The Chosen S2E1 Deep Dive Part 1

The Chosen S2E1 Scene & Score Deep Dive (Part 1)
Do you remember the very first time you watched S2E1? If it was during the first livestream you remember that they warned us not to be one second late. Then it began. Wait. What??? After we realized what we were witnessing, we were mesmerized.
I wonder if you, like me, felt a connection to these souls like never before in that opening scene.
As they remember, we share in their memories. It dawns on us just how much history we have already experienced together in the series & in scripture, because of course it’s all tangled together now, in spirit.
Our imagination has been awakened & what we experience is the heart of Jesus. Maybe we imagine more beautifully & with more love & compassion than ever before, as we share in their history. In the capturing, through John’s eyes and heart, & in the remembering of the disciples, Mary Magdalene, Matthew & Mother Mary, we join them. The emotion, the pain, the commitment, the fear, the trust & the love that are woven in scripture & in their human stories is also woven through ours as we relate, remember & apply. It all counts as glory for God & an opening for us to receive more.
And all that, even without the music. As Matt Nelson & Dan Haseltine say, a perfect score is just as much about choosing where the music isn’t. And they choose well.
The writing, cinematography & set decoration are understated & stunning. Every detail. This acting is so very intimate & felt. Every nuance. The glistening eyes. The expressions of recollection & realization as memories flood. Oh how little they understood, before. And there was no condemnation. Jesus always said “You will get it in time”.
The ever present humor is Dallas Jenkins’ gift of humanity & grace. I think of all the times people were so offended by the reference of John the Baptizer as “Creepy John”. And here we see Simon who didn’t have a clue when he first named that, in fact, crazy looking dude. But now he speaks the same title with such endearing love & respect, and fun. Because that’s what authentic humans do. They have personality. I don’t think I have ever been as impressed with each actor as much as now, as they express through their characters what they cherish, what secrets may have been hidden in their hearts, what they fear, their stories of living with & loving Jesus.
When John & his “given” mother, Mary, are left alone, their words are so beautiful as John shares his conviction of writing this history for us so we can know Jesus as he loved Him. It feels so personal, doesn’t it?
“Start at the beginning. Which beginning?”
His birth, ancestry…the garden.
“But what was before?”
“The earth that was formless and void”.
And then that rain. The sound of the rain & rumbling thunder transported me. If I was absorbed in watching each beloved share their memories, now I am in the room with John & Mother Mary. I bet you were too. The thunder is beautiful & brilliant. Mary says, “I can’t hear that without thinking of you two”.
But John is worried these will be “just” words. He so misses the sound of Jesus’ voice. He so longs for this story to capture what “only words” never could, for us. But Mary says, “He said they weren’t just words. Remember? ‘Heaven & earth will pass away but my words will never pass away.’ They are eternal.”
As John thinks deeply, in flows Matt & Dan’s perfection. Actually, it is flowing right out the window into the rain & thunder. And we hear that long, ever present, ever steady, comforting God note & those simple, intimate, & beautiful plucked notes that are an important theme throughout the series. Sometimes we call it The Chosen theme. Dan has also referred to it as the Holy Spirit theme.
I feel like I am floating out with the music & it is helping me to hold these stories & thoughts in my heart.
Matt say’s, “This mirrors, almost note-for-note, the first cue in Episode 101 of The Chosen, & it’s also bookended at the end of Episode 201.
How else could we say, “We’re back!” better than using the main motif of the whole show?”
How else, indeed?
Have you ever even thought about how John began this tale, the calling & the weight upon his shoulders? Or any of the books. I never did. Oh how this story stirs my heart.
The writing is transcendent, unbelievable, amazing. Thank you, Ryan Swanson, Tyler Thompson & Dallas Jenkins. Matt, Dan and their music mixer, @Stevenmusicstudio brilliantly bring us deeper in with their stunning score.
Enjoy the screen recorded scene here, highlighting our beloved cast here: George H. Xanthis, Joe Vahedi, NOAH JAMES, Giavani Cairo, Jordan Walker Ross, Liz Tabish, Vanessa Benavente, Paras Patel, Shahar Isaac and Austin Reed Alleman. Watch the whole series on The Chosen app or on streaming services
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