Warning: This article contains spoilers for episodes 1-3 of Season 2 of The Chosen. Read at your own risk.

Once again I am here to recommend to you The Chosen TV show by producer and director Dallas Jenkins. As the show enters its second full season of 8 episodes The Heart is excited to recommend to you Season 2.The show is in Hiatus right now, after last Tuesdays Livestream of Episode two ended in a surprise viewing of Episode 3. Fundraising for season 3 is also going on and so we suggest that if you watch season 2 episodes 1-3 you pay it forward.

The Chosen  is a completely unique project for a number of reasons. First, it is completely crowd funded. Meaning that the cast and the crew are paid by the generous donations of millions of people around the world. It is also the first and only multi-season show about the life of Jesus. It is also released on a unique platform, either on The Chosen App or Thechosen.tv where you can do everything from buy merch like their new “Trouble” sweatshirt or these amazing Come and See shirts. All the proceeds of which go to fund and support season 3. Episode one of Season 2 was the number 3 most streamed event, beating out even Disney+ in ratings (maybe the Mouse could learn a thing or two?). The goal of the show is 1 Billion dollars, that is how, as Dallas said on the Episode 2 Livestream, how we “Shut Dallas up.” 1 Billion is the amount needed to fund all 8 planned seasons of this incredible show.

With all that fame, it makes one wonder, will the number one most streamed show during the Pandemic (currently with a 9.7 rating on IMBD) change its formula. One built on scripture and the very human interactions of the very human followers of Jesus. Or will they remain true to their attempt to make the show seem as real and the Bible as 3-D as possible. We know that Dallas has spent a great deal of time consulting a Jewish Rabbi, Protestant Pastor and Catholic Priest as he works to show us what the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, really looked and felt.

Well, in short, the answer is a resounding yes. With season 2 this amazing show has stayed true to the formula that pushed it over the edge with season 1. Not only is it true to the original formula, it has been true to the Scriptures in the many instances where events from Scripture are described, right down to the words recorded in the Gospel. One of the best examples of this, so far, has been the calling of Nathaniel, expertly played by Austin Reed Alleman and acted between himself and Jesus, still played by Jonathan Roumie. The episode dives into his backstory, with creative licensee, since we are largely unaware of the life of Nathaniel prior to Jesus calling him. They portray him as a man on his last nerve, failed and depressed, with dreams to build great things for God. When all that is taken from him he goes and sits under a fig tree. Just as the John account describes when Jesus calls him: “I saw you when you were sitting under the fig tree” (John 1:48).

Episode 1 starts somewhere in the 50’s, after the death of James the son of Zebedee. John, his brother, is trying to figure out how to write his gospel and is engaging his fellow Apostles in interviews so he can write down their experiences with Christ. He struggles with how to start his Gospel, but a remembrance of his from the life of Jesus, a time when they were in Samaria and Jesus read from the book of Genesis. At the end they brilliantly overlay Jesus reading Genesis 1 with John writing the opening words to his Gospel. It is beautifully and expertly produced.

The third Episode may be the hardest to watch, though it does use on of the most unique camera sequences I have ever seen. The first fifteen minutes of the episode is one continuous shot, starting on a day in Syria when Jesus is healing people from morning to night. The purpose of the episode and the purpose of the entire season is to dive into the various debates and rivalries that we know would have been present based on the culture. The disciples were not perfect, nor did they understand what they were a part of until after Jesus resurrection. So it makes sense that Matthew, a Tax Collector, and Peter, a Fisherman, would fight with one another and bicker. Dynamics we only really get small glimpses in Mark 10 and other places in the Gospel. We also get to see how petty those arguments are in the light of what Jesus is here to do, but I will not spoil how that is done.

The Chosen season 2 continues the direction that makes the show relatable to us in our everyday lives and makes Jesus accessible to everyone in his divine role as savior and as a human being. The shows expert performances are taken to the next level. Fans may be a little disappointed at how little we see of Roumie during these opening episodes, but remember, the point of this season is to show the relationship between the disciples.

God’s Heart continues to recommend The Chosen.