world, falling in love and foregoing all others would surely include God. Having belief is one thing, but surely attraction promotes bias towards another person, downgrading worship in the biblical sense. That conflict of interest between an emotional devotion to a cultural deity and love for another person threatens to undermine everything David embodies, making him no better than the monarch he was anointed to replace.

That is why when a sovereign and a shepherd meet, separated by age, experience, and emotional maturity, things change. One is consumed by thoughts of betrayal, driven to extremes by his own demons, another preoccupied by responsibilities, believing himself infallible because Samuel sought him out. Each one different sides of the same coin, compelled to worship in their own way a God who treats them like chalk and cheese. This, then, is what sets them on a collision course, sharing a pivotal moment in silence, yet wrapped up in their own agendas. A pure politician and a warrior poet, forced to fight in their corner for those things they hold dear.

This Old Testament Epic Goes from Strength to Strength

This Series Can Survive Without Samuel

House of David has gained momentum and morphed into a streaming success no one could have seen coming. This politically charged biblical epic has captured imaginations, reinvigorated interest in the Old Testament, and reminded audiences of what storytelling can look like. Creator Jon Urwin has crafted an age-old parable into a tale with contemporary relevance. One that touches on universal truths around love, loss, and disillusionment. In the title role, Michael Iskander continues to show sides to David that reveal a toughness beneath his tender exterior. A brazen self-belief born of divine intervention that will either see him take over from King Saul or become another victim of his unpredictable nature.

With a superior supporting cast, including Stewart Scudamore as tribal leader Adriel and Oded Fehr’s Abner as chief counsel to the monarchy, this parable is in safe hands. Stephen Lang may be missing, but his influence as Samuel can be felt throughout, either in those ominous prophecies that ring in the ears of King Saul or the terrifying visions that haunt every inch of his throne room. That spirit also lives on in David, who seems less and less the meek shepherd and more the monarch in waiting. Fortified by the words of Samuel, he wishes only to transform this palace into the House of David.

With influences from Games of Thrones still self-evident, shades of political unrest now strengthen those comparisons. Queen Ahinoam has taken a leaf from the book of Cersei Lannister, plotting her way around court and gradually undermining her husband. However, King Saul is far from finished, caught between mania with a charismatic alpha male edge; Ali Suliman continues to squeeze every moment from his performance. Fighting unseen forces and rallying against others who would take away his power, King Saul stays defiant even in decline. A monarch who knows his time is up but still challenges all comers, including God.

To underestimate House of David and write off the Old Testament story as a dramatic folly is foolish. With all the invention and ambition that once defined large-scale Hollywood epics, this parable continues to pack a punch. Gathering audiences like apostles on the way to becoming one of the most surprising streaming hits in recent memory. No longer just a curiosity for people looking to replace Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but something with substance striking a balance between Games of Thrones homage and a little House of Cards with Old Testament overtones.

House of David is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

House of David Season 1, Episode 5

Release Date

February 27, 2025

Network

Prime Video

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Pros & Cons

• House of David is rife with political intrigue.
• King Saul and David share an unexpected connection.
• This feels like a biblical House of Cards.

• Stephen Lang’s Samuel sits on the sidelines.