David prophesies the punishment that will fall upon him, stating "the sword shall never depart from your house." When David acknowledges that he has sinned, Nathan advises him that his sin is forgiven and he will not die, but the child will. In fulfillment of Nathan's words, David's son Absalom, fueled by vengeance and lust for power, rebels. Absalom's forces are routed at the battle of the Wood of Ephraim, and he is caught by his long hair in the branches of a tree where, contrary to David's order, he is killed by Joab, the commander of David's army. David laments
Caught on a Train Television Award and other plaudits in 1980. Having previously been available on VHS, the play was released on DVD by BBC Worldwide in 2004, with an audio commentary by Poliakoff and the producer, Kenith Trodd. Caught on a Train Caught on a Train is a critically successful British television play written by Stephen Poliakoff and directed by Peter Duffell, based on an overnight train journey across Europe, and following the route of a journey that Poliakoff had himself made from London to Vienna. It was first shown, on BBC2, on 31 October 1980, and was re-shown in 2001 and 2006.