The first three episodes of The Testaments feel like they’re easing you in rather than grabbing you by the collar. It’s a softer entry than you might expect, more about slow realization than big, shocking moments. That works sometimes, especially when the show leans into the perspective of girls who’ve grown up inside Gilead and don’t fully see the cracks yet. But it also means things can feel a little too calm, like it’s waiting to really get going.
Chase Infiniti’s Agnes is doing a lot of the emotional work early on. There’s something very contained about her performance that fits the character, someone who’s been shaped to follow the rules without questioning them. You can see the hesitation starting to creep in, even if it’s subtle. Lucy Halliday’s Daisy has a bit more edge, but her storyline feels less fleshed out so far, like it’s still warming up. When the two of them start to connect, though, the energy shifts in a good way and the show finally feels like it has something to hold onto.
Ann Dowd coming back as Aunt Lydia is still a highlight. She’s not as loud or intimidating this time around, but there’s something colder in how she moves through these episodes. It’s more controlled, more watchful, and honestly a little more interesting because of it. Every time she shows up, things feel a bit sharper.
Visually, everything is still very polished and deliberate. The show looks exactly how you’d expect, with that clean, slightly suffocating style. Sometimes that helps build tension, but other times it adds to the feeling that the story is holding back. There are a lot of scenes that seem like they’re about to hit harder than they actually do.
The writing is fine, but not especially memorable yet. It gets the job done in setting up the world and the characters, but it doesn’t always dig as deep as it could. You can tell it’s trying to explore how people get shaped by systems like Gilead, especially through education and social pressure, but so far it’s more setup than payoff.
Three episodes in, it’s sitting in that in-between space. There’s definitely potential, and enough interesting threads to keep watching, but it hasn’t fully clicked yet. It feels like a show that’s still building toward something bigger, and whether that slow build pays off is going to matter a lot. Right now, it’s solid, watchable, and a little frustrating in how much it seems to be holding back.
The Testaments airs Wednesdays on Hulu.
