It Came to Pass as It Was Spoken
- Episode aired Jan 1, 2020
- TV-MA
- 48m
News of a marvel electrifies the phenomenon around al-Masih, but Eva's skepticism deepens. Jibril's and Samer's paths diverge amid political unrest.News of a marvel electrifies the phenomenon around al-Masih, but Eva's skepticism deepens. Jibril's and Samer's paths diverge amid political unrest.News of a marvel electrifies the phenomenon around al-Masih, but Eva's skepticism deepens. Jibril's and Samer's paths diverge amid political unrest.
- Samer
- (as Fares Landoulsi)
- Mullah Umar
- (as Makram J. Khoury)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe working title for "Messiah" was "Old Story."
- Quotes
Aviram Dahan: [after having watched al-Masih perform a miraculous feat, Avi and Eva happen to be at a local bar at the same time. As Avi sits down by him with her drink...] You drink now?
Eva Geller: Never should have stopped.
[sighs]
Aviram Dahan: L'Chaim.
[They clink glasses]
Eva Geller: [sighs again] Walking on fucking water...
Aviram Dahan: A bit of a cliche, huh?
Eva Geller: Still managed to take us all by surprise.
[Shakes her head]
Eva Geller: God only knows what he'll do next.
Aviram Dahan: Mm.
[smiles, pauses]
Aviram Dahan: God knows. Exactly.
Eva Geller: [sighs] Please tell me that was a joke.
Aviram Dahan: [chuckles] If he was God, he wouldn't need these parlor tricks.
Eva Geller: Uh... That's all that Jesus did. Right? Walked around, performed tricks. Gets you an audience. What was Jesus, after all? Just a populist politician with an ax to grind against the Roman Empire.
This episode firmly establishes the difference between looking at individuals and looking at societies.
Washinton D.C. is in turmoil - just like the town of Dilley was a few days ago. Everybody talks about the new Messiah, and for every believer there is a doubting Thomas or Jack or Jill.
Then we see Al-Masih in action, and he is a very sensitive man, well tuned in to his visitors, he can see them, feel them at a deep level, and when he talks to them, their lives are profoundly changed.
So... is he a charlatan? A trickster? Oh, yes. He is a magician. Is he honest? Oh, yes. Much more than anybody else. Is he good for those who come to seek help? Definitely.
Is he good for the country he is in? Hm ... probably not. Societies cannot cope with fundamental changes as easily as individuals. And even the human individuals find it very hard to change.
So, the CIA is probably right - he IS a danger. And the Imams are right, too - better remove the young men from his reach. Too dangerous. We don't see much from the Catholic Church - they have a well established procedure for finding out if someone was a saint (post mortem, of course)
Which leaves us with the uncomfortable question: is it GOOD if someone helps a few individuals while his mere presence incites riots, starts wars, brings about massive changes?
It is the same question Eva (the CIA agent) faces: you can't be indifferent. you have to make a choice. If he's GOOD, then let him live. If he's BAD, then ... eliminate.
Looking forward to the next episode. With more questions ...
- nataraj
- Jan 17, 2020
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- The Hermitage Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee, USA(The George Hotel)
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime48 minutes
- Color