The Promised Land is full of Promise
The Average Dude has had several movie/TV show discussions with Average Bro Drew. We generally have the same opinions and I’ve come to trust his take. He turned me on to The Promised Land a couple of months ago and it took me a bit to get through the ever-growing list of recommended shows. But oh, was it worth the wait!
It’s Free on YouTube!
The Promised Land started as a YouTube show. Free to all. No commercials. No streaming service to subscribe to. That was a brilliant plan. Max exposure for the first season. The creators surely thought so highly of it that they were willing to eat the cost of production in order to get the buzz out. And it worked. Angel Studios has acquired the rights to the first season and are showing it on their streaming service (But it is still also available free on YouTube). This is canny on multiple levels.
The Promised Land stars lots of folks whose names I could easily butcher and don’t remember seeing in anything before. It’s a mockumentory series done in the style of The Office. The Promised Land follows Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite gang immediately after the escape from Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. Most folks – even ones who do not study the Bible – know that what followed was 40 years of wandering in the desert. The Promised Land speaks to that journey. And hilarity ensues.
This is becoming a thing
Average Bro Drew and I have shared opinions (and quite a few laughs) discussing episodes of The Promised Land. We discussed it so much that I felt it a good idea to post our thoughts for you here, my Average People. Drew and I pretty much agree 100 on this show, its entertainment value, its Biblical accuracy and its impact. So sure. This is going to be a fan column.
Drew’s take, my responses. Complete with redactions
I asked Drew to give me his unfiltered take on The Promised Land. And he did. He also included quite a few spoilers, which I patently refuse to post. It’s a promise I’ve kept since day one. So, here is our back and forth. If you want to know the content behind the REDACTED, you’re just going to have to watch the show.
DREW: With A new year, for some people, a resolution might be to read The Bible in 1 year. Good goal, but getting through the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Old Testament) is a challenge. (My wife and I are on year three of the Father Mike Schmitz Bible in a Year app) Especially after you read through the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus when Moses is leading the Israelites out of Egypt. That’s when the readings start to get challenging because you start diving into Levitical law and it can get confusing. (Drew is much more of a Biblical source of knowledge than I am, and I’m no slouch)
With all that being said, when I saw that this show called “The Promised Land” was being created, I was intrigued. I think most people know the Bible story of Moses going to Pharaoh and saying “Let my people go”, then the plagues, then ultimately the Israelites leaving to be chased by the Egyptians.
It’s a contender
Most of the works we have seen from Hollywood have shown all of that up to the Israelites crossing the Red Sea to be in the wilderness. “The Ten Commandments” is the main film that comes to mind with Charlton Heston. (For the longest time, that has been the gold standard for Moses. I’m not saying The Promised Land is the new champ. But I’m also not NOT saying that)
So when I saw that this show was being created, I wondered how they would do this. This year seemed like a big year for movies and shows based on the Bible. We had “The Last Supper”, The Chosen came back with their last supper episode, House of David (season 1 was free but season 2 is behind a paywall. Shame on them. I hope TPL doesn’t follow suit), The Chosen Adventures(animated kids show, my kids really enjoyed this one), and K-Love had their short film about Mary.
So I wondered if this show would follow the same formula. It doesn’t, and I’m happy with that. (the Office-style mockumentory storytelling is pretty hot right now. The Promised Land is riding a wave that is still swelling)
The Angel brand keeps growing
The Promised Land, which started on YouTube but I believe Angel studios has now picked it up on their streaming service (they have), is set as a mockumentary style. Like The Office, as if the Israelites had a camera crew following around. This is a great concept to help teach the harder things to understand from the last half of Exodus on. (Honestly, I was totally not aware of how Biblically accurate these episodes were. I assumed a lot of creative license, with episodes that had little or nothing to do with the Bible other than the players.)
It has comedy in it and pokes fun at certain things that we read about, but not to an extent where they are making a joke of the story or Bible. (And that’s the tightrope that TPL walks. It makes venerated characters like Moses and Aaron absolutely relatable, like the real brothers they were. Humans, full of doubts and struggles and interactions like the rest of us. But it never changes events or casts doubt on the absolutely inspired stories.)
Each episode has a great lesson behind it as well that I think most people will be able to connect with.
Here’s just a few of the many things I (we) liked about the show:
Korah
1)Korah was a breakout character. (one of my favorites. You’ll see what we mean) This is something I was not expecting at all. But from the time you meet this character and his name plate says “Rightful Leader of Israel (Self Proclaimed)”, which is foreshadowing to this character, you know there’s going to be some hilarity to him.
His facial expressions alone had me laughing. Korah’s portrayal will probably cause people who are not familiar with him do some research. I’ll give a brief summary. Korah was Moses’ cousin and REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED If you wanna know what happened to him, then you’ll need to read Numbers 16.
Chisisi
2)Chisisi is the lovable friend we all need. An Egyptian washed up to the shore after the Red Sea closed, now trying to blend in with the Israelites brought great comedy to the show. Chisisi is a character I cannot find any references on. (I think he’s the only non-Biblical character on the show. It doesn’t detract from the show’s accuracy in any way)
I think that some creative liberties were made for this one, but I’m glad they added him in. Think of it as the goofy guy from your English class in middle school wandered into your church and is trying to follow along with everything but making people believe he understands everything thats going on. Thats Chisisi, and I’m so excited to see where else they go with this character.
Bezalel
3)Different visual perspectives go a long way. What do I mean by this? Episode 3 titled “Pitfalls” goes into the story of the golden calf. This happened when God called Moses to be on the mountain and Moses was gone for an extensive period of time as God was giving him all the law and the 10 Commandments. During this time is when the Israelites were having doubts that Moses was ever coming back and they wanted a god to see and believe in so they demanded Aaron make them one.
Aaron then goes to Bezalel to have a golden calf made so that the Israelites will be happy with the leadership.REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED (I didn’t want this part to be spoiled for you. But Drew’s take was hilarioiusly dead-on and made me laugh out loud) This is both comical but also a great lesson. The main takeaway is that everything that we idolize will always REDACTED but they will never REDACTED our 1 and only God truly is.
Miriam and Zippy
4)Miriam and Zipporah don’t realize how much they really need each other. (Eh…not sure I got that from them but the dynamic is something we’ve all seen in our lives) Miriam is often overlooked mainly because she’s a woman. Zipporah is over the top positive about everything. They are Yin and Yang but they bring out the best in each other. (I think Zippy brings out the best in Miriam. I haven’t noticed the reverse. Maybe next season) Moreso, Zipporah brings out the best in Miriam, but they compliment each other very well.
So. Much. Redacting.
5)Moses and Bezalel’s talks summarizes the story of the Bible in a fantastic way. Bezalel is a character that I think most Christians will connect with. REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED I think that this is important to see because we all fall into that mentality. (Sorry, Drew. We agree that the redacted paragraph is one of the best moments of this season and I want the new viewers to get there without our help)
When presented with the Gospels, I think most will respond with “I’m not worthy of that gift of salvation.” One of my favorite lines from this whole show comes from REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED A small line but a very important line. REDACTED REDACTED Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
If there is nothing else that you get from this show, I hope that one line from Moses to Bezalel can help open the door to a conversation about salvation. (I am really sorry for redacting so much, bro. I just want people to take this journey without any expectations, as I did. So pleasantly surprised was I by the shift from comedy to substantive, emotional interaction. I want everyone to have that experience. But suffice to say, Drew and I agree on REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED
The Takeaway
DREW: There’s so much more I could say about this show and deep dive, but these are top of list for me. Altogether I would give the show a 4.8 out of 5.
So, your humble Average Dude and his humble Average Bro are of the same opinion on The Promised Land. It is a combination of The Office and The Chosen, with the emotional twist of SCRUBS. It’s full of running gags that are never over-played. It’s funny, insightful and at moments poignant. I think that this show is something that God is pleased with and am giving The Promised Land a 4.9 out of 5. I’m only knocking off .1 to acknowledge that I could be missing something and God is NOT loving this show. I’m acknowledging my own fallability and leaving room to accept God’s grace. Just covering my bases.
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