A Contemporary Hero

Drawing inspiration from the original tale, Kings’ adaptation of the tale of David and Goliath understandably deviates in ways that modernize it. With a quick nod to Samuel in the form of a brief recurring character appropriately named Reverend Samuel, there are several cosmetic changes made, ranging from fictional kingdoms replacing the original ones, changing original characters’ names, but most obviously the time period. The premise of both stories is similar: a young man named David strikes down an entity called Goliath amidst a war against the Philistines viewed through the lens of an alternate reality modern day. 

Kings launches into its narrative as it introduces viewers to a farm boy named David. David plays in the fields before his family calls him inside to watch the inauguration address. During the inauguration, King Silas Benjamin addresses the state and tells the tale of the Unification War’s end and how he remembers a swarm of butterflies landing upon his head and acting as a crown, which explains the significance of the Gilboan crest of butterfly wings. In the middle of the address, Reverend Samuel, needing help with his car, makes his first appearance. Reverend Samuel is impressed with David’s ability to fix things and seems to have the foreknowledge of David’s future greatness. 

Unlike the original story, the war is not between Israelites and Philistines. Considering that while Gath is still an actual place, David hails from a fictional kingdom called Gilboa and its capital Shiloh. However, Shiloh was the capital of Israel at a time and Gilboa is a mountain range. It is plausible to suggest that Gilboa is based on Israel and fictionalized by Kings in an effort to avoid any real-world controversy and consequence. Gilboa is led by King Silas, who is undoubtedly based on King Saul of the original story. Both men claim to be anointed by God and are the first kings of their respective kingdoms. The relationship between David and Silas is intrinsically different from that between David and Saul because both are more politically gifted men. However, Kings portrays David as a more-or-less unknown farm boy who volunteers to join the army rather than as someone with any political clout. While David eventually climbs through the hierarchy, Silas considers him to be more of a political tool. On the other hand, Saul is jealous of David’s eventual success and considers him a potential threat to his throne. While Silas also seems envious of David’s potential, he ultimately likes him and is comfortable with the prospect of David being with his daughter Michelle. Silas’ family is much smaller in comparison, and it consists of a wife and two children, a son named Jack and daughter named Michelle, unlike the Biblical Saul.

Perhaps the most obvious change is the form of Goliath and the circumstances of its defeat. In the original telling, Goliath is humanoid. At the very least, he is a giant enveloped in armor that would goad the Israelites and defy God in the same breath as he injected fear into the hearts of the Israelites. Armed with only a sling and stone, David volunteers to fight against Goliath. He is much more religiously motivated and invokes God before slinging one of the stones into Goliath’s head. Afterwards, Goliath is beheaded, and the morale of the Israelite troops is restored as they charge the bewildered Philistines. 

On the contrary, in Kings Goliath is not human at all, but an immeasurably powerful model of tanks. During the war, a unit is ambushed and mostly killed; however, two men are taken hostage. When word of this reaches Gilboa, Silas demonstrates his coldness by deciding that he does not want to negotiate for the men’s safe release. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, one of the hostages is Silas’ son Jack, which may have changed his mind. Nevertheless, David slips behind enemy lines to rescue the hostages and encounters one of the Goliath tanks in the process. After releasing the hostages, he plants an explosion on the tank and detonates it, so he destroys the tank and kills its crew. David is similarly labeled as a hero. Conversely, Kings’ David is much more modest about his actions than the original rendition who eventually becomes a king. Instead, David rises through the ranks after a celebratory banquet is held at Silas’ palace in Shiloh. He is promoted from a private to captain and given the responsibility of communicating military actions to the media. At this banquet, David once again finds Samuel. Though this time, he has fixed the watch he was given previously which proves his status as a hero to him.

Similar to the original story, Samuel confronts Silas for his actions and tells him that God is no longer on his side and that he will find another. He warns Silas that without God’s protection, he is just another man. Silas watches David march headlong into a squadron of tanks, holding a bloodied blanket from his deceased brother Eli, begging them to stop or in some way show their humanity. While the war in Samuel culminated, appropriately, on Mount Gilboa, David’s plea moves the Gath army to the point of ceasefire.  Silas is neither wounded nor killed at this confrontation, unlike Saul who famously fell upon his own sword. The ‘Age of David’, as it were, is ushered in, as the passing of an era. It seems that being king is no longer a job for the elders.

Despite this, the story stays mostly true to its roots. Because of the concessions that are required to make a story as intricate as Samuel’s into a television show requires that some details be left out. While remarkably similar in concepts and general framework of the story, it is a question of the smaller details. Kings had to sacrifice the complexity of the story in general in order to streamline both its narrative and create a focus for the series’ characters and actors.  Ultimately, the changes that were made better suit a television show.

Reference

Green, M. (Writer). (2009). Goliath parts 1 and 2 [Television series episode]. In Kings. Retrieved from http://www.hulu.com/watch/62546#i0,p0,d0