In Episode 6 of House of David, “Giants Awakened,” the fight for power goes dark. As The first king of Israel from the Tribe of Benjamin Saul battles the weight of his failing mind and the approaching war—new forces show up to change the course of Israel. David finds himself caught in a struggle more than his own as King Achish’s alliance with the Giants creates a terrible new adversary. The House of Saul approaches its collapse as secrets come to light and destinies are exposed; David’s road becomes ever more clear.
House of David Episode 6 Recap
The episode opens with a sinister prologue describing the forbidden marriage between fallen angels and the daughters of men—a union that produced the Giants, the last of the Nephilim. Long thought to be only legends, these tall, terrifying creatures are shown to be quite real and ready to alter the path of history.
King Achish of the Philistines (Alexander Uloom) runs across a dubious elder in the City of Gath who questions his assertions of an alliance with the Giants. Ever the shrewd strategist, Achish assures him the Giants are real and would shortly show up to commit their allegiance. Moments later, as the Giants’ mother, Orpah, and son, Goliath, make their great arrival, the ground shakes. Orpah’s needs are far from straightforward, even though Achish provides whatever they want. For their allegiance, she wants Achish to give Goliath his throne. The mother of giants Orpah (Sian Webber)and Goliath leave when Achish objects, but the seeds of a tense alliance have been sown.
David (Michael Iskander) is seen consoling King Saul with his music back in the fortification of Gibeah, a rare moment of peace for the tormented king. Envy and paranoia driving Saul confides in David about his yearning for a simpler life free from the weight of kingship. Princess Mychal wanders the palace meanwhile, her heart conflicted. Mirab, her sister, confronts her about her covert meetings with David, cautions her of the perils of love in an environment controlled by ambition. Torn between her feelings for David and the hard facts of their environment, Mychal battles to balance them.
Kazia, a servant to Saul’s wife Achinoam, brings Reuben to Doeg, Saul’s main herdsman, into the shadows. Reuben tells Saul the specifics of Samuel’s curse, a secret with terrible implications should it find the wrong hands. Kazia pays close attention; her motives are unknown but surely related to the web of intrigue of the palace.
The Philistine threat looms bigger as conflicts develop in Gibeah. Suggesting an impending attack, King Saul’s war council alerts him of troop movements inside Philistine territory. Desperate to prove his might, Saul insists on starting a preemptive strike, but his advisers, Jonathan and Abner among others, advise caution. Saul’s mounting instability is clear as he snaps at his own son, charging him with subverting his power.
Princess Mychal calls David, meanwhile, to the palace library. The two have a tender but difficult exchange. Mychal questions David about his hidden past and why he kept his bastard parentage under wraps. Vicious and honest, David confesses he worries about abandonment and rejection. Then Mychal admits she loves him but notes their situation makes a future together unattainable. The scene is sad but also a moving reminder of the costs destiny demands.
King Achish in Gath watches Goliath try his newly acquired bronze weapons, a gift from the Philistine king. Though Orpah’s needs continue to complicate the alliance, the raw might of the Giant is breathtaking. Orpah and Goliath leave when Achish objects to ceding his throne, leaving Achish wondering about his next action. Then Doeg shows up, giving Achish a fresh approach—one based on lies and bloodshed—to guarantee the Giants’ allegiance.
Saul’s illness gets worse back in Gibeah. Desperate to save her husband, Achinoam looks to a witch performing a dangerous rite involving a potion created from Saul’s blood. Jonathan interrupts the custom since he finds the dark magic being used horrifying. Before being expelled, the witch foretells Jonathan never being king and tells David he is “the one responsible for all of this.”
Now inside their cave, the Giants become agitated. While Orpah exhorts them to settle somewhere, Goliath and his brothers are ready for battle. Their unhappiness becomes tragedy when Doeg ambushes Orpah under Achish’s orders and presents the attack as the result of Saul’s army. Driven by wrath and loss, Goliath swears to exact revenge for the death of his mother, so igniting a terrible struggle.
David gets ready to leave the palace as dawn breaks; his heart is heavy with the knowledge that his road and Mychal’s cannot line up. Ever the provocateur, Princess Mir tries to woo him, but David stays committed to Mychal. He leaves, then makes his way back to Bethlehem, where his sister Avva and father Jesse greet him with wide arms.
Jonathan, meantime, sets off search for Samuel. At the summit of Mount Sinai, he sees images of a bloody conflict in which his father dies as well. Acting both as judge and guide, Samuel tells Jonathan that God has named a new king whose rule will know no end. On his way back across the Great Valley, he advises Jonathan to see the horrifying sight of the Philistine army gathering for battle.
The show finishes with a sense of approaching catastrophe. Ignorant of the actual scope of the threat they encounter, Saul, now totally consumed by his illness, gets ready for battle. Driven by vengeance, Goliath shows up at Achish’s house prepared to officially mark their alliance. And David, the shepherd destined for greatness, stands on the brink of his calling uninformed of the challenges ahead.
Mastersy mix of political intrigue, personal drama, and Biblical grandeur is Giants Awakened. One thing is abundantly evident as the fragments of this epic story come together: the struggle for Israel’s soul has just started.
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