THE PERFORMER | Ann Dowd
THE SHOW | Hulu’s “The Testaments”
THE EPISODE | “Stadium” (April 29, 2026)
THE PERFORMANCE | After six seasons of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and more than halfway through “The Testaments” Season 1, we thought we knew Aunt Lydia. Then came this week’s episode, which gave the masterful Ann Dowd another chance to show us not only who her character is, but how she came to her position in Gilead.
The flashback-heavy hour focused on the day Gilead rounded up the women in Lydia’s town, held them captive in a tennis stadium, and decided their fates. A “Handmaid’s” episode had previously introduced us to this version of Lydia, a school teacher who papered over emotional hurts with a highly judgmental manner and a penchant for retribution. But Dowd moved that righteous version of Lydia to the background as the fear and uncertainty about her future came to the fore.
As Lydia sat in a hard, plastic stadium seat for days, Dowd made sure the character stayed vigilant, always observing her surroundings, holding herself in reserve while many of those around her — including her co-worker, Vivian — collapsed into despair. But Dowd’s true virtuoso moment came when Lydia was called before Commander Judd and told she deserved to die for having an abortion years earlier.
In the space of a breath, Lydia’s entire manner changed. Where Dowd had steeled herself with the character’s defiance, she suddenly softened all of her angles, bending herself into any shape necessary as she wheedled to save her life. Dowd flipped on a desperate charm, flattering Judd as she scrambled to point out her usefulness. (If it looked familiar, it’s because we often saw iterations of this maneuver during her dealings with Commanders in the “Handmaid’s Tale” years.)
And then, the crushing denouement when Lydia was forced to prove her allegiance by killing her co-worker, execution-style. Just when we were sure we loathed Lydia again, Dowd brought such pathos to her character, frantically babbling on the walk out to the court as she begged God to intervene. It might not have been the lowest we’ve ever seen Lydia, but it was damn close. What a painfully human moment — and episode — from the always-excellent Dowd. — Kimberly Roots
Scroll down to see who got an Honorable Mention shout-out this week…
