The Chosen (2021) s2e07

Reckoning, the penultimate episode of The Chosen's second season opens, unusually on a close up of a wanted poster nailed to a wall. There's no image, just some text, written in a non-Roman, non-Greek alphabet (I think it's Aramaic, but I lack the expertise to rule out Hebrew) accompanied by a subtitled translation: "...Jesus of Nazareth sought for questioning". As if to firmly complete the Western-genre conventions, someone tears the poster off the wall and we cut to the inside of the building. It's Atticus. And we're finally going to find out a bit more about who he is.

Inside Atticus quickly gains an audience with Quintus and reveals he is a "Cohortes Urbanae", the Roman police force, essentially. Quite what he is doing this far from Rome is unclear, but I guess Rome didn't have an FBI and the Cohortes Urbanae is probably the nearest thing.

The last episode took the series' portrayal of the Pharisee to a deeper level revealing some of the different approaches and key discussions that lie behind than the two-dimensional image most Jesus films give us of the Pharisees. In this episode, the focus is going to be more on deepening our understanding of the Romans.

Preparing the Sermon on the Mount

Meanwhile, though Jesus is already planning the Sermon on the Mount and in more ways than one. Not only does he need to work out what he's going to say – and I really like the fact that at the end of the episode he gets Matthew involved in helping him craft his message – but there's a lot of attention to the practical details as well: publicity, location and "a security plan. Jesus knows this is going to be big: "This will define our whole ministry".

In honesty, I'm not sure what to make of this portrayal of the Sermon on the Mount. I'm impressed by its originality and practicality for sure. In Jesus films the Sermon tends to just happen. There are some key exceptions. Nick Ray's King of Kings (1961) has a similar, if lower scale approach as The Chosen, which I'll cover in my look at the opening episode of series three, but here there is a sense that the Sermon has been announced and word is spreading and it's becoming an event that people plan for: The authorities know about it and Lucius turns up on their behalf, as do some Jewish leaders. But in other films, it's either more spontaneous, especially Roberto Rossellini's Il messia (1975) -- where Jesus is walking along encounters and earthmound climbs up and delivers the Beatitudes to a relatively small crowd -- or Scorsese's Sermon on the Plain in Last Temptation of Christ (1988); or, most commonly, we just see the Sermon delivered as a set piece but with no sense of how it came to be. It has just dropped into existence miraculously because this is the Bible.

There's one other notable take, which I've mentioned before (as Tatum and others have before me). It's that of Pier Paolo Pasolini who – acknowledging the scholarly idea that the Sermon is really just a composite of bits of teaching Jesus delivered on various different occasions – shoots the words with a close-up of Jesus but with changing times of day, forms of weather, clothing etc. I'd argue that's not the only way to read the scene. On a practical level it seems to me Jesus only delivered each bit of material once and so Pasolini could also be showing how Jesus spoke the same core message at numerous times and in numerous locations. Anyway, feel free to read more of my thoughts on the Sermon on the Mount in Film where I take a look at how it's shown in the major Jesus movies.

So The Chosen's idea that this was a significant event with significant logistical challenges is an interesting innovation, and it picks up on something I'm increasingly noticing, The Chosen's portrayal of Jesus as a manager. At the end of my piece on s2e05 I mentioned how Jesus seems to slip almost effortlessly into "a delegating leader type role" and we see more of this here. Indeed there's even a scene which has the feel of a daily huddle / team catch up as Jesus gets a quick progress report from some of the disciples and delegates a few more tasks out to the others. 

I also can't help wondering in these scenes if they reflect the way that Dallas Jenkins operates as showrunner. It's often pointed out that when we see films, or parts of films, about artists working in other mediums (painters, writers, theatre directors) that these are really a stand in for cinema and the film is as much about filmmaking or being a director. This feels like The Chosen as got to this. Jesus' big production is one some level reflecting the filmmaking process. No wonder he seeks time with his writer ahead of filming delivering the Sermon.

...while avoiding trouble

If the disciples have a lot to do so ensure the Sermon on the Mount happens, they also have other things on their minds. There are, of course, the usual gripes that come about when adults spend a lot of time in close proximity, something that The Chosen generally does a good job of portraying, especially given the hints in the texts and behind the texts that there tensions. But even with Mary returning to the fold, and everyone having had something to eat some are feeling the pressure.

In particular, Andrew is struggling. He's concerned that the conflict in Wadi Qelt (see previous episode) is indicative of the kind of trouble Jesus and the disciples might run into with other authorities. He's clearly still angry that Mary's unexpected absence caused them to be hungry which then led to them picking and eating grain and being reported by the synagogue's leaders.

But more than being hangry, he seems unnerved by the news that John the Baptist has been arrested. Andrew had previously been one of John's followers and worries that Jesus too might be on the verge of being arrested.

This leads to a fascinating conversation between him and his brother Simon, which might even be one of the best in the whole series (though it's split across two scenes). When Simon suggests "Jesus knows how to handle himself", Andrew counters "You know what they're doing to John. We can't let them do that to Jesus...let's not make a scene everywhere we go". In so doing he unwittingly takes on the role of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar (1973).

Jesus in chains

Andrew's worst fears are soon realised. Atticus catches up with Gaius and his cohort en route to arrest Jesus and bring him to Quintus for questioning. When they find Jesus the arrest is handled in an oddly gentlemanly fashion. Jesus is allowed to say goodbye to his Eema, even before the Sons of Thunder have surrendered their weapons, and Jesus is able to reassure his followers telling them "Don't be afraid" as he is arrested. There's an almost supernatural calm about him, which seems to prevent any of the more hot-blooded contingent in the scene to be calm too. It's arguably Jesus' best "Jedi" mind trick yet.

Nevertheless, once he's been taken away in chains, with a healthy nod to The Passion of the Christ, the disciples don't stay reassured for long. Andrew particularly seems to blame Mary Magdalene for being "selfish" and telling her to her face "You might be responsible!". Eventually Matthew, breaks out of his usual shy demeanour to defend her. (I'm told real Chosen fans have coined the power couple name Martthew, though some see more potential for Thaddalene)

If Jesus' arrest is rather cordial then his "interrogation" by Quintus verges on being positively jovial. Quintus, who even at the best of times taps into that camp-Roman ruler trope, here threatens to go the full King Herod from Jesus Christ Superstar but settles for an awkward metaphor-dressed-as-a-warning about fish and bones. Their interaction does give Jesus some of his best lines. One notable example comes at the end of their conversation. Quintus asks Jesus to stop "meddling", but Jesus demurs, saying that he can't promise not to. Quintus calmly threatens "Then I cannot promise you won't stop breathing" Jesus holds his ground "Well, it sounds like we're clear on what we can and cannot promise."

I must admit I feel a little bothered about how the Romans are portrayed relative to the Jewish authorities at this point. Quintus is camp, to the extent that he feels slightly out of place here. Gaius is possibly the gentlest Roman to have walked the Earth seemingly neither strong enough, aggressive enough or smart enough to have survived many battles let alone made it to a senior rank. It's hard to believe that men like these have conquered most of the known world, and given it a reputation for being vicious. The disciples might be scared of them, or at least what they represent, but they seem weak, if pleasant enough once you get to know them.

Atticus is the only one of the three who seems credible and while the suggestion is that he would have no compunction about dispatching an enemy to the Elysian Fields, he's also portrayed as being open-minded, wise and insightful. My hunch is that in the end he will become a follower of Jesus

This contrasts quite strongly with Jesus' more hot-blooded Jewish opponents, particularly the Pharisees. They don't seem to be reasonable. They also seem to have a power, and seem to rule over their people by fear. Andrew seems to fear they will get Rome or Herod's men to do their bidding for them if need be. It's true that in this episode the more lower level Roman soldiers do put them in their place a bit. 

Now in series one Shmuel's former rabbi Nicodemus did seem to embody some of these characteristics, but in some senses I'm not sure how much that really counts. Not only has he been out of the picture more or less in this series, but also, we all know that he ultimately becomes some sort of follower of Jesus. But the way things are heading, I get the feeling that we're going to be seeing angry, strong, passionate Jews bullying the weak Romans into executing Jesus. I hope I'm wrong. 

Incidentally, two little side notes at this point. Firstly, it was interesting to see Jesus specifically deny that he's been to the (far?) east, presumably this is to quash the stories of Jesus spending his teen years in India. Secondly amongst the good lines we do get Jesus saying "that's a little reductive" at one point, which is one of those phrases that just feels too modern to be at home here.

A Pharisee warning

While we see a lot of Roman activity in this episode, there is quite a lot going on with Jesus' Jewish opponents as well. This is another episode that doesn't cover much ground biblically speaking, but is building characters and the broader narrative. Shmuel is in town as well and now is determined to find more evidence of Jesus healing on the Sabbath. He calls in at the house of an old friend Yussif who we met in series 1. Yussif's got slightly less forceful head-gear.

 (I know that's a weird thing to say, but I reckon that if you line up the Pharisees in order of the height / elaborateness of their head gear, you'd find it mirrors the strength of their opposition to Jesus. In many Jesus films the visual coding of the costumes is that the more "Jewish" they are in the way they dress, the more likely they are to be responsible for Jesus' death, which seems like a very subtle, probably unconscious, equating of Jewishness with Christ-killing)

Anyway, I was surprised to learn from a recent interview that when Dallas Jenkins originally conceived of Yussif he hadn't thought to make him Joseph of Arimathea, but here we definitely see a more open approach from him and Nicodemus is also his rabbi so that kind of fits too. Shmuel decides to try and find Tamar (from s1e6) who has been witnessing before sizeable crowds with her formerly disabled friend to tell people about Jesus. Shmuel hopes she can confirm he healed a leper on the Sabbath.

But Andrew and Philip get there first and take Tamat and her friend aside to beg them to stop, lest they put Jesus in danger. Shmuel arrives just as the crowd is starting to disperse, but happens to meet the priest and the Pharisee from Wadi Kelt who tell them about Jesus healing on the Sabbath there and calling himself the "Son of Man" (s2e6).

Meanwhile as Andrew and Tamar are talking Yussif arrives and further stoking Andrew's paranoia, warns he and Philip that Jesus is in danger. This is a crucial, but sadly often overlooked verse from Luke 13:31, where the Pharisees warn Jesus he is in danger. This is evidence the popular idea that the Pharisees hated Jesus and were responsible for having him killed. If they wanted that why warn him. Sadly, though, it's absent from almost every Jesus film. Even here it's only one Pharisee, and a proto-Christian at that. Still I'm glad they included this part, though I'd love to see a more fulsome warning later on as well.

The Lord's Prayer

Finally Jesus returns to the disciples and preparation can again begin in earnest for the Sermon on the Mount. And it's here we get another of the classic set pieces of Jesus films, and obviously church practice: The Lord's Prayer. In Matthew's Gospel, however, it sits relatively quietly in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6:9-15). I'm kind of intrigued as to how it became such a central part of the traditional church service, as evidenced even in the first century after Jesus' death in the Didache.

Different Jesus films have different ways of handling the formal way in which this prayer appears in much Christian worship. In some films, such as The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), the scene is portrayed formally as well. Jesus speaks each line and the assembled crowds repeat each in turn. Other movies take the opposite approach, if very informal, paraphrased, and spoken out as if it's off the cuff, almost. 

Here we get a question as per the Gospels, but Jesus' answer is more as a model of the kind of things to pray about than a formal set prayer. It's a halfway house perhaps between the others. The structure is important, but the wording less so.

But perhaps what's most interesting about it is that it trails off halfway through. I'm fascinated by this. One the one hand this is more or less the only biblical episode in the whole 43 minute running time. This isn't a curtailment that was required for reasons of time. I guess it's a quirky dismantling of what is typically a set piece in onscreen portrayals of the Gospels. Like the Gospels it's one thing among the countless others that Jesus said.

On another hand though it seems to draw on the assumption that everyone knows this prayer. And perhaps, given that the show is largely watched by Christians, they do. It's just a clever way to evoke something and to leave the Christians to fill in the rest in their heads. Yet the show is meant to be introducing those who aren't believers to discover Jesus, so this maybe leaves them scratching their heads a bit. It's not really my concern, but it's a bit odd in that sense.

So I can't decide how I feel about that. I feel some days I might argue for it's bold creativity and interesting way with dealing with a potential cliché, other I might grumble a little. And maybe I like it for leaving me unsure what I think about it as well.

For anyone who can't wait for my write up of the next episiode, you don't have to! I wrote it a while back when I was prepping a Jesus films course, so you can read it here now.