Previously on House of David...
Fight with me!
Tell David I'm sorry I doubted him.
You have been planning the takeover of my throne.
- This offer of marriage is over. - No, Saul.
You and I are the only two of our line that will survive.
We are Israel's only hope. You must crown me king.
They're running away.
Victory!
Giant-slayer!
Father, there is no one more worthy for us to honor.
My sword. It is now yours.
Thank you.
Guards! Arrest the Seer.
This is finished, Samuel.
No, Saul.
It is just beginning.
History will tell you
that the House of Saul was defeated by his enemies.
Others will tell you that there was never supposed to be a king in Israel,
and for this reason, God forsook him.
But I will tell you that a house divided against itself cannot stand.
And my father was not defeated from without.
He was overthrown from within.
From the one closest to him, one he trusted.
The one I loved.
Abner, what troubles him?
Many things that trouble the king.
I'm sure seeing you will remedy them.
It is you, isn't it?
My king?
I loved you, trusted you.
And still, you betrayed me.
My king, I am loyal to you.
As I always have been.
Loyal...
Are you?
No more deception.
Speak the truth.
Did Samuel choose you?
- My king, please just sit down-- - Did he choose you?
Did he?
- Did Samuel choose you? - No.
No.
God chose me.
People of Gibeah, welcome home your king.
Yes! Yes!
Saul, son of Kish, returning to you victorious in battle.
My people, God has shined upon us once again.
We keep this between us for now.
Even as the Philistines brought forth their mighty giant, Goliath.
I understand.
And, Mother, he will too.
We did this out of necessity.
It will be shock enough for him to see you return from exile.
No, I will decide when it's best to tell him.
...with only a sling.
And he slayed the mighty giant with a single stone.
Now, if there are any doubts if God is still with us,
let this be a message to us all.
God has given us the victory!
Would you like to meet the giant slayer?
Yes!
David of the tribe of Judah.
Simple shepherd, musician.
Now, champion for all of Israel. Step forth!
David! David!
From this day forward, you will join the House of Saul.
My daughter will be given to you in marriage.
And, David, as a reward for your bravery,
I give you command of a thousand men!
- David! David! - David!
Mychal!
Thank you. Yes.
Giants fall and small men rise.
And what of us?
There's a price to pay for what we did.
Oh, I settled my debt, son.
What I know has a currency worth more than gold.
Thank you. Thank you.
Ahinoam.
Mother.
- Oh! You're bleeding. - I'm fine.
My sisters have more blood on them than I do.
Come.
Eshbaal.
Esh.
Mirab.
How are you here?
A story for another time.
- Esh! You're back. - Mychal. Oh.
- Your hair, it's... - Jonathan.
- ...different. Uh... - Better?
No.
Different. Different.
Father.
May the king live forever.
I know there is much to explain.
Come here, son. Come here.
Explanations will come later.
My family is whole again!
Explanations will come later.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
It's fine. We're fine.
Excuse me, Father.
What is it?
It's David's brother, Nathaneel.
Excuse me.
My king.
I need to go and find David.
You need to go and have a wash.
You might be right.
Right.
David? Who is David?
I have so much to tell you. So much.
All right. Remember that shepherd that...
Alive.
Looking for someone?
Look at you. [chuckles] David.
But how are you healing?
I-I still have the image of that spear hitting you.
Honestly, I can't remember ever feeling better.
I know what you mean.
I-I feel like the world has shifted,
and we're here in the middle of it.
My father is better.
I think God has brought my family back together again.
And there's you.
Us. Us, Mychal.
Yes. Us.
David.
Jonathan, what is it?
Are you all right?
Afraid I have bitter news.
It's your brother, Nathaneel.
You don't have to speak, Great One, but at least eat.
I am nourished by the Lord God.
Samuel, you have betrayed the king.
An act, as you know, is punishable by death.
But Saul is feeling generous after our victory,
and so I've... ...I've come here with this offer.
The Day of Atonement is coming.
You will be there, as always, beside Saul at the Tabernacle,
and you will anoint him again
in front of all the priests...
and all of Israel.
Abner, son of Endor...
you were born into darkness. Were you not?
I have renounced that place.
I would have thought watching your mother consumed by darkness
would be warning enough for the house you serve.
I did warn them.
What we allow, we become.
Warn them again,
or the darkness that has consumed Saul will consume you as well.
My prince.
Kezia.
- I will wake the queen right away. - No.
Do not tell my family.
My father is finally stable.
I will not be the one to trouble him.
Let me see.
I know of a healer.
He's in the hills of Gibeah.
I was often injured before I served your family.
He saved me from death more than once.
Take me there.
My king. Dagonor, son of Ashdod, has arrived.
Dagonor.
Be thankful you still have a throne to sit on.
Throwing away the lives of so many men has consequences.
We all grieve the loss of your father. He was a good king.
Was he?
We have more important losses to grieve.
- We should have defeated them. - Your plan was flawed, Achish.
I had giants.
Mm-hmm, that you hid behind and it cost us everything.
Have you come here looking for a fight?
I've come, uh... to make a point.
Azor.
Then you should make it.
You had the right idea.
You just used the wrong weapon.
Look at the blade.
Not a mark.
The key to defeating the Hebrews was never the size or strength of your giant.
It was the sword in his hand.
We are no longer in the age of bronze.
Victory now hinges on the forging of iron.
When you created that sword for Goliath,
you didn't fully understand what you had made.
Imagine, a Philistine army
with every man wielding a weapon like this.
None could stand against us.
That is my point.
You're finally awake.
Let's look at that ugly thing.
Worse than last night. Frankincense.
May I... May I ask your names?
I'm Hiram.
That's Sara, my granddaughter and my assistant.
She used to follow me around all day when she was a girl,
asking questions about the body.
Why does this do this and that do that?
Very annoying.
We let this sit and wait.
Clean the wound and bandages.
Don't worry. She's very good.
Would you mind if I took a closer look?
I'm worried my grandfather might have missed something.
If you think it's best.
I do.
Where is Kezia?
She returned to the palace.
What is your opinion?
I believe a piece of the arrowhead is still lodged inside you.
This will hurt.
If it stays inside you, the poison will spread and...
you will die.
How soon?
Soon.
So what do you feel should be done?
This is a tool I've been experimenting with.
You want to stick that inside me?
It's not as bad as it looks.
Th-The prongs will grip the arrow, and then I pull it out.
Has it worked before?
Well, I've never tried it on a human before.
Jonathan, you have no reason to trust me,
but I have spent years perfecting this tool
after my brother died of an arrow wound like this.
It's your life.
I believe I can save it if you let me try.
Do it.
All right.
No!
All the men...
good men...
dead before their time.
Noble causes and service to God, and yet here I am, and they are not.
And I...
...I am left haunted to tell their families that their beloved will never return.
Of all the wounds I bear from all the battles I have fought,
none scar me so much as this.
And this time...
...it is our family who grieves.
His last words were for you, David.
He was proud of you.
As am I.
Eliab...
...there are things I must tell you.
What is this?
Joab, what business do you have with us? We are in mourning.
I'm sorry, Jesse, but we've come to escort David back to the palace.
Escort? I-I don't understand.
You haven't told them?
Told us what?
King Saul has made your son a royal commander of a thousand men,
including me.
You as well, Eliab.
- Eliab. - No.
Eliab. Eliab, listen. Stop! Stop!
Eliab, your commander is giving an order.
Let him make me stop.
- Eliab! - Joab, it's all right.
Eliab, wait. Listen to me.
Eliab. Eliab, let me talk to you.
As you rise, we fall. Right, little brother?
I did not choose this.
- And yet, you embrace it. - I am doing what is asked of me.
I have struggled for years to free our family
from the burden that you have brought on us.
I know.
So let me do my part.
Why can you not accept that?
"Why?" You want to know why?
Eliab.
That is why.
Your leader.
Get up.
Look at him. Our great commander.
- I'm just trying-- - Eliab.
You want to be a leader? Stand up and fight me.
What are you going to do without your sling, giant slayer?
Eliab. I'm-I'm sorry. I just wanted to--
David, stay down.
Joab, stop him.
Come on. Command me now, little brother.
Command me now.
Eliab!
You are no warrior.
You are just a boy who had one lucky shot.
We buried our brother today,
and with you in command we will bury thousands more.
So, no, I will not follow you.
Eliab. That is enough.
Leave him.
Go!
Go ahead. Do what you need to do.
Ready?
Hmm.
Breathe. Good. Good. Tell me about Naomi.
What?
You kept saying her name in your sleep.
Jonathan.
Tell me about her.
She had my heart.
I was only 20.
Victorious in my first battle at Michmash.
But while I was gone, a sickness ravaged her entire family.
When I returned home, I found they'd already buried her.
I've always carried the guilt that I wasn't there with her.
I'm sorry.
I must go again.
Oh, I feel something.
Yaldati, my child.
I worry for you, Ahinoam.
Why?
I am not the one bound and alone.
Are you not?
I didn't come here to argue.
Then why are you here?
Samuel... Avi...
Saul has redeemed himself, a great victory.
Amends have been made.
Can God not see that?
He sees all...
to the very core of who we are.
Just because there is a great victory without,
does not mean there is one within.
Are you saying Saul hasn't changed?
I am not saying anything at all. That is not my function.
When I was young...
a terrible storm hit our village.
My sweet sister...
we found her by the riverbank...
washed up by the flood.
No sign of life.
And so... I prayed.
I... I prayed.
And then, a miracle.
She gasped and came back from the dead.
If God... can do that,
take someone... ...and then give them back,
surely he can undo this.
He can...
but he has not.
Eshbaal. Oh. Uh, I'll come back later.
No. What?
You want to play hounds and jackals?
Sure. Why not?
Do you want wine?
No. No, it clouds the senses.
Esh... what happened to you?
I will tell you all, Mirab.
I just need time. No.
At least tell me this, will my rebellious brother ever return?
Rebellion takes many forms.
Fun brother then? It's been dreadfully dull without you.
I'm still here, Mirab.
Now, go. It's your move.
So, I hear Father ripped a wedding from you.
That's right.
Jordan from Judah? Really?
He's not so bad.
No? Was Mirab in love?
No, I was not in love.
I didn't know him.
But I did like him.
And you know, it was nice for a moment
to imagine a-a life with a decent man.
Perhaps be happy.
Happy? You?
Right.
I should've known better.
None of it was meant for me.
It was for Mychal.
Perhaps for good reason.
She is wonderful,
and I always manage to ruin everything.
It's what I'm known for.
Why do you do that? Why do you put yourself down?
Maybe Jonathan and Mychal get everything they want
because they believe they deserve it?
While you and I have remained shackled by our belief that we are forever unworthy.
We are worthy, Mirab.
We always have been.
And if you truly believed that, what would you ask for?
Samuel.
How I have waited for this moment.
Who are you?
Who am I?
I am Doeg, an Edomite.
But you are no stranger to me.
I've been tasked to discover the name of the anointed one.
Even if it takes your life, as it did your apprentice.
What was his name, your apprentice?
I only remember his screams.
Silas was his name.
Silas.
Tell me, is it true you've never cut your hair?
That it is somehow sacred to your God?
Perhaps we should start there.
There is another name.
Hmm?
Another name you dream of often.
Timna.
What?
What did you say?
Timna. Your mother's name.
You see,
you are not so unknown to me
and to God as you think.
When your mother, Timna,
died by your father's hands,
you cowered. Did you not?
Beneath the stairs.
- How would you know that? - Uh-huh.
And afterward, you felt something else, didn't you?
You felt curiosity that still burns.
It burns within you.
And thus began your obsession with death.
God, he could've lifted you from that dark place,
but you renounced him,
and you turned to even deeper shadows.
And so, Doeg,
son of Timna,
Edomite...
allow me to help you.
What is this place?
You are trapped in the death you brought to so many others...
and there you shall remain.
God has given us the victory
and blessed us with a new son and champion.
A simple shepherd, just as I was.
Yes.
A great victory.
But do you really think David is capable of commanding an army?
It is wise to use David to unite our people.
They love him. He inspires them.
- He inspires me. - You inspire them.
You.
Perhaps it is wise to wait.
Wait?
For the wedding announcement.
Give David more time to better prove himself.
Prove himself?
More so than killing a giant?
You were ready to marry Mychal off to one of Adriel's boys
without proving themselves.
Adriel is a powerful leader and a necessary alliance.
David is the bastard child of a commoner.
Ahinoam, I have made my decision. Why must you challenge me?
We don't need any more wine. Leave us.
If you don't believe in David,
you do not believe in me.
Of course I believe in you.
Come. Sit with me.
My king. There's something you need to see.
What is it, Abner?
Please come.
He is not responding to anyone.
I fear he is trapped as you were.
And Samuel?
Gone.
What fool ordered Doeg to threaten the prophet?
And why was I not made aware of this?
I was hoping the threat wouldn't be necessary.
Better to keep your hands clean of it.
Find Samuel at once.
David, don't worry.
I'm sure his hands hurt more than your face.
Eliab, is there something you want to say to your brother?
That's Jonathan's sword.
Yes, he gave it to me.
Avva.
Take care of those sheep for me, and Saba too.
Promise.
When will you return?
I've been claimed into the king's family.
So, not for a while.
I'm going to marry Princess Mychal.
I think that through our union, I will find my way to the throne in peace.
I hope you are right.
David, I never believed Israel should have a king...
...but if it is indeed God's will,
I am glad it will be you.
Promise me you will stay safe.
The lord is with me.
The lord is with you.
Ready, Commander?
Here.
Thank you. I'm still getting used to that.
Goodbye, Father.
"Commander David," sounds good.
David, wow. That is your horse?
Mm-hmm.
I have a feeling your new command is gonna bring me the attention
of many fine ladies.
- You want to ride back? - Ah, if you're offering.
No. We would rather walk.
Let's go.
Go.
You want to walk?
Yes, I want to walk.
Mirab, an unexpected surprise.
I couldn't sleep.
You are my daughter indeed.
Come. Sit.
You want wine?
No, it clouds the senses.
Yes, isn't that the point?
What is bothering you?
Nightmares of the battle?
No.
When you tore a life away from me,
a marriage, it was truly painful.
I thought you saw how happy I was.
My sweet. You know, I was not myself.
I know.
And that is why I have something to ask of you.
There is a way in which I could serve this kingdom and this house.
Your house, my king.
I defy the king of Israel.
I defy the god of Israel.
This sword. I fear it is cursed. I do not want it near the king.
You take it to Nob, you hide it with the other sacred objects. Yes?
Yes, Commander.
You tell no one.
Go.
- Hello, Father. - Hello, my son.
What is this?
This is something which is not supposed to be seen.
Morning.
You look so much better.
How are you feeling, brother?
What are you doing here?
Kezia was concerned.
Don't worry, I will keep your secret.
Eshbaal sat by your side all night waiting for your fever to break.
Uh, perhaps he was just waiting for me to die.
See, I told you. He'll never trust me.
Hmm, did my brother charm you all night? He's good at that.
He only spoke of you. How much you've done for your family.
I should be getting back to the palace.
Slowly.
- I'm fine. Thank you. - Okay, stay here.
Thank you for saving my life.
And, uh, for your company.
Uh, it's, uh... it's clear you're not fully recovered.
Perhaps, Sara, you should return with us to the palace
as the prince's personal healer.
I don't know if this--
I would appreciate your care and expertise.
I'm sorry, but this is my home. I'm needed here.
Of course.
I'll fetch you some supplies.
Well, I had to try. I'm just happy to see you look at a woman again.
Stand back.
Stand back. Stand back.
Are you all right?
My father's gathered everyone in the throne room.
There's a special announcement. Come.
My king, I thank you for allowing me to return home and grieve my brother.
David, I'm glad to have you back.
Are you ready now to commit to this house,
to being a commander of men,
to dedicating your very life in service of your king?
I know in my heart my place is here.
I accept your vow,
and as a gift...
I offer you my beautiful daughter in marriage.
Mirab.