On Feb. 2, the season three finale of The Chosen aired as a special Fathom Event in movie theaters worldwide. The season finale consisted of episodes seven and eight, intending to be shown in theaters as a two-day release. However, due to high demand, Fathom Events extended showings through Feb. 6 after fans crashed the ticketing website. This landed the event in the top ten of the weekend box office hits, surpassing  “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

The Chosen, a multi-seasonal hit crowdfunded series about the true stories of the gospel of Jesus Christ (played by Jonathan Roumie) began in 2017. Seasons one and two mainly revolved around the introduction of disciples, where season three began with the followers returning from a mission where they were sent out in pairs to spread Jesus’ teachings on their own. The episode leading up to the finale of season three showed Andrew (Noah James) and Philip (Yoshi Barrigas) learning that their mission in the Decapolis had gone wrong, along with Jesus returning to Capernaum. Since season two had such a powerful ending, I was looking forward to what the final episodes in season three had in store. However, the ending of season two was merely a mustard seed compared to the ending of season three.

I had seen many sneak peaks of episode seven but nothing could compare to seeing the full episode in person. The attention was on Andrew and Phillip’s return from their revisitation of the Decapolis, where they preached the story of The Great Banquet in hopes of trying to create peace between the Jews and the Gentiles. This caused conflict when the different religions mistook the sermon. Fearing that they caused a multinational crisis, they return to tell Jesus. They talk to Judas Iscariot (Luke Dimyan) upon arrival, who is portrayed as the happy-go-lucky comic relief of the show. As an infamous historical traitor, it was entertaining to see him portrayed in such a manner.

My favorite episode this season was episode eight. Between the different parables told by Jesus, and Simon Peter (Shahar Isaac) coping with his doubts, this was one of the most impactful episodes I have seen, considering it was a retelling of the well-known “loaves and fishes” miracle. I have heard the story many times, but seeing it done on screen was phenomenal. With thousands of extras, the aerial view of the scene was huge, and still manages to amaze me every time I see it. 

The best part of episode eight came at the end, the crowd is fed with the multiplied loaves and fishes, and the disciples and Jesus are left to travel back to Capernaum. The disciples traveled back on the water, getting caught in a rough storm. At first while watching I thought it was just a side plot, but as lightning strikes, John (George H. Xanthis) sees a figure coming towards the boat on the water. Soon, they realize it is not a ghost, but Jesus walking on the water towards them. I was absolutely blown away with this portrayal of such an iconic moment, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I had no clue it was going to be in the finale episode, even after watching multiple trailers, but frankly the surprise made the scene even more impactful. From Jesus commanding Simon to walk on water, and Simon finally letting his grief get the best of him and falling in, to Jesus saving Simon and commanding the storm to stop, the classic story was told in such a powerful way it was impossible not to cry. The dramatic scene had me in tears by the end, with Simon crying “Don’t let me go.”

I had loved both seasons of The Chosen, but with season three ending on such an impactful note, this landed it in my top spot. I personally loved watching the choices that actors made to bring these historical figures to life. The Chosen had announced enough funding for most of their fourth season, hoping to make seven. I look forward to episodes to come as this amazing show continues to impact millions around the world.