A.D. The Bible Continues started out with a strong, although not perfect, first episode. Could it take a step forward with its second outing? Well, yes and no. 

On the one hand, A.D. has a lot that's working for it. Peter and John continue to be the standout characters, backed with sharper performances and more invested writing than many of the other figures here. This is fitting since those are two of the more active apostles in narrative of Scripture. Still, I'd like to see the other apostles do more than check some Biblical plot boxes and go through the same cycles of repeated dialogue. (For example, Thomas has his obligatory doubt-to-belief scene, but it's rushed and forced compared with other anecdotes.)

I do think part of the problem is that the show might be trying to do a bit too much. Not only is there a brewing revolution to develop, but the show seems insistent on giving equal time to the political side of the story as it does to the apostles. 

This isn't a bad idea on the surface. The conflict with Caiaphas and Pilate is legitimately compelling in its own right. It just feels a bit like it's treading water and stealing screen time from Peter. Yes, we all know the general gist of this story but in terms of this narrative, I think it might've been better to streamline the approach a bit. 

Peter is clearly meant to be the central protagonist and I think the screen time needs to better reflect that. Hopefully now that the main Gospel events have occurred, that will begin to develop.

This episode covered the events from the Resurrection through to the Ascension. The timeline in this episode was a bit muddled, but I suppose that's a forgivable enough trade-off to squeeze it all into one episode. I do, however, wish they didn't just skip over the "He breathed on them" part. Yes, I know its meaning is debated amongst denominations, but it is in the Bible. 

Considering they added in scenes of Jesus explaining how He fulfilled prophecy, I don't think it was much an issue of time. Those explanations were fairly redundant given the show's other references to the prophecy, and I think that pivotal moment in the upper room was a much more important milestone in the apostles' journey than reiterating something that was clear to begin with.

All of this said, this episode's scenes conveyed all the appropriate emotions. Mary Magdalene gets a little more room to come into her own as a character in this whole story. The warmth and brotherly bond of Jesus and the apostles (especially Peter and John) is given its appropriate focus. Adam Levy continues to impress as Peter, the leader of a group of fearful and guilt-ridden men who are struggling to make sense of their role after the death of Jesus. At the end of this episode, you can't help but get excited about the next step for them after the Ascension.

The aforementioned roles of Pilate and Caiaphas do provide some dramatic meat to the story. This Pilate is considerably more violent and cruel than you might expect if you only knew him from the passion narrative in the Gospels. And the increasing hole Caiaphas seems to be digging himself into actually proves quite compelling. I think a little tightening and progression of this plot could make it a hallmark of this adaptation. 

Given the Church's familiarity of the material, it'd be hard to legitimately shock us. Yet, the concluding moments of this episode actually manage to do just that as Pilate ruthlessly has the guards of Jesus' tomb executed for their failure. (Even going so far as to take it upon himself to kill the guard who had first come to Pilate with news of the resurrection, and who pleaded for his life. It's a fairly shocking scene, yet it's effective in showing just how ruthless Pilate/Rome can be even without the influence of the mob, and also in showing that Caiaphas isn't really as in control as he thinks. 

So far, this storyline been stunted a bit by a bit too much rehashing and too much blabbering from some of the significant others. Adjusted to a more supporting subplot and focused squarely on the truly compelling figures, this is surely an angle that could promise some great scenes in the future.

Closing Thoughts: 
A.D. has grand goals and in some ways is meeting them. The cast is talented and the show never fails to be compelling viewing. I'd have aired both the first two episodes back to back on premiere night, and maybe combined the two into a two-hour event. 

Considering the premise is the apostles' ministry after Christ's Ascension, these first two hours play largely as a prelude. I think the real meat, and consequently the real test of the series, starts now. Charged with spreading the Gospel to the whole world, this is where the apostles must evolve from men in hiding to warriors ready to die for Christ. 

Scripture and history tells us what happened, but dramatization of these events has been comparatively limited. A.D. has a chance to really be a defining Biblical epic of our generation, a television miniseries revolving around those handpicked by Jesus to lead his Church in its early years. 

The potential for greatness is overflowing, not just with premise but with the talent to back it up. It could all so easily go so wrong and yet there's so much reason to be optimistic. Here's hoping the bumps in this road get smoothed out quickly so what is working is allowed to truly shine through.