'House Of David' Season 2 Finale Episode 8 Recap: Who Does Eshbaal Bring To His Father’s Court?

The Prime Video biblical history drama series House of David ends its 2nd season this week, with the emergence of the protagonist as the next leader of Israel, and leaves with the promise of continuing his epic story. As David’s real identity was suddenly exposed by Adriel in the previous episode, he had to face the wrath of the king in a feisty confrontation and was even seemingly attacked. Now, in House of David season 2 episode 8, we see all the developments that take place as David attempts to escape the capital city of Gibeah, leaving the royal family divided because of these sudden changes.

Spoiler Alert

How does David escape Gibeah?

At the end of the previous episode, the protagonist, David, had to face an infuriated King Saul, who could not believe that his favorite musician-turned-champion had hidden his real identity as the anointed king for all this time. Although David repeatedly tries to say that he has no intention of defying the king or exercising his power as the real King of Israel, no words can calm Saul down, and the king starts to attack David, planning to kill him. This is why Saul had ordered David to be brought to his chambers without any sword or weapon by his side and had adorned himself in his royal armor in order to remove the supposed obstacle between himself and the throne to the kingdom. But the David that he attacks is not the meek and powerless lyre player from a couple of years ago, as the protagonist had not only gone through extensive weapons training in this while, but had also toughened up mentally and emotionally. Meanwhile, Saul had only been losing his abilities, both physical and mental, and so he can hardly even injure David.

Eshbaal, the youngest prince who had actually enabled such a confrontation and a fight, also comes to his father’s chamber and soon joins in the fight, as David has to face two of them now. However, Eshbaal is also no match for his sparring skills, which he had acquired while leading his own unit in the army over the past year, and Saul is the only one who gets visible injuries on his face because of the scuffle. David manages to temporarily bring down the two men and make way for his escape from the royal chamber, and he immediately heads to his own room, where his newlywed bride, Mychal, is still waiting for him. She is naturally very scared and confused at hearing that her father has tried to kill her husband, and Mychal immediately feels that Saul must have lost his mind once again, just as he had for most of season 1. Therefore, she wants to have a word with him and, most importantly, nurse him back to health, for Mychal genuinely loves and cares for her father.

However, David now has to stop her and also needs to explain why Saul wants him dead, meaning that he reveals to her, for the first time, that he is the king Samuel had anointed upon the direct orders of God. Mychal’s reaction is not unexpected, as she sort of holds David responsible for keeping this important truth from the world, and most importantly from her, and having caused all the chaos that had taken over the capital city over the last many months. She feels that David had indirectly caused her father’s painful ailments, since Saul had indeed lost his mind over the concern of who the anointed king was. But David does not hesitate to expose Saul’s cruel acts to Mychal either, as he tells her how the king had had innocent villagers at Bethlehem killed only because of the fear of having to give up the throne. Despite their difference of opinion over the matter, David and Mychal’s love for each other does not wane, although they do need to quickly leave the house and also the city in order to escape the king and his soldiers. David manages to safely climb out the window of the room and waits for Mychal to follow, as he obviously wants his beloved wife to accompany him on what is surely his exile. However, Mychal chooses to stay with her father and her family at this important moment, and so she does not join David, meaning that he has to leave the capital city by himself.

Is Mychal punished for her husband’s alleged offense?

As David escaped the royal palace, King Saul instructed his army commander-in-chief, Abner, to find him and bring him back to the court so that he could be punished for his impudence. The first report sent to everyone is that David has attacked the king and tried to kill him, and so should be arrested and punished. The reason for the altercation between him and Saul, and how it is clearly Saul who instigated David’s mere act of self-defense, is mostly kept away from people as much as possible. Abner himself goes to check David’s house, despite his second-in-command, Joab, assuring him that the fugitive is not at his house. Interestingly, Joab helps Mychal out by taking no action despite knowing that David had climbed out the window and escaped that way, clearly because of his promise to Mychal that he would protect David throughout his life. Abner not only wants to check for himself but also wants to interrogate Mychal, and so he reaches the house.

Abner is rather forceful and tough against Mychal, as he is confident that she knows where David has run off too, and he is extremely determined to protect and help his king, even if that means hurting the princess. It is Joab who now steps in and helps Mychal, whom he has harbored feelings for for a very long time, and he has Abner confined to the house before taking Mychal to the royal court. Meanwhile, David’s elder brother, Eliab, one of the most important and high-ranking soldiers in the army, had been imprisoned by the royal guards, led by Joab himself, for no fault of his own. Joab was seen as a threat by the king only because of his association with David, and so he was imprisoned. Therefore, it is reasonable that Mychal would also have to face a similar situation, as Saul considers her to have been betraying his trust for all this time as well.

King Saul believes that his daughter had always known about her beloved David being the anointed king but had hidden it from him simply because she did not care for him. Even when Mychal tries to defend herself, for she had genuinely not known about David’s secret identity, Saul refuses to hear her out. Therefore, it is extremely helpful for Mychal that her elder sister, Mirab, had already lied to their father about the situation, having told him that David had threatened to kill Mychal if he ever told the truth to her father. Although Mirab does paint David all the more villainous in Saul’s eyes, at least she protects Mychal in the process, as she later tells her sister as well. Thus, Mychal does not have to face any punishment for her husband’s alleged offense, as she is officially claimed to have been a victim of David’s cruelty as well.

How does Jonathan try to help David?

Unlike the other members of his family, Jonathan takes an open and bold step to help David after he learns of what has happened at the capital. At the time, Jonathan and Sara had been away, as they had already chosen to live away from Gibeah, but are seen traveling back to the palace at the beginning of the episode in order to keep up with the tradition of feasting together with the family every full moon. It is now that David secretly approaches Jonathan, knowing that he can fully trust him as a brother, and after hearing of all the incidents, Jonathan promises to try and change his father’s mind regarding the situation. He even agrees to sneak a note from David into the palace and give it to Mychal, in which the protagonist asks his beloved to stay strong and promises that they will soon be reunited. As the whole family sits down to discuss the matter, Jonathan finally makes his opinions felt, even though Eshbaal tries to support Saul’s claims, saying that he had himself seen David trying to attack their father.

Jonathan reveals how Saul had intentionally sent David on a mission at the Philistine forge only so that he could sabotage him and have the young man killed. He tries to remind everyone how David had been the literal savior of the whole kingdom just over a year ago, when he had defeated the giant Goliath and brought immense confidence to the Israelite army, resulting in their triumph over their enemies. But none of these words can get to Saul’s egoistic mind anymore, as he sees everything and everyone as secondary in front of his claim to the throne. He is even more shocked at his eldest son’s disregard over who gets to sit on the throne next, and in a fit of rage, King Saul throws his spear at his own son before realizing what this gesture means and trying to apologize for it. It is very evident that Saul does not even care about his own children, the same ones for whom he is apparently securing the throne of Israel, and all he is concerned with is that he remain the king of the land.

Jonathan obviously does not pay heed to his father’s soft words anymore, and he distances himself from the rest of the familyto help David. Not only does he want to help the protagonist because of their deep friendship, but Jonathan has also accepted the fact, since the very first day, that David has been chosen by God to be the new king. Unlike his father, he does not want to defy the orders of God, and so provides utmost support to the anointed king. Jonathan also reveals to David that he is about to become a father soon and asks him to ensure that his family will never be hurt, no matter the circumstances. David obviously agrees, and this marks the strengthening of their bond even further. Towards the end of the episode, Jonathan even sets out to find David and warn him of the attack that King Saul is about to launch against him.

Does Samuel sacrifice his life to protect the anointed king?

Upon learning that David is hiding in the city of priests, Nob, Saul sends his army to the place, led by Abner. However, Prophet Samuel now stands in defense of the protagonist, firmly guarding the way to Nob, and when Abner tries to get past him by launching a physical attack, Samuel uses his supernatural power of inflicting pain through the mind and instantly takes down the whole unit. They return to the capital and report the matter to Saul, who grows extremely irate and vengeful and sets out to punish the prophet himself, who had started this entire fiasco. Samuel once again blocks the path and directly stands up to Saul’s unruly demands, and once again launches his telepathic attack, trapping the prideful king in the depths of his own mind, which appear like Hell. 

Here, Samuel makes Saul look at the reflection in a small pond, which shows the image of the true King of Israel, and makes him utter his name despite Saul not wanting to do so. He obviously sees the reflection of David in the water before seeing a slightly older David sitting on the throne as well. Making constant failed attempts to stop this hallucination and deflect Samuel’s attacks, Saul ultimately has to shout out David’s name, which is symbolic of him admitting his defeat in front of David, at least in the psychological realm. Getting the current king to accept this fate requires Samuel to make use of all his supernatural powers, which leaves him absolutely drained and even bleeding from the nose. Ultimately, at the end of House of David season 2 episode 8, Prophet Samuel dies after having sacrificed his life to protect the anointed king.

Did David get away from King Saul?

Once his purpose has been served, Samuel goes away and lets Saul and his army pass on towards Nob, since David has already left the place. Almost the entirety of the royal army is too sick and powerless to move on towards the city, as a direct effect of Samuel’s psychological attack, and now Doeg offers to lead his own group of men, the same black-robed ones seen throughout the season. Saul interestingly takes their help immediately and does not stop them even when they attack and kill the priests at Nob, an act that is so vile and unholy that Abner and his soldiers had refused to carry out the order. This clearly shows Saul’s desperation to capture and kill David, but the protagonist ultimately finds his own helpers and trusted friends. The unit that he had been leading had already secretly come to Nob to sever their ties from the royal army of Israel and instead serve him as their true leader. Towards the end of the episode, Joab and Eliab also join David with their own set of soldiers, accepting him as the only true King of Israel. Therefore, David does get away from King Saul at the end of House of David season 2, but their conflict will surely continue in the next season as well.

Who does Eshbaal bring to his father’s court?

In House of David episode 8’s ending, Eshbaal brings the King of Edom to his father’s court as part of the diplomatic deal that he had supposedly made with the leader in the previous episode. Eshbaal had told Saul that he had brokered a deal with the King of Edom in which the latter would help Israel cope with their loss of food grains. According to the deal, the King of Edom would soon come to Gibeah and meet with Saul to discuss what he wants from Israel. It is now that he finally arrives, and the man is revealed to be the same one who had captured Eshbaal during his banishment. Thus, it now seems like Edom will take over the throne of Israel by duping Saul into a deal. After all, the whole emergency situation caused by the destruction of the grain silos had been a part of Eshbaal’s plan of sabotage in order to completely ruin his family. 

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