The Chosen, Season 2: characters and controversies
By Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast ( bio - articles - email ) | Oct 11, 2021 | In Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast
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Oratorian brother and visual artist Joshua Vargas joins Thomas and James to discuss Season 2 of The Chosen. The series continues to set a high imaginative standard in its portrayal of the Twelve Apostles, each of whom has a distinctive personality and several of whom have beautifully fleshed-out backstories (the calling of Nathanael being one of the standout episodes of this season). Jonathan Roumie continues to shine in his performance as Jesus, and we also find the filmmakers stretching their cinematic chops and experimenting with various methods of storytelling.
The Protestant-written show also ventured into more problematic theological territory this season, so a review would be incomplete without an evaluation of its controversial treatment of the Virgin Mary and of Jesus’ human knowledge. While falling short of a Catholic view, these allow for some nuance; but the portrayal of John the Baptist is purely disappointing.
Links
The Chosen, Season 1 discussion https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/chosen-education-in-meditation/
Thomas’s interview with Jonathan Roumie on the Catholic Culture Podcast https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-76-playing-jesus-on-chosen-jonathan-roumie/
Buy Brother Joshua’s work on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtbyJoshuaVargas
Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com/
Criteria is hosted by Thomas V. Mirus and James T. Majewski.
Thomas is Director of Podcasts for CatholicCulture.org and hosts the Catholic Culture Podcast. See full bio.
James is the Director of Customer Relations for CatholicCulture.org as well as the host and narrator for Catholic Culture Audiobooks. See full bio.
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