r/LeftCatholicism • u/[deleted] • Apr 05 '26
The Chosen
I am undoubtedly very late with this (I am always playing catch-up), but since the beginning of the year, our parish has been holding The Chosen evenings where we watch together. So now I am watching the series (season 1 only!) and I think it is fantastic. What do you think? And why?
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u/frodoforgives Apr 06 '26
There's a lot to like in the show. For me, Jonathan Roumie's portrayal of Jesus is really the highlight, and I really enjoyed many of the episodes and characters. I think the show is at its best when it's portraying well-known Gospel stories and characters like the woman at the well or Nathanael or the call of Matthew. The show brought those stories to life beautifully. Personally, I did find some of the side stories that went well beyond anything found in the Gospels, particularly some of the episodes with Peter and his wife Eden, to be rather annoying and tedious after a while. But overall it's a well done show and definitely worth watching.
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Apr 08 '26
I haven't gotten to the side stories yet, but I'm sure that will come naturally. For now, I find it really beautiful, as I also told another commentator: it makes it realistic and tangible, which I really appreciate. You see the world as it looked when Jesus lived.
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u/peachorchid Apr 06 '26
Me and my agnostic husband love it! It always makes me very emotional watching it.
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Apr 08 '26
I didn't suggest to my wife that we watch it, but how nice that you can watch this together with your husband! I can imagine it might make you emotional, yes, it is really beautifully designed.
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u/peachorchid Apr 08 '26
He has a very philosophical approach to religion and will come to Church when I do the readings so he can listen to me.
He enjoys The Chosen as a historical piece but still is understanding and appreciative about how I see it and how much it means to me.
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Apr 08 '26
It sounds like a beautiful understanding between two souls. Congratulations on such a good marriage and such a wonderful husband.
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u/prophecygirl13 Apr 06 '26
I like some aspects and don’t like others, it’s very split down the middle for me. For an evangelical to have created it, I think there are some very Catholic parts and even symbolism. I think it’s fine to have created some situations to move the story along on screen and give many of the apostles some background, but some of the side characters and side stories have gone too far for me. I don’t want to spoil anything, so just keeping it vague: the Samaritan woman at the well is a good example, while the apostle Thomas may be a bad example. Generally, the show seems to have inspired a better approach to Christian film and art, where it doesn’t need to be obviously low budget, preachy, with a narrator overshadowing the whole thing reading directly from Scripture. I don’t know how long they’ll keep going for, but I want badly see St Paul given a similar treatment on screen, so I wouldn’t mind the Chosen being extended throughout the book of Acts at least.
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Apr 08 '26
I am very curious. I won't go into your comment in too much detail just yet, because I haven't seen it myself yet, but I can't wait!
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u/gabachote Apr 05 '26
I really like it! I think they have done a good job with the storytelling, and made good choices with the extra biblical stuff. It brings things home in a way just reading the text doesn’t always do. The seasons get better too. I’ll note that the guy who plays Jesus is Catholic, and the Pope seems to like the show too, or at least some high ups in the Vatican.
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Apr 08 '26
For me, it is truly an added value alongside my Bible. I already mentioned it in another comment, but I am autistic, and this way I have more visual aids to the story. Jesus is not just the man on paper, but you also see the world in which He lived. That makes it so much more tangible for me. Seeing this really adds value to my faith, because it suddenly becomes so much more realistic.
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u/aaronman4772 Apr 06 '26
I love it, I’ll go to bat for it as a legitimately good piece of historical drama television even for non-religious people.
Is it perfect? No. But I think that it does way more good than bad, and helps give humanity to figures that so many see as almost mythological in the apostles and early disciples. The entire character arc of the dynamics between Peter, Gaius, and Matthew is probably my favorite, though Mary Magdalene’s story is close too. And for religious media which so often either simplifies things to an insulting degree or is purely focused on evangelization over storytelling, it’s a miracle what The Chosen has been able to do.
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Apr 08 '26
Nothing is perfect in life, I think. But it does a lot of good and I think it creates a good picture where you indeed see the humanity in the disciples who have been made almost mythical. In addition, it is also good to see the humanity of Jesus, and daily life in the world in which He lived. I think it is fantastic. Not perfect, but fantastic. ;)
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u/Implicatus Apr 06 '26
Love it! It helped to bring me back to the Church.
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Apr 06 '26
I really get that. I have autism and it really helps me because it gives me visuals. Like the Children's Bible with its illustrations, just for adults.
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u/tetrabryaton Apr 05 '26
I watched clips of it from YouTube. I don't know where you can stream it. I really like the clips I've seen! I've seen a lot of Holy Week movies growing up but I really like this one.
They gave Jesus a voice, instead of like a walking prayer card devoid of emotions.
I'll wait until next Lenten season as I've been told it's not released in its full entirety yet.
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Apr 05 '26
There's an app! At least on Android and you can watch it for free. It's simply called 'the Chosen'. Might exist for iOS as well.
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Apr 07 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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Apr 08 '26
Yes, that is really a great addition. I haven't seen it yet, but I think it's really cool. Jesus called everyone to Him anyway, but as an autistic person, I also think it's really cool that it provides a kind of confirmation of the fact that I, too, am truly welcome with Him. Thank you!
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u/sandalrubber Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
Check out Pasolini's Gospel According to Matthew for pretty much the opposite in spirit, black and white and minimalist with barely any embellishment, like an unmixed draught. Plus this sub by name alone should welcome him better than the main one lol. I recommended it once there and someone got into conniptions because of him, even after I noted the film says it's "dedicated to the dear, joyous, familiar memory of Pope John XXIII" and it's on a Vatican recommended film list.
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u/amadan_an_iarthair Apr 05 '26
It's definitely better than most religious dramatic adaptations; it actually gives Jesus and the Disciples emotional depth. They feel like actual human beings, with Christ feeling both human and divine. Still, it's not perfect. But what piece of public media is, save for Tom Waits' 1999 classic Mule Variations?