The Testaments Gets Off to a Slow Start but Holds a Dangerous Promise

Critic’s Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

3.5

Usually, I don’t like it when a show drops multiple episodes at once, but for The Testaments, it works. 

In fact, the three-episode drop is needed because, unlike The Handmaid’s Tale, this sequel gets off to a slow start.

There are also major changes to the book that add an intriguing layer as we delve into the mystery. 

The end of the three episodes also brings a threat that helps to further develop this new part of Gilead, but I certainly got a shock to the system, wondering if it was possible the writers were going to bring a character back from the dead!

Blessed Be the Precious Flowers

The Testaments Season 1 Premiere, “Precious Flowers,” quickly immerses us in the world of Gilead, and I appreciate it for clarifying the timeline.

This is set four years after The Handmaid’s Tale’s end, and I immediately realized that Daisy cannot be who she is in the book.

Margaret Atwood told us that Daisy is Baby Nichole, and it would work slightly for the timeframe that was potentially set in the novels. 

After all, there are nuances in The Handmaid’s Tale that make almost anything possible given the storytelling format.

The show has to be a little more linear and clearer on the relationships and connections, but let’s park that for a second, since it comes up in Episode 3.

In this first installment, we learn a little more about how the young girls are raised in Gilead, raising important questions about indoctrination. Youngsters are sponges, and it’s not surprising that they are all accepting of the way of life in Gilead.

Agnes’s voice for The Testaments Season 1 Episode 1 makes it clear that at some point she will get out, as she shares that when she was there, she believed in Gilead wholeheartedly. There was no reason not to.

What else did she know?

All of the girls believe in this regime. Shunammite is hilariously jealous of the other girls, hoping to become one of the top commanders’ wives, and many of the others discuss what’s to come as they get their period.

In fact, as much as I would usually hate characters like Shunammite, Rowan Blanchard plays her with some heart. It’s clear that she somewhat likes her friends, but she also has ambitions in life, likely passed down by her parents.

There’s this excitement about moving up into the different-colored dresses, and I can’t help but think of how it is like how we look forward to graduation at school or to moving up on sports teams.

We’ve spent so long looking at Gilead through the eyes of a Handmaid that it’s alien to think that people could want this way of life, and that’s something The Testaments offers us.

We’re sitting here waiting for the rebellion, and yet, none of the children — and that’s what they are — want that.

They are digesting the stories that they’re hearing, and they have no reason to question anything. Yet, I wonder just how many of the stories about people being tortured and executed are true.

It’s going to take an outsider to help Agnes, Becka, and others realize that Gilead isn’t the perfect world they’re raised to see it as, and that’s what they’re offered through Daisy.

Now it’s whether they’ll trust in Daisy, considering she’s what they call a Pearl Girl, one of the girls in white who have come from outside of Gilead. 

Agnes being “saddled” with Daisy is viewed as a bad thing, and women against women just makes it much easier for the men to create the regime that they want.

Can these teenagers learn? That’s going to be the big question for the whole season.

Perfect Teeth Come With a Price

As we get into The Testaments Season 1 Episode 2, “Perfect Teeth,” I found myself wondering more and more why the series would follow the books in killing Tabitha off.

The one good thing about this is that we can stick with Agnes’s memories of the woman she called her mother, as Paula clearly wants nothing to do with her.

Then I find myself conflicted. I’m not meant to like the wives in Gilead because of what they have supported, but not all of them wanted this, and are living in a world that they just have to survive in.

How can we hate them?

The ones we can hate are those who are purely trying to advance without taking in the true values of Gilead, such as Paula. She’s just ready for Agnes to leave the house, and she gets that chance.

As Agnes gets her period, there are clear mixed feelings, and it’s such a human moment. Young girls in the real world have those same mixed feelings.

It’s a sign of growing up, and we all want to do that, but at the same time, there’s a part of us that wants to stay young.

For Agnes — and the other young girls in Gilead — it also means they can be married off, and you’ve got to hope that the aunts choose the right men.

At first, I thought the hour was wasted on Agnes going to everyone to share the news of her period, but it’s a huge moment for her, and we get a chance to see how this step up in the world is treated.

Remember that we’re in a world where the birth rate has dropped considerably, and there are women not getting their periods at all.

All these girls have been raised to do is be wives and mothers, and getting a period gives them that chance without having to get a handmaid.

Eventually, some of them may rebel, and Gilead has a plan for that.

Time and time again, the women are pitted against each other. 

We see Paula put Agnes down and hear Shunammite’s comments. Even Becka, who is supposed to be Agnes’s best friend, makes snide comments now and then.

So, when Agnes realizes that Becka’s dad is a pervert, it’s no surprise that she doesn’t tell anyone. She doesn’t really understand what Dr. Grove has done, but it’s enough to feel shame.

How do you tell your best friend that her dad assaulted you?

Plus, with all the teachings in Gilead, she believes that Grove’s actions are her fault, and there is nobody that she can turn to.

The circle, as Agnes gets into Daisy’s face and calls her all sorts of names, is reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 1.

It’s not just the handmaids who are belittled; all women are, to keep them in line.

Make everyone an enemy, and a rebellion can’t form.

Suddenly, we start to see how things will get worse before they get better, and not just for Agnes and the other girls.

Daisy has her own situation. At the end of the series premiere, we learn that she is definitely working with May Day, but she doesn’t quite understand the intricacies of espionage.

The first night, she listens to the radio for messages. After that, she at least goes to the bathroom, but she’s not exactly quiet about putting items back into her bed frame.

At some point, Daisy is going to get caught because of her inexperience, and I can’t help but wonder why anyone would think it wise to put her in.

Things Finally Pick Up in the Third Hour, Daisy!

After a slow start, The Testaments Season 1 Episode 3, “Daisy,” is where things start to pick up, promising danger ahead.

Finally, we get an episode from Daisy’s point of view, which was a little jarring at first. 

Considering we know there will be moments from Aunt Lydia’s point of view, I think it would have worked better to have one episode per main character.

That’s mainly because I’m excited to see what Lydia is up to after the way things ended for her on The Handmaid’s Tale.

Instead, after two episodes from Agnes’s point of view, we learn about why Daisy came to Gilead in the first place.

She is a child of Gilead, and her adopted parents are killed by the regime searching for her, but that’s not what initially pulls her in.

In fact, June gets to Daisy with the aim of getting her out. We know eventually that June must decide she’s good to join May Day, but that’s not the initial intention.

Seeing June play a bigger role in The Testaments show, compared to the book, helps us not just understand the timeline but also see that the fight isn’t over yet.

June and Luke promised to fight in their own way to get Agnes out, and that’s what they’re doing. With some hope, we’ll get to see others from The Handmaid’s Tale, maybe someone like Rita or Emily.

Bringing June in is just a great start, but I’m left confused by the way June keeps looking at Daisy.

I have to keep reminding myself that Daisy cannot be June’s daughter. The timeline doesn’t match. Yet, June looks at Daisy as if she were her biological mother.

Is it possible the show wasn’t quite clear on the direction at this point, or is it just that June has felt a connection to Daisy for a long time because Daisy came from Gilead?

Also, when and how did Daisy get out? Was it on Angel Flight?

I’m filled with these questions, and they’re not going to keep me going with this show right now.

It’s only during this installment that we learn Daisy isn’t alone in Gilead. 

Agnes’s guardian, Garth, is also part of May Day, and we get a clearer sense of how much this operation has begun to infiltrate it.

Everything is clearly on a need-to-know basis, as Garth doesn’t know June — or does he? At least he looks like he’s been trained in espionage!

However, May Day doesn’t seem organized. They couldn’t even manage a retrieval mission, turning into the school bus being shot at. I don’t care that this is Gilead; you don’t attack children!

As I watch the two interact at the end, I’m lost at how Daisy could end up getting herself into Gilead. With June wanting to get her to safety, none of this makes sense, but I’m here for her helping to bring the regime down.

It’s going to be difficult to bring it down, though. While at Commander Judd’s house, we finally get to see who this man is.

As a friend and I watched together, we both did a double-take at Judd.

He looked so much like Fred Waterford that it was uncanny, but there was absolutely no way of bringing Fred back from the dead.

Charlie Carrick has stepped into this role, and the way The Testaments introduced him was on purpose. I think it’s to make sure we don’t trust him in the way we couldn’t trust Fred.

This man believes wholeheartedly in this regime, and there’s a chance he helped start it, so we need to be wary as we go further into the season.

But just thinking of that first appearance sends shivers down my spine that I can’t get over.

While it is a slow start to The Testaments, it’s not a show to write off. This has a mixture of a coming-of-age and an espionage story, and it’s clear that trouble is coming from all corners.

Now, if we can just figure out where Aunt Lydia stands in all this! Under his eye!

This is where we turn it over to you!
What did you think of the first three episodes of The Testaments? Is it The Handmaid’s Tale sequel you needed? Let us know in the comments! Blessed be the fruit!