[Saul] Previously on House of David…
Today I offer up my daughter to one of your sons.
-[David] You cannot go through with this. -This is my life, David.
The last thing we need is you chasing a shepherd boy.
If I become a part of the family, there will be no bloodshed.
You will not speak a word.
You are "mother of giants."
-What would you offer them? -Vengeance.
Kill the lion.
Our houses will not be joined.
Saul, let's discuss this in the morning.
-Do not pacify me, woman! -[gasps]
Get out of my house!
[Orpah] It all began in the days of the great rebellion.
When the angels of heaven sought after the eternal throne,
they rose in defiance, but were defeated and cast out.
[thunderclap]
They fell unto the earth, these angels.
Cast out by God or tasked with watching the sons of men.
It is not truly known.
[thunderclap]
While some claim it as legend, others say it is true.
A story passed down for generations.
Born unto men were fair and beautiful daughters
bearing the image of God.
Some angels saw them and found themselves filled with craven desire.
[thunderclap]
And their leader, Samyaza, said unto the others,
"Let us choose wives from the daughters of men,
and let us beget for ourselves children."
And so it was.
And from that union sprang forth something other than sons of men.
Giants, born from a forbidden union.
Men of renowned and great ability, they walk the earth as gods among us.
But God punished the angels for their sin…
and banished them into eternal darkness,
never to walk the earth again.
All that was left was the sire of their rebellion,
feared and hunted by men.
[screaming]
[Orpah] They are you, my children.
You are the last of the Nephilim.
If all that you say is true…
then why do we still hide in this cave?
[Philistine king] What is it now, Achish? I grow tired of being summoned by you
only to be indulged with tales of fantasy and lore.
-They are real. I've seen them. -[Philistine king scoffs]
I believed in your father, and I believe in you as well.
You know this.
But the five armies will only unite
if they can see this great strength for themselves.
-[horn blows] -[Philistine king] No myth, legend.
Do you hear that?
[horn blows]
You wish to see my strength.
It's about to walk up to my gate and kneel at my feet.
It has been many weeks. I feared you wouldn't come.
If it weren't for my son, I would not have.
[Achish] Please, allow my servants to look after you.
Whatever you desire.
Great one, I have something interesting for you to see.
Tell the other kings to assemble in the Valley of Elah.
I will meet you there with my army and my giants.
The time is now.
[David singing in Hebrew]
[singing continues]
[Mirab] Mychal.
What are you doing?
I'm trying to see a future that can't be seen.
You sound like Mother's mystic.
[stammers]
Sometimes this palace can feel so…
Mmm.
Many a time I have found myself sitting on the walls and looking to the horizon,
just in hopes of seeing our brother Eshbaal one last time,
but, uh, I lost him, and myself as well.
I'm sorry Father stopped your wedding.
Mmm, no.
Our function is to be dutiful servants to the king,
no matter how inconsistent he becomes.
Happiness and free will are no more than an illusion.
Then there is you.
Your little secret meetings.
Slightly less talked about in the palace than Father's sickness.
Are you falling in love?
Hmm?
No.
[laughing]
[stammers] I was.
[Mirab scoffs]
I was. And… And now I'm… I'm conflicted.
-[sighs] Your pure, innocent heart. -Uh, compared to your jaded one.
Stop avoiding.
-[sighs] -Why are you torn?
Mother told me some things I didn't know, and now I-I see another side to him.
[Mirab] He's a peasant, and you'll never be allowed to marry him.
You will learn eventually.
We are a ladder men climb to reach their ambitions,
and the sooner you accept it… [inhales sharply]
…the less painful their footsteps will be. [exhales sharply]
God has bestowed a blessed gift upon you.
Thank you, my king.
I envy you.
The life you live back home, the purity of it.
Watching your herd, the farm.
I miss it.
You grew up on a farm?
I was not born king. I became one.
Much like you, I tended animals.
Donkeys, in my case.
Stubborn things, much more so than sheep.
But it was, uh, good preparation, I suppose, for leading men.
So you are saying men are like donkeys.
-[laughs] -[David chuckles]
-Worse sometimes. [chuckles] -[chuckles]
From shepherd to king.
All is possible.
You can be anything, no matter where you start.
And do not allow the words of any one man to take your destiny from you.
It's yours.
Hold on to it tight.
Oh. A visit. How wonderful.
I was never here.
If the queen found out--
We keep each other's secrets, now as ever.
-You may leave now. -[coins jingle]
[Doeg] Don't be afraid, Reuben.
Kezia has told me such wonderful things about you.
How smart you are, how well you listen,
and that you were with the king one night.
A special night.
At the battlefield, when a man visited the king. Huh?
-Samuel? -[Doeg] Yes. Samuel. What did he say?
-Do you kill them at the end? -Huh?
The animals. Do you sacrifice them?
I'm no seer, Reuben.
[Reuben] Then why hurt them?
[groans] Why?
Because I can learn from them.
They have things inside I wish to know about.
Have you ever seen a heart up close?
[imitates heartbeat] Huh?
No? Would you like to?
Then tell me what you heard, and in return,
I will show you a great many things here.
[whispers] They were loud, and the king cried.
And then God replaced him as king.
[Samuel] The Lord has torn a kingdom from you.
[Reuben] He was an… anoi…
-Anointed? -[Reuben] Anointed.
[Doeg whispers] Thank you, Reuben.
[people chatter]
The forging of metal was first taught to man by the gods,
and at the end of the last great age, the secrets of the mystic arts were lost.
As were so many other precious elements required.
Bronze. Metal.
And the will to forge it.
Panoply armor.
Divine. Crafted by the finest Mycenaean blacksmith.
There's none like it.
[chuckles] Yes.
This will do.
[Goliath chuckling, muffled]
[weapons clanging]
[Philistine soldiers grunting, groaning]
[Goliath chuckles] Hey, look.
You want to fight?
Huh? [laughs] You two want to play?
[grunts, laughs]
Don't worry. They will not harm him.
-[Goliath grunts] -I cannot say the same in return.
Who wants to fight? [chuckles, grunts]
-[Philistine soldier shouts, grunts] -[Goliath laughs, grunts]
-[Goliath grunts, laughs] -[screams, grunts]
Eh? [shouts] Come!
-Where you go? Come back! -[Philistine soldiers whimpering, panting]
[laughing]
Ally with me. Aid in my victory.
You and your sons will live like kings.
Kings?
They are already gods.
You move pieces around a map.
Arguing and fighting over whose land is whose, what god is more powerful.
As if you truly control any of it.
So, what do you say to my offer? Together we can find vengeance.
Let Goliath slay their king, enslave his people.
There will be enough spoils for all of us when this victory is won.
Vengeance is something that I've wished for as long as I can remember.
So, here is my offer in return.
My sons will ally with you on one condition.
Name it.
Your throne.
I don't understand.
Why would my sons kneel at the feet of any man? Even you.
It is men who must kneel before gods.
When the victory is won, it will be Goliath who rules this land.
All of it.
Kiss my hand now and swear it will be so.
No.
Then you will have no giants.
And without them you shall have no victory.
But I'd be careful, Achish.
Once you have awakened giants, they seldom go back to sleep.
[Jonathan] Our spies in Philistine suggest something's afoot.
Troops gathering here and here.
Some sort of accord between at least two of their nations.
-To what cause, we do not know. -Ill omens all around us.
I suspect it's King Achish behind this.
He's ambitious, vengeful.
But up to now untested and unsupported.
I thought we neutered his threat years ago.
His father, yes, but since Achish came out of hiding and took back the throne,
they have become emboldened.
By what?
Word of your ailment has spread, Father.
-They may feel an opportunity exists. -[chuckles]
To defeat me? How many time must you beat a dog before it lies down?
Perhaps we should remind them, strike first before--
No, no. I… Forgive me, my king. Unwise.
[stammers] We should fortify our defenses,
and… and wait to see what manifests of--
"Wait"?
Since when were you afraid of taking the fight to the enemy?
We destroyed the entire Amalekite army,
despite their better weapons and greater numbers.
We prevailed with God at our backs.
[thunderclap]
With God.
[Abner speaks indistinctly]
[Jonathan] Father.
-Are you well? -As well as ever.
The border village attack…
Do not raise giants with me again.
Father, you cannot discount it.
There were signs.
You want me to cower in fear because of a handprint?
I thought you were a hero to our people, not a terrified child!
I'm surrounded by weakness. Them and you!
No one will take me from my throne.
Not Adriel, or Achish, and not you!
Father.
Let them come. Let them all come!
I'll show them the strength of a real king.
I'll cut every one of them to pieces.
[door opening]
Mychal.
Why didn't you tell me who you really are?
My mother told me you were an outcast to your tribe and your family.
It changes nothing of how I see you,
but I thought we were honest with each other.
[David sighs]
The truth is I'm afraid.
When people find out who I really am… they run away,
and I lose them.
Am I going to lose you now?
-David. -[sighs]
My-My brother, he offered me a way out of the castle unseen.
You could come with me.
It sounds like a pleasant fiction.
Let me show you what you can be like outside of these walls,
no royal destiny weighing on your shoulders.
Freedom.
It's a simple life, even if just for a moment in time.
When she saw I was missing, my mother would send the king's army to retrieve me.
-You would be a hunted man. -Then we can go further.
Somewhere they can never find us.
David…
there is a difference between desire and duty.
[breathes shakily] My future is not mine to decide.
That is true only if you believe it.
[sniffles]
Here are two things that are absolutely true…
I love you…
-What? -And we can never be.
Never.
[David] Mychal.
-[crying] -[door closes]
Let me take a hundred men, catch them in the valley, kill them both.
[Doeg] You would need many more than that.
[Philistine soldier] Halt!
-My lord. Peace. -[Philistine soldier] Stay right there.
[Philistine soldier 2] Doeg. What do you want?
[Doeg] I am but a servant to power.
There may be another way to get what you want.
Samuel?
Samuel!
[groaning]
He's getting worse.
[groaning continues]
It lies at the very dark edge of my knowledge, and it come with risk.
[Ahinoam] How-How grave?
It will either provide a window into his affliction,
and a pathway out of it, or…
[Ahinoam stammers] Just do it. He… He's gonna hurt himself.
[Besai] Hold him still.
-[Saul groans] -[Ahinoam] What for?
[Besai] I need to take his blood.
[strains]
[David whispers] Mychal.
[sighs]
[whispers] Mychal.
[Eliab] David, what are you doing in the royal quarters?
-I'm-- -Oh, you are looking for her, aren't you?
-Have you lost your mind? That's it. -What are you doing?
-You are going home. Now! -What are you doing? Let go.
[Jonathan] Eliab, what is this?
-[Eliab panting] My prince. -[groans]
It is time for my brother to leave the palace.
Stop. Now.
-[Eliab grunts] -[David panting]
[Jonathan] The musician is in the service of my father.
The king will decide when he leaves.
[panting]
My brother has been a curse on our house all of his life.
You pray he is not one on yours.
[Saul groaning]
[David panting]
[groans]
[in Hebrew] From his tongue to his mind.
[gasps]
Show me.
-[Besai breathes heavily] -[grunting]
[Ahinoam, in English] What is it? What do you see?
A lion…
…and a man.
Both one.
[Ahinoam whispers] A name. Give me a name.
-[Saul groans] -[Besai breathes heavily] Something else.
An energy. A presence.
[Ahinoam] A name.
[in Hebrew] Yes, let me see you…
[Saul groans]
[Saul groaning]
[in English] This ends now.
[Ahinoam gasps]
-What have you done? -Spared us all from this.
Under law, even a queen can be killed--
-Do not tell me what the law is. -God rules this house.
[Ahinoam] God has forsaken this house.
-[Jonathan] This is not the way. -[Besai grunts]
-You. -[Saul grunting]
[Besai] You.
You caused all of this.
[Jonathan grunts]
Get out while you still can.
I saw enough to know this.
You will never be king. Never.
[Saul gasping]
[Saul groaning]
Death is coming.
[giant] Mother spoke little upon your arrival.
Just grumblings about the treachery of men.
Well, I liked them.
Your wish to survive should outweigh all others. Heed my words.
[giant] Achish offered us a future and you turned him down?
[Orpah] He offered you subservience.
But isn't that the same as we have here with you?
I have sacrificed all I am to care for and protect you.
[giant] I'm sorry, Mother.
I simply yearn for a life outside this cave.
Well, I can give you part of what you want.
This place is no longer safe.
If Achish and his people could find us here, who else might?
We must seek a new home.
[scoffs] Where we hide again.
Where we protect ourselves.
At least until I can find a way to get us what you deserve.
We will spend one more night here, then we pack what we need, and we go.
A new life cannot begin without the death of the old one.
[Saul] Your fingers. They're bleeding.
Put down your lyre. Let me tend to you.
You've been playing for hours.
I can still play.
No. Put it down.
[David sighs]
Much as I am calmed by your music, I cannot have it harm you.
[David sighs]
-[sighs] -I've…
no memory of what happened the other night.
I remember only pieces.
I fear I am the only one to blame of all that is happening.
Samuel has anointed another for reasons I cannot reconcile.
[Saul sighs]
Not knowing who it is, it torments me day after day.
Robbing me of every joy.
A king often faces difficult choices.
When you take my place,
this will be as true for you as it is for me, my son.
Jonathan.
[David] I'm so sorry, my king. I have failed to ease your mind.
I think it's time for me to leave.
[giants singing in Hebrew]
[singing continues]
[laughs]
Come now. Must you yell to sing?
You will bring the rocks down upon our heads.
We cannot waste a good wine, Mother.
[laughs]
And so a toast.
[Goliath grunts]
To the mightiest sons a mother could ever have.
[chuckles]
One day, the world will bow before you…
and revere you as you all deserve.
[speaks Hebrew]
[all speaking Hebrew]
[chuckles] Ima.
[all chanting] Ima, Ima, Ima, Ima, Ima.
[all laugh, exclaim]
-[all shout] -[chuckles]
-All gone. -[giants laugh]
There are a few more skins left.
I will fetch them.
To Ima.
-[giant] To Ima. -Ima!
-[Orpah humming] -[crickets chirping]
[Doeg] Orpah.
Who is there?
Greetings from Israel and the house of Saul.
Goliath! [grunts]
[Orpah groans, grunts]
[moans]
[panting]
Now you scream for me.
[grunts, screams]
[singing in Hebrew]
[Orpah screaming]
[breathing heavily]
[Goliath] Ima!
[Orpah breathing heavily]
Ima! [breathes heavily]
[cries]
[sniffles] Who did this?
Who did this?
[Orpah] House of Saul…
[breathing heavily]
Avenge me.
[sniffles, cries]
[cries] No! No!
No.
[cries]
No!
[Mirab] Going somewhere?
You didn't steal anything, did you?
[scoffs]
I must go.
I fear I may be more of a problem than a solution.
The queen agreed.
I can do no good here.
True.
Your music only seemed to slow down my father's descent, not stop it.
Music is not a cure for what ails him.
Apparently neither is magic.
David.
Before you go…
-What of Mychal? Hmm? -What do you mean?
What… [whispering] What does your heart wish her to know?
[David] What are you doing?
[whispering] Tell me… And I will tell Mychal.
Hmm?
I realize that our futures are not aligned.
We have different paths.
It didn't stop me from loving her.
Truly and completely.
[whispers] Yes, of course.
Goodbye, David.
[David] Goodbye, Princess.
[sighs]
[people chattering]
[Abner] I've only just heard.
[Jonathan] There's no other way, Abner.
-I have to do something. -Samuel is in hiding.
You won't find him in Nob.
I know him well enough.
There's only one place he could take refuge. [grunts]
Be careful.
And you, Abner.
[panting]
[groaning]
[soldiers screaming, distorted]
[groaning, panting]
-[soldiers screaming, distorted] -[groans] Father.
[breathing heavily] Father!
-[soldiers screaming] -[swords clanging]
[Jonathan] Father!
Father, retreat!
[screams]
[groans]
[Jonathan grunts]
[screaming continues]
[groans, grunts]
[gasps]
[panting]
-[Samuel grunts, strains] -[groans, grunts]
-[groans] -[Samuel grunts]
-[Jonathan grunts] -[strains, screams]
[both straining, grunting]
Samuel! Samuel, it's Jonathan.
-It's what? -It's Jonathan!
-Jonathan? -[strains]
-Jonathan? -Yes!
[Jonathan panting, grunting]
Jonathan. Why didn't you say so?
[Samuel strains, sighs]
Are you hurt?
You have not lost your strength.
No, I have old man strength, huh?
And I have a very good stick.
[Samuel chuckles]
[Jonathan] Hila.
Drink this. It will help calm you.
Good to see you after all these years.
Such a strong young man you have become.
And you remain a gracious host.
Wish I could say the same for your husband.
[Hila] His burdens wear heavy on his shoulders.
-He has to take them out on someone. -[Samuel sighs]
Hmm.
[Jonathan] What just happened to me?
Hmm? I don't understand what I saw.
In time, you will.
Tell me, how did you find me?
I thought, "There is only one mountain more holy than Nob."
-Indeed. -Sinai.
[Samuel chuckles]
Mountain of fire.
I derive great strength here.
Great wisdom.
Still…
I need no vision to understand why you've come.
You remember the days past, Samuel?
Fighting at my father's side.
And teaching me as a boy.
Hmm.
These memories flood me each and every day.
They break my heart.
Then why does this curse remain?
Jonathan, the only curse is your father's unwillingness to release
what is no longer his. Hmm?
Tell me,
what is the first commandment that Moses gave here,
here on this very mountain?
"You shall have no other gods before me."
Ah. And yet,
your father has become a god unto himself.
And he is tormented because of that.
You can bring him back.
-I have no such power. -You do.
You are Samuel.
You led Israel. You… All men fear you.
-No. -As they should.
No, Jonathan.
I have begged for your father,
for your house.
It changes nothing.
There are some mistakes that cannot be undone.
[Jonathan] And the visions I had ascending the mountain…
will they come to pass?
There is truth in them.
But I cannot say whether they will come to pass.
Hey.
Jonathan.
None of this is your doing.
There is much goodness in you.
If you believe that, then tell me.
You anointed another?
First I must ask, who do you serve?
God. Above all.
Indeed I have.
As king?
A king whose reign will know no end.
If I were you, I would pass by the great valley on your return.
I see great darkness.
[groans]
[chains rattling]
No.
[Ahinoam] Saul.
No!
[Ahinoam] Saul.
-Saul. -[breathing heavily] Where's that boy?
The… The musician.
He's gone.
I need him.
H-How could you let him go?
[breathes shakily] I need him to play for me.
I know. I know.
[whispers] We will find another. I promise.
[breathes shakily]
[Saul groans]
You are not slipping away from me again are you, my love?
-I'm trying. -Good.
You have time.
I'm certain of it.
Now, here.
Drink this.
[footsteps approaching]
[footsteps continue]
[Goliath] I will kill you!
-Hebrews! House of Saul! [shouts] -[people scream]
Saba, more hay.
[Jesse] I am coming, Avva, right now.
[sighs]
Here.
Here you go.
Avva, look.
David.
David!
Avva.
[groans]
David!
[chuckles]
My boy!
[laughs]
[horse whinnies]
[Philistine soldiers clamoring]
[panting]
The Philistines have assembled… [panting] …at the Mount of Elah.
We've already received word.
How many did you see?
They cover the mountain like sands on the shore.
-I've never seen such an army. -Do giants walk among them?
[breathing heavily] I cannot say for sure.
[Saul] Summon the tribes.
All of them.
[Jonathan] My king.
Together we shall do what we have always done.
Fight!
[banging on table]
Hold.
[breathes heavily]
Let me fight their king.
Let me kill them all.
[inhales sharply] And in your name,
I will show them who the real gods are.