The Old Stories: Moses Episode 1 Recap, Review, & Analysis

Kevin Keating
5 hours ago
9 min read

The Old Stories: Moses is a three-part mini-series adapting the biblical story of Moses’ encounter with God in the Burning Bush, the confrontation between Moses (Sir Ben Kingsley) and Pharaoh (O-T Fagbenle), and the exodus of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. It’s also the first spin-off of Wonder Project’s House of David series, with David’s father Jesse (Louis Ferreira) serving as the storyteller in the frame narrative. Below I’ll share a recap of Episode 1 ("The Calling"), which focuses on Moses’ encounter with the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-6), God’s call for him to return to Egypt (Exodus 3:7-22), and how God overcomes his doubt by giving him miraculous signs (Exodus 4:1-17). We also get a brief flashback to how Moses murdered an Egyptian overseer and sought to hide him (Exodus 2:11-12). I’ll also share my review of the episode and (eventually) my analysis of key themes and ideas.

Sir Ben Kingsley as Moses in The Old Stories: Moses from Wonder Project — Sir Ben Kingsley as Moses encountering God in the burning bush in The Old Stories: Moses Episode 1 from Wonder Project

What Happened in The Old Stories: Moses Episode 1 "The Calling"?

Episode 1 begins with a brief vignette in which David kills a serpent before it can kill one of the lambs of his flock. Carrying the lamb home, he finds his father, Jesse, telling the story of Moses to his younger sister, Avva (similar to the opening of House of David Season 1). Jesse opens by explaining that when you are lost or confused and don't know what to do, you only need to ask one question: what is in your hand. He then launches straight into the story of Moses, a shepherd who watched over a flock long before David, and the night that God spoke to him from the burning bush.

Jumping back to 1446 (the early/more literal dating for the Exodus), we see Moses returning back to Zipporah in the Midianite camp, grasping onto his staff and unable to speak for some time. When his wife finally coaxes him into speaking, he expresses doubt as to whether she will believe he lost his mind but nevertheless begins to tell her of how, while he was shepherding, he saw a bush burning, without being consumed (Exodus 3:1-3). At first Zipporah wonders whether he had a dream or vision but he insists that what he saw was as real as she is and indeed has followed him home, after speaking his own name, Moshe (Exodus 3:4).

Moses (Ben Kinsley) and Zipporah (Anna Khaja) in The Old Stories: Moses — Moses (Ben Kinsley) and Zipporah (Anna Khaja) in *The Old Stories: Moses*

We then get the remainder of Moses' encounter with God, following the biblical text very closely (God's speech is in fact all in Hebrew). After warning him to remove his sandals (Exodus 3:5), God reveals himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and calls Moses to return back to Egypt, the land of his birth, where his people are in bondage (Exodus 3:6-9). This catches Zipporah by surprise - Moses hasn't told her about his enslaved kinsmen or his upbringing as an Egyptian prince. When Moses questions who he is to bring the people out, God insists that he will be with him (Exodus 3:11-12). When Moses asks what name he will give to the people, God reveals himself as "I am who I am," and promises to be with him (Exodus 3:13-15).

Moses continues to fear that the Israelites will doubt him and so God has him throw down his staff, turns it into a snake, and then has him pick it back up, turning it back into a staff. He also makes Moses' hand leprous and then heals it (Exodus 4:1-7). Moses protests that he is slow of speech, but God reminds him that he is the one who made man's mouth and who will teach him what to speak (Exodus 4:10-12).

After Moses finishes recounting the story, Zipporah and Avva (in the frame) question what he will do and if he will in fact confront this Pharaoh that he once knew as a brother. Jesse (in the frame) explains that Moses did what every man must: he decided whom he must fear and whom he must serve and confronted his past failure, when he took justice into his own hands (Exodus 2:11-12). As he says this, we see Moses retrieve the dagger he once used to kill the Egyptian (as Pharaoh himself retrieves a blade of some sort), as Moses prepares to return back to Egypt.

Review of The Old Stories: Moses Episode 1

The Old Stories Moses upends a variety of conventions and expectations, which makes it an interesting but somewhat difficult show to review. And I'm not just talking about the extensive (and sometimes quite obvious) use of AI. Episode 1 is only 18 minutes long. As my summary above suggests, it's basically two nested frame narratives (Jesse telling a story to Avva, in which Moses tells a story to Zipporah) intertwined with a single dramatic scene (Moses' encounter with God). Although that scene includes some spectacles like the bush burning without being consumed and Moses' staff turning into a snake, the entire episode is dominated pretty heavily by dialogue, between Moses and God, Moses and Zipporah, and Jesse and Avva. In a lot of ways, it feels more akin to a short stage drama (with special effects) than it does to a normal show.

Honestly, I'm still on the fence about what I feel about it. There are several elements that I appreciate:

Biblical Fidelity: Some critics of House of David have complained about how much it expands upon the base of the biblical text. By contrast, the narrow scope of Episode 1 allows The Old Stories: Moses to follow the biblical text quite closely. We do get a few ellipses, mostly with regard to Canaan and God's plan for what Moses will do when he returns. Skipping these beats makes sense - Canaan would raise a lot of questions that go beyond the scope of the episode and we don't need to hear the details of God's plan when we're about to see it happen in Episode 2. Moreover, because the encounter with God is contained within two frame narratives, it's even possible that these moments occurred but were not depicted. The frame narratives themselves are quite limited and should not be controversial and basically exist to draw out the future significance/application of the story (Jesse narrative) and the emotional significance of the story for Moses (Moses/Zipporah narrative).
God in Hebrew: I appreciate the decision to keep God's speech in Hebrew for a few reasons. As far as I can remember, this is the first instance of direct divine speech in the House of David universe. If there's anywhere that the show should strive to be more conservative in its approach to the biblical text, it's here. Also, from a storytelling perspective, putting the speech in Hebrew gives the moment a sense of strangeness that's quite appropriate to the moment. Encountering the wholly-other presence and voice of God would feel quite alien and strange. Moreover, if God did indeed speak to Moses in Hebrew, the language may actually have slowed him down a bit, as it does to viewers of the show, who have to read the subtitles. Keep in mind that Moses grew up in an Egyptian household and then spent forty years among the Midianites, who presumably did not speak Hebrew.
Innovation: I am all in favor of trying new things and seeing what works. I'll wait to draw any final conclusions about the unique decision to do a series composed of short 20 minute episodes until I've watched the entire series. But regardless I applaud the decision to try something that's truly outside the box. I could see this type of format proving quite effective for adapting a number of biblical stories that don't necessarily require a fuller/expansive series. The format also explains how Jon Erwin was able to pull this together in such a short time period and utilize such high caliber performers.
Ben Kingsley: While there weren't any moments that totally blew me away, Ben Kingsley brings a level of innate gravitas that makes his performance immediately compelling.
Frame Narrative: The decision to set the story within a David frame narrative makes a lot of sense. The parallel of David and Moses both being shepherds is obvious but significant, and a great insight for the show to drive home. The frame also provides the show with an easy expositional short-cut that make the short run-time possible. But the more important function of the frame is to drive home the thematic resonance of Moses' story, both for David and for viewers. Given the short run-time, TOS:M has less space to develop its themes, so this is particularly important. But it's also just a great way to model for viewers how they are supposed to engage with the "old stories" of Scripture and apply them to their own lives. I also look forward to seeing how TOS:M brings a deeper sense of significance to House of David by giving us a sense of what David has in his head as he faces Goliath. Watching TOS:M feels quite similar to reading the appendices of The Lord of the Rings (or The Silmarillion), which provides an additional layer of meaning/context for the next time you read the main narrative.

But there are a few aspects of Episode 1 of The Old Stories: Moses that give pause:

Lack of character development: The short run-time means that we aren't given much time to sit with Moses and Zipporah and understand who they are and their relationship. If Moses never told Zipporah about his past in Egypt, what did he tell her about who he was and where he came from? Why isn't she a little more shocked (and annoyed) to discover that her husband isn't who she thought he was? How often did Moses think about his past before his encounter with God? Was it constantly plaguing his conscience or had he moved on? Where does his lack of confidence in himself come from? Are his objections to God honest concerns or evasions? Episode 1 raises so many questions that I want answers to, but I suspect won't get from the series. Viewers of modern shows are trained to expect answers to these types of questions and it leaves the experience of the show a bit unsatisfying.
Audience Investment: One of the reasons that dramatic shows are usually longer than twenty minutes is because they have to take time to make viewers care about the story and characters, by setting up the stakes and showing us why the characters are sympathetic, admirable, etc. TOS:M doesn't have time to develop a rooting interest in its story and characters and so it largely has to lean on our pre-existing emotional investment. We get brief cuts to the suffering of the Israelites and allusions to Moses' past. Again, Kingsley's performance also has an innate compelling quality. But the show is largely relying on the expectation that we care because we've read the Bible and/or watched House of David. That probably will be enough for most viewers, but it will limit the appeal of the show to anyone who isn't a Bible reader and/or viewer of House of David.
Zipporah: I think both the writing and performance of Zipporah is a little weak. I wish they had given her a little more personality so it didn't feel like she was just an expositional tool.
AI: I actually wasn't that bothered by the AI. The AI depiction of the enslaved Israelites was pretty glaring, but because it's a brief cutaway and not an integral part of the main narrative, I could get over it pretty easily. Whatever AI that went into the burning bush worked far better and was less obvious. It'll be interesting to see if it feels more distracting in future episodes, where the AI feels more present in the primary narrative. Of course, I know some viewers will object to the use of AI at all - but if that's your viewpoint, there's nothing else that can really be said. Having now seen what this show is (i.e. a glorified one-act play), I think it's even more understandable that they did what they did. There's no way you get funding to do CGI or practical sets, costuming, etc. for a project of such a limited scale.

Like I said, I'm still mulling over what I think about The Old Stories: Moses. But I think that's actually a sign of what a unique/innovative show this is. Shows and movies that follow the typical script are easy to evaluate - you can grade them against a thousand other examples that are doing the exact same thing. When you come across something unique, you have to slow down and ask yourself, What is this? Do I like what it's doing? I'm looking forward to the experience of processing through those questions, regardless of what I ultimately conclude.

Key Themes of The Old Stories: Moses Episode 1

Check back soon for my thoughts on key themes of part 1, including topics like:

Moses’ Identity vs. God's Identity

God's Speech

Telling Stories

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2 Comments

Julia Duin

2 hours ago

We'd love to watch this, but it was only yesterday that I figured out that Amazon was charging us $9.93/month to stay connected with the House of David series. I just canceled it as no new material (that I knew of )had come out in five months. And now this! Can you make it clear to readers what it costs to watch this stuff, how Amazon is connected with it all, etc? And are all the episodes up right now? It's truly confusing.

Kevin Keating

43 minutes ago

Replying to

It has been a bit confusing. Yes, subscribing to Wonder Project is an additional cost either monthly, annual, or in a package. Wonder Project is a subscription channel on Amazon but is an independent Christian-lead organization. Only Episode 1 is currently up - they'll be releasing weekly. I'll try to clarify some of this soon - thanks for pointing this out.