Watching The Covenant feels like being invited into a story that knows it wants to be serious but has not yet decided how to tell it. The opening episodes are tense and arresting. There is violence, urgency, and the suggestion of something deeper beneath the surface. Family bonds are introduced early, and the emotional stakes feel clear enough to hold your attention. Then, gradually, the series begins to lose focus.
The plot revolves around two brothers separated by violence, with one presumed dead and the other consumed by the need to find him. That search should be the spine of the series. At its best, The Covenant remembers this. At its weakest, it drifts away from it, distracted by subplots, symbols, and narrative turns that are never fully explained or resolved.
Sola Sobowale is the most apparent reason to keep watching. She plays Stella, the family matriarch, with restraint and weight. There is nothing flashy about her performance, but it is precise. She understands when to pull back and when to let emotion surface. Even when the writing does not give her character enough clarity, Sobowale fills in the gaps with presence alone. You believe her fear, her control, and her silence. She feels like someone who understands the cost of the world she lives in.
Gideon Okeke plays Dagogo, the brother who refuses to let go of the possibility that Celestine is still alive. Okeke brings seriousness to the role, grounding it in guilt and responsibility rather than heroism. His performance works best in quieter moments, when he reacts rather than drives the story. You feel his exhaustion and his stubbornness, even when the plot around him becomes difficult to track.
Zubby Michael plays Celestine, the missing brother whose fate drives much of the tension. He brings intensity and physicality to the role, but his character lacks sufficient internal development. Celestine often feels more like an idea than a fully realised person. His actions move the plot, but his emotional logic is sometimes thin, making it harder to connect with his choices.
The supporting cast is large and familiar. Segun Arinze appears as Chief Kalu, a figure tied to the series’ spiritual and traditional elements. Ivie Okujaye plays Naomi, whose role hints at moral complexity but never fully explores it. Uzee Usman’s Scourge embodies menace and authority, but his motivations remain frustratingly vague. Actors like Bimbo Manuel, Walter Anga, Tope Olowoniyan, and Chioma Okafor fill out the world, yet many of their characters feel underwritten, introduced with purpose and then left behind.
This is where The Covenant struggles most. It wants to be layered. It introduces crime, spirituality, power, loyalty, and consequence. But instead of weaving these ideas together, it stacks them on top of each other. The result is a series that feels crowded rather than rich. Mystery becomes confusion. Ambiguity becomes lack of clarity. You are often left wondering not what will happen next, but why what just happened mattered at all.
Pacing is another issue. Some scenes stretch longer than they need to, repeating emotional beats without adding depth. Others rush through moments that should carry weight. By the time the series reaches its later episodes, the emotional rhythm feels uneven. The story does not build so much as it circles, returning to similar tensions without pushing them forward.
Technically, the series is competent. The atmosphere is dark and deliberate. The sound design and locations help sell the danger of the world these characters inhabit. There is a seriousness of intent that deserves acknowledgement. The Covenant clearly wants to be taken seriously, and in many moments, it earns that attention.
Still, intention is not execution. By the end of the season, the story feels unfinished in a way that is not entirely satisfying. Several threads are left open, and the resolution feels more like a pause than a conclusion. This may be partly intentional, as a second season has already been confirmed and is currently in development. Knowing that more episodes are coming helps explain some of the narrative looseness, but it does not entirely excuse it.
As a first season, The Covenant feels like a draft that made it to the screen. There are strong ideas here, strong actors, and moments that work. But there is also a lack of narrative discipline that holds the series back. It does not trust its strongest elements enough, and instead keeps reaching for more.
Perhaps if season two sharpens the storytelling and commits more fully to its characters, The Covenant could grow into something more substantial. For now, it remains a series defined as much by what it almost does as by what it actually achieves.
Release date: December 12, 2025
Epis0des: 5
Runtime: Approximately 1 hour per episode
Streaming Service: Netflix
Directed by: Dimeji Ajibola
Casts: Sola Sobowale, Gideon Okeke, Zubby Michael, Segun Arinze, Ivie Okujaye, Uzee Usman, Bimbo Manuel, Walter Anga, Tope Olowoniyan, Chioma Okafor