Title: The Chosen: Season 2 (2021; TV-13+)
Director: Dallas Jenkins
Series: The Chosen TV series
Major Themes: Jesus, Biblical History, The Disciples, Ancient Israel, Christianity
Synopsis: As Jesus’ influence grows and spreads, His disciples have to learn to follow His leading, and the Pharisees mount a more concerted effort to shut Him down before things get out of hand.
After watching season 1, I, along with many other people around the world, couldn’t wait for The Chosen: Season 2 to arrive! Although I still have some reservations about how much a production like this might influence our views of the Biblical Jesus, I’m starting to see that there’s a lot of merit in a work like this. Jesus was fully human, and fully God—and seeing the depths He had to stoop to to become our Savior makes me love Him all the more. This series does an excellent job bringing out both sides of His character, while also giving a little of an idea of what his disciples were like, and why they did what they did in the gospels and beyond.
Warning: I’ve done my best to avoid spoilers in this review, but I think there may still be some. Proceed with caution if that bothers you!
Episode 1: Thunder
More disciples join the group, and Jesus teaches them an important lesson about sharing with others, even when it is difficult for them to do so. He extends grace to a robber, and when James and John get upset at hostile Samaritans and ask that they be incinerated, Jesus reproves them and gives them a new nickname—“Sons of thunder”.
WARNING: From 39:10 – 40:15, a man tells how he stole a horse and had a hand in possibly killing a man.
Episode 2: I Saw You
With his life’s work in ruins, Nathaniel begs God to show him that He cares. When no response is forthcoming, Nathaniel burns his plans and seems to be despairing of life. Meanwhile, Philip, one of John’s disciples, joins Jesus’ group, and tensions run high as Philip takes Matthew under his wing. Philip visits Nathaniel, and introduces him to Jesus in one of the most touching scenes in the series so far.
WARNING: From 1:30 – 2:04, there is an argument and a wall collapses, and several people are buried under rubble (you see one man with blood on his head).
Episode 3: Matthew 4:24
As Jesus’ popularity grows, people come from far and wide to get healing from him. Jesus’ mother arrives at the camp, she and the disciples discuss what Jesus’ presence on earth might mean, and Peter challenges Matthew about why Jesus chose him.
No warnings!
Episode 4: The Perfect Opportunity
Lame since his childhood, Jesse has lived most of his life in the hopes that someday he will be healed. Meanwhile, his brother Simon joins the Zealots, and is determined to bring glory to God one way or another. Jesus and his disciples celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, and then Jesus goes on an errand to the pool of Bethesda. Simon is sent on a particularly dangerous task for the Zealots, and God’s timing intervenes—a particularly special moment to me! God has, and always will be in control of even the minutest timing of things!
WARNING: In the first few minutes, a boy falls and is badly hurt, a witch doctor comes, a woman is in labor (no sound, just agony on her face) and presumably dies, and a man is beaten and kicked by a soldier. From 6:52 – 8:14, a man is practicing sword fighting and wrestling. From there until 9:00, a man is given a dagger. From 10:50 – 11:10, a man has a sword held to his throat. From 19:10 – 20:50, you see men on a cross, and hear some yelling as a man is nailed up. From 32:53 – 35:00, you see the men on crosses again. At 39:00, people yell at each other. From 51:08 – 53:37, there is an attempted assassination.
Episode 5: Spirit
The Pharisees continue to try to trap Jesus. Mary Magdalene is startled by some Roman soldiers and has a flashback to her earlier life; later, she is confronted by a demon-possessed man and realizes she isn’t strong enough to stand up against demons. Simon the Zealot arrives in camp and becomes a disciple, after helping to contain the demon-possessed man. Jesus heals him, while Mary, realizing she failed miserably to turn to Jesus when she needed His help, leaves camp and heads back to her old life.
WARNING: From 7:00 – 9:00, a man comes across a demon-possessed man who asks him to kill him. From 23:00 – 25:30, the demon-possessed man comes to camp, is threatened with a knife, and a man is tackled and choked.
Episode 6: Unlawful
Mary Magdalene immerses herself in drinking and gambling, trying to forget her failures. Peter and Matthew, sent by Jesus to find her, spend the day searching for her. The group struggles with a lack of food, and hears bad news about John the Baptist. Jesus extends forgiveness to someone—another of my favorite scenes in this series. A great reminder that though we fail, He still cares for us!
WARNING: From 11:15 – 13:15, there is a scene with people gambling and drinking. “Mother of a dog” is used, and from 22:07 – 22:46, a woman throws up—presumably a result of her drinking.
Episode 7: Reckoning
As Jesus prepares to give one of his greatest sermons, the disciples struggle to understand what his plans might be. The Romans are concerned about Jesus’ growing influence, and the Praetor Quintus sends a detachment of soldiers to arrest Jesus and bring him in so they can come to an understanding of each other. (Though this part isn’t in the Bible, I appreciated that it was here, because we know the Romans knew who He was, and they, too, would have had some concerns, although not the same ones as the Pharisees had.)
WARNING: At 12:20, there is a mention of people who were tortured to death (no details). From 17:00 – 20:45, people are confronted by Roman soldiers with swords drawn. There is some arguing in other places.
Episode 8: Beyond Mountains
Jesus and Matthew work to polish the final portions of what would become the Sermon on the Mount, and discuss some of the implications of Jesus’ teachings. Meanwhile, the rest of the disciples work together to secure a safe location for the sermon and spread the news of what is about to take place.
No warnings!
The Chosen: Season 2 has only increased my appreciation for Jesus’ work on this earth. Over and over again, I’ve been reminded of the truth that Jesus was the same then as He is now, and will be forever in the future. Seeing what He did back then reminds me of countless times in the more recent past where He has stepped in to help His children in their diverse needs—and gives me hope that He will do the same in my life now. Seeing His life through the eyes of the disciples, and seeing pieces of the culture He grew up in (rather than our culture superimposed on the Bible stories), has given me a different, richer perspective on His life, ministry, death, and ultimate resurrection.
As a family, we’ve watched both seasons—barring episode 1 of season 1, which only us older children watched. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the time spent together as a family. Seeing some of the different Biblical stories come to life as they do here has helped us all understand the Bible better—and given us some good discussions afterward! The acting and scenes are all spot-on (except for one way a character was dressed in what I believe was season 2, episode 1—I don’t think the high priest would have been at Jericho). We’ve had a good many laughs over the different character’s interactions! We can’t wait to get to see what season 3 is like!
A note on the content ratings: I thought it was interesting to see that Amazon has The Chosen: Season 2 listed as TV-13. There is more violence in this season than in the previous one, but most of it was the kind that I was fine even with my younger siblings viewing. We did send them out of the room for parts of episodes 4 and 5, but otherwise, I think they saw the rest. It will be interesting to see what the rest of the series contains.
Appropriate ages:
Ages 12 – 15, 15 and Above, Adults, Family Friendly
Links to buy this movie:
Amazon: Prime Video | DVD (Special Edition) | DVD | Blu-Ray
Creator’s Store: DVD (Special Edition) | DVD or Blu-Ray
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