1
00:00:20,511 --> 00:00:23,591
From whence comes
the purpose of a person's life?
2
00:00:26,351 --> 00:00:29,671
Come it by chance, a casting of the lot,
3
00:00:30,031 --> 00:00:33,551
or does a call of destiny
beckon to each of us?
4
00:00:36,551 --> 00:00:38,991
Many have wondered
about my little Hadassah
5
00:00:39,111 --> 00:00:41,111
and why a simple Jewish orphan
6
00:00:41,231 --> 00:00:45,351
was chosen to stand against
the annihilation of her people.
7
00:00:46,831 --> 00:00:49,871
And yet the mystery of the girl
most know as Esther
8
00:00:49,991 --> 00:00:51,911
begins not where one might think,
9
00:00:52,591 --> 00:00:54,791
but 500 years earlier
10
00:00:55,111 --> 00:00:57,871
with a single act of disobedience.
11
00:01:05,551 --> 00:01:07,351
King Saul of the Israelites
12
00:01:07,471 --> 00:01:09,711
had been sent by the Prophet Samuel
13
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to wipe out
an ancient child-sacrificing enemy.
14
00:01:14,791 --> 00:01:16,471
So pervasive was their evil
15
00:01:16,591 --> 00:01:19,831
that not even their oxen nor sheep
were to be spared,
16
00:01:20,231 --> 00:01:24,191
and above all, no survivors left breathing.
17
00:01:38,791 --> 00:01:43,031
My lord, I give you Agag,
king of the Amalekites.
18
00:01:43,511 --> 00:01:45,751
We have also seized for you his livestock.
19
00:01:45,871 --> 00:01:47,191
Even his queen.
20
00:02:02,111 --> 00:02:05,431
What dark portent bid me haste
to cross this land of ours?
21
00:02:05,551 --> 00:02:07,591
How would you accuse me now,
O Prophet?
22
00:02:07,671 --> 00:02:09,271
I carried out your lord's command.
23
00:02:09,391 --> 00:02:10,391
Then why do my ears
24
00:02:10,511 --> 00:02:14,191
ring with the lowing of oxen
and the bleating of sheep?
25
00:02:15,711 --> 00:02:18,111
Your Majesty, the Amalekite queen,
26
00:02:18,551 --> 00:02:19,871
she escaped.
27
00:02:21,271 --> 00:02:22,511
We have the king.
28
00:02:23,151 --> 00:02:24,471
What is one woman?
29
00:02:24,631 --> 00:02:26,231
You fool,
30
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she is with child.
31
00:02:32,951 --> 00:02:36,391
While the Prophet Samuel
put a swift end to King Agag,
32
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Agag's queen,
33
00:02:40,471 --> 00:02:44,191
fleeing with the seed of vengeance
growing within her,
34
00:02:44,551 --> 00:02:46,911
the Jews never found.
35
00:03:30,511 --> 00:03:32,231
Uncle Mordecai!
36
00:03:32,311 --> 00:03:35,231
Rebecca, what kind of housekeeper
do you think you are?
37
00:03:35,471 --> 00:03:38,191
Serves you right
for bringing home your work.
38
00:03:38,311 --> 00:03:40,271
The caravan arrived this morning.
39
00:03:40,751 --> 00:03:43,071
Well, Susa is the capital of the new world.
40
00:03:43,151 --> 00:03:44,791
Caravans arrive every day.
41
00:03:44,911 --> 00:03:46,431
Not from Jerusalem.
42
00:03:48,071 --> 00:03:49,511
Well, perhaps
you ought to go back and ask them
43
00:03:49,631 --> 00:03:51,991
if they'll arrive the same time next year.
44
00:03:52,591 --> 00:03:54,751
Next year? You promised.
45
00:03:54,951 --> 00:03:56,631
- Rebecca!
- Fight your own battles.
46
00:03:56,751 --> 00:03:59,471
You don't pay me enough
to fight the battle for you.
47
00:04:02,031 --> 00:04:04,391
- Good morning, Hadassah.
- And where have you been?
48
00:04:04,471 --> 00:04:06,911
I'm sorry, Grandmother,
the markets were really busy.
49
00:04:06,991 --> 00:04:08,351
There's a new caravan in from...
50
00:04:09,791 --> 00:04:11,911
- Sore subject.
- Uncle Mordecai,
51
00:04:12,271 --> 00:04:15,631
does not your own heart
long to see our people restored to glory?
52
00:04:15,751 --> 00:04:16,871
It does.
53
00:04:17,191 --> 00:04:21,031
Did not Cyrus the Great conquer Babylon
and free our people from captivity?
54
00:04:21,551 --> 00:04:22,551
He did.
55
00:04:23,231 --> 00:04:25,751
But do we embrace our freedom
and leave this pagan empire
56
00:04:25,871 --> 00:04:27,631
to embrace our destiny?
57
00:04:28,711 --> 00:04:30,551
- Of course not.
- Lord,
58
00:04:30,791 --> 00:04:32,311
I pray to you day and night
59
00:04:32,431 --> 00:04:34,071
to give me the patience of Job,
60
00:04:34,191 --> 00:04:35,831
give me the wisdom of Solomon.
61
00:04:36,111 --> 00:04:37,791
And what do you give me?
62
00:04:38,231 --> 00:04:41,191
You give me the endless equivocations
63
00:04:41,871 --> 00:04:44,151
of a beautiful, young woman.
64
00:05:09,471 --> 00:05:10,471
Look.
65
00:05:13,711 --> 00:05:15,991
Hadassah, always dreaming.
66
00:05:17,071 --> 00:05:18,231
Maybe...
67
00:05:19,791 --> 00:05:21,671
Here, then, you be the princess.
68
00:05:27,751 --> 00:05:31,351
While many Jews had forgotten
the acts of centuries past,
69
00:05:31,471 --> 00:05:34,471
the descendants of Agag had not.
70
00:05:35,511 --> 00:05:38,191
For Agag's queen did indeed survive
71
00:05:38,911 --> 00:05:40,991
and gave birth to a son.
72
00:05:43,191 --> 00:05:45,351
And she forged for him a mark,
73
00:05:46,671 --> 00:05:50,271
prophesying that one day
an Agagite would arrive,
74
00:05:51,151 --> 00:05:53,151
a descendant of Agag,
75
00:05:53,231 --> 00:05:56,071
who would finally exact vengeance
upon the Jews.
76
00:05:56,271 --> 00:05:58,831
Hadassah, read us a story!
Read us a story!
77
00:05:58,951 --> 00:06:00,551
A story? You want a story?
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00:06:18,711 --> 00:06:21,391
- Hadassah, help!
- Over here.
79
00:06:33,311 --> 00:06:34,471
Are you okay?
80
00:06:37,231 --> 00:06:39,031
"And King Saul said to David,
81
00:06:39,751 --> 00:06:41,791
"'You cannot go before this Goliath
82
00:06:41,951 --> 00:06:43,511
"'for you are but a youth. '
83
00:06:43,631 --> 00:06:44,791
"David replied,
84
00:06:45,271 --> 00:06:48,591
"'While keeping my father's sheep,
there came a lion and a bear.
85
00:06:48,671 --> 00:06:50,111
"'And I slew them both.
86
00:06:50,191 --> 00:06:54,231
"'This Goliath shall be as one of them
for he defied the armies of the Lord. "'
87
00:06:55,471 --> 00:06:57,711
As will Jesse Ben-Joseph,
88
00:06:57,831 --> 00:07:01,151
should he but take one step closer.
89
00:07:20,911 --> 00:07:22,351
With peace, Haman.
90
00:07:24,271 --> 00:07:27,111
- There's little but random news I bear.
- I judge that.
91
00:07:27,471 --> 00:07:28,711
Rumor has it
92
00:07:29,031 --> 00:07:32,551
Queen Vashti plans not to attend
the King's banquet this evening,
93
00:07:33,191 --> 00:07:34,671
in protest of the war.
94
00:07:34,831 --> 00:07:37,111
Apparently the King has no idea.
95
00:07:38,031 --> 00:07:40,991
Some see random news.
Others, opportunities.
96
00:07:41,591 --> 00:07:44,711
Of course,
this is why you are a dispatch rider,
97
00:07:44,831 --> 00:07:47,111
and I am a prince of the Fars.
98
00:07:47,791 --> 00:07:51,751
Tell me, Agagite, what do you do with
the extra darics you connive from me?
99
00:07:52,351 --> 00:07:53,951
I have 10 sons, my lord,
100
00:07:55,311 --> 00:07:57,351
and a wife that makes many demands.
101
00:08:00,391 --> 00:08:01,591
Ten sons?
102
00:08:03,391 --> 00:08:05,271
You serve the great king well.
103
00:08:06,271 --> 00:08:08,271
Come, come. Go you now.
104
00:08:08,791 --> 00:08:12,231
Speak of me
as you lavish your wife and sons.
105
00:08:49,231 --> 00:08:51,431
Happy birthday, Hadassah!
106
00:08:52,591 --> 00:08:53,831
A stone ball?
107
00:08:57,191 --> 00:09:00,711
Remember, Hadassah,
it is the glory of God
108
00:09:00,831 --> 00:09:02,311
to conceal a matter,
109
00:09:02,391 --> 00:09:04,431
the honor of kings to seek it out.
110
00:09:11,751 --> 00:09:13,431
It's from the Promised Land.
111
00:09:15,031 --> 00:09:17,391
Your great-grandmother
brought it with her.
112
00:09:17,591 --> 00:09:20,151
And like you, its true treasure
113
00:09:20,311 --> 00:09:22,871
is etched within.
114
00:09:33,791 --> 00:09:35,311
Reconsider my proposition.
115
00:09:35,431 --> 00:09:37,991
There is much need for leadership
in Jerusalem.
116
00:09:38,991 --> 00:09:40,151
More stew, my lord?
117
00:09:41,071 --> 00:09:42,871
I don't suppose that in your entire caravan
118
00:09:42,991 --> 00:09:45,191
you have a cook one half as good
119
00:09:45,671 --> 00:09:46,871
as our Rebecca.
120
00:09:47,111 --> 00:09:49,591
Here you are but a poor palace scribe,
121
00:09:49,871 --> 00:09:52,191
one who passes as a Persian, at that.
122
00:09:53,351 --> 00:09:56,431
Are you a Jew?
Or have you become a Gentile?
123
00:09:57,031 --> 00:09:58,431
We're a small people
124
00:09:58,831 --> 00:10:01,351
caught up in a vast and violent empire.
125
00:10:01,591 --> 00:10:02,911
We have capricious princes
126
00:10:02,991 --> 00:10:05,711
who could order our annihilation
with the flick of a finger.
127
00:10:05,831 --> 00:10:08,471
And your presence in the palace
might prevent it?
128
00:10:11,031 --> 00:10:12,191
Probably not.
129
00:10:12,791 --> 00:10:16,391
Look, tell me what I want to hear about.
Tell me about the Temple.
130
00:10:19,311 --> 00:10:23,631
What ecstasy to stand in the presence
of the Almighty!
131
00:10:24,191 --> 00:10:27,951
Like the intimate embrace
of a husband and wife.
132
00:10:28,551 --> 00:10:33,311
It's so much deeper
than mere mortal love.
133
00:10:34,711 --> 00:10:35,911
Oh, hello.
134
00:10:55,951 --> 00:10:59,631
Now, it came to pass
in the days of King Xerxes,
135
00:10:59,831 --> 00:11:03,271
who ruled over the empire
of the Medes and Persians,
136
00:11:03,391 --> 00:11:05,631
from Ethiopia to India,
137
00:11:05,791 --> 00:11:07,751
that in the third year of his reign,
138
00:11:07,871 --> 00:11:09,831
he decreed a season of feasting.
139
00:11:10,431 --> 00:11:12,711
Rumors of war were in the wind, however,
140
00:11:12,831 --> 00:11:17,231
and some thought this the King's way
of stalling off a much-debated decision
141
00:11:17,351 --> 00:11:21,191
to march on Greece
in retaliation for his father's death
142
00:11:21,431 --> 00:11:22,951
four years before.
143
00:11:30,831 --> 00:11:32,831
Queen Vashti, Your Majesty.
144
00:11:40,311 --> 00:11:41,311
Enter.
145
00:11:46,831 --> 00:11:49,631
The night's festivities
hold not your interest, dear?
146
00:11:54,671 --> 00:11:56,831
It is long since you summoned me here.
147
00:11:59,471 --> 00:12:02,191
- Your hands have not been idle.
- Not idle,
148
00:12:04,551 --> 00:12:05,831
not gifted either.
149
00:12:06,311 --> 00:12:08,351
Later, Hadassah,
we'll discuss this later.
150
00:12:08,431 --> 00:12:10,151
I have run out of laters.
151
00:12:10,711 --> 00:12:12,431
The caravan leaves tomorrow.
152
00:12:13,231 --> 00:12:15,511
Did not the priest even say
it would be good for me?
153
00:12:15,631 --> 00:12:17,351
That he would look after me?
154
00:12:18,431 --> 00:12:21,791
You have so much of your
mother and father in you, you know?
155
00:12:22,231 --> 00:12:24,511
And perhaps
I'm just being a very selfish old man.
156
00:12:24,591 --> 00:12:28,191
Do you really want to go to Jerusalem?
157
00:12:30,311 --> 00:12:31,311
Truly.
158
00:12:34,031 --> 00:12:35,671
Then go with my blessing.
159
00:12:38,351 --> 00:12:39,351
Thank you.
160
00:12:40,431 --> 00:12:41,751
Rebecca!
161
00:12:44,671 --> 00:12:47,271
Yes, well,
I will be late coming back tonight.
162
00:12:47,391 --> 00:12:49,911
The feasting has been extended.
163
00:12:50,271 --> 00:12:51,831
All Susa is invited.
164
00:12:52,231 --> 00:12:53,431
All of Susa?
165
00:12:55,751 --> 00:12:59,071
A drunken brawl is no place
for a young lady of purity.
166
00:12:59,231 --> 00:13:01,671
Then why is a good Jew like you going?
167
00:13:02,431 --> 00:13:04,791
All the scribes have to go!
There is war in the air!
168
00:13:32,271 --> 00:13:35,111
The Queen indeed
holds her own feast in protest.
169
00:13:35,231 --> 00:13:37,191
All is prepared as you have asked.
170
00:13:41,551 --> 00:13:45,511
You do know why the princes have asked
you to extend the feast another night.
171
00:13:48,711 --> 00:13:50,991
You are too late
if you seek me to deny them.
172
00:13:51,111 --> 00:13:52,391
Especially now.
173
00:13:52,511 --> 00:13:56,311
Such clamoring to march upon Greece
and avenge my father's death.
174
00:13:56,751 --> 00:13:59,191
How long have you dreamt
of molding Persia
175
00:13:59,551 --> 00:14:01,711
into a pillar of learning and culture?
176
00:14:02,431 --> 00:14:05,511
A flame to make even
the greatness of Greece but a shadow?
177
00:14:07,791 --> 00:14:09,191
You know as well as I,
178
00:14:10,031 --> 00:14:12,311
this is not something that is won in battle
179
00:14:12,431 --> 00:14:13,991
but in the hearts of men.
180
00:14:14,231 --> 00:14:16,231
You would have me do nothing, then?
181
00:14:18,071 --> 00:14:19,471
You're no warrior,
182
00:14:19,991 --> 00:14:21,191
no soldier.
183
00:14:27,231 --> 00:14:28,751
I'd have you stay,
184
00:14:32,271 --> 00:14:33,711
enhance your kingdom,
185
00:14:36,031 --> 00:14:37,231
preserve your throne.
186
00:15:11,351 --> 00:15:13,031
Looking for someone?
187
00:15:13,391 --> 00:15:15,111
I'm fine, thank you.
188
00:15:15,231 --> 00:15:16,711
You can run back to Rebecca now.
189
00:15:16,831 --> 00:15:18,191
Oh, I'm sure you're fine.
190
00:15:18,311 --> 00:15:19,911
Only tell me, Hadassah,
191
00:15:22,071 --> 00:15:23,471
or whoever you are,
192
00:15:23,951 --> 00:15:26,311
how do you intend to get into the palace?
193
00:15:27,671 --> 00:15:29,591
You didn't come to take me back?
194
00:15:30,391 --> 00:15:33,231
Come, or I shall call you
Hadassah the mouse.
195
00:15:38,671 --> 00:15:39,671
Wait!
196
00:15:41,671 --> 00:15:44,271
I appear to you by the gracious command
197
00:15:44,431 --> 00:15:46,191
of the great king of kings,
198
00:15:46,391 --> 00:15:50,311
the emperor of the world, Xerxes,
son of Darius.
199
00:16:13,791 --> 00:16:14,831
Great king.
200
00:16:18,471 --> 00:16:19,471
We drink.
201
00:16:19,631 --> 00:16:22,911
We drink also to my guard,
the immortal 10,000,
202
00:16:22,991 --> 00:16:26,391
but I fear I would soon have to send them
out to conquer new vineyards for me.
203
00:16:30,351 --> 00:16:34,071
Then let us drink to Queen Vashti,
the most beautiful in the land.
204
00:16:36,111 --> 00:16:37,991
Bring forth Vashti!
205
00:16:38,111 --> 00:16:39,351
Vashti!
206
00:16:40,751 --> 00:16:42,551
Bring forth Vashti!
207
00:16:43,991 --> 00:16:46,631
They are serious? They demand
Vashti be here before all?
208
00:16:46,751 --> 00:16:48,111
Already rumors circulate
209
00:16:48,231 --> 00:16:50,351
as to why the Queen holds her own feast
210
00:16:50,471 --> 00:16:51,871
instead of attending yours.
211
00:16:51,991 --> 00:16:53,551
They sound riotous, my lord.
212
00:16:53,671 --> 00:16:55,591
They fear a divided kingdom.
213
00:16:56,151 --> 00:16:59,311
My lord,
you know the Queen's position on the war.
214
00:17:02,191 --> 00:17:03,311
Send for her.
215
00:17:06,751 --> 00:17:09,551
They go to fetch the Queen.
She must be lovely,
216
00:17:09,791 --> 00:17:11,751
reigning in a place such as this.
217
00:17:11,831 --> 00:17:14,311
None is more lovely than you, my queen.
218
00:17:17,991 --> 00:17:20,031
- My thanks, fair prince.
- Prince?
219
00:17:22,831 --> 00:17:25,711
Why is it for years you threatened
to join the caravans to Jerusalem,
220
00:17:25,831 --> 00:17:27,231
yet you never do?
221
00:17:27,471 --> 00:17:28,871
What holds you back?
222
00:17:30,551 --> 00:17:32,551
Perhaps the courage to face it alone.
223
00:17:34,671 --> 00:17:36,751
What if you had someone to join you?
224
00:17:44,791 --> 00:17:46,551
The herald returns!
225
00:17:46,711 --> 00:17:48,951
The Queen asks the King's forgiveness.
226
00:17:49,071 --> 00:17:50,791
She cannot leave her guests.
227
00:17:51,671 --> 00:17:53,631
I'm queen, not a pawn,
228
00:17:53,711 --> 00:17:56,231
and I will not lower my dignity
229
00:17:57,231 --> 00:17:58,791
or shame my reign
230
00:17:59,631 --> 00:18:02,511
by wearing the royal crown
before your drunk
231
00:18:03,391 --> 00:18:05,351
and thinly veiled war council.
232
00:18:06,351 --> 00:18:08,071
What news of the Queen?
233
00:18:08,271 --> 00:18:09,831
Where is our queen?
234
00:18:10,671 --> 00:18:11,791
WOQueen Vashti!
235
00:18:11,991 --> 00:18:13,151
Queen Vashti!
236
00:18:14,071 --> 00:18:15,951
Am I to be a mockery before my subjects?
237
00:18:16,071 --> 00:18:17,351
Or Greece as well?
238
00:18:17,791 --> 00:18:20,111
- Continue, Cousin.
- Might not this
239
00:18:20,791 --> 00:18:22,271
deed of refusal
240
00:18:22,391 --> 00:18:23,991
travel abroad to all women,
241
00:18:24,111 --> 00:18:26,751
making their husbands
contemptible in their eyes?
242
00:18:26,951 --> 00:18:30,671
Will not it be said by all, "Xerxes
commanded his wife to come before him,
243
00:18:30,751 --> 00:18:31,871
"but she came not"?
244
00:18:31,951 --> 00:18:34,631
Vashti's guilty not only of
disobedience to the crown
245
00:18:34,711 --> 00:18:36,991
but against the protocol of our fathers.
246
00:18:37,311 --> 00:18:38,351
And tell me,
247
00:18:42,191 --> 00:18:44,111
what dictates the protocol?
248
00:18:44,991 --> 00:18:47,271
A royal edict must be issued
249
00:18:47,831 --> 00:18:50,031
and written into the rolls of the land
250
00:18:50,191 --> 00:18:51,351
that Vashti...
251
00:18:53,551 --> 00:18:56,551
That Vashti come no more before the King,
252
00:18:57,391 --> 00:19:00,871
but that her royal position
be given to a new queen,
253
00:19:00,991 --> 00:19:03,911
more worthy
254
00:19:04,751 --> 00:19:05,831
than her.
255
00:19:08,591 --> 00:19:11,431
My lord,
what answer do I send the Queen?
256
00:19:12,151 --> 00:19:13,151
Vashti!
257
00:19:13,351 --> 00:19:15,551
Vashti!
258
00:19:28,151 --> 00:19:30,551
The land has no more queen!
259
00:19:43,871 --> 00:19:46,111
I wish not to be queen here any longer.
260
00:19:47,871 --> 00:19:49,991
Mordecai is giving me his blessing.
261
00:19:50,751 --> 00:19:53,671
Let us leave tomorrow,
262
00:19:54,031 --> 00:19:55,031
together.
263
00:20:48,831 --> 00:20:50,951
Thus the scribes were assembled,
264
00:20:51,071 --> 00:20:52,911
and a decree sent forth.
265
00:20:53,311 --> 00:20:56,111
The princes did indeed press upon Xerxes,
266
00:20:56,231 --> 00:20:59,071
the king, soon to depart for war,
267
00:20:59,271 --> 00:21:01,391
"Leave behind a queen
268
00:21:01,871 --> 00:21:03,791
"to keep the people unified. "
269
00:21:09,351 --> 00:21:11,351
Every maiden was to be considered,
270
00:21:11,871 --> 00:21:15,151
the choicest of whom
to be brought from across the empire
271
00:21:15,231 --> 00:21:16,671
and into the palace.
272
00:21:26,831 --> 00:21:28,751
In accordance with the protocol,
273
00:21:29,071 --> 00:21:31,911
young men were also rounded up
274
00:21:32,031 --> 00:21:33,511
to become eunuchs
275
00:21:33,591 --> 00:21:35,671
who would serve the queen's candidates
276
00:21:35,791 --> 00:21:37,711
during their time of preparation.
277
00:21:42,671 --> 00:21:44,311
There's no need for alarm.
278
00:21:44,791 --> 00:21:47,271
In all likelihood they
will not come for you.
279
00:21:47,391 --> 00:21:50,511
And not all that are taken will be chosen.
280
00:21:50,631 --> 00:21:53,111
Doubtless, the queen
has already been selected
281
00:21:53,431 --> 00:21:55,231
through bribery or chicanery.
282
00:21:55,511 --> 00:21:57,311
How do I keep our laws?
283
00:21:57,711 --> 00:21:58,871
How do I pray?
284
00:21:59,751 --> 00:22:02,871
What excuse do I offer God
for not keeping his commandments?
285
00:22:03,271 --> 00:22:04,791
Oh, Hadassah.
286
00:22:05,591 --> 00:22:07,911
God sees the inward observance.
287
00:22:08,391 --> 00:22:10,391
The court is a dangerous place.
288
00:22:11,351 --> 00:22:12,991
I think it will be better
289
00:22:15,151 --> 00:22:17,191
if you forgot that you were a Jew.
290
00:22:18,511 --> 00:22:20,151
If this is a sin, then...
291
00:22:20,911 --> 00:22:22,591
Then let it be on my head.
292
00:22:23,031 --> 00:22:26,471
Promise me that you will do that
if you're taken. Promise me that!
293
00:22:27,231 --> 00:22:28,391
If I am taken,
294
00:22:29,071 --> 00:22:30,511
I will do as you say.
295
00:22:31,151 --> 00:22:34,231
I should give you a different name.
Hadassah is too Jewish.
296
00:22:37,711 --> 00:22:38,711
Esther.
297
00:22:38,751 --> 00:22:41,671
Esther is a good Babylonian name.
298
00:22:41,871 --> 00:22:44,391
Yes. That's what we shall call you
from now on.
299
00:22:45,111 --> 00:22:46,711
Esther of Susa.
300
00:22:48,431 --> 00:22:49,471
Promise me.
301
00:22:50,191 --> 00:22:51,911
Promise me if you are taken.
302
00:22:53,511 --> 00:22:55,711
I said, "If I am taken."
303
00:22:57,551 --> 00:22:58,631
If, if, if.
304
00:23:00,271 --> 00:23:01,351
But for now,
305
00:23:02,511 --> 00:23:05,191
you should look for me
in the streets of Jerusalem,
306
00:23:06,111 --> 00:23:07,111
dancing
307
00:23:09,071 --> 00:23:11,311
like David before the glory of the Lord.
308
00:23:12,431 --> 00:23:14,471
- Hadassah!
- Who?
309
00:23:23,751 --> 00:23:25,191
Uncle Mordecai!
310
00:23:43,791 --> 00:23:46,631
Is this the way
the King's orders are carried out?
311
00:23:47,031 --> 00:23:49,431
Senseless brutality
in the middle of the night?
312
00:24:19,831 --> 00:24:21,711
Father, please show us favor
313
00:24:23,551 --> 00:24:26,231
and turn these dungeons
into someplace wonderful.
314
00:24:32,151 --> 00:24:34,711
Is this the dungeon part
or the wonderful part?
315
00:25:00,191 --> 00:25:01,191
Look!
316
00:25:01,951 --> 00:25:04,351
Sarah, it matches your eyes.
317
00:25:04,631 --> 00:25:07,551
Have you ever found anything
so wonderful in your life?
318
00:25:09,551 --> 00:25:11,111
And Hannah,
319
00:25:11,671 --> 00:25:13,351
was it not made for you?
320
00:25:15,871 --> 00:25:18,231
Am I never going to see my mother again?
321
00:25:18,991 --> 00:25:20,591
Only if you wish not to.
322
00:25:21,071 --> 00:25:23,711
Two, three days, and who knows?
323
00:25:23,991 --> 00:25:25,071
Home you go.
324
00:25:27,671 --> 00:25:31,271
Do you think we're not beautiful enough
to be asked to stay, Hadassah?
325
00:25:32,671 --> 00:25:35,151
Welcome to a brand-new life.
326
00:25:35,991 --> 00:25:38,951
The method of your arrival
was not of my choosing.
327
00:25:39,751 --> 00:25:43,031
I am Hagai, His Majesty's Royal Eunuch.
328
00:25:43,151 --> 00:25:45,791
I have been assigned
to oversee your preparation.
329
00:25:47,431 --> 00:25:48,831
All right, it's okay.
330
00:26:02,751 --> 00:26:04,591
Don't let them escape. Kill them all.
331
00:26:10,871 --> 00:26:13,071
Which way to the quarter of the Jews?
332
00:27:29,031 --> 00:27:30,631
You have a very bad habit.
333
00:27:31,151 --> 00:27:33,191
The palace is no place for children.
334
00:27:33,311 --> 00:27:34,991
You think of me as a child?
335
00:27:36,351 --> 00:27:37,711
Well, you're wrong.
336
00:27:38,311 --> 00:27:40,031
I am much younger than that.
337
00:27:41,511 --> 00:27:42,911
How do they call you?
338
00:27:43,471 --> 00:27:45,391
- Esther.
- Curious name.
339
00:27:46,311 --> 00:27:47,911
From where do you come?
340
00:27:49,591 --> 00:27:51,111
I am of the wind
341
00:27:52,111 --> 00:27:54,151
whose sound is heard, yet none can tell
342
00:27:54,271 --> 00:27:56,431
from whence it comes or where it goes.
343
00:27:57,631 --> 00:27:59,671
Well, we gather within the hour.
344
00:28:00,311 --> 00:28:02,311
Try not to blow away before then.
345
00:28:09,031 --> 00:28:10,871
Another 4,000 talents
346
00:28:10,991 --> 00:28:13,951
for metal, weapons, armor.
347
00:28:14,271 --> 00:28:16,551
And we must not forget
the pay of the mercenaries.
348
00:28:16,631 --> 00:28:18,951
I know this is not a favored opinion,
349
00:28:19,271 --> 00:28:20,671
but if used for peaceful purposes,
350
00:28:20,791 --> 00:28:22,791
such amounts could serve many needs.
351
00:28:22,871 --> 00:28:25,111
Two different ways of life are involved.
352
00:28:25,231 --> 00:28:27,471
The Greeks have no king
and they want none.
353
00:28:27,591 --> 00:28:30,551
It is one thing to beat our chests
and parade our boldness
354
00:28:30,671 --> 00:28:33,031
pretending this is
still the empire of our fathers.
355
00:28:33,151 --> 00:28:35,911
But you hear the costs
of an actual campaign!
356
00:28:36,751 --> 00:28:38,831
If we are not honest with ourselves,
357
00:28:39,271 --> 00:28:41,871
I fear we lose much more
than just our stature.
358
00:28:42,111 --> 00:28:43,831
Then, let us sit back and do nothing?
359
00:28:43,951 --> 00:28:45,231
Let the Greeks conquer.
360
00:28:45,351 --> 00:28:47,471
Let them establish democracy.
361
00:28:49,071 --> 00:28:51,431
Would not the King be the first to suffer,
362
00:28:51,711 --> 00:28:52,991
the first to die?
363
00:28:53,311 --> 00:28:55,271
Or does the memory of his father's death
364
00:28:55,391 --> 00:28:58,791
not stir as deep in his bones
as it does in ours?
365
00:28:59,871 --> 00:29:02,791
I speak to you as one
not without empathy.
366
00:29:03,711 --> 00:29:05,511
I, too, have stood in the battle
367
00:29:05,711 --> 00:29:07,431
and stared into the unknown.
368
00:29:07,991 --> 00:29:11,111
For the very sword that took my eye
369
00:29:11,951 --> 00:29:14,551
took from me my manhood as well.
370
00:29:15,311 --> 00:29:16,551
But be at peace.
371
00:29:16,631 --> 00:29:18,991
This is no warfare that you embark upon.
372
00:29:19,671 --> 00:29:22,911
This is only the life
that a great dreamer could imagine,
373
00:29:23,671 --> 00:29:25,351
or at least it can be,
374
00:29:25,551 --> 00:29:27,351
if you so choose to embrace it.
375
00:29:39,951 --> 00:29:42,711
Think not I heard your
whispered orchestrations that night?
376
00:29:42,831 --> 00:29:44,551
And how you drew even me
into your schemes?
377
00:29:44,671 --> 00:29:47,751
In these troubled times
it is easy to name any man traitor.
378
00:29:48,431 --> 00:29:49,991
I even recall a certain campaign
379
00:29:50,071 --> 00:29:52,231
in lonia under King Darius,
380
00:29:52,351 --> 00:29:54,271
where someone allowed
the defeated Greeks
381
00:29:54,391 --> 00:29:55,991
to keep their own form of government,
382
00:29:56,111 --> 00:29:57,351
their democracy,
383
00:29:57,511 --> 00:29:59,951
instead of placing the protocol
of the empire in control.
384
00:30:00,071 --> 00:30:01,431
Favoring democracy.
385
00:30:01,711 --> 00:30:04,631
The very doctrine to which
all Persia is opposed.
386
00:30:05,591 --> 00:30:08,391
- I followed orders!
- Come. Come, come, come.
387
00:30:12,231 --> 00:30:14,551
We trouble ourselves with foolish things.
388
00:30:14,871 --> 00:30:17,271
The King asked me to speak. I did.
389
00:30:17,831 --> 00:30:20,031
I obeyed. As you obeyed.
390
00:30:22,711 --> 00:30:26,031
With suspicion and mistrust
creeping into palace halls,
391
00:30:26,591 --> 00:30:28,031
Haman the Agagite
392
00:30:28,391 --> 00:30:30,871
found the opportunity
he had been waiting for.
393
00:30:33,271 --> 00:30:35,071
He began to strike out more openly
394
00:30:35,151 --> 00:30:37,431
at the Jews living in the outlying land,
395
00:30:37,871 --> 00:30:41,351
painting them
as the true Greek sympathizers,
396
00:30:41,711 --> 00:30:46,031
setting the stage
for his ultimate act of vengeance.
397
00:31:30,351 --> 00:31:31,351
Look.
398
00:31:43,111 --> 00:31:44,591
I am curious
399
00:31:44,911 --> 00:31:47,511
to whether you frustrate me
out of sincerity
400
00:31:47,871 --> 00:31:50,431
or to ensure
that you're never chosen queen.
401
00:31:51,871 --> 00:31:54,751
You assume I actually care about
being chosen queen.
402
00:31:54,831 --> 00:31:56,071
I am serious.
403
00:31:56,351 --> 00:31:57,551
Serious of what?
404
00:31:57,671 --> 00:31:59,151
Finding a real queen?
405
00:32:00,191 --> 00:32:02,591
Is that why you subject us
to these beauty treatments,
406
00:32:02,671 --> 00:32:04,391
these classes?
407
00:32:04,591 --> 00:32:06,431
You do not like our fine instructors?
408
00:32:06,511 --> 00:32:08,551
They simply neglect to
teach us some things.
409
00:32:08,631 --> 00:32:10,471
- Such as?
- Well, seemingly
410
00:32:10,551 --> 00:32:12,871
anything to do with actually being queen:
411
00:32:12,951 --> 00:32:15,151
the thought well thought,
the word well spoken
412
00:32:15,271 --> 00:32:16,951
and the deed well done.
413
00:32:18,511 --> 00:32:20,311
As it is said in the great books.
414
00:32:20,431 --> 00:32:21,551
You read?
415
00:32:22,231 --> 00:32:23,391
Many tongues.
416
00:32:28,911 --> 00:32:31,511
Before I received your "invitation",
417
00:32:32,671 --> 00:32:34,711
I was reading of
Gilgamesh the Babylonian.
418
00:33:02,511 --> 00:33:05,111
And Utanapishtim
spoke to Gilgamesh, saying,
419
00:33:05,551 --> 00:33:08,351
"Gilgamesh, you look worn out
and exhausted.
420
00:33:08,431 --> 00:33:10,791
"What can I do
so that you can return to your land?
421
00:33:10,871 --> 00:33:13,151
"I will tell you a thing that is hidden.
422
00:33:13,591 --> 00:33:15,591
"There is a plant whose thorns
423
00:33:15,911 --> 00:33:17,911
"will prick your hand like a rose.
424
00:33:18,671 --> 00:33:20,551
"If your hands reach this plant,
425
00:33:21,391 --> 00:33:23,671
"you will become a young man again."
426
00:33:30,751 --> 00:33:33,471
Gilgamesh in the original.
427
00:33:33,871 --> 00:33:35,431
I read translation,
428
00:33:35,791 --> 00:33:37,631
never the original.
429
00:33:40,111 --> 00:33:41,111
You read?
430
00:33:42,751 --> 00:33:45,831
There are few pleasures left
to one such as I.
431
00:33:48,671 --> 00:33:51,151
You offer us Hagai's position, my lord,
432
00:33:51,511 --> 00:33:53,991
if we grant you the privilege
of picking a queen?
433
00:33:54,071 --> 00:33:56,311
- Misgath of Persepolis.
- Misgath?
434
00:33:57,951 --> 00:33:59,391
Of unusual beauty.
435
00:33:59,991 --> 00:34:01,231
But up here,
436
00:34:01,831 --> 00:34:04,391
- empty as a beggar's bowl.
- Consider her family.
437
00:34:04,511 --> 00:34:06,191
Daughter of a rug merchant?
438
00:34:06,591 --> 00:34:08,711
Will they not
also shower you with wealth?
439
00:34:16,031 --> 00:34:17,751
While there were
certainly worse ways
440
00:34:17,871 --> 00:34:19,831
for the candidates to have spent their days
441
00:34:19,951 --> 00:34:22,151
than myrrh baths and beauty treatments,
442
00:34:22,351 --> 00:34:25,311
none of the rumors of riches and glory
stirred more excitement
443
00:34:25,391 --> 00:34:29,031
than the thought of gaining entry
to the royal treasury itself.
444
00:34:29,351 --> 00:34:32,231
Whatever you chose
for your one night with the King
445
00:34:32,351 --> 00:34:34,671
will be yours for the keeping.
446
00:34:35,111 --> 00:34:38,471
Candidates, choose wisely.
447
00:34:54,151 --> 00:34:55,791
You stand not impressed?
448
00:34:56,031 --> 00:34:57,951
It matters not what impresses me.
449
00:34:58,071 --> 00:35:01,351
How is one to choose when
they know not what impresses the King?
450
00:35:01,471 --> 00:35:02,791
Will you teach me?
451
00:35:04,431 --> 00:35:07,071
I will do far more than that. Come.
452
00:35:13,111 --> 00:35:14,871
A recent acquisition.
453
00:35:14,991 --> 00:35:17,511
One, I believe,
the King will find most pleasing.
454
00:35:52,991 --> 00:35:54,511
Esther of Susa,
455
00:35:56,671 --> 00:35:57,671
come.
456
00:36:03,871 --> 00:36:05,631
Seat yourself on the stool
457
00:36:05,871 --> 00:36:07,191
and read the scroll.
458
00:36:07,311 --> 00:36:09,271
It is the chronicles of the King,
459
00:36:09,511 --> 00:36:10,871
the royal diary.
460
00:36:11,631 --> 00:36:14,671
Through these doors
you are no longer a candidate.
461
00:36:15,191 --> 00:36:16,631
You are a servant.
462
00:36:17,631 --> 00:36:19,151
Remember the protocol.
463
00:36:20,031 --> 00:36:21,951
To approach uninvited
464
00:36:22,511 --> 00:36:23,511
is death.
465
00:36:25,871 --> 00:36:27,271
I read for the King,
466
00:36:28,231 --> 00:36:29,231
alone?
467
00:36:29,991 --> 00:36:31,231
Like this?
468
00:37:19,871 --> 00:37:22,871
"Daily entry 23.
469
00:37:22,991 --> 00:37:25,431
"Egyptian wheat reserves were reported
470
00:37:25,551 --> 00:37:30,311
"at half the normal levels
due to a recent drought."
471
00:37:39,591 --> 00:37:42,431
"Admiral Xtes was honored
472
00:37:42,511 --> 00:37:45,351
"for serving twenty years
in the Royal Fleet.
473
00:37:45,431 --> 00:37:49,311
"After a lengthy speech,
he promptly keeled over and died."
474
00:37:55,951 --> 00:37:59,951
"Twenty-five. Three herd of sheep
were stolen from Dirmalmirah,
475
00:38:00,071 --> 00:38:02,031
"Satrap of Midea.
476
00:38:02,631 --> 00:38:05,951
"He requests that the crown send out
the proper authority."
477
00:38:08,591 --> 00:38:11,471
And so Jacob,
478
00:38:12,591 --> 00:38:15,871
also a shepherd by trade,
479
00:38:16,151 --> 00:38:19,471
was sent off into the far, far-off land
480
00:38:22,791 --> 00:38:25,991
where he came across the fair Rachel
tending her father's sheep.
481
00:38:26,071 --> 00:38:28,111
He was smitten,
and went and rolled the stone
482
00:38:28,231 --> 00:38:31,271
from the well,
and watered her flock for her.
483
00:38:31,791 --> 00:38:33,711
Then Jacob kissed Rachel
484
00:38:33,831 --> 00:38:36,391
and lifted up his voice and wept with joy.
485
00:38:36,511 --> 00:38:39,351
When Laban, Rachel's father, heard of this,
486
00:38:39,471 --> 00:38:43,871
he said to Jacob,
"Should you serve me for nothing?
487
00:38:43,951 --> 00:38:46,111
"Tell me, what shall your wages be?"
488
00:38:46,351 --> 00:38:50,271
Jacob said, "I will serve you seven years
for your daughter Rachel."
489
00:38:50,351 --> 00:38:54,231
So Jacob served seven years
tending Laban's sheep.
490
00:38:54,351 --> 00:38:59,071
And they only seemed but a few days,
for the love he had for her.
491
00:38:59,671 --> 00:39:00,791
Then Jacob said to Laban,
492
00:39:00,911 --> 00:39:04,231
"Give me my wife,
for my days are fulfilled."
493
00:39:04,351 --> 00:39:08,911
So Laban threw a great wedding feast,
but in the dark of the evening
494
00:39:09,031 --> 00:39:11,551
Laban brought
his older daughter in to Jacob.
495
00:39:12,271 --> 00:39:16,031
And, behold, in the morning
it was Leah, not Rachel.
496
00:39:17,071 --> 00:39:20,351
Jacob was shocked. He said to Laban,
497
00:39:20,751 --> 00:39:24,111
"What is this thou hast done unto me?
498
00:39:24,231 --> 00:39:26,631
"Did I not serve with thee for Rachel?
499
00:39:28,711 --> 00:39:31,311
"Why, then, have you beguiled me?"
500
00:39:31,431 --> 00:39:34,751
Why, then, have you beguiled me?
501
00:39:39,431 --> 00:39:42,191
I must admit that never before
has such a tale been found
502
00:39:42,311 --> 00:39:44,111
in the pages of a royal diary.
503
00:39:44,991 --> 00:39:47,991
Here I expect to be lulled to sleep
by tedious reports,
504
00:39:48,111 --> 00:39:51,391
instead I'm beguiled by a love story.
505
00:39:51,751 --> 00:39:56,431
And how ends your tale?
This Jacob, he's able to have his bride?
506
00:40:00,751 --> 00:40:02,951
He's able to have her?
507
00:40:07,751 --> 00:40:09,431
Only after serving
508
00:40:11,431 --> 00:40:13,671
seven more years for her, my lord King.
509
00:40:13,751 --> 00:40:17,071
Believeth you in such?
510
00:40:17,391 --> 00:40:19,111
Love?
511
00:40:19,191 --> 00:40:22,511
Is it not the greatest commandment?
512
00:40:22,831 --> 00:40:25,351
No matter what God one serves.
513
00:40:25,431 --> 00:40:28,071
- How do they call you?
- Esther of Susa.
514
00:40:28,151 --> 00:40:30,271
Susa? No.
515
00:40:30,351 --> 00:40:32,751
Nothing good ever comes out of Susa.
516
00:40:34,031 --> 00:40:35,311
Look at me.
517
00:40:40,711 --> 00:40:44,031
Come. Come, if you wish to see what I do.
518
00:40:57,551 --> 00:41:00,831
The Greeks, they have a god
of similar form.
519
00:41:01,911 --> 00:41:05,231
His arms will hold the bow,
whose arrows they say are
520
00:41:06,391 --> 00:41:08,471
tipped with love.
521
00:41:10,551 --> 00:41:13,631
Some archers' arrows are tipped
with poison, my lord.
522
00:41:13,711 --> 00:41:14,991
Sometimes
523
00:41:16,951 --> 00:41:20,791
it's hard to tell the difference.
The symptoms are the same.
524
00:41:24,111 --> 00:41:26,591
Perhaps in another time. Some
525
00:41:27,831 --> 00:41:28,831
other place.
526
00:41:33,151 --> 00:41:34,911
You will read to me again.
527
00:41:42,311 --> 00:41:44,471
You must tell no one of this night.
528
00:43:43,911 --> 00:43:47,071
- My Captain.
- Blame me not for this, my lord,
529
00:43:47,151 --> 00:43:49,911
but the princes have ordered us
to begin bringing you candidates
530
00:43:50,031 --> 00:43:52,551
- by the end of the week.
- You jest.
531
00:43:53,551 --> 00:43:57,871
- I am in the middle of...
- At least you'll get it over with.
532
00:43:57,991 --> 00:44:01,311
Besides, these men might enjoy
seeing some ladies around. No?
533
00:44:13,791 --> 00:44:16,311
They tell me you're called Esther now.
534
00:44:20,271 --> 00:44:21,671
Oh, Jesse.
535
00:44:23,471 --> 00:44:24,711
Hatach.
536
00:44:28,391 --> 00:44:30,751
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
were pagan names, too.
537
00:44:31,471 --> 00:44:32,991
We're in good company.
538
00:44:34,871 --> 00:44:37,471
Their names were Hananiah, Mishael
and Azariah.
539
00:44:38,191 --> 00:44:40,311
They were thrown into the furnace.
540
00:44:40,471 --> 00:44:42,991
But then what happened?
541
00:44:44,471 --> 00:44:47,311
Come on, I found a way out.
542
00:44:47,431 --> 00:44:50,191
And there's a caravan
leaving for Jerusalem tonight.
543
00:44:50,311 --> 00:44:52,871
So we can get out of this place.
544
00:44:53,151 --> 00:44:54,511
Escape?
545
00:44:56,631 --> 00:44:59,951
Jesse, I... I can't leave.
546
00:45:01,631 --> 00:45:02,831
What if...
547
00:45:04,511 --> 00:45:07,831
- What if I'm chosen?
- What if you're chosen what?
548
00:45:09,431 --> 00:45:12,751
What if you're chosen queen?
Look what they've done to us.
549
00:45:14,311 --> 00:45:16,311
What good could come out of any of this?
550
00:45:18,831 --> 00:45:22,151
Perhaps, instead of
asking questions of our trials...
551
00:45:24,191 --> 00:45:26,231
Trials are meant to ask questions
of ourselves.
552
00:45:26,351 --> 00:45:27,751
They cut me!
553
00:45:30,271 --> 00:45:31,511
I know
554
00:45:32,351 --> 00:45:33,951
we can't be what I hoped,
555
00:45:34,031 --> 00:45:36,431
- but...
- Jesse.
556
00:45:38,111 --> 00:45:41,351
I can't leave. I'm sorry.
557
00:45:44,071 --> 00:45:46,271
I'm sorry.
558
00:45:53,711 --> 00:45:55,711
Today it begins.
559
00:45:55,831 --> 00:45:59,031
Each of you will be given
one night with the King.
560
00:45:59,151 --> 00:46:02,591
We gather first to honor
Misgath of Persepolis.
561
00:46:02,671 --> 00:46:05,831
You enter as a peasant
and leave a princess.
562
00:46:13,231 --> 00:46:14,231
Here we go.
563
00:46:17,231 --> 00:46:18,671
Steady her.
564
00:46:23,631 --> 00:46:25,911
I'm so sorry...
565
00:46:26,191 --> 00:46:28,231
- Oh!
- Almost there.
566
00:46:32,911 --> 00:46:34,791
By the looks of it,
I must be allowing the candidates
567
00:46:34,911 --> 00:46:36,831
to keep their jewelry.
568
00:46:37,591 --> 00:46:40,911
Perhaps a horseback ride
is not the best idea, my lord.
569
00:46:52,191 --> 00:46:54,871
You weep not for the candidates
this evening.
570
00:46:56,831 --> 00:47:00,191
- My throat is sore.
- Your throat or your heart?
571
00:47:01,551 --> 00:47:04,871
It has only been a few days
since you read for him.
572
00:47:07,471 --> 00:47:10,231
A few days is a thousand years.
573
00:47:11,071 --> 00:47:15,791
If Xerxes had found pleasure in me,
surely he would've...
574
00:47:17,511 --> 00:47:20,071
You think a eunuch cannot know love?
575
00:47:20,151 --> 00:47:23,071
Back before I was a cripple of a man,
576
00:47:23,151 --> 00:47:25,031
there was one that held my heart.
577
00:47:27,471 --> 00:47:28,871
What became of her?
578
00:47:31,671 --> 00:47:33,671
I know not.
579
00:47:34,031 --> 00:47:37,311
I never found the courage to return
to face her again.
580
00:47:41,911 --> 00:47:45,231
She is beautiful but delicate,
Your Majesty.
581
00:47:47,151 --> 00:47:49,271
Just one more moment, please.
582
00:48:00,911 --> 00:48:02,791
You may approach.
583
00:48:08,631 --> 00:48:11,031
How do they call you?
584
00:48:38,191 --> 00:48:40,471
Esther.
585
00:48:41,511 --> 00:48:43,911
This is your day.
586
00:48:44,071 --> 00:48:46,791
We gather to honor Esther of Susa.
587
00:48:46,911 --> 00:48:50,231
You enter as a peasant
and leave a princess.
588
00:48:57,551 --> 00:48:59,431
You can let go of my arm now.
589
00:49:02,311 --> 00:49:05,631
He will be the fortunate one
to choose you.
590
00:49:07,511 --> 00:49:10,831
He will be the one
to whom congratulations are due.
591
00:49:14,831 --> 00:49:17,711
Esther, my arm.
592
00:49:35,231 --> 00:49:37,271
The scroll is on the stool.
593
00:49:37,391 --> 00:49:39,911
You may begin whenever you are ready.
594
00:49:43,911 --> 00:49:45,391
Is there a problem?
595
00:49:46,551 --> 00:49:49,871
Did they not tell you I weary
at this procession of candidates?
596
00:49:51,391 --> 00:49:54,111
I simply wanted someone to...
597
00:49:56,071 --> 00:49:59,391
Wait.
You are the one who read to me before.
598
00:49:59,471 --> 00:50:02,111
You tried to beguile me with love stories.
599
00:50:02,431 --> 00:50:06,751
Did you not think I had the sense
to see through your little parable?
600
00:50:06,831 --> 00:50:09,791
The arrogance! You speak to me
as if I was this Rachel
601
00:50:09,871 --> 00:50:12,071
in need of help to look after
my father's sheep.
602
00:50:12,151 --> 00:50:15,471
- My lord, I meant no...
- And this is how you come to see me?
603
00:50:16,751 --> 00:50:18,751
Your only adornment before your
604
00:50:19,631 --> 00:50:20,951
one night with the King.
605
00:50:22,591 --> 00:50:25,631
It is, Your Majesty.
606
00:50:26,991 --> 00:50:30,311
You consider yourself of so little worth
607
00:50:31,471 --> 00:50:35,431
- that I can purchase your love so cheaply?
- I was taught
608
00:50:38,631 --> 00:50:43,071
that when you visit a king,
rather than expect a gift,
609
00:50:43,151 --> 00:50:45,831
one should bring one to lay at his feet.
610
00:50:55,151 --> 00:50:58,431
This is my most
valuable possession in the world.
611
00:51:03,031 --> 00:51:07,791
It is my past, my present, and my future.
612
00:51:09,111 --> 00:51:11,751
And all of it is yours.
613
00:51:19,311 --> 00:51:23,871
Some would call you foolish indeed,
as they would call your Jacob.
614
00:51:23,951 --> 00:51:28,071
Of all commodities, love is the easiest,
615
00:51:30,151 --> 00:51:32,071
and most cheaply purchased.
616
00:51:35,831 --> 00:51:38,311
If it is for sale, my lord,
617
00:51:40,151 --> 00:51:41,151
it is not love.
618
00:51:42,791 --> 00:51:43,991
Even you.
619
00:51:46,751 --> 00:51:49,511
Even you must have a price.
620
00:51:49,711 --> 00:51:52,071
I am neither a buyer
621
00:51:54,831 --> 00:51:56,511
nor a seller of love.
622
00:51:59,831 --> 00:52:01,511
Suppose, my lady,
623
00:52:01,991 --> 00:52:05,031
a man offered you a more treasured gift,
624
00:52:06,031 --> 00:52:08,791
say, a kingdom.
625
00:52:23,751 --> 00:52:27,071
The only gift I would accept
626
00:52:28,751 --> 00:52:30,631
is your heart.
627
00:52:34,551 --> 00:52:37,351
Then it is yours.
628
00:52:38,551 --> 00:52:41,871
And you did not serve
seven years to get it.
629
00:52:42,351 --> 00:52:46,111
Tell me Esther of Susa,
who are you really?
630
00:52:48,711 --> 00:52:50,711
Tell me of your people.
631
00:52:51,591 --> 00:52:53,991
Teach me of your ways.
632
00:52:56,271 --> 00:52:57,831
My father taught me
633
00:53:00,351 --> 00:53:02,671
it takes the glory of God
634
00:53:03,111 --> 00:53:05,831
to conceal a matter,
635
00:53:06,951 --> 00:53:10,751
and the honor of kings to search it out.
636
00:53:16,831 --> 00:53:19,031
Then marry me.
637
00:53:22,231 --> 00:53:26,951
And we shall spend an eternity
discovering this truth,
638
00:53:28,951 --> 00:53:30,231
together.
639
00:54:27,471 --> 00:54:29,911
Persians, your queen!
640
00:54:36,151 --> 00:54:39,551
Know you how many times I tried to
come for you after that first night?
641
00:54:44,551 --> 00:54:46,431
How many evenings
I spent counting the stars
642
00:54:46,551 --> 00:54:48,711
to keep my mind off of you?
643
00:54:54,791 --> 00:54:57,111
How many excuses I created
644
00:54:57,831 --> 00:54:59,871
just to avoid the other candidates?
645
00:55:13,831 --> 00:55:15,511
Fools.
646
00:55:15,631 --> 00:55:17,231
Misfits.
647
00:55:18,071 --> 00:55:19,951
Donkey-brained caricatures of men,
648
00:55:20,071 --> 00:55:23,591
you guaranteed me that Misgath
would be chosen queen.
649
00:55:23,711 --> 00:55:27,031
Who is she? From whence did she come?
Who are her people?
650
00:55:27,271 --> 00:55:30,071
There is little known about her, my lord.
651
00:55:30,151 --> 00:55:33,351
She is called Esther of Susa. An orphan.
652
00:55:33,431 --> 00:55:36,071
We should've stuck to our first plan
and poisoned Hagai ourselves.
653
00:55:36,151 --> 00:55:37,511
- Quiet.
- Poison?
654
00:55:37,631 --> 00:55:40,831
He did not, my lord.
He is far too impetuous.
655
00:55:40,911 --> 00:55:43,831
- Far too...
- You know about poison.
656
00:55:43,911 --> 00:55:45,871
Of course you do.
657
00:55:46,191 --> 00:55:48,471
You were once the royal cupbearers.
658
00:55:50,471 --> 00:55:54,271
Suppose in theory,
you wanted to poison another.
659
00:55:57,871 --> 00:56:02,631
Suppose... Suppose this other
remained nameless,
660
00:56:03,631 --> 00:56:07,511
but was, in effect, one whom
you had once vowed to protect.
661
00:56:07,591 --> 00:56:09,351
My lord prince...
662
00:56:10,111 --> 00:56:13,431
Come, come. Don't look so distressed.
663
00:56:14,591 --> 00:56:16,191
We plot nothing here.
664
00:56:17,191 --> 00:56:18,711
My lord.
665
00:56:51,831 --> 00:56:53,591
From India to Babylon,
666
00:56:54,111 --> 00:56:57,431
my sword has spilt the blood of
traitors against the crown.
667
00:56:58,391 --> 00:57:02,751
Proud, arrogant "chosen ones".
668
00:57:03,911 --> 00:57:05,911
Allowed to return to their homeland.
669
00:57:07,271 --> 00:57:08,671
But do they go?
670
00:57:10,231 --> 00:57:11,511
Do they?
671
00:57:26,991 --> 00:57:28,151
Thank you.
672
00:57:32,551 --> 00:57:34,151
How wonderful are the ways of the Lord
673
00:57:34,271 --> 00:57:36,991
that he should have raised up
my little Hadassah
674
00:57:37,071 --> 00:57:39,071
and made her queen.
675
00:57:39,991 --> 00:57:43,311
Have you told anyone our secret?
676
00:57:46,111 --> 00:57:47,111
No.
677
00:57:47,191 --> 00:57:50,471
If you continue to call me Hadassah,
it will no longer matter.
678
00:57:51,271 --> 00:57:52,831
Will you not join me in the palace?
679
00:57:52,911 --> 00:57:54,911
I could have you named
to any post you desire.
680
00:57:54,991 --> 00:57:57,511
My Lord will take care of me.
681
00:57:58,671 --> 00:58:01,151
Do you take care of your lord?
682
00:58:07,951 --> 00:58:09,511
Remember not his orders?
683
00:58:09,591 --> 00:58:13,111
Procure it not from the palace,
so nothing can be traced back to us.
684
00:58:13,871 --> 00:58:15,711
The Jews have apothecaries.
685
00:58:22,791 --> 00:58:24,031
Where is he now?
686
00:58:25,391 --> 00:58:28,711
- You, over there...
- Why cannot a truce be arranged?
687
00:58:28,791 --> 00:58:30,271
Truce?
688
00:58:31,111 --> 00:58:34,431
That devil Memucan
has beaten me twice in a row.
689
00:58:35,671 --> 00:58:37,151
I fear losing you.
690
00:58:40,071 --> 00:58:41,871
I gave an oath
691
00:58:43,711 --> 00:58:45,031
to my father.
692
00:58:46,991 --> 00:58:49,071
He's the one I fear losing you to.
693
00:58:49,191 --> 00:58:52,511
You must dream. You'll be gone much
in the coming months.
694
00:58:53,031 --> 00:58:54,631
Keep this for me.
695
00:58:56,631 --> 00:58:59,271
- But it is yours. I...
- Then be at peace.
696
00:58:59,471 --> 00:59:00,911
I always return for what is mine.
697
00:59:01,031 --> 00:59:04,351
Will thou sit there all day, my lord?
698
00:59:10,791 --> 00:59:12,551
This one.
699
00:59:21,271 --> 00:59:23,951
Why would they
buy belladonna off you?
700
00:59:24,071 --> 00:59:28,191
Maybe they seek to poison someone.
Very deadly, very quick.
701
00:59:29,111 --> 00:59:31,191
You sold them poison?
702
00:59:31,791 --> 00:59:35,831
A Jew sells poison
to the King's food tasters?
703
00:59:35,951 --> 00:59:38,911
Have you any idea for whom
it might've been intended?
704
00:59:52,591 --> 00:59:54,511
Please, just allow me to see it.
705
00:59:54,631 --> 00:59:57,711
The scribe says it is
for the Queen's eyes only.
706
00:59:58,871 --> 01:00:00,511
That is what she told.
707
01:00:23,671 --> 01:00:25,271
A plot to kill the King.
708
01:00:25,511 --> 01:00:28,831
The King should be notified at once,
my lady.
709
01:00:30,151 --> 01:00:33,151
He and Memucan are a day's ride away
at the training grounds.
710
01:00:33,231 --> 01:00:36,151
Then it would be better, my lady,
if I send for the captain of the guard
711
01:00:36,231 --> 01:00:39,551
- to investigate.
- Who else is closest to the King?
712
01:00:39,671 --> 01:00:41,031
Admantha.
713
01:00:45,791 --> 01:00:47,671
This is treachery.
714
01:00:48,231 --> 01:00:52,511
If my lady will permit, I myself
will bring these two eunuchs to you.
715
01:00:53,431 --> 01:00:56,631
I'm armed, so I doubt the need for force.
716
01:00:56,711 --> 01:00:58,631
That will not be necessary.
717
01:00:58,711 --> 01:01:02,031
The King's new captain of the guard
has gone to investigate.
718
01:01:02,831 --> 01:01:05,711
Time was of the essence, my lady.
719
01:01:27,231 --> 01:01:30,991
If only all shared your loyalty
to the King, my prince.
720
01:01:32,431 --> 01:01:34,711
Captain of the guards.
721
01:01:38,271 --> 01:01:40,631
Master Haman, my lady.
722
01:01:48,471 --> 01:01:50,751
What of the eunuchs?
723
01:01:51,911 --> 01:01:54,831
They are being led
to the gallows as we speak.
724
01:01:54,951 --> 01:01:57,631
I found this about their person.
725
01:01:59,311 --> 01:02:00,631
I interrogated them both.
726
01:02:00,711 --> 01:02:02,471
I'm convinced they plotted alone.
727
01:02:11,391 --> 01:02:14,071
Make sure Mordecai's name
is entered in the chronicles
728
01:02:14,151 --> 01:02:18,471
and that it is certified with my seal so
he may be properly rewarded by the King.
729
01:02:28,111 --> 01:02:30,071
Please, help yourself.
730
01:02:30,791 --> 01:02:32,071
Only a bite.
731
01:02:33,671 --> 01:02:36,071
Now I no longer ride the highways,
my appetite suffers.
732
01:02:36,191 --> 01:02:39,151
Then may I assume that your fee
for spying for me will be reduced?
733
01:02:39,271 --> 01:02:40,951
My appetite may be less,
734
01:02:41,031 --> 01:02:42,471
not of my sons,
735
01:02:44,071 --> 01:02:45,271
my wife.
736
01:02:46,751 --> 01:02:49,351
Well, that may cost you more, my prince.
737
01:02:49,991 --> 01:02:51,431
Much,
738
01:02:51,511 --> 01:02:53,911
- much more.
- What might you have done?
739
01:02:56,551 --> 01:02:59,831
I would save the King for last.
740
01:03:00,671 --> 01:03:03,711
As in the palace board game.
Rid yourself first
741
01:03:03,791 --> 01:03:06,231
of all of those pieces
that are closest to him.
742
01:03:06,311 --> 01:03:07,471
One
743
01:03:09,671 --> 01:03:10,751
by one.
744
01:03:25,031 --> 01:03:29,071
My lady, this is foolish.
- I go with or without you.
745
01:03:29,191 --> 01:03:30,831
There are too many rumors
drifting through the palace,
746
01:03:30,951 --> 01:03:32,471
and not enough answers.
747
01:03:36,671 --> 01:03:38,351
These hinges are well-oiled.
748
01:03:38,631 --> 01:03:40,231
There must be plenty who use it.
749
01:03:40,351 --> 01:03:42,911
Lovers always find a way, my lady.
750
01:03:45,511 --> 01:03:48,391
HAThe time has come,
my brothers and sisters,
751
01:03:48,511 --> 01:03:51,511
where we must root out
those amongst our midst
752
01:03:51,591 --> 01:03:53,751
who seek our wreck and ruin!
753
01:03:53,831 --> 01:03:57,551
When a field of crops
is defiled by disease,
754
01:03:57,671 --> 01:04:00,311
do we not set it on fire?
755
01:04:01,951 --> 01:04:06,311
I am asked why I choose
to speak against these foreigners
756
01:04:06,431 --> 01:04:08,351
and strangers in our midst.
757
01:04:08,471 --> 01:04:11,791
- The Jew!
- The Jew!
758
01:04:15,151 --> 01:04:17,511
No, not the Jew.
759
01:04:17,951 --> 01:04:22,151
I, myself, know many an individual Jew
who I am proud to call friend,
760
01:04:22,231 --> 01:04:26,471
but put these individual Jews together,
and what are Egypt,
761
01:04:27,191 --> 01:04:30,511
Assyria, Babylon in their wake?
762
01:04:46,151 --> 01:04:48,831
Lead me away from here, quickly.
763
01:04:49,551 --> 01:04:51,391
You want proof?
764
01:04:52,231 --> 01:04:53,711
Proof!
765
01:04:55,151 --> 01:04:58,471
Pulled from the royal library,
766
01:05:01,511 --> 01:05:05,071
the great scheme of
the Greeks and the Jews
767
01:05:05,191 --> 01:05:07,711
to conquer the world!
768
01:05:10,231 --> 01:05:12,991
For let me tell you,
the Greeks and the Jew
769
01:05:13,071 --> 01:05:15,951
both live by the same evil doctrine.
770
01:05:16,071 --> 01:05:18,031
All men are created equal.
771
01:05:20,471 --> 01:05:24,991
- Do you believe you are equal to a slave?
- No!
772
01:05:25,471 --> 01:05:29,111
HAAnd you believe neither in
the Jewish God, nor in Greek democracy,
773
01:05:29,191 --> 01:05:32,511
but there are others in the palace that do.
774
01:05:33,671 --> 01:05:36,951
Let me now speak of Memucan.
775
01:05:37,671 --> 01:05:40,311
Prince. General.
776
01:05:40,551 --> 01:05:42,031
Arch traitor!
777
01:05:43,431 --> 01:05:45,991
"For services rendered to King Darius.
778
01:05:46,471 --> 01:05:49,751
"Pacification of the Babylonian provinces.
779
01:05:51,671 --> 01:05:54,431
"Payments made to Haman the Agagite."
780
01:05:55,951 --> 01:05:58,031
When? When?
781
01:05:58,951 --> 01:06:00,471
Ask of Memucan
782
01:06:00,551 --> 01:06:04,031
why he allowed the Greeks of lonia
to retain their democracy.
783
01:06:05,351 --> 01:06:08,791
Ask whose voice is loudest
against the war today
784
01:06:08,871 --> 01:06:11,391
and you will find out it is he!
785
01:06:14,631 --> 01:06:16,231
"Common year."
786
01:06:18,071 --> 01:06:20,231
Thirteen years ago.
787
01:06:26,231 --> 01:06:27,911
HAMy lady.
788
01:06:38,311 --> 01:06:39,591
Are you alone?
789
01:06:43,511 --> 01:06:47,991
- Highly unsafe.
- I was just finishing.
790
01:06:55,991 --> 01:06:57,431
Please.
791
01:06:59,231 --> 01:07:01,271
Allow me.
792
01:07:19,951 --> 01:07:23,271
- Shall I return this for you?
- Thank you.
793
01:07:27,071 --> 01:07:30,791
Something must weigh heavy
on my queen's heart
794
01:07:31,511 --> 01:07:33,751
in order to be kept up
at this hour, reading.
795
01:07:36,231 --> 01:07:37,711
My queen.
796
01:07:45,991 --> 01:07:49,311
- Is her Highness unwell?
- I'm fine.
797
01:07:50,431 --> 01:07:52,551
Perhaps I should retire.
798
01:08:02,791 --> 01:08:05,231
You're not scheduled
at the palace for more than two weeks.
799
01:08:05,351 --> 01:08:07,191
She'll be wonderfully surprised,
think you not?
800
01:08:07,271 --> 01:08:09,471
Here, read this, my lord.
801
01:08:12,911 --> 01:08:15,151
You do not appear
to be a traitor, Memucan.
802
01:08:15,271 --> 01:08:17,111
Return with me, and I'll have
Admantha investigate
803
01:08:17,231 --> 01:08:18,791
Haman's accusations immediately.
804
01:08:18,911 --> 01:08:21,351
Haman is my appointment.
805
01:08:21,471 --> 01:08:23,831
And we do need him more than we realize.
806
01:08:23,911 --> 01:08:26,071
Truly, Memucan, at one moment you sulk,
807
01:08:26,151 --> 01:08:29,391
you say your name has been slurred,
now you plead for your accuser.
808
01:08:29,511 --> 01:08:32,591
I have enough lives on my conscience.
809
01:08:32,711 --> 01:08:36,511
Chastise him mildly,
and he will perform his duty well
810
01:08:36,631 --> 01:08:39,951
and be more grateful to you
for your leniency.
811
01:08:40,551 --> 01:08:41,991
Spoken like a true Persian.
812
01:08:42,071 --> 01:08:46,031
Never judging a man before all the good
and all the bad are weighed.
813
01:08:46,391 --> 01:08:48,311
Ride with me.
814
01:08:48,711 --> 01:08:52,431
- So you burnt the evidence?
- Worry not, action will still be taken.
815
01:08:53,071 --> 01:08:56,871
Lest you forget, this Haman
is now head of internal protection.
816
01:08:56,991 --> 01:08:59,271
And lest you forget, I'm still queen.
817
01:08:59,391 --> 01:09:02,791
Yes, but queen subject to
an ancient protocol that no doubt Haman
818
01:09:02,911 --> 01:09:04,991
knows how to manipulate
far better than you do.
819
01:09:12,351 --> 01:09:14,311
Go not by the main gate.
820
01:09:14,431 --> 01:09:17,151
I wish not for the Queen
to be alerted to my coming.
821
01:09:19,271 --> 01:09:20,431
You must promise me
822
01:09:21,751 --> 01:09:23,351
that you will not reveal this to anyone.
823
01:09:25,631 --> 01:09:29,031
Any more such promises
and I shall have to take a vow of silence.
824
01:09:32,071 --> 01:09:34,151
Rusty old lovers' gate.
825
01:09:34,271 --> 01:09:37,191
I trust you used it much
in your youth, Memucan.
826
01:09:37,311 --> 01:09:40,631
Who do you think had it installed?
827
01:09:43,231 --> 01:09:45,071
Go now.
828
01:10:00,871 --> 01:10:03,831
My love. Oh, how I've missed you.
829
01:10:03,911 --> 01:10:06,511
- Have you?
- Now, what is that supposed to mean?
830
01:10:06,791 --> 01:10:09,431
You looked flushed. Busy morning?
831
01:10:09,511 --> 01:10:11,991
Not as busy as it could get.
832
01:10:12,071 --> 01:10:13,271
No visitors?
833
01:10:16,031 --> 01:10:19,351
You sent for me, Your Highness?
834
01:10:21,471 --> 01:10:23,631
It appears you have
misplaced our necklace.
835
01:10:23,751 --> 01:10:27,031
I wonder if that is all you have misplaced.
836
01:11:19,271 --> 01:11:22,711
Perhaps Your Majesty would like to send
for one of the concubines.
837
01:11:30,631 --> 01:11:32,431
Perhaps not.
838
01:11:34,471 --> 01:11:36,231
You look so much like your father.
839
01:11:36,351 --> 01:11:39,151
Sometimes I forget
how different you truly are.
840
01:11:39,271 --> 01:11:43,991
Makes me wonder all the more why
you feel such need to follow in his steps.
841
01:11:47,791 --> 01:11:49,591
Give her a few more nights,
842
01:11:53,311 --> 01:11:55,551
and then have her brought to me.
843
01:11:59,591 --> 01:12:01,631
You call that public tirade subtle?
844
01:12:01,711 --> 01:12:03,231
You mock me, Agagite.
845
01:12:03,351 --> 01:12:05,991
I need but report
but once to the King of your arrogance.
846
01:12:06,111 --> 01:12:09,431
And your dreams of kingship die with me.
847
01:12:09,711 --> 01:12:12,511
You might be less harsh on the Jews.
848
01:12:12,591 --> 01:12:14,271
You should make yourself
a laughing stock.
849
01:12:14,391 --> 01:12:15,831
The Jews, my prince,
850
01:12:16,631 --> 01:12:19,431
will be your chief weapon by which
you attain power to the throne.
851
01:12:19,551 --> 01:12:23,351
Think, we plan to take the crown by force
when the King is deep in Greece.
852
01:12:24,031 --> 01:12:25,791
What excuse will you use?
853
01:12:26,391 --> 01:12:28,231
Who attacks the land?
854
01:12:28,711 --> 01:12:30,231
Well, no one, actually.
855
01:12:31,471 --> 01:12:34,791
Unless, of course,
you claim it was the Greek-loving Jews.
856
01:12:36,791 --> 01:12:40,111
Memucan expects an apology,
as you predicted.
857
01:12:40,391 --> 01:12:43,831
Well, an apology is a cheap enough price
to pay for a kingdom.
858
01:12:43,911 --> 01:12:46,471
Invite, then, Memucan to your estate.
859
01:12:46,591 --> 01:12:50,031
Presumably so I can apologize to him.
860
01:12:50,151 --> 01:12:53,431
On the way, however,
he will be ambushed.
861
01:12:53,911 --> 01:12:57,351
- By whom?
- By my Jews, of course.
862
01:12:57,471 --> 01:12:59,831
Jews who slew him
for being coupled with them as a traitor.
863
01:12:59,911 --> 01:13:03,231
- And what of Memucan's own guard?
- It's merely an apology.
864
01:13:03,831 --> 01:13:05,791
Perhaps you can suggest to Memucan
865
01:13:05,911 --> 01:13:07,191
that if he arrive with a large number,
866
01:13:07,271 --> 01:13:08,831
I might suspect he'd come
to punish me.
867
01:13:08,911 --> 01:13:11,231
One or two guards my men can handle.
868
01:13:12,071 --> 01:13:14,271
And who'll handle you?
869
01:13:14,871 --> 01:13:16,551
Who but you,
870
01:13:17,351 --> 01:13:18,751
my king.
871
01:13:26,351 --> 01:13:28,511
Prepare to die, Greek-lover.
872
01:13:47,951 --> 01:13:49,951
Admantha's men.
873
01:13:51,111 --> 01:13:53,311
Thank the gods you are unharmed,
my lord.
874
01:13:56,991 --> 01:13:57,991
Come.
875
01:14:21,271 --> 01:14:22,431
My queen...
876
01:14:25,551 --> 01:14:26,991
Your Highness,
877
01:14:27,711 --> 01:14:30,071
blood has been spilled.
You are needed at once.
878
01:14:47,831 --> 01:14:51,111
But lord King,
an accusation by a dispatch ride.
879
01:14:51,271 --> 01:14:53,911
Why did you wait so long
to inform anyone of Admantha's plot?
880
01:14:53,991 --> 01:14:57,191
- Surely you don't...
- My lord, I had to but play the traitor
881
01:14:57,311 --> 01:14:58,991
to catch the traitor.
882
01:15:00,391 --> 01:15:04,111
Where are his witnesses, my lord?
What were my motives?
883
01:15:04,391 --> 01:15:08,631
Let this Haman prove his words
or be forever silent.
884
01:15:08,751 --> 01:15:10,231
But what would he have
me show, my lord?
885
01:15:10,311 --> 01:15:13,271
There are no witnesses
to plans forged in secret.
886
01:15:13,751 --> 01:15:15,231
You will not act like that, Admantha.
887
01:15:15,271 --> 01:15:19,031
And was it not even Admantha
who stirred the crowd into demanding
888
01:15:19,191 --> 01:15:22,671
Queen Vashti's appearance,
knowing she would not come?
889
01:15:22,951 --> 01:15:25,231
All lies. That's lies.
890
01:15:25,391 --> 01:15:28,431
Lies. I stand in a crumbling house of lies.
891
01:15:28,551 --> 01:15:31,711
- Remember before whom you plead.
- Plead for what?
892
01:15:33,351 --> 01:15:35,111
For your life, Admantha.
893
01:15:44,751 --> 01:15:47,471
Is it my foolish desire
to believe these stories I hear
894
01:15:47,591 --> 01:15:50,591
or my glaring inability
to perceive their mysteries?
895
01:15:51,551 --> 01:15:52,951
Perhaps you...
896
01:15:53,351 --> 01:15:56,471
You placed them back
upon the shelf to collect dust
897
01:15:57,191 --> 01:15:59,351
without ever truly completing them.
898
01:16:01,191 --> 01:16:03,471
Who is the one that gathers dust?
899
01:16:03,751 --> 01:16:05,631
I believed I was your Rachel.
900
01:16:06,991 --> 01:16:10,751
But it appears I'm only Leah,
and you serve time with me for another.
901
01:16:10,951 --> 01:16:15,231
No, my lord. It's not what you think.
902
01:16:17,271 --> 01:16:19,391
Nothing is as I think anymore.
903
01:16:20,111 --> 01:16:22,111
Plots slither through the night.
904
01:16:22,271 --> 01:16:25,871
Trust, it decays
like secret gates left to rust.
905
01:16:26,431 --> 01:16:30,111
Admantha is carried to torture
even as we speak.
906
01:16:37,391 --> 01:16:41,871
This Jacob and Rachel,
they are no mere story to you.
907
01:16:42,151 --> 01:16:45,471
Give me some incentive
to believe in who you really are.
908
01:16:45,671 --> 01:16:47,351
Give me some honor.
909
01:16:47,551 --> 01:16:51,191
For if it is truly the honor of kings
to seek out truth in lie,
910
01:16:53,271 --> 01:16:54,911
I am a man of scorn.
911
01:16:57,271 --> 01:16:58,951
I will answer you,
912
01:17:00,351 --> 01:17:03,191
my lord, if you first answer me.
913
01:17:04,071 --> 01:17:05,591
Answer you what?
914
01:17:05,911 --> 01:17:09,871
Why did you summon Vashti
915
01:17:12,031 --> 01:17:13,911
when you knew she would not come?
916
01:17:15,991 --> 01:17:18,671
I am king.
917
01:17:21,911 --> 01:17:23,631
And I need answer to no one.
918
01:17:36,071 --> 01:17:40,351
After many days of torture,
Admantha, the great Midian prince,
919
01:17:40,551 --> 01:17:42,351
finally confessed all,
920
01:17:42,471 --> 01:17:45,871
and was dealt with
according to the protocol of the land.
921
01:17:49,031 --> 01:17:53,511
For his brave and valorous services,
Haman the Agagite
922
01:17:53,671 --> 01:17:55,591
was proclaimed a prince of the Fars
923
01:17:55,751 --> 01:17:59,871
to inherit Admantha's house,
wealth, prestige and power.
924
01:18:01,231 --> 01:18:02,711
Pieces are falling into place
925
01:18:02,791 --> 01:18:06,151
we've spoken of, one by one.
926
01:18:07,911 --> 01:18:10,431
Soothsaying does not become you,
Haman.
927
01:18:10,711 --> 01:18:13,631
No, my darling,
I speak of the truth, not of stars.
928
01:18:14,991 --> 01:18:17,471
My burden I would not wish on any man.
929
01:18:20,311 --> 01:18:23,071
The blood of my forefathers
will be avenged.
930
01:18:24,351 --> 01:18:28,031
And the gods will smile down on our son
through our obedience.
931
01:18:28,391 --> 01:18:31,431
And are you mad? This is your plan?
932
01:18:32,111 --> 01:18:34,511
It is not that our allies
are unwilling, my lord,
933
01:18:34,631 --> 01:18:36,351
but they have not fared well.
934
01:18:36,431 --> 01:18:39,031
A storm has robbed the Phoenicians
of a good part of their fleet.
935
01:18:39,111 --> 01:18:42,751
Carthage finds herself short in timber
with which to complete our warships...
936
01:18:42,871 --> 01:18:45,511
Surely the fate of the empire
does not hinge on money?
937
01:18:45,631 --> 01:18:48,631
- Are you ready to furnish it, then?
- No, not I, my lord.
938
01:18:48,751 --> 01:18:51,431
But I'm aware of traitors
within our borders that could.
939
01:18:51,551 --> 01:18:53,751
The Jews? We are not children.
940
01:18:53,831 --> 01:18:55,311
Nevertheless, the money may be raised
941
01:18:55,391 --> 01:18:58,151
by the confiscation
of Jewish wealth and property.
942
01:18:58,271 --> 01:19:01,031
And the Jews will just
hand it over without a fight?
943
01:19:01,151 --> 01:19:02,671
No, of course not.
944
01:19:03,551 --> 01:19:05,591
First we must kill them all.
945
01:19:06,951 --> 01:19:08,671
Every last one of them.
946
01:19:08,751 --> 01:19:11,871
It is the only way to ensure
they do not rise up and seek revenge.
947
01:19:11,991 --> 01:19:14,351
He speaks of women
and children, my lord.
948
01:19:14,471 --> 01:19:16,311
Yes, women and children.
949
01:19:18,471 --> 01:19:19,551
I know.
950
01:19:22,671 --> 01:19:24,271
What is your solution?
951
01:19:24,391 --> 01:19:28,111
Or would you rather, my dear Memucan,
the Greeks and the Jews unite
952
01:19:28,231 --> 01:19:30,711
and, hand in hand,
murder us in our beds while we sleep?
953
01:19:30,791 --> 01:19:33,951
Is the past so mighty
that we must destroy our brothers
954
01:19:34,071 --> 01:19:35,831
to be free of its grasp?
955
01:19:38,391 --> 01:19:42,511
No kingdom was ever so grand
as the Jews' own King Solomon.
956
01:19:42,631 --> 01:19:46,231
He fought not one battle,
toiled through not one war,
957
01:19:46,911 --> 01:19:50,231
but prospered upon the peace
handed down by his father.
958
01:19:50,951 --> 01:19:54,591
Do not make void what your
own father's death has purchased.
959
01:19:54,751 --> 01:19:57,671
- By picking back up...
- Mind your tone, General.
960
01:19:58,271 --> 01:20:00,231
Why thirst you for warfare
961
01:20:01,311 --> 01:20:03,751
when we can drink so deeply of peace?
962
01:20:04,391 --> 01:20:07,151
You speak of peace,
let us speak of the Jews.
963
01:20:07,471 --> 01:20:11,271
They would rather bow down to their own
God than obey the laws of protocol.
964
01:20:11,391 --> 01:20:13,911
Their prophets even speak
of a coming king.
965
01:20:13,991 --> 01:20:17,711
A king who will reign over all kings
and set all men free.
966
01:20:20,231 --> 01:20:23,711
Is that not the very essence of democracy,
my dear Memucan?
967
01:20:23,831 --> 01:20:26,231
I do believe, under your guidance,
we are undone.
968
01:20:26,311 --> 01:20:29,471
If we are undone,
we are undone from within, indeed.
969
01:20:31,751 --> 01:20:33,591
March upon Greece, if you wish.
970
01:20:33,671 --> 01:20:36,391
But you march
with no general in your lead.
971
01:20:43,671 --> 01:20:46,351
Then it has not yet been signed into law?
972
01:20:48,071 --> 01:20:49,751
Not as yet, my lady.
973
01:20:50,591 --> 01:20:53,511
Perhaps guilt stirs men too hotly at times,
974
01:20:53,991 --> 01:20:56,031
and they seek the salve of the law
975
01:20:56,671 --> 01:20:58,351
to ease the burning.
976
01:21:00,871 --> 01:21:03,031
And what would you have me do?
977
01:21:03,911 --> 01:21:06,911
I cannot seek him in the library
unless summoned.
978
01:21:15,271 --> 01:21:17,431
If you arrived first,
979
01:21:17,511 --> 01:21:20,871
then he in effect
would be seeking you, would he not?
980
01:21:25,591 --> 01:21:29,271
How came you pass my guard?
I demanded none use the library this night.
981
01:21:29,351 --> 01:21:31,751
I seek that which you seek, my lord.
982
01:21:36,551 --> 01:21:37,631
Truth.
983
01:21:39,831 --> 01:21:42,511
Perhaps the truth
of what exists between us?
984
01:21:43,471 --> 01:21:45,631
I have come on matters of state.
985
01:21:45,751 --> 01:21:47,271
Matters of state.
986
01:21:48,511 --> 01:21:49,591
I see.
987
01:21:51,471 --> 01:21:53,751
And what matters of state might that be?
988
01:21:53,831 --> 01:21:56,511
You desire more perfumes?
You request more condiments?
989
01:21:56,631 --> 01:21:59,071
Surely as queen of the kitchen,
you need not await me here.
990
01:21:59,191 --> 01:22:03,071
You know as well as I how quickly word
travels throughout the palace.
991
01:22:04,591 --> 01:22:06,911
Especially when murder's involved.
992
01:22:07,111 --> 01:22:10,351
You are... You are learned, well-read.
993
01:22:11,111 --> 01:22:13,471
Offer me a story that
answers my dilemma.
994
01:22:13,551 --> 01:22:16,631
- I have never pretended with you.
- Never pretended?
995
01:22:16,711 --> 01:22:18,351
Think you not that I see
Memucan's strings
996
01:22:18,431 --> 01:22:19,831
dangling above your head even now?
997
01:22:19,951 --> 01:22:22,591
You care more for these Jews
than you do for me.
998
01:22:22,671 --> 01:22:25,951
Do you enquire of my burdens,
do you offer me solutions?
999
01:22:26,151 --> 01:22:27,151
No.
1000
01:22:27,711 --> 01:22:29,311
You just complain.
1001
01:22:29,751 --> 01:22:32,271
- As Vashti did?
- Away from me!
1002
01:22:32,391 --> 01:22:34,871
And come before me no longer,
no matter what pretense you seek,
1003
01:22:34,951 --> 01:22:37,551
or your fate shall be worse than Vashti.
1004
01:22:39,671 --> 01:22:42,471
- But I do love you.
- Love has failed me.
1005
01:22:43,911 --> 01:22:46,831
Knowledge has failed me, thus
I bind myself to the protocol
1006
01:22:46,951 --> 01:22:48,951
of my fathers and to my empire.
1007
01:22:49,031 --> 01:22:51,111
By the next moon, I leave for war.
1008
01:22:51,271 --> 01:22:54,791
And whatever my fate,
it shall no longer be shared with you.
1009
01:23:10,631 --> 01:23:13,151
This was once your favorite reading.
1010
01:23:13,231 --> 01:23:16,271
And though it may no longer
bear the story of love,
1011
01:23:18,511 --> 01:23:20,671
it bears that of one Mordecai the Jew.
1012
01:23:23,111 --> 01:23:26,151
One of whom you wish to destroy
saved your life.
1013
01:23:29,271 --> 01:23:31,751
And you never even honored him for it.
1014
01:23:40,431 --> 01:23:43,271
The casting of the lot, the Pur...
1015
01:23:44,271 --> 01:23:47,711
It has determined upon which day
all the Jews of the kingdom will be slain.
1016
01:23:49,711 --> 01:23:52,271
This day is to be the 13th day
of the month of Adar
1017
01:23:52,391 --> 01:23:54,271
according to the calendar of the Jews.
1018
01:23:54,631 --> 01:23:55,871
Prince...
1019
01:23:59,551 --> 01:24:01,551
The annihilation of a people
1020
01:24:02,591 --> 01:24:06,871
can only be authorized by one
who bears the signet of the King himself.
1021
01:24:19,351 --> 01:24:21,511
And those letters were sent
into all the land,
1022
01:24:22,231 --> 01:24:26,311
to slay and annihilate all the Jews
1023
01:24:26,431 --> 01:24:29,471
on the 13th of Adar,
some six weeks hence.
1024
01:24:30,311 --> 01:24:34,231
Both young and old,
men, women and even children.
1025
01:24:35,551 --> 01:24:39,191
And to plunder all of their possessions
for the sake of the crown.
1026
01:25:08,671 --> 01:25:12,231
The scribe insists that
all is dependent upon you, my queen.
1027
01:25:13,191 --> 01:25:14,751
Dependent upon me?
1028
01:25:15,511 --> 01:25:18,871
My queen might wish
to go before the King and intercede
1029
01:25:19,751 --> 01:25:23,791
for those that have no other hope.
1030
01:25:26,831 --> 01:25:28,071
My lady...
1031
01:25:28,471 --> 01:25:30,831
Have you forgotten your protocol?
1032
01:25:30,951 --> 01:25:32,831
To approach the King
unsummoned is death.
1033
01:25:32,911 --> 01:25:36,351
Perhaps in court.
But surely you can visit him in private.
1034
01:25:37,111 --> 01:25:38,591
In his chambers.
1035
01:25:41,311 --> 01:25:42,791
Surely I cannot.
1036
01:25:52,391 --> 01:25:54,311
Obedient I have been.
1037
01:25:55,551 --> 01:25:58,111
I walk before you with a loyal heart.
1038
01:26:00,151 --> 01:26:04,471
And now I stand in the hour of trouble
precisely because of my obedience.
1039
01:26:06,511 --> 01:26:08,191
I beseech you, Father,
1040
01:26:09,391 --> 01:26:11,311
let there be another way.
1041
01:26:12,551 --> 01:26:15,151
Rise up a deliverer and let this pass.
1042
01:26:16,711 --> 01:26:18,111
Let this pass.
1043
01:26:19,111 --> 01:26:20,511
"'Comfort,
1044
01:26:21,071 --> 01:26:23,271
"'comfort my people, ' says your God.
1045
01:26:23,911 --> 01:26:25,391
"Cry unto Israel
1046
01:26:27,071 --> 01:26:29,151
"that her warfare is finished,
1047
01:26:31,271 --> 01:26:33,071
"that her iniquity is removed.
1048
01:26:33,991 --> 01:26:37,351
"The everlasting
neither faints nor is weary.
1049
01:26:37,951 --> 01:26:41,031
"His understanding no one can fathom.
1050
01:26:41,271 --> 01:26:44,831
"He gives strength to the weary
and power to the weak.
1051
01:26:45,511 --> 01:26:48,671
"Even the youth shall faint and be weary,
1052
01:26:49,111 --> 01:26:51,711
"and young men shall utterly fail.
1053
01:26:51,871 --> 01:26:56,231
"But those who wait on the Lord
shall renew their strength. "
1054
01:26:57,191 --> 01:27:00,831
Lord, we wait on thee.
1055
01:27:02,751 --> 01:27:04,351
Renew our strength.
1056
01:27:04,911 --> 01:27:06,711
Clear the way for he who comes.
1057
01:27:06,791 --> 01:27:08,871
Kneel before the great prince.
1058
01:27:09,031 --> 01:27:12,551
Clear the way for he who comes.
Kneel for the great prince.
1059
01:27:13,431 --> 01:27:14,511
You...
1060
01:27:16,591 --> 01:27:19,511
Lower yourself to honor
the great Prince Haman. Kneel!
1061
01:27:19,631 --> 01:27:21,311
- I said kneel.
- Stop!
1062
01:27:30,711 --> 01:27:33,871
- Why do you not kneel?
- I kneel before my king.
1063
01:27:34,751 --> 01:27:37,791
I abase myself
only before the God of my fathers.
1064
01:27:38,071 --> 01:27:41,271
- What's his name, this God?
- The great I AM.
1065
01:27:41,511 --> 01:27:44,671
The one true God,
the maker of heaven and earth.
1066
01:27:45,111 --> 01:27:48,511
The God of Abraham,
of Isaac and of Jacob.
1067
01:27:51,151 --> 01:27:52,231
A Jew.
1068
01:27:52,711 --> 01:27:55,151
Mordecai Ben-Yair.
1069
01:27:56,311 --> 01:27:57,631
Mordecai...
1070
01:28:00,871 --> 01:28:03,231
I shall name my prize pig after you.
1071
01:28:03,511 --> 01:28:06,871
Perhaps I may give you other reasons
to remember my name.
1072
01:28:07,111 --> 01:28:08,991
You will remember mine
1073
01:28:09,911 --> 01:28:11,071
for this!
1074
01:28:16,951 --> 01:28:18,111
Move on.
1075
01:28:22,271 --> 01:28:24,031
What good did that do?
1076
01:28:24,111 --> 01:28:27,311
You still ended up
on the ground like the rest of us.
1077
01:28:31,431 --> 01:28:33,111
But I did not kneel.
1078
01:28:35,551 --> 01:28:39,431
Come, now, you are a mere three days
from being handed a kingdom.
1079
01:28:39,551 --> 01:28:43,551
We must not let one Jew rob us of our joy.
1080
01:28:43,751 --> 01:28:45,551
That is not good enough.
1081
01:28:47,551 --> 01:28:50,391
Then seek permission
to honor the King's departure
1082
01:28:50,511 --> 01:28:52,351
with a public execution of a rebel
1083
01:28:53,471 --> 01:28:57,071
a symbol of your authority
over those that remain.
1084
01:28:57,191 --> 01:29:01,911
A gallows, 50 cubits high
with Mordecai right...
1085
01:29:20,551 --> 01:29:21,791
The chronicles.
1086
01:29:37,671 --> 01:29:38,711
Rise.
1087
01:29:39,111 --> 01:29:41,791
A matter disturbs me.
You may be of assistance.
1088
01:29:42,151 --> 01:29:46,231
I am most pleased, my lord, for I,
too, desire your counsel on a matter.
1089
01:29:46,631 --> 01:29:49,151
A certain man
has rendered great service to me.
1090
01:29:49,271 --> 01:29:51,911
He has received many honors
amongst his people,
1091
01:29:52,031 --> 01:29:53,911
but he once saved my life.
1092
01:29:54,711 --> 01:29:59,071
I feel, despite everything,
full recognition
1093
01:29:59,231 --> 01:30:00,991
has not yet been given him.
1094
01:30:01,111 --> 01:30:03,991
What think you, shall be done
for this man in whom the King delights
1095
01:30:04,071 --> 01:30:05,311
to honor?
1096
01:30:06,591 --> 01:30:08,831
Let a royal robe be sent for,
1097
01:30:09,551 --> 01:30:12,031
one his Majesty has donned in public.
1098
01:30:15,511 --> 01:30:16,831
And a horse
1099
01:30:17,831 --> 01:30:21,591
on whose head a royal crest is set.
1100
01:30:23,951 --> 01:30:28,671
Deliver them to
one of the noblest princes of the Fars,
1101
01:30:29,071 --> 01:30:32,231
so that he can array the man
in whom the King delights.
1102
01:30:33,151 --> 01:30:36,951
And then parade this man
through the streets, proclaiming,
1103
01:30:37,111 --> 01:30:41,431
"Thus shall it be done to the man
in whom the King delights to honor."
1104
01:30:42,911 --> 01:30:44,791
Most excellent proposal.
1105
01:30:45,551 --> 01:30:48,471
Go yourself now
and do all you have suggested.
1106
01:30:48,751 --> 01:30:49,951
My lord.
1107
01:30:51,471 --> 01:30:52,991
To a one Mordecai,
1108
01:30:54,791 --> 01:30:57,591
the scribe who
sits within the King's gates.
1109
01:31:01,831 --> 01:31:02,991
Mordecai?
1110
01:31:04,671 --> 01:31:05,791
The Jew?
1111
01:31:21,151 --> 01:31:22,191
My lady.
1112
01:31:23,791 --> 01:31:26,551
- And who is this honored man?
- A scribe.
1113
01:31:27,951 --> 01:31:31,431
A Jewish scribe,
who claims to have saved the King's life.
1114
01:31:34,951 --> 01:31:39,231
I should think you would be honored
by such a privilege given by the King.
1115
01:31:39,311 --> 01:31:40,471
Honored?
1116
01:31:45,751 --> 01:31:47,911
The prestige of Persia is at stake.
1117
01:31:48,351 --> 01:31:50,751
What will it be said of your husband,
the king, that he commands
1118
01:31:50,871 --> 01:31:53,431
his highest prince
to lead a Jew through the streets?
1119
01:31:53,511 --> 01:31:55,031
A Jew, my lady!
1120
01:31:56,031 --> 01:32:00,431
And how is a Jew
any different than you or I?
1121
01:32:00,591 --> 01:32:01,671
They are our enemy.
1122
01:32:02,951 --> 01:32:04,671
They must be destroyed.
1123
01:32:05,831 --> 01:32:09,631
They may be your enemy, but not mine.
1124
01:32:09,991 --> 01:32:12,271
From the way that you defend them,
1125
01:32:14,231 --> 01:32:18,271
- one might almost think...
- One might think what,
1126
01:32:20,151 --> 01:32:21,431
my prince?
1127
01:32:28,231 --> 01:32:31,191
One might think. That is all, my lady.
1128
01:32:33,511 --> 01:32:35,031
One might think.
1129
01:32:42,231 --> 01:32:45,151
HAMake your way for Mordecai,
the Jew.
1130
01:32:46,391 --> 01:32:50,231
Make your way for Mordecai,
who saved the King's life.
1131
01:32:50,631 --> 01:32:53,671
He is the man in whom
the King delights to honor.
1132
01:32:55,751 --> 01:32:59,151
All hail for Mordecai, the Jew,
honored of the King.
1133
01:32:59,671 --> 01:33:03,511
Beloved of the Queen.
All hail for Mordecai, the Jew.
1134
01:33:04,231 --> 01:33:07,751
Honored of the King.
Beloved of the Queen.
1135
01:33:43,471 --> 01:33:44,591
Guards...
1136
01:33:47,071 --> 01:33:49,831
My queen,
I bring you word from Mordecai.
1137
01:33:50,271 --> 01:33:51,751
You've run out of time.
1138
01:33:54,231 --> 01:33:56,311
When the King leaves
for Greece tomorrow,
1139
01:33:56,391 --> 01:33:58,831
he will appoint Haman as his regent.
1140
01:34:00,231 --> 01:34:03,271
It is our last chance
to stop this edict of death.
1141
01:34:04,231 --> 01:34:07,311
He made me vow to speak his words.
1142
01:34:10,871 --> 01:34:14,471
You will indeed risk your life
if you go before the King...
1143
01:34:15,271 --> 01:34:18,511
but do not think
that if you keep silent
1144
01:34:19,351 --> 01:34:23,111
your position
will save you alone from this edict.
1145
01:34:24,031 --> 01:34:27,951
For if you keep silent,
deliverance for the Jews
1146
01:34:28,591 --> 01:34:31,551
will arise from someplace else,
1147
01:34:32,711 --> 01:34:33,831
but you
1148
01:34:35,231 --> 01:34:36,831
will surely perish.
1149
01:34:38,471 --> 01:34:42,431
Who knows whether
you have come to the palace
1150
01:34:43,591 --> 01:34:45,311
for such a time as this?
1151
01:34:51,271 --> 01:34:54,351
He said to give you this.
1152
01:35:05,671 --> 01:35:08,991
Tell Mordecai to assemble the Jews.
1153
01:35:10,151 --> 01:35:12,031
Ask them to fast and pray.
1154
01:35:13,311 --> 01:35:14,951
I will do the same.
1155
01:35:17,231 --> 01:35:20,151
And in the morning,
arrange for me a litter.
1156
01:35:21,591 --> 01:35:25,871
I will array myself as queen
and go before the King unsummoned,
1157
01:35:28,271 --> 01:35:30,591
even though it is against the law.
1158
01:35:38,671 --> 01:35:40,111
And if I perish,
1159
01:35:42,231 --> 01:35:43,391
I perish.
1160
01:35:52,631 --> 01:35:55,751
People of Persia,
servants of the crown,
1161
01:35:56,511 --> 01:35:58,711
today we embrace our destiny
1162
01:35:59,311 --> 01:36:03,311
to raid and rule the world over
and stand against the Greeks
1163
01:36:03,711 --> 01:36:06,191
and all who would rob us of our glory.
1164
01:36:07,431 --> 01:36:08,991
Her crown, quickly.
1165
01:36:09,911 --> 01:36:11,911
The litter will be here any moment.
1166
01:36:13,951 --> 01:36:16,271
- No litter is coming.
- What?
1167
01:36:16,871 --> 01:36:19,551
I do not know what you plan, but...
1168
01:36:19,911 --> 01:36:22,431
The King leaves for the outpost
within the hour.
1169
01:36:22,511 --> 01:36:24,391
I have not time to wait out this rain.
1170
01:36:24,511 --> 01:36:27,271
I am not going to allow you
to kill yourself.
1171
01:36:29,511 --> 01:36:30,551
No...
1172
01:36:31,991 --> 01:36:35,431
- Please tell me you did not.
- What possible assurance do you have
1173
01:36:35,591 --> 01:36:38,431
he would lower his scepter
to spare your life?
1174
01:36:39,871 --> 01:36:43,671
You do not go into a bedroom of a man,
you go into the hall of a king.
1175
01:36:44,231 --> 01:36:47,631
This is not you against him.
This is you against protocol.
1176
01:36:48,071 --> 01:36:49,831
You against the empire.
1177
01:36:50,991 --> 01:36:54,511
Then I... I go as
1178
01:36:56,351 --> 01:37:00,031
David did
before Goliath and the Philistines.
1179
01:37:04,991 --> 01:37:08,991
Those are just stories, Esther.
Do you hear me? Just stories.
1180
01:37:11,351 --> 01:37:16,031
Know you what I love most
about the story of David and Goliath?
1181
01:37:18,751 --> 01:37:22,911
David's victory
came not because he fought well
1182
01:37:26,271 --> 01:37:29,111
but because he believed well.
1183
01:37:30,431 --> 01:37:34,191
Thus I leave you on this day,
your regent, in my absence,
1184
01:37:35,231 --> 01:37:37,671
Lord Haman, prince of the Fars.
1185
01:37:38,871 --> 01:37:41,751
It is my will
that each of you obey him in every way,
1186
01:37:41,831 --> 01:37:44,191
exactly as you would regard your king.
1187
01:38:48,311 --> 01:38:50,751
Unsummoned she comes before the King.
1188
01:38:51,871 --> 01:38:53,031
She does.
1189
01:39:03,831 --> 01:39:05,631
Is protocol not broken?
1190
01:39:08,671 --> 01:39:10,911
- Yes, protocol has been broken.
- Guards!
1191
01:40:16,031 --> 01:40:17,431
Before the King.
1192
01:40:47,631 --> 01:40:51,071
- We have not time to waste.
- What did he say to your request?
1193
01:40:51,191 --> 01:40:53,991
The timing, the faces...
I could not ask it.
1194
01:40:54,511 --> 01:40:56,351
Not there, not in court.
1195
01:40:56,711 --> 01:40:59,111
What then? Do we perish?
1196
01:41:01,671 --> 01:41:04,911
We have but one last chance.
You must help me prepare.
1197
01:41:05,391 --> 01:41:08,431
A king may lower his scepter
to whoever he wishes.
1198
01:41:13,711 --> 01:41:14,711
My lord,
1199
01:41:14,791 --> 01:41:18,551
this day your kingdom
has all but been ripped from your hands.
1200
01:41:21,951 --> 01:41:25,471
This Esther has dishonored you
more than Vashti ever could.
1201
01:41:31,551 --> 01:41:34,111
See not you now
how she has trapped you?
1202
01:41:36,031 --> 01:41:38,791
Inviting us to a banquet
to hear her request?
1203
01:41:40,631 --> 01:41:44,391
If you go,
the people will deem you to be a pawn.
1204
01:41:45,791 --> 01:41:47,271
If you refuse,
1205
01:41:48,831 --> 01:41:49,831
a coward.
1206
01:41:53,351 --> 01:41:55,551
There is but one way to proceed.
1207
01:42:35,591 --> 01:42:38,271
Is the meal to your satisfaction, my lord?
1208
01:42:39,711 --> 01:42:41,751
The night draws late.
1209
01:42:43,871 --> 01:42:46,111
Once more I ask for
your petition, my queen.
1210
01:42:59,031 --> 01:43:00,311
My petition,
1211
01:43:02,551 --> 01:43:03,711
my lord,
1212
01:43:06,431 --> 01:43:08,991
is that you allow me to finish a story.
1213
01:43:10,471 --> 01:43:12,751
One that I began many nights ago.
1214
01:43:24,551 --> 01:43:26,551
The story of Jacob, my lord,
1215
01:43:28,191 --> 01:43:30,911
does not finish with marrying Rachel.
1216
01:43:31,031 --> 01:43:33,271
Well, they go on to have 12 sons.
1217
01:43:33,351 --> 01:43:37,951
And like these 12 pillars that surround us,
they became the pillars of a people.
1218
01:43:38,151 --> 01:43:39,391
Surely...
1219
01:43:40,071 --> 01:43:44,231
Surely you do not delay an army
only to finish a children's tale?
1220
01:43:55,431 --> 01:43:58,111
If I still find favor in your sight,
1221
01:43:59,671 --> 01:44:03,511
let my life be given me, at my petition.
1222
01:44:05,111 --> 01:44:06,871
And my people at my request.
1223
01:44:06,951 --> 01:44:10,631
You demand of me your life
and that of your people?
1224
01:44:11,871 --> 01:44:13,191
My dear girl,
1225
01:44:14,431 --> 01:44:19,191
I know not of your people.
You have yet to tell me who they are.
1226
01:44:19,431 --> 01:44:23,711
Had we been merely sold as slaves,
I would have held my tongue.
1227
01:44:24,551 --> 01:44:27,871
This Haman wanted our blood,
1228
01:44:28,551 --> 01:44:32,831
my blood, the blood of Jacob, your Jacob.
1229
01:44:34,151 --> 01:44:36,511
Your Jacob was given a new name.
1230
01:44:37,511 --> 01:44:38,631
Israel.
1231
01:44:41,711 --> 01:44:43,391
As, too, was I.
1232
01:44:44,311 --> 01:44:46,391
You, Esther?
1233
01:44:47,911 --> 01:44:49,031
A Jew?
1234
01:44:52,311 --> 01:44:54,231
Not Esther, my lord.
1235
01:45:04,071 --> 01:45:06,871
Hadassah Bat-Abihail,
1236
01:45:08,911 --> 01:45:11,191
daughter of the tribe of Benjamin,
1237
01:45:12,431 --> 01:45:14,551
child of the most high God.
1238
01:45:16,511 --> 01:45:20,071
Never have I heard
a more pathetic story in my entire life.
1239
01:45:20,471 --> 01:45:21,871
She is no Jew.
1240
01:45:22,591 --> 01:45:24,271
She's another Vashti.
1241
01:45:24,791 --> 01:45:26,991
Seems it not convenient to you?
1242
01:45:27,111 --> 01:45:28,871
An army marches,
1243
01:45:29,631 --> 01:45:32,791
and suddenly she is a Jew.
1244
01:45:37,191 --> 01:45:39,911
Esther is a Jew.
1245
01:45:40,351 --> 01:45:43,151
Your Vashti but protested
the notion of war.
1246
01:45:43,231 --> 01:45:47,631
This queen seeks to counter
the very authority of your rule.
1247
01:45:47,791 --> 01:45:51,551
A Jew? If such were true,
why did she hide it till now?
1248
01:45:51,631 --> 01:45:54,031
Pray, do tell us.
1249
01:46:00,031 --> 01:46:03,831
The Almighty has indeed ordained
1250
01:46:04,311 --> 01:46:08,431
that my words speak not truth unto you.
At least allow my heart.
1251
01:46:15,951 --> 01:46:17,151
For this
1252
01:46:18,391 --> 01:46:22,231
which I have offered you,
my most precious in all the world,
1253
01:46:22,471 --> 01:46:25,831
the very identity etched within me.
1254
01:46:40,591 --> 01:46:42,511
Well, is something supposed
to be happening here?
1255
01:46:45,711 --> 01:46:48,911
The stars... Do you not see them?
1256
01:46:58,231 --> 01:46:59,871
Do you not see them?
1257
01:47:05,631 --> 01:47:06,911
A mockery.
1258
01:47:28,431 --> 01:47:31,231
Perhaps not how
you had hoped it would end?
1259
01:47:33,031 --> 01:47:35,231
Imagined you that I would beg?
1260
01:47:40,231 --> 01:47:42,391
Think you I will beg?
1261
01:47:43,151 --> 01:47:44,631
Beg for my life?
1262
01:47:44,991 --> 01:47:49,031
Beg like my forefather Agag
before your sword?
1263
01:47:49,671 --> 01:47:51,991
Would you like me to beg for you?
1264
01:48:03,591 --> 01:48:04,591
Oh,
1265
01:48:07,031 --> 01:48:08,911
please, my lady.
1266
01:48:12,791 --> 01:48:14,951
Please, Your Highness.
1267
01:48:16,031 --> 01:48:19,711
Please spare me.
1268
01:48:20,671 --> 01:48:24,951
Spare me my life. You are a lady of mercy.
1269
01:48:25,631 --> 01:48:26,791
Spare me.
1270
01:48:27,711 --> 01:48:30,391
I beg for forgiveness.
1271
01:48:30,511 --> 01:48:34,871
Spare me, spare me, you Jew!
1272
01:48:37,471 --> 01:48:39,871
Would he also assault the Queen,
1273
01:48:40,631 --> 01:48:41,831
my wife,
1274
01:48:43,871 --> 01:48:46,351
while I am in my house?
1275
01:48:50,431 --> 01:48:54,591
Harbonah has informed me that
the gallows post stands in Haman's yard
1276
01:48:54,711 --> 01:48:59,471
even as we speak. Apparently
intended for one Mordecai the Jew.
1277
01:49:00,271 --> 01:49:01,751
Hang him on it.
1278
01:49:02,591 --> 01:49:03,591
No!
1279
01:49:03,991 --> 01:49:04,991
No!
1280
01:49:14,431 --> 01:49:15,951
What made you come back?
1281
01:49:18,271 --> 01:49:19,431
I saw them.
1282
01:49:24,191 --> 01:49:25,751
I saw the stars.
1283
01:49:40,671 --> 01:49:42,871
Thus with one faithful act
1284
01:49:42,951 --> 01:49:46,431
has a new generation redeemed
the time of centuries past
1285
01:49:46,591 --> 01:49:48,631
and stepped into their destiny.
1286
01:49:48,751 --> 01:49:52,711
On this day, I give you your new prince,
and master of audiences,
1287
01:49:53,831 --> 01:49:55,111
Mordecai Ben-Yair.
1288
01:49:55,431 --> 01:49:58,231
On the day appointed for their destruction,
1289
01:49:58,671 --> 01:50:01,551
all Jews shall have the right
1290
01:50:01,951 --> 01:50:03,591
to protect themselves
1291
01:50:03,711 --> 01:50:07,551
and shall be entitled to take
all the property of their attackers.
1292
01:50:08,831 --> 01:50:10,871
And I send forth this story
1293
01:50:10,951 --> 01:50:14,151
enjoining all to keep a day
of feasting and gladness.
1294
01:50:14,271 --> 01:50:18,751
A celebration to be passed on and retold
through every generation,
1295
01:50:18,871 --> 01:50:20,631
to be known as Purim,
1296
01:50:20,711 --> 01:50:23,991
or the casting of the Pur
that determined its time.
1297
01:50:24,871 --> 01:50:29,071
While we continue onward in the face
of a world filled with uncertainty,
1298
01:50:29,191 --> 01:50:32,911
we can rejoice,
for hidden within its mysteries
1299
01:50:33,471 --> 01:50:35,711
is the honor of a king.
1300
01:50:36,271 --> 01:50:39,631
Thus dictated, I order this decree sent out
1301
01:50:39,751 --> 01:50:42,471
under the great seal of Mordecai,
1302
01:50:43,071 --> 01:50:44,631
prince of Persia,
1303
01:50:45,671 --> 01:50:46,751
a Jew.