The Chosen Season 5: A 'powder keg' about to blow

From the promotional posters alone you can discern that The Chosen has rather come of age. 

In the poster for The Chosen: The Last Supper Part 1 Jesus is sporting a striking purple cape – described in Mark 15 as a ‘robe’ but dramatised here almost as a superhero’s cape. We know Jesus is going to be more than merely an on-screen character who saves a few people – He is going to be The Saviour who can save us all. 

With evangelistic zeal, the company behind the show want to reach a billion people with the series. It’s a big target – but this first release generated over $11 million across its first three days of release in America – putting it at third place on the US domestic charts. 

You don’t need to have seen the previous series to dive in here – assuming you know the story – although some of the emotion brought by the narrative of extra-Biblical characters will be more powerful if you have. The Last Supper is imagery known to almost everyone – and reimagined by everyone from Leonardo da Vinci to the Paris Olympics. Here it is depicted as an intimate dinner with someone you love, candle-lit time together, closeted away from the intrusions of the world. 

The Chosen has always been a mix of Bible meets modern style. We have a triumphal entry with a rock soundtrack, palms raised up, coats thrown down. If first century Glastonbury was a thing it would have looked like this. People scream in joy as Jesus walks past them. The ruling Romans are shown with all the bling of the Kardashians – rich reds and jewellery galore. 

In some ways, this new fifth series of The Chosen feels different from the previous ones. The production values seem to have got even better, but now there is plotting and politics everywhere. And economics too. Pontius Pilate could almost be a Bond villain – toying with the people around him like a cat with a mouse.

We see a Jesus struggling with His own feelings as He considers what He must do. And with His isolation – He is the only one who understands it, as we see the disciples continue to be dumfounded, unable to grasp what lies ahead despite Jesus’s teaching and cues, as He sounds desperate for them to get it. He knows His time is running out. Eventually Mary Magdalene and John begin to tentatively put the pieces together. 

How flawed we are as humans is made strikingly clear, which we also see in Peter’s attempts to preach for the first time.  The man on whom Jesus is going to build his church makes an awkward mess of trying to speak in public. 

"More intense"

Walking alongside the Biblical characters in The Chosen has always provided a mix of sorrow and joy, and in this series things only get more intense. The drama of the cleansing of the temple is almost uncomfortable to watch as a result. We see Jesus deftly make and use a whip – which is biblically faithful – but as He takes down tables with a flick of His wrist it does rather call to mind Indiana Jones!

Producer Dallas Jenkins has said he felt like Jerusalem was a ‘powder keg’ during the Passover Jesus and His disciples were there. Having seen the first two episodes and felt swept up in the events of that holiest of weeks, I can’t wait to continue the journey – and see just how the creators of the show will depict that keg blowing up. 

However we might have imagined it in our minds – seeing a depiction of it all on-screen done with this much care and love is a privilege – and has the power to turn us to the Bible again.

There has been a cinema release of the first two episodes of The Chosen: The Last Supper, with further episodes to follow in theatres. Then in June the whole series will come to Amazon Prime, and it will all be free for everyone, along with previous series, on their app in September.