Testament Season 1 Episodes 2-4: Recap & Review
- Kevin Keating
- Jul 7
- 7 min read
Testament Episodes 2-4 continue to adapt the story of Acts, as the “early” church spreads and grows in a world where Jesus’ advent came much later than in our own, after the advent of modern technology and culture. Below I’ll offer a brief summary of the events of Testament Episode 2-4 and my thoughts on Angel’s new show.
What Happens in Testament Season 1 Episodes 2-4? (Summary)
Episode 1 ended with the Temple Guard arresting Peter and John after they healed Caleb, a lame beggar, and preached about Jesus (Acts 3:1-26). Episode 2 picks up with the imprisonment and questioning of Peter and John by the Temple leaders; after struggling with fear and the memory of his past failure, Peter responds boldly and the believers celebrate (Acts 4:1-31). Around the same time, Saul reunites with his sister and is enraged by her interest in the growing movement and Stephen is shocked when Caleb (the healed man) is unwilling to join the early church in the face of intimidation from the Sanhedrin. And, after taking Caleb’s stimulant drug away from him, Mary Magdalene briefly struggles with the temptation to return to her old life.
In Episode 3, the disciples try to keep up with the demands of their growing ministry by selling their belongings in the market and Yussif (soon renamed Barnabas) donates a new building for the burgeoning ministry (Acts 4:32-37). With the help of Mara, Saul learns of the church’s use of the market and pursues Peter, who is continuing to preach publicly despite the increased scrutiny. Meanwhile, the Sanhedrin leaders attempt to keep the news of the empty tomb hidden during a meeting with Pilate and Agrippa, while the Sentinel who was tasked with guarding the tomb tries to drown the memory of his failure with alcohol. Caleb’s rejection of Jesus causes Stephen to question the faith and he has to talk to Thomas about believing even though he can’t see Jesus (c.f. John 20:24-28). And Mary returns to the club where she used to work when she was a drug-addicted sex-worker and tries to save other young women who are getting hooked on stimulants.
Episode 4 brings us the infamous story of the false generosity and judgment of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11), who are eager to live up to the example set by Barnabas, whose old warehouse has become the new home of the church. Stephen is tasked with helping a young boy named Malachi, who just moved to Jerusalem and feels lonely and is expressing his sadness and frustration through pranks. Saul resists dreams and visions prodding him toward the church, being far too focused on beating Minister Ananias (no relation to the above) in the upcoming Sanhedrin election. His master, Gamaliel, grapples with the revelation that Jesus’ body disappeared by visiting Gethsemane, coincidentally at the same time as John, who challenges him to consider why he is being drawn to the movement. Their encounter is witnessed by Mara, after her attempt to infiltrate the church is sussed out by Susannah, and she reports it back to Saul, questioning whether his master may be a Jesus sympathizer.
Testament Season 1 Episodes 2-4 Review
Testament isn't bad, but it continues to fall short of the bar set by The Chosen. If you're a Christian viewer who just wants to see your favorite stories from the Book of Acts reproduced on screen with a slight modern twist, you may find enough to enjoy. But with over half of the first season already complete, Testament seems to have a few consistent flaws:
Breadth Without Depth: It feels like Testament is biting off more than it can chew in its first season. In Episode 1, the show wisely focused on just a few POV characters (Stephen, Saul, and Mara) and allowed the Apostles and other disciples to serve as mentors and background figures. If the show had continued with this more restrained approach (like The Chosen did in its first season), it might have had the time it needed to craft well-rounded, complex characters. Instead, Testament introduces far too many characters and storylines. As a result, many of the characters appear thinly drawn. For example, how is it that our primary POV character, Stephen, has lived in Jerusalem his entire life and yet doesn’t seem to have a job, friends (outside of the Church), or personal interests? Come to think of it, why do none of the other characters appear to have jobs, financial struggles, or other obligations? Why do Annanias and Sapphira hold back the money from the assets they sold? One of the chief goals of Testament seems to be to make the story of Acts more relevant, but relevance has less to do with modern aesthetics and technology and much more to do with crafting three-dimensional characters with clear motivations and tendencies that I can recognize in myself or others.
Oversimplification: Testament tends to reduce the complexities and tensions of church life into simplistic debates. In the face of a short-term crackdown, should the disciples continue preaching publicly or temporarily lay low and focus on discipling in private spaces? That’s an interesting question and could generate a thoughtful, two-sided conversation, but it ends with a pat answer. Jesus said preach, so that’s what we should do, in public, at all times, no matter what. The actual history of the early church and of churches facing heavy persecution is rarely that simplistic.
Self-Restrained Villains: The antagonists of Testament do very little antagonizing in the first half of the season. They spend most of the first half of season one restraining themselves and one another from taking action. As a result, there is far too little external conflict driving the story.
Performances: While there are a few characters that feel grounded and believable, the performances in Testament can sometimes feel melodramatic. While the first few seasons of The Chosen occasionally had side characters who overacted, its core group of characters have always been fairly solid. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the core characters in Testament.
Ecclesiological Projection: The church in Testament very rapidly takes on the approach and practices of a typical hip evangelical church in our own world: building-centered ministry (located in a well-lit former warehouse with exposed brick), programmatic ministry, age-segregated children’s programming (led by young adults with puppets), CCM-esque music, lots of well-dressed young adults, etc. If the creators of the show wanted to tell a story about a hip urban church plant circa 2010, they could have done that. But if you’re going to explore a church that arose in a radically different world, why make it so familiar? Testament makes these modern church practices appear far more inevitable and obvious than they actually are and smooths over the way that the church has had to develop over time.
World-building: Testament continues to be frustratingly vague about the alternate history that underlies the premise. In addition to the issues I raised in my review of episode 1, I found myself wondering why none of the religious leaders in the show wear clothing or hair resembling ancient or modern orthodox Jews (no one even wears a Yamaka). Also, I get why the show doesn’t have characters talking in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek – it’s quite acceptable for shows (like The Chosen) to invite viewers to understand that the English they are hearing is actually standing in for some other language. But the selective way that Testament employs English, Hebrew, and references to other ancient languages is a bit confusing. I’m left wondering whether English is really a stand-in for Aramaic or if Salem actually is in England.
In spite of these flaws, there are several aspects of Testament that I respect:
Biblical Accuracy: Testament continues to hew fairly close to the stories of Acts.
Performances: Like I said earlier, there are a few solid characters. The actors portraying Gamaliel, James and John, and Susannah all deliver strong performances. Stephen is generally likable, although his moments of struggle don’t always hit home.
Plot/Character Concepts: I like many of the story ingredients that Testament plays with: the healed lame man turning his back on the church in the face of persecution, Mary Magdalene helping other former sex workers, the chief priests trying to hide the news of the empty tomb from Pilate, Saul questioning whether Gamaliel is a secret sympathizer. These are intriguing concepts.
Biblical Intertextuality: We finally get some more allusions to other biblical stories that help provide context for the events of Acts – e.g. the story of Nadab and Abihu in the Tabernacle.
Audience Appeal: I am probably not the ideal audience for Testament. I don’t need someone to make Christianity seem relevant or cool. But I imagine the show might appeal to young Christians, especially teens who have a hard time seeing the connection between the modern world and events in the ancient Graeco-Roman world. Such fans may not be bothered by the lack of thorough world-building or complex characterization.
Like I said, I imagine many Christians will still enjoy Testament, and that's a good thing. We're entering into a era in which there can be a wide variety of Bible shows that appeal to diverse audiences and tastes. If you've enjoyed the show so far, don't let my criticism steal that joy. As a critic, I don't take joy in finding flaws in a show, but I do see it as a valuable service that I provide to help Christian media/creatives grow and to help Christian audiences become more discerning and self-aware. Though it isn't off to a perfect start, I hope that Testament will ultimately transcend the flaws that I've drawn attention to and become a show on-par with The Chosen or House of David.
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