YMMV / The Chosen (TV series)

• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Among the disciples, Matthew is a clear standout for his unique personality and compelling (and often touching) seasons-long character arc.
  • Quintus, the Praetor of Galilee, for being an Affably Evil Large Ham who owns every scene he's in.
  • Atticus the Cohortes Urbanae for a mixture of coolness and Deadpan Snarker.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure Ahimelech is a good contender for the most popular character from one of the several short flashbacks to the Old Testament.
• Nightmare Fuel: Episode 6 of Season Four covers the Feast of Dedication in John 38. It's one thing to read about the Jews attempting to stone Jesus for blasphemy against God. It's quite another to see the Pharisees whip everyone up into an unhinged frenzy until they're screaming and scrounging for rocks like an angry mob. The Twelve have to hold them back from advancing on Jesus as he continues to preach. But while the Bible leaves it ambiguous as to whether or not the attackers actually carried out the stoning; here, they do throw the stones. Big James gets a nasty head wound and has to be carried away in a life-threatening condition, several of the others get hurt as well, and they have to flee through a lake to escape their pursuers. The whole group is badly shaken afterward.
• Older Than They Think: The series borrows elements previously used in previous adaptations of The Four Gospels.
  • This wasn’t the first adaptation to have a Middle Eastern themed soundtrack. That honour belongs to The Last Temptation of Christ.
  • Jesus seeing a crucifixion before he is crucified was used in The Last Temptation of Christ, The Bible (2013), The Young Messiah, Jesus (1999) and The Greatest Story Ever Told. The difference is that The Chosen and The Last Temptation of Christ have Jesus as an adult when he sees the crucifixion while the others have him as a child.
  • A scene where Jesus and his deciples are playing with water was previously used in the Jesus (1999) and The Visual Bible: Matthew.
  • The concept of Jesus becoming overwhelmed due to dealing with so many sick people was previously explored in Jesus Christ Superstar. Although it should be noted that the musical and The Chosen episode Matthew 4:24 don’t show him healing the sick. ^note Jesus Christ Superstar shows Jesus unsuccessfully healing the many sick people who came to him, as he quickly becomes overwhelmed by them. Matthew 4:24 only shows the aftermath of Jesus healing the many sick people earlier in the day.
  • Mary watching her son Jesus reading and getting rejected in Nazareth’s synagogue was previously used in Jesus of Nazareth and The Bible (2013).
• One-Scene Wonder: Belial only gets two scenes in a single episode of Season 2, but they're the most unnerving of the whole series.
• Pop-Culture Isolation: Depending on who you ask, The Chosen may be an incredible worldwide phenomenon. Or it may just be pandering to a particular audience.
• Signature Scene: Being such a critically-acclaimed and beloved series worldwide, The Chosen naturally has a couple of iconic scenes even non-fans would have some knowledge of.
  • Jesus' Establishing Character Moment in "I Have Called You By Name," where he meets Mary Magdalene and swiftly heals her.
  • "Invitations" has the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, including Jesus' plans for a Kingdom of God and being born again.
  • Jesus calling Matthew to the ministry and His line of "Get used to different."
  • Jesus' conversation with Little James in "Two by Two" about why He hasn't healed James of his physical handicap.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The Apostles being given the temporary power to perform miracles and sent out in some interesting pairings is glossed over in a montage.
• Unpopular Popular Character: In-series, the number of people who sincerely like Matthew can be counted on one hand. Out-of-series, many appreciate his Character Development and Adorkable No Social Skills nature.

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