Drama
House of David
‘House of David’ brings David’s dramatic story to life, recounting the rise of his house and the downfall of King Saul’s.
Everything is not what it seems.
Nobody knows this better than the Russo family. When siblings Justin, Alex and Max were kids, they found out that their dad used to be a wizard. He’d given up his magical powers in order to marry their mother, a mortal (since Wizarding law forbids magical beings from marrying non-magical ones). But since the kids inherited their dad’s mystical abilities, they were trained in all things supernatural.
Eventually, the trio competed to determine who would become the official “Family Wizard,” because another weird Wizarding law that declares only one wizard may exist per family. And Alex, the sarcastic, mischievous middle Russo child won.
However, her brothers weren’t left in the dust. Rule-loving, ever-studious big brother Justin was appointed headmaster of WizTech, an all-magic wizarding school. (A position that conveniently allowed him to keep his wizarding powers in spite of losing the family competition.) And goofy little brother Max inherited the Russo family business—a sandwich shop.
But now, they’re all grown up. Max has now turned the sandwich shop into a billion-dollar empire. Alex has been appointed to the Wizarding Tribunal. And Justin …
Well actually, things didn’t go quite as Justin had planned.
He got fired from WizTech after the “unicorn incident” (the details of which remain a mystery to viewers, for now). Then, just like his dad, he gave up his wizarding powers to marry Giada, a mortal.
He and Giada have two sons: middle-schooler Roman, who is every bit his father’s son; and elementary-aged Milo, who admittedly acts a bit like his uncle Max. But that’s where the similarities end. Unlike Justin and his siblings, Roman and Milo didn’t inherit their dad’s magical gifts (apparently, it can skip a generation). And the entire family remains in the dark about Justin’s past, believing him to be nothing more than a middle school vice principal.
But then Alex shows up to bend things out of shape.
Alex accompanies a young, powerful wizard named Billie to Justin’s house. Billie, she says, has been kicked out of every home and school she’s attended in the wizarding world. The Tribunal wants to strip Billie of her powers and send her to the mortal world for good. But Alex won’t let that happen.
She sees something of herself in the rebellious teen girl. However, unlike Alex, Billie doesn’t have a loving dad and protective big brother to guide her.
Alex is convinced that if anyone can teach the stubborn young wizard, Justin can. After all, he had plenty of practice with Alex already. Plus, Justin is truly Billie’s last hope.
Oh, and in case I (or Alex) forgot to mention it: There’s a prophecy about the end of the world that says Billie is the only one who can save it. So there’s that, too.
There are a lot of similarities between Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place (which aired from 2007 to 2012) and this sequel series.
Fans of the original will be delighted to see their favorite characters onscreen again, portrayed by the same actors, no less. And while the end-of-the-world aspect is new, the three-siblings-with-clashing-personalities story setup remains the same. Roman is a bit uptight. Billie is a bit of a rebel. And Milo is a bit of goofball.
But that brings to mind another similarity: No matter how much trouble Justin, Alex and Max got into, they always had each other’s backs. The family’s love kept them together even at the height of the wizard competition (which, by its design, often tried to drive them apart). And we see that same love replicated in the Russos’ pseudo-adoption of Billie.
Mortal families watching this sequel don’t have to worry about language or graphic violence. However, as Paul Asay stated in his review of the original Waverly Place, “Alex has proven to be a less than ideal role model for her hordes of young Disneyfied fans. And the adults in her life are buffoonish and little less wise than you might wish for or even expect.” Those sentiments are reflected in Billie. And although Justin and Giada seem to be more level-headed at times, they certainly have their own doofus moments.
Finally, we’ve obviously still got the show’s magical components to deal with. We’re told wizards are born with their powers but that they can also have those powers removed. We’ll also see an influx of other magical creatures: traditional ones, such as werewolves and vampires, but also entirely new ones like the Medusa-esque “floogie.”
Parents shouldn’t necessarily minimize those concerns (you can read more about the issues with witchcraft and wizarding in Paul Asay’s blog, “Toil and Trouble: Witches Are In, and Why That’s a Problem”), even if they grew up watching the original series.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Justin has given up on the wizarding world, acting as the vice principal of a middle school. But when his sister, Alex, asks him to train a young wizard named Billie, he allows himself to be pulled back in.
To prove that monsters are real to an unbelieving Roman, Billie summons a “floogie,” a round, fuzzy creature that freezes anyone who looks directly into one of its many eyes. Several characters are frozen after doing just that. They’re eventually defrosted after Justin helps Billie figure out the spell to banish the creature back to where it came from.
Billie and other wizards use wands to cast spells that create portals, turn on lights, open drawers and more. We hear about unicorns, which are real in the wizard world. Alex says she put a curse on someone’s toothbrush.
A boy falls out of a bunk bed after getting scared. We learn there’s a prophecy about the end of the world.
Justin flexes in front of a mirror. He and Giada kiss. A child jokes he’ll need to put lotion on his “tender parts” after getting stuck on a bike for several hours. When Billie uses Milo’s mirror as a portal, Milo feels violated by the intrusion of privacy.
Justin is treated somewhat like a moron by his family. Characters lie, and Alex says she’s proud of Justin after learning he’s lying to his family about his past. Someone says, “Oh my gosh.” The term “flarf” is used to describe a monster’s bowel movements; someone uses it as a swear word.
Milo admits that he wears a monster mask to bed to trick potential closet monsters into chasing his brother instead. But he also acts courageously, taking a floogie freeze for Roman.
Roman occasionally gives his parents attitude; but in general, he’s a rule-following teen who respects them. Justin apologizes to Alex after snapping at her, admitting that he is jealous of her wizard abilities. Alex finds a way to encourage Justin to tell his family the truth about his past and become a wizard teacher again.
In spite of her devil-may-care demeanor, it’s clear that Billie is hurt by all the people who have rejected her. She has convinced herself that she would be better off on her own. However, Justin shows her a better way. He proves that he does believe in her, and she decides to give him and the rest of the Russos a chance.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
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