Wednesday, May 27, 2015

"A.D. The Bible Continues" Ep. 8 Review (5/24/15)

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

More A.D. The Bible Continues. Go let's dive in.

Caiaphas reveals that he misled Saul to Damascus, so that no violence would be seen by the emperor.

Meanwhile, Pilate and the emperor Tiberius finally learn that the emperor's nephew Caligula has crossed the line with his wild partying and being passed out inside Pilate's chambers. This also leads to a disgusted Claudia vowing that she won't enter that room again until the mess is cleaned up.

-And Caligula is supposed to be Pilate's successor if Pilate fails to make things right with the emperor? That would be politics in a nutshell.

Saul makes plans to go to Damascus to pursue Peter.

Peter, on the other hand, is still in hiding NOT in Damascus, but in a cellar under a housing unit in Jerusalem. A young boy tells the disciples that Saul has left town, which prompts Peter to announce that they will go to Samaria.


Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene is continuing her duties as a servant girl, until she meets with a woman named Joanna. 

Joanna was once a follower of Jesus, but was struggling  to keep her faith, because of what's been going on in the city. But Mary tells her about his resurrection and that he's very much alive. Joanna takes this as good news.

Later on, we see Saul and his men traveling to Damascus.
-One of them is riding a horse, because he refused to walk. Okay...

Later, we see Tiberius pondering what he should do about his delinquent nephew. Claudia suggests in taking him back, and allowing Pilate to keep his position. Tiberius praises her wisdom and promotion for her husband and decides to give Pilate a position in Rome. Claudia is grateful; however, the sight of four vultures outside the window startles her.
-Now, in case you missed it last episode (and I regret not telling about this in my last review)... Tiberius had a dream of four vultures, of which Claudia tells him that dreams are common in the palace- to where they potentially come true. So, telling by how dreams are common in the Pilate household... how do you think the dream of the vultures will turn out for Tiberius?

That night, Saul and his men set up camp, as he tells about the "heresy" of Peter and his disciples. Speaking of... Peter and John make a move to leave town.

Pilate confronts Caligula for insulting his wife, but the nephew bests him, saying that his uncle would punish him.


Later, Pilate learns from Claudia that Tiberius is offering him a position in Rome. This pleases Pilate, but Claudia tells him that the key is to continuing playing their part in pleasing Tiberius.

In Samaria, Peter and John meet up with Philip.

Meanwhile, we learn that Joanna has a controlling husband. But that's not important right now, because the two women run into the nephew's posse, who immediately takes a liking to Joanna. However, Agrippa's sister(?) steps in and tells him not to "play with [her] things."
-Okay, fair enough. As long as Joanna doesn't get violated by this guy.

Meanwhile, Saul refuses to stop his pursuit for Peter. Saul is determined to stop Peter, because of the idea that Peter is spreading lies. 

However, Jesus appears to Saul, who angrily charges at him, 

but Jesus tells him to go to Damascus and await instructions. But that comes with a price, because of the blinding light, Saul loses his sight.


We then cut to Damascus where Saul is now blind.

Meanwhile, in Samaria, Peter and the disciples talk with Simon the sorcerer, who admits that he has used cheap trickery to gain his audience, and he offers to help spread the word about Jesus.
-I don't know. I'm not fully subscribed to this guy's repentance yet, because in the previous episode, he tried to heal another guy's hand soon after he was baptized, because he believed he would gain God's powers from the baptismal...
Then Peter and the disciples are met by people waiting to be healed from their injuries and sicknesses, whom the disciples instantly heal.

Back in Damascus, Barnabas tells a man named Ananias that Saul is in town, and that he can't stay for long. But Ananias tells him stay and not cower.

Back in Jerusalem, Pilate is promoted by Tiberius, and that Caligula is to go back with his uncle, while Agrippa (another Roman) stays with Pilate. This, of course, angers the emperor's nephew, and he believes that this was Pilate's scheming. Caligula threatens that the emperor won't always protect Pilate.

While that's going on, we see Saul struggling with his inability to see... and the emperor leaves Jerusalem, with his nephew basically kicking and screaming...
Caligula: "Pilate, you will pay for your scheming!... You will answer to me!"
-Talk about a spoiled brat...

Later, we see Simon the sorcerer giving Peter every cent of his money, in exchange for "a few drops" of God's power. This angers Peter, and he accuses Simon for trying to "buy" God. This leads to the sky turning dark, Simon bleeding to death, and Peter begging God to let him live.

-Okay, since I'm now learning more names... It's safe to assume that the guy Agrippa was the one that was trying to put the moves on Joanna earlier.
So, Agrippa, that night, tries to sneak into Joanna's room in Pilate's palace. However, instead of making a move to violate her, he overhears her praying in Jesus' name.

Meanwhile, Claudia has a dream of the vultures and Tiberius, and she wakes up scared. She assures Pilate that she's fine, despite being shaken.

On that same night, Ananias get a call from Jesus, telling him to go to Saul. Ananias is concerned, because he knows of the harm that Saul has done, but Jesus reassures him that he has chosen Saul to be his instrument and to tell of him.

So Ananias goes to Saul to lift his curse. Once Saul gets his sight back, he embraces Ananias.

Later...
-Yes, I'm still learning who's who in this series.
Agrippa makes a complaint to his sister, who is Herod's wife(?)...
-I really don't know. Just go with it, Whatsoever Critic, just go with it...
Agrippa makes a complaint to get rid of blasphemers, due to what he had heard from last night.
Joanna and her husband are brought in, much to the pleasure of Agrippa. Herod questions the couple if whether or not Joanna is a follower of Jesus. Joanna's husband claims madness. Herod orders that Joanna is to be kept under control by her husband. This upsets Agrippa.
-Yeah, well, stop screwing with women and trying to get into their pants.

Meanwhile, Saul tells his men about his encounter with Jesus. Saul wants to be baptized by Ananias, so that he can keep feeling Jesus in him. The other guys can only look at him with disbelief.

Later, Claudia has another dream of the emperor. But this time, the emperor is killed by Caligula by shoving a pillow to his face. Claudia tells of her dream to Pilate, but Pilate doesn't believe her.

Saul meets with Barnabas. Barnabas isn't buying the repentance at first, but Saul admits to his wrongdoing, and he now wants to accept Jesus. Ananias confirms that Saul is telling the truth. 

So Saul is baptized, and Barnabas witnesses this transformation.

Meanwhile, we see one of Caiaphas' guards report back to Caiaphas, saying that Saul has converted.

Speaking of, Saul, despite the uncertainty of Barnabas and Ananias, goes into a temple to start preaching about Jesus.

Then, we immediately cut to the Herod and Pilate households reporting to Tiberius's chambers, only to find Caligula sitting in his uncle's seat. 

He reports that Tiberius is dead, saying that "he died peacefully in his bed." So Caligula denies Pilate's position and has both him and Claudia kneel before him, because since Tiberius is dead, he's the new emperor.
-Again, politics in a nutshell.
-And, remember that scene from earlier where Caligula is screaming that Pilate will answer to him? Well, he got his wish.

Okay, I'm already used to stuff going wrong in this series, especially when they happen at the end. Yeah, it was sad to see the emperor die, and that his bratty nephew rises to power, but yeah. What goes up must eventually come down, right? But on the bright side, Saul is no longer a bloodthirsty bad guy going after Peter and the disciples. Instead, he's a follower of Jesus now. Well, I expected that to happen, because I heard of the story of Saul a bunch of times before, but it was great to learn more about his origin in this show adaptation.

Whatsoever Critic
Source: A.D. The Bible Continues

Courtesy: NBC/Lightworkers Media

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