9/19/2023 0 Comments The chosen season 2![]() ![]() These are some of the major fault lines among the disciples during the first half of The Chosen Season 2. While she doesn't seem to be in contention for leading the group, her opinions seem to be well-respected by everyone else. Mary Magdalene exerts an informal kind of leadership in the group. Now they're trying to learn Torah together. Matthew also bonds with Mary Magdalene and Ramah as "outsiders," since they're the members of the group who haven't had significant synagogue training. ![]() Matthew's treatment is also an occasion for Philip to step in and offer support, although Philip doesn't seem to have much interest in getting involved in the inner-group politics of the disciples. Simon (and, in a more moderate way, Andrew) despises Matthew, while John and Big James seems to want to be more welcoming. One "battleground" in the contention between Simon/Andrew and John/Big James is the treatment of Matthew. Simon and Andrew are in contention with John and Big James for leadership of the group and the opportunity to set Jesus' agenda. Rather, the meal with the Samaritan Bandit is an opportunity for John and Big James to have their anti-Samaritan bias rebuked by Jesus' radically gracious embrace and also for the brothers to witness Jesus' divine power demonstrated from afar. The Chosen isn't nearly as interested in him as a character as it would have been in Season 1. Consider the case of the Samaritan Bandit from Episode 1. Looking back on episodes 1 & 2, we see this same thread has indeed taken prominence over personal encounters since the very beginning of Season 2. Since all the encounters with Jesus in Episode 3 happen in the background, what's left? Our focus is left solely on the struggle of the disciples to come together as a community while learning how to follow Jesus together, in spite of their differences and their conflicting bids for power. So, if The Chosen Season 2 isn't as interested in personal encounters with Jesus as Season 1 was, what is it interested in? Episode 3 of Season 2 is the clearest indicator. Regardless, I hope identifying these different forms of Jesus-encounters helps put a spotlight on how central the personal encounter is to Season 1 of The Chosen. In practice, these types take on a wide variety of forms depending on the nature of the character and his/her predicament, as well as the pacing of the character's story arc. Of course, by abstracting all the encounters with Jesus in The Chosen Season 1 into types like I have, it flattens things out. Opposition ( Shmuel & the Pharisees, Quintus, indirectly): The character encounters Jesus doing something that challenges his power and worldview and responds with opposition and anger. The character is drawn to Jesus with little serious conflict and invited to participate in his ministry in some form or other. The character doesn't really need to be rescued, nor does Jesus need to disrupt the character's worldview in a serious way. Invitation ( James & John & Family, the Children, Eden): This is a less prominent and well-defined arc than the previous two, but essentially it's a less dramatic form of the "rescue" arc. ![]() The character encounters Jesus and is challenged to leave behind the parts of his/her old life that are going well in order to follow Jesus, with variable results. The character is eager to follow Jesus and spread news of him to others.ĭisruption ( Nicodemus, Matthew, Thomas, Ramah): The character's life shows signs of emptiness, but superficially he/she seems to be doing pretty well suddenly, the character discovers Jesus' work (from a distance) and it turns the character's worldview upside down. Rescue ( Mary, Simon, Photina, the Leper, the Paralytic & friends, Eden's mother): The character's long-term struggle comes to a breaking point suddenly, Jesus shows up out of nowhere and has a personal, miraculous encounter that rescues the character from his/her struggle. ![]()
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