The Promised Land Episode 3 "Pitfalls": Recap & Review
- Kevin Keating
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
The Promised Land adapts the biblical story of the Exodus but with a twist: instead of giving us a straight dramatic retelling, the show applies the mockumentary style popularized by The Office to highlight the ironies and human foibles embedded in the biblical source material. When the Pilot Episode was released last summer, I went into my first viewing a bit skeptical, but I was pleasantly surprised by how the show turned out to be both a genuinely funny comedy and a thoughtful adaptation of Exodus 18. Episode 2 offered a strong follow-up centered on Israel’s arrival at Sinai and consecration to meet the Lord (Exodus 19). In Episode 3, Moses briefly comes down the mountain to deliver the new rules and bring the elders to meet God, before returning a third time to commune further with the Lord (Exodus 20-24) resulting in Aaron’s disastrous decision to create a Golden Calf (Exodus 32). Below I’ll give a brief summary of the episode and evaluate it as a Bible adaptation and a comedy.
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Summary of The Promised Land Episode 3 “Pitfalls”
The Promised Land Episode 3 Cold Open: Moses’ Return
Episode 2 ended with Moses’ ascent up Mount Sinai to meet with the Lord and Episode 3 opens with Joshua describing his return and his second ascent with Aaron and the elders to eat with the Lord (Exodus 24), a special moment that Miriam is predictably left out of. In addition to all the new rules (which Moses loves), there’s one ominously repeated principle: don’t make or worship idols.
Aaron & Hurr in The Promised Land Episode 3
As Moses ascends Mount Sinai a third time, he leaves Aaron and Hurr in charge, much to Aaron’s delight. But things quickly go south when the Israelites discover that the river water is contaminated from all the washing they did in order to consecrate themselves. As the demand for water grows more and more dire, Aaron recalls how Moses was able to strike a rock and make water come out (Exodus 17) and tries to do so himself, unsuccessfully.
Aaron’s next idea is to try to dig a well. Unfortunately, the digging of an open pit causes legal problems (Exodus 21:33). Eventually, a well is able to help get the people water, but only after Aaron has lost the confidence of the people.
After trying to hide and flee from the rebellious Israelites, Aaron is at his wit’s end. Finally, he decides to pacify the people by taking some of their gold and fashioning it into a calf, which the people immediately begin to worship (Exodus 32:1-6). Just as the new festivities are under way, Moses returns from on the mountain and is enraged at what he sees. After smashing the calf with his staff, he throws it into the well and calls the people to drink it (Exodus 32:19-24). In punishment for their sin, the Israelites are condemned with plague.
Miriam, Zipporah, & the Sons of Korah in The Promised Land Episode 3
Annoyed at how Moses passes over her for Hurr and Aaron, Miriam is nevertheless pleased to begin work on the tent for the women. When Korah assumes that the women aren’t capable of designing the tent, she pushes back and insists on doing so.
When Miriam and Zipporah both set out to create designs, Miriam’s design is practical and non-descript, while Zipporah’s is colorful and fun. Though Miriam looks down on her sister-in-law’s idea, it immediately wins over all the other women. Korah is even more dismissive and almost tosses Zipporah’s design out in favor of one that is actually quite similar to Miriam’s. But instead of submitting to the design that fits with her own preferences, Miriam stands up for the right of the women to choose and insists on Zipporah’s design, with help from Oholiab (or "Oho") and Bezalel.
When Aaron introduces the golden calf worship, Chisisi takes to it naturally but questions why the Israelites are doing so. Afterward, Korah claims that he was not a part of the false worship but our documentary team shows that he is lying by depicting him suffering from plague
Review of The Promised Land Episode 3 (“Pitfalls”)
Episode 3 continues to hold biblical reverence in tension with comedy, but that tension is a little more evident. From a comedic perspective, it feels like the show could have gotten more laughs out of Aaron’s decision to make the golden calf and the Israelites’ false worship. That might have minimized the gravity of Israel’s sin as it is depicted in Scripture though. When push comes to shove, The Promised Land errs on the side of following Scripture and making the seriousness of idolatry evident. That's a decision I respect, although I can't help but wonder whether it could have gotten a few more laughs without minimizing sin. But that's not to say we don’t get any humor out of the moment - I like the way Chisisi and Korah are employed in the revelry - I only wish we got a little more.
Having said that, I do appreciate how the episode introduces pits, the need for water, and idolatry are introduced in the opening and then developed over the course of the episode. Although the show doesn't explicitly allude to Jeremiah 2:13, I imagine the writers had it in mind as they crafted the episode. The connection between idolatry, pits, and water sources all comes together to make Moses forcing the Israelites to drink the golden into a moment that was more theologically potent than I expected.
Generally, I enjoy the Miriam character and I got a few chuckles out of her story, but I think the episode would have been served better by a story that focused more on Chisisi. As the show’s resident idolator, he could have been used to bring idolatry I to the picture a little more explicitly so that there was more set up for the final idolatrous festival.
I won't point out all the gags that I enjoyed but there were several. I particularly liked Aaron’s failed attempts to bring water out of the rock like Moses - and just the whole idea that the water supply was contaminated by all the washing that they did.
Episode 3 of The Promised Land pairs several good laughs with a surprisingly thoughtful and earnest warning against idolatry. Although the tone can sometimes feel a little uneven due to the tension between comedy and reverence, it's still a clever and moving exploration of an important biblical moment.
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