Testament Season 1 Episode 1: Recap & Review

What would the story of Acts and the birth of the church have looked like if it took place in a dystopian world with technology and culture similar to our own? This is the question posed by Angel Studios’ new Bible series, Testament. Episode 1 loses no time, launching immediately into the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the preaching of Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-41) and then continuing on to depict the fellowship of the early believers (Acts 2:42-47) and Peter and John healing a lame beggar outside of the Temple, preaching Jesus, and getting arrested (Acts 3:1-4:4). 

As important as these biblical events may be, they function almost as background for what Episode 1 of Testament is actually focused on: introducing us to the two central figures of Season 1. The primary protagonist of the episode is Stephen, an earnest and soft-spoken mama’s boy who will eventually go on to become a deacon (Acts 6:5) and the first martyr, whose stoning (most likely the climax of Season 1) will initiate the first widespread persecution of Christians (Acts 7). We also meet Saul of Tarsus, a cocky young rabbi with his eyes set on joining the Sanhedrin – a goal that will almost certainly lead him to approve of Stephen’s murder (Acts 8:1) before he ultimately experiences his famous conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Below I’ll offer a brief summary of the events of Testament Episode 1 and my thoughts on Angel’s new show. You can also join me for a livestream discussion of Testament Episode 1 on June 9 at 9:30pm (EST).

Saul enters the Temple in Salem in Episode 1 of the Acts alternate-history show, Testament

What Happens in Testament Season 1 Episode 1? (Summary)

Testament begins with a brief opening text that explains that sets up the basic context. In the world of Testament, the Roman Imperium has dominated the world for centuries, while people have longed for a prophesied liberator. The events of the story take place in the district of Salem, in the wake of the death of Jesus, a rogue preacher who was killed after being deemed a heretic. Although his followers fled Salem, they have recently returned, along with whispers that he has risen – leading up to the festival of Shavuot (Pentecost), when “something new began.”

We start in the house of Stephen, a young man who is celebrating Shavout with his mother, Esther, when a wind rushes through their home, putting out the candle. Hearing something strange outside, Stephen rushes out, to the dismay of his overprotective mother. Out in a plaza, he finds a crowd and meets a foreigner named Phillip, who also heard the sound. Strangely enough, they each heard a voice speaking in their own native language. Suddenly, Peter and the Apostles emerge onto a walkway above and Peter offers to explain what happened.

After the credits, we are introduced to Saul, who arrives in the dystopian-like city of Salem, watched over by faceless Imperium troops. But the Temple itself is watched by the Temple Guard, a police force that includes Mara, a young officer who is eager to prove her worth, even if it means evicting a pitiful, drug-addicted beggar like Caleb. Mara leads Saul to Gamaliel, his former teacher, who he hopes will get him a seat in the Sanhedrin, recently vacated by Yussif (of Arimathea) under mysterious circumstances.

Back in the plaza, Stephen’s mother Esther comes looking for him. But he’s not there – he’s in a big swimming pool getting baptized in a pool by one of the Apostles. Afterward, he chats more with Phillip, before being directed by the Apostles to a nearby park. Esther eventually makes her way to the park as well and has an angry confrontation with James, the Son of Zebedee, before finding Stephen and urging him to leave the followers of the “blasphemer” and come home, insisting that his father would be ashamed of him.

Meanwhile, in the Temple Guard Barracks, Mara tries to get the chauvinistic Captain Rosh of the guard to let her investigate a new stimulant drug that she found on Caleb, but he dismisses her idea almost immediately. In Mara’s absence, Esther is able to slip into the home of Gamaliel, whom she approaches for help getting Stephen away from the blasphemous Nazarenes. Saul is intrigued by the request and wants to learn more, but Gamaliel urges caution and decides to call a meeting with the other ministers.

The Temple in Salem in Episode 1 of Testament

When Gamaliel informs Caiaphas and the other ministers of the recent commotion caused by people proclaiming faith in Jesus the Nazarene, they are surprisingly not surprised or concerned. Although they balk when Esther, a woman, speaks up in their presence, they decide to use her to find the leaders of the movement and shut it down. Afterward, Gamaliel questions what Caiaphas knows that he’s keeping secret and Caiaphas agrees to tell him more in private the next day.

As evening approaches, the Apostles announce that Peter will preach the next day. They request volunteers to host new converts but urge Stephen to work things out with his mother first. He arrives home just before the Imperium-imposed curfew and mother assumes that he’s come to his senses and abandoned the movement. When he reveals he hasn’t and urges her to come hear Peter preach the next day, she flies into a rage and kicks him out of the house. 

After Stephen leaves, Imperium soldiers question why he’s out after curfew and force him to go to the Green Zone, a sector the city reserved for the homeless. There, Stephen stays with Caleb, the lame, drug-addled beggar, recently kicked out of the Temple. In the morning, they are found by Mary Magdalene and encouraged to go to the Temple for Peter’s preaching. Though Caleb has no wheelchair, Stephen puts him in a cart and pushes him.

Saul joins Captain Rosh and a police force tasked with apprehending the Apostles when they appear in the Temple, but is encouraged by Gamaliel to keep a close eye out and not to dismiss anything. This advice falls on the deaf ears of Saul, who seems unable to distinguish his book knowledge from true wisdom.

Stephen deposits Caleb outside the Temple just before the arrival of Peter and James. As they enter, Peter turns and informs Caleb that he doesn’t have money but instead commands him to rise and walk in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:4-8). He then goes on to explain to the crowd how they were able to do this, not in their own power but because of Jesus, the Messiah, whom they crucified (Acts 3:11-26). At this, the Temple Guard arrests Peter and John. Stephen is kept safe by Mary Magdalene, but locks eyes with Saul, ominously foreshadowing their fatal encounter ahead.

Testament Season 1 Episode 1 Review

Testament is part of a new wave of Bible shows and films that are following in the wake of the immense popularity and cultural acclaim of The Chosen. But while the success of The Chosen almost certainly made it possible for Bible shows like Testament or House of David to receive funding and attention, it also serves as a standard that they will inevitably be judged against. Compared to The Chosen, some recent Bible adaptations, like Netflix’s disappointing biblical-biopic, Mary, fall very short. Other Bible adaptations, like Amazon’s epic Bible-meets-Tolkien, House of David have matched or perhaps even exceeded the standard set by The Chosen. Based on the first episode alone, my guess is that Testament will fall somewhere in the middle – not quite reaching the heights of The Chosen or House of David but not missing the mark as much as Mary.

As is my usual practice, I think it’s helpful to notice what Testament does well and where it goes wrong. Let’s start with the positive:

• POV Character Choice: The decision to make Stephen and Saul our primary POV characters for season 1 of Testament is interesting and bold, given how Stephen will almost certainly die at the end of the season and Saul will play a part in it. They also both function as window characters who are unfamiliar with the Apostles and recent events need to be brought up to speed like the audience.

• Visual Worldbuilding: On what was almost certainly a limited budget compared to other near-future dystopian films/shows, Testament does a decent job of creating settings, costumes, and background noise (e.g. PA announcements) that establish the show’s world. 

• Saul’s Characterization: Testament establishes Saul as arrogant and ambitious. It seems clear that his eagerness to prove himself and earn a spot in the Sanhedrin is what will lead him to take on the early church with such fury. It’s a unique take on Saul’s motives that I’m interested in seeing. I also enjoy the mentoring relationship between Saul and the wiser and more cautious Gamaliel.

• Pacing: Episode 1 of Testament moves pretty quickly and keeps our attention. Most of its transitions feel smooth and fairly organic.

• Biblical Accuracy: Despite its speculative setting, in its biblical scenes, Testament is fairly by the book. There’s only one significant discrepancy, which I’ll address below.

  
  

Peter, James, and the Apostles in Testament

There are several aspects of Episode 1 of Testament that just don’t work for me:

• Worldbuilding, Ethnicity, & the Story of Acts: I like the idea of recasting Acts in a contemporary world with an alternate history (indeed, I played around with the idea myself when I was in high school). But the challenge of such a project is that a world that reached a contemporary level of knowledge and technology before the first advent of Christ would look very different from our own. I can suspend disbelief when clothing, names, and architecture look fairly similar to those today. But I am baffled by the show’s decision to portray God’s people (i.e. the Jews) as ethnically diverse, even before Pentecost. Now, don’t get me wrong: I’m not one of those guys who complains every time Hollywood changes the race or gender of a character in an adaptation. I’m all for increasing the diversity of casts in ways that make sense. But ethnicity is actually really important to the story of Acts. Part of what made the early church so radical and controversial was how it brought people together across the ethnic lines that divided up the ancient world. If there was as much ethnic intermingling in ancient Jerusalem as there is in Testament’s Salem, the story of Acts simply wouldn’t play out the way that it did. And making the world of the show as diverse as our own undercuts the fact that we owe our embrace of ethnic diversity to the impact of the Gospel. There are other, more plausible ways the show could introduce cast members from diverse backgrounds (just as The Chosen did) without undercutting a major element of the pre-Gospel world that plays such an important part in the story of Acts.

• More Worldbuilding Problems: Testament seems to have a similar worldbuilding problem with regard to slavery and systemic misogyny. We see no signs of slavery and only moderate levels of misogyny compared to what was present in the ancient world (Mara, the female officer, faces rude comments and a glass ceiling, but she is able to have a position of authority and respect). While these elements are a little less central to the story of Acts, they also undercut the impact of the Gospel on our world.

• Starting Point & Stephen’s Characterization: Opening immediately with the descent of the Spirit on Pentecost is a serious misstep. We get very little context for Stephen’s character – his past relationships, goals, fears, struggles, etc. As a result, he feels very vanilla – and we have little insight into why the news about Jesus is meaningful for him personally. He just seems to respond in the ways that he does because that’s what the story demands. For comparison, consider how much work Season 1 of The Chosen does to set up each of its key characters before allowing them to have an encounter with Jesus.

• Villains: The villains of Testament (not counting Saul, who functions as a central POV character) aren’t particularly enticing. None of them is as deliciously over-the-top as The Chosen Season 1’s Qunitus or as sympathetic as House of David’s Goliath. So far, they feel like fairly one-dimensional schemers (like Caiaphas) or thugs (like Captain Rosh). Stephen’s distraught and frustrated mother, while an interesting character in theory, comes across as fairly melodramatic and unappealing.

• Music and Sound: The Chosen has deployed music and sound effects in big ways at several key moments – most recently, during Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in Episode 1 of Season 5. These moments work because the emotion and hype typically feels earned. By contrast, Episode 1 of Testament employs big music and sound that feel forced. 

I may have more thoughts, but that'll do for now. Keep in mind that I offer these criticisms of Testament in a spirit of generosity and not condemnation. If you enjoyed the first episode, that’s great. I hope many people do and the show finds a level of success similar to The Chosen and House of David. But like The Chosen, I hope that it also continues to improve. The concept for the show is interesting and worth supporting so that it can grow and develop  – but it will indeed need to grow and develop before it can reach the heights of The Chosen or House of David.

---

Supporting The Bible Artist

Have my resources helped you explore and analyze Bible shows? My resources are used by thousands of Christians like you, as well as church communities and ministries across the globe. You can help my work continue through a one-time gift or recurring support*.

*Members who contribute $5/monthly or $50/annually receive access to exclusive content, including monthly blogs and pdf versions of my Bible study/discussion guides, as well as free gifts and other perks.

---