Thanks for starting this topic, fantasia! I had been curious about The Chosen for quite awhile, as, like fantasia, NWeb friends on FB were raving about the show. But there were/are two main things that are responsible for holding me back from watching the entirety of Season 1:

*first is that The Chosen's website had not set up delivery to other countries than the States. I finally ended up purchasing the DVDs through Haven Today, a long-standing Christian radio program; for a few weeks they focused on The Chosen, interviewing Dallas Jenkins. I purchased Season 1 a few months ago.

*second is that I am not one to sit down and watch something very readily; I'd much rather be doing other things. It is an effort for me to take the time for watch a movie or episode like this, hence the long delays in even starting to watch The Chosen, no matter how much I want to see it.

I saw Episode 1 over a month ago, so now need a refresher; I only made it partway through Episode 2 before there was something else that needed attention, and I have not yet got back to finishing 2 yet. Must. Do. That.

My first impression, though, is that this is an very well done historical fiction drama. I got the feeling that I'm going to become quite attached to some of these characters, who have been fleshed out from the bits we are told in the Bible. Jenkins has said he wants The Chosen to develop from the Scriptural accounts as a complement to them, so backstories and character development is a huge part of this series, from what I gather.

I will post more thoughts once I have watched E. 1 again, and finished E. 2.  

Just started watching on Friday - about 5 episodes in!
So good. 

I feel sort of bad about posting in this thread because I don't like this show as much other people do and I worry I'm going to bring everyone down. But I do think it's an interesting show, so I want to write about it. 

I really like the supporting characters, mainly Peter, Matthew and Nicodemus (and their family members.) I think the writers did a great job of coming up with stories that would make sense of their actions in the gospels. (Like Matthew immediately leaving his job to follow Jesus.) I tend to find the parts that focus on the one-episode characters to be kind of boring. I know they're not going to be regulars on the show and I just want to get back to the ones I care about.

I also kind of feel like Jesus is the least interesting of the main characters. I don't think anyone would understand from this series why Jesus' teachings were so shocking to people. I mean you get why his actions were shocking, like talking to the Samaritan woman at the well and obviously the miracles. Those are always going to be attention getters. To be fair though, I understand why things like that would be easier to dramatize than Jesus giving speeches to crowds. But I still feel like you need more of the latter to accurately represent Jesus' ministry. 

I haven't watched the premiere of season 2 yet (I've got a lot of reading I want to do right now) but I hope to do so today. I'm interested to see how the yet to be introduced disciples will be characterized.

@glenwit, glad you're liking them 🙂

@col-klink, I totally respect your opinion. It's just not a show for everybody! My dad for example doesn't care for it because he doesn't like the fictionalized additions, and I know he's not alone. But that's not going to stop me from disagreeing with a couple of your points. 😉

Posted by: @col-klink

I tend to find the parts that focus on the one-episode characters to be kind of boring.

And yet, a number of those parts are straight out of the Bible.

Posted by: @col-klink

I also kind of feel like Jesus is the least interesting of the main characters.

He's hands down my favorite portrayal of Jesus ever. But, I get what you're saying. How to make someone who's perfect, interesting?

Posted by: @col-klink

I don't think anyone would understand from this series why Jesus' teachings were so shocking to people.

So, on one hand, I get what you're saying because unless a person is a student of history at the time of Christ it's just a smile and nod kind of thing for those of us who grew up in church and have heard all of this our whole lives. But on the other hand, I feel they've done very well with some of the teachings so far. For example...

I was introduced to the series by friends and have watched season 1 a couple times, and we watched the first episode of season 2 the night it dropped.

A few random comments:

I think I like the episode with the children best so far, even if it is hypothetical. The way Jesus interacts with the kids on their own level, yet respecting and complimenting their faith, is great. He sings and talks with them while he works. When they recite the Shema Yisrael to him ("Hear, O Israel..."), I can't help feeling that God was pleased with the faith and wonder of these children, and that it would be special to Jesus to have them say it to him.

I though the first episode jumped around a little too much to be followed easily at first (the way it was edited) and to me the beginning of season 2 had a similar issue. But I quite liked the framing device (mentioned above in spoilers).

The Blu-ray has round-table discussions with Dallas Jenkins and his theological advisors for season 1, and those were generally quite interesting and might help clarify some of their story-telling choices (such as having Mary travel with a bunch of men). The advisors were Protestant, Catholic, and a (presumably Messianic) Jewish rabbi - which led to a few comments about that sounding like the beginning of a joke ("A Jew, a Catholic, and a Protestant walk into a bar...").

I found the rabbi's comments the most illuminating because he was able to point out a lot of the subtle touches in the episodes that we might miss but would be significant to Jews.

Posted by: @stargazer

The Blu-ray has round-table discussions with Dallas Jenkins and his theological advisors for season 1,

I bought the DVDs SPECIFICALLY for this special feature and the DVDs don't have it. I do have access to it on my phone app, but it's buggy and won't always load. I have watched all eight sessions and it's one of my favorite bonus features. I sure hope they continue to have those for future seasons. 

Oh no, these Round Tables are not on the DVDs? Anything I have heard from the Rabbi (online) has been fascinating. I sure hope they change this for the Season 2 DVDs.

Backing off my above statement, it's not on the app anymore either. It was shoved aside for Season 2. Well, I may order my own copy of the Blu-Ray at some point, just to support them. 

Just got an email that Episode 2 is coming out Tuesday night. Woohoo!

Posted by: @fantasia

I'd be curious to hear which ones you think are lacking?  

You got me. I've only watched the first season once, so I can't remember any specific examples. It's easier to think of ones that contradict what I've said, like Jesus defending his dinner at Matthew's house, since memorable scenes are easier to recall than unmemorable ones. 😉 I guess it's just a general feeling that the writing is sappier and less bracing than Jesus's words in the Bible. But I have relatives who want to watch season 1, so if I watch it with them, maybe I'll either come up with some examples or recant my previous position. 

I agree that background characters should have their own lives and not all be related to the main ones. It's more that I feel the show isn't as good at writing the characters who don't connect to the main story. For example, in the episode about the wedding at Cana, there's this whole conflict between the bride and groom and their in-laws, which is the least interesting part of that episode by a long shot. And I think a good part of the reason I found it so dull is because I knew the wedding was going to go off fine and the conflict would be resolved. 

Anyway, I really liked the season 2 premiere. While parts of it were less interesting than others, none of it was dull. My favorite part was the flashforward about the writing of the gospel of John. (I guess it's a bit of a backhanded compliment that my favorite part was a scene that took place years after the main events, but oh well.) I loved the nerdy humor in it. I'd rank it with my favorite episodes of season 1. It might be even better than they were actually.

I just started watching The Chosen last week, and I’m OBSESSED! It’s such a good show. Although some of the story lines might not be exactly accurate, I think it’s a great representation of what the first century looked like. And I truly love the characters in The Chosen. I think the way they developed Peter as a character is so good.

Even though I’m only a few episodes in, this show has really changed how I look at the story of Jesus. It’s been reminding me of how Jesus was truly human. He had emotions just like we do. He was fully God and fully man.

I’m super excited to finish season one and dive into season two!

I should watch this. When I have time. I may even have seen the first episode a couple of years ago (?), but never found the time to continue.

Discussing it with other NarniaWebbers should be interesting. Eventually.

I hope you get the chance to watch it sometime @Varna.   The nice thing is that the longest episodes are an hour, but I think there are only two, maybe three of those? Most of them are shorter.

@Glenwit and @gracepevensie15, how far along are you?

I watched S2E2 last night. It was good!

Spoiler

I really liked Phillip, it was refreshing to have a mature, KIND character. And well played on the backstory for Nathanael. When you finally get to the verses Jesus says to Nathanael in the Bible, they make total sense in the show. The downside is that I had kids crawling all over me while I was watching E2 and one of my kiddos was asking a bazillion questions (mainly she was having trouble distinguishing between the two actors that played Jesus and Phillip), so

After this episode concluded, I shut off the livestream because A. Dallas had teased that there was going to be some sneak preview footage of Ep 3 and I'm avoiding spoilers and much as possible, and B. I had to get my kids to bed. About 45 minutes later I checked and saw that the live stream was still going...what??? When it finished, I took a peek to see what was taking them so long, and low and behold, they had played the entire Episode 3. Didn't see that coming. Since it was short and sweet (relatively speaking), I went ahead and watched it (very, very late at night...hehe), and this one really hit me hard.

^ Good to read, @fantasia!

We watched Season 1, episode 1 last Sunday in between our family video chats, so we just barely squeezed it in. This was my second viewing, and it did draw me in, but since there is a lot being introduced, I almost feel I need to see it yet again. Hoping we can watch episode 2 this Sunday or the week after.

To be honest, I am not overly fond how they are portraying Peter. 

I think I am going to like Nicodemus' character!

Posted by: @jo

This was my second viewing, and it did draw me in, but since there is a lot being introduced, I almost feel I need to see it yet again.

To be honest with you, I think you would do better continuing on. Because as the character lines grow, it makes things that happen in Ep 1 make a LOT more sense. 

Posted by: @jo

To be honest, I am not overly fond how they are portraying Peter. 

I have this exact same debate with myself constantly. He's currently my least favorite on the show and one of my favorites in the Bible. As you well know, I hate (yes, I use the word hate) when filmmakers throw characters under the bus for the purpose of drama. However, I'm almost willing to make an exception with this series for the simple reason when I go back and read Peter in the Bible and read his good moments and bad moments, I don't think their interpretation is necessarily wrong.
The REASON I like Peter so well in the Bible is he's the one most likely to DO things, (Matthew 16:16-17, 22-23; Matthew 14:28-31, the list goes on and on) then he messes up, but then he gets back up and carries on. So the impulsiveness? Yes. The attitude? Well he cuts off the guard's ear. And I don't know that there's enough in the Bible for or against. 
So I'm officially on the fence with him in the show, and I will make my final determination once I see the direction they end up going.