From its premiere episode, The Testaments has continued to divide its viewers in quite a surprising manner of ways.
While some reviews have cuttingly said that Chase Infiniti is one of the only saving graces of the series, others have berated how long it's taking to get to the grittier aspects of Agnes's story. In my humble opinion, there are too many unjust complaints for such a well-crafted piece of television.
As with any adaptation, there will always be naysayers and those that may not agree with casting but I think we can all agree that Chase Infiniti as Agnes really is a stroke of genius. Her leading role in The Testaments shows that her turns in Presumed Innocent and One Battle After Another weren't just a stroke of luck and Infiniti is no one-hit-wonder – but episode 8 is a whole other level of astonishing as she puts on a performance worthy of a litany of awards.
Her doe-eyed fascination of the world is only one facet of her performance as Agnes, with the series thus far already excellently demonstrating Infiniti's range and impeccable face acting. We've seen Agnes reckon with her growing feelings for Garth (Brad Alexander), remain composed in spite of her heart being broken by him being engaged to Becka (Mattea Conforti) and, of course, try to make sense of being sexually assaulted by Dr Grove (Randal Edwards) whilst unconscious.
It's in episode 8, Broken, that Agnes's feelings about everything related to Dr Grove come to the fore as she learns that Hulda too has been abused. Hulda's teeth whitening appointment goes the way that viewers were quietly willing it wouldn't and, noticing a change in her friend's behaviour after their sex education lesson, Agnes pushes her friend to confide in her.
In a scene that's already incredibly emotional from the accompanying score, viewers will be hard pressed not to feel their own tears develop as Agnes says: "I'm with you, Hulda."
It's at Becka and Garth's engagement party that Dr Grove approaches Hulda and Agnes, with the interaction clearly impacting Agnes. She goes to Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) to tell her that she knows Hulda is telling the truth, but Aunt Lydia does her usual thing of acknowledging it, wrapping it up in a big Gilead religious teaching and intimating that Dr Grove will be dealt with accordingly.
Nevertheless, Infinti's poised performance as Agnes in that moment – the very first time that Agnes admits what Dr Grove has done to her to someone else – anchors everything, with her foot in our real world thinking of justice, while also remaining committed to being as picture-perfect as she's been taught in her Gilead life.
For a moment, she can't even meet Daisy's eyes as she reveals the truth but then says that Daisy is the only one she can tell, not wanting to "sully anyone else". In that scene, it's more powerful than ever to see these two young actresses at the top of their game; Halliday as straight-faced and furious Daisy while Infiniti grounds us with her almost infantile innocence.
Some of the online criticism around Infiniti has been around casting her, a 25-year-old, as the lead character. It's certainly not the first time that an adult has played a teenager, and while some think she may appear too mature to be a teenager, after this episode (and most of the season, really), Infiniti continues to proves that her handling of Agnes is masterful.
There are many things to love about the expansion of The Testaments (a sentiment coming from a lover of the original 2019 novel) but the strength of the series stands on the back of its leads. The Emmys are certainly a-calling for Infiniti, who brings Agnes to life in such a compelling way in episode 8 that it may just take your breath away.
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