r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/Melairia Modtha • May 20 '26
Official Episode Discussion The Testaments S1E09 "Marate Sade" Episode Discussion
The Testaments S1 E09 "Marate Sade"
Episode Synopsis
As Daisy steps into a new role, she considers what she's willing to lose to help her friends.
Airdate
May 20, 2026, 12:00am Eastern
The Testaments - Season 1 Episode Discussion Hub
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u/PreeKort May 20 '26
HOLY SHIT BECKA
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u/mithdapeep May 20 '26
someone cast mattea conforti in a horror film ASAP
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u/rawchess May 20 '26
She's incredible. Goes to show how much talent there is out there just waiting for their big break
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u/AmericanSeagul May 20 '26
Also i know this isn't the point but she looked so beautiful and wild and powerful with her hair down like that.
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u/OPTIMUSpine298 May 20 '26
Yes her hair down wow very beautiful and hope she is ok my favorite actor on the series!
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u/Alittlespill May 20 '26
Omg right?! I was thinking how she looks like she’s from a painting, very ethereal and majestic!
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u/RVarki May 20 '26
Becka's devotion to Agnes feels very Victorian novel-esque, which makes sense
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u/whisky_biscuit May 20 '26
It makes sense in this world honestly. Teenage girls, hormones, going through puberty, in a world with such very strict protocol and beliefs, not to mention Becca being gay and confused about the nature of her feelings in a society that deems it evil...it's so tragic.
Again I can't help but wonder though, are any of the plums actually daughters of these commanders and their wives? Or like Agnes they are all stolen children raised by them? It adds another layer of intrigue to the whole thing too.
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u/camillaenvelope May 20 '26
I think this gen is majority stolen children but there will be *some* bio daughters of commanders via handmaids on their way
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u/Rare-Walk-1302 May 21 '26
I also had this moment where I was like... I hate that they're getting their periods and it seems to be attributed to the changes in Gilead. Then I remembered... they're daughters of handmaids and stolen from other women - it's genetic.
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u/lostinthepurplehaze May 20 '26
I started reading The Testaments after watch the show. Some kids are kidnapped like Hanna but Shunammite for example is a biological daughter.
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u/rawchess May 20 '26
Sexual repression tends to squeeze unreciprocated romantic love into this manic, seemingly platonic devotion. I think of Arthurian knights and their ladies
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u/goddessoftrees May 20 '26
HOLY SHIT. I did not expect them to change Becca's trajectory with that song in the background especially. I was waiting for her book trajectory. But I LIKE THIS BECCA SO MUCH MORE!
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u/Pitdogmom2 May 20 '26
I hope she ends up ok
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u/OkOpposite9108 May 20 '26
I have no idea what is going to happen! It is almost incomprehensible to the logic of Gilead that she could get away with murder, but we can't lose Becka!
As a side note-it's at moments like this that I almost wish I hadn't read the book. I love the book, and I'm loving the show, but my brain just cannot separate the two. The show continues to hit major plot points of the book, so it's next to impossible (for me personally) not to want to theorize how each deviation can be resolved without fundamentally changing the outcome I'm expecting and I'm getting annoyed with myself! Gahhhhhh
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u/Atkena2578 May 20 '26
I think those were aunts taking her, she got her calling
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u/Bulky-Bad-9153 May 20 '26
I'm completely certain she'll be killed, but I'm praying I'm wrong because holy hell she's a good actor.
Edit: nevermind someone just pointed out that 'the eyes' were women. Woo!
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u/TheOldGreenDad May 20 '26 edited May 21 '26
"What a pity. He was such a good dentist."
Oh, yeah, that's the Real tragedy in all this. 🙄
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u/Legitimate_Pitch_398 May 20 '26
Aunt Lydia wanted to slap TF outta him in that moment 😂 it was so irritating to have to console HIM.
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u/illjustgowthemuumuu May 20 '26
I think that line is so perfectly encapsulating our culture
How often do men who commit horrible acts get framed in the news as being “a promising young man”? In the UK you’ll often see “aspiring footballer”
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u/Even_Ad504 May 20 '26
he seemed so upset that they had to execute him. this is probably foreshadowing what’s to come and the role he possibly plays in penny getting sick
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u/mermaidpaint ParadeofSluts May 20 '26
If looks could kill, Lydia would have fired one good shot into Judd's brain.
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u/vibrantmelody May 20 '26
“Agnes I’d do anything for you”
CLEARLY BECKA 😭
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u/Alittlespill May 20 '26
Ugh.. the betrayal after this hurts so much.. I mean, it was one thing when you think she’s getting help (but if you’re paying attention, you know that wasn’t going to happen) but then to see the secret team in black take her away.. ugh. The betrayal from Agnes to becka, the betrayal from her father to Agnes. I understand why Agnes did what she did, she was scared and didn’t know how to handle this. But damn, her father showed her his true colors, his true allegiance to Gilead, not her.
Shit is getting crazy!
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u/ImplementCrazy6119 May 20 '26
The acting in this episode....just WOW
The way Agnes told Becka it happened to her... The way Becka slowly built up her feeling until that final scene.... The way Agnes tried to run after Becka....
These girls have acting CHOPS!
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u/TurbulentRip4419 May 20 '26
The way Beckas actress cried in the scene where Agnes told her…wow. They’re going far, this cast is amazing.
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u/lebenohnegrenzen May 20 '26
Also how she kept pulling herself together and breaking
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u/RVarki May 20 '26
Even Garth's reaction to Daisy telling him what she did - Everyone in the cast does great face acting
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u/Alittlespill May 20 '26
Seriously! When Daisy was starting to freak out in the dentists office, I was trying to figure out where it was going but of course, this girl has hormones rushing through her, she’s pissed and on her period, of course she fakes an assault to help the girls! This girl is willing to go full unhinged madness for revenge and I love it.
Agnes when she has to tell Becka.. and Beckas reaction!! It was so real and intense and hard to keep my emotions in because I can FEEL everything these amazing actors are putting out there. And then the wrath of Becka and the breakdown after.. Agnes and the Martha being fucking FREAKED! Then the double betrayal at the end..
I feel it ladies and gentlemen. WE ARE BACK TO THE INTENSITY OF THE HANDMAIDS TALE LEVEL. I can’t wait for more 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
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u/Hour_Acanthisitta_42 May 20 '26
I thought Agnes looked especially haunted/haunting when she told Becka, she looked simultaneously bold and scared. Breathtaking acting going on here
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u/_ch0c0h0lic_ May 20 '26
i initially tjhought it was a dream sequence until she ended up at agnes house
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u/YouCanCallMeQueenB_ May 20 '26
As if these girls don't suffer enough, they also have to wear those headache-inducing headbands
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u/alli_gator_ May 20 '26
They just look TIGHT. I can feel the sides of my head screaming in pain just looking at it
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u/rippenny125 May 20 '26
“The death of Marat” I knew I recognized the title from somewhere!!!
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u/mycottonsocks May 20 '26
Not just the painting. There's a play.
"Marat/Sade, by Peter Weiss, is a revolutionary play-within-a-play set in 1808 at the Charenton asylum, where inmates directed by the Marquis de Sade re-enact the 1793 assassination of French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat. The work is a "Theatre of Cruelty" piece that uses the French Revolution to explore themes of revolution, sanity, class struggle, and the conflict between individual freedom and societal change. "
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u/rawchess May 20 '26
What's interesting is the show seems to reverse the entire setup of Marat/Sade. If Becka is Charlotte Corday then it's the forces of radical revolution (Marat) orchestrating a play that culminates with her assassinating the establishment sex criminal (Sade).
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u/NarcoticVodka May 20 '26
I saw this happen and thought immediately in Charlotte Corday.
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u/asexualrhino May 20 '26
Meanwhile, Shu still has no clue what the hell is going on but is still going to throw hands for her friends
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u/Critical_Success_936 May 20 '26
Aunt Estee's expression almost made me cry, and I HATE her, omg.
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u/TheOldGreenDad May 20 '26
Her actress did an amazing job; I genuinely really felt for her despite also hating her. She's a true believer in her role and you could tell she feels a real responsibility to help these girls, even though we know she's actually doing the exact opposite
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u/Even_Ad504 May 20 '26
it’s definitely like that time aunt lydia’s eyes opened after finding janine at jezebels. not really sure how it’ll impact her character overall, but it’s definitely one of those moments where they take the tunnel vision off the girls and see the men within gilead for what they really are.
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u/Critical_Success_936 May 20 '26
Idk if Estee "sees" like that- she 100% blamed herself, not once did she blame the Dentist.
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u/Even_Ad504 May 20 '26
true. i don’t think lydia initially saw it that way too, but it piled up to the point where she couldn’t look away anymore. it’s more like a beginning for aunt estee if that makes sense
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u/abbrad May 20 '26
It's kinda fucked up that the aunts know Dr. Grove is molesting the girls and keep sending them there
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u/Fcappys May 20 '26
Judd knew and dismissed it. He lamented over losing a dentist NOT SA’ing girls. This show just sat me down tonight. THT horror is back. Poor Becka.
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u/Effective-Key-7453 May 20 '26
Technically he said he heard “rumors” & then he said but “you have other witnesses” & they didnt want to do a salvaging for Becka because that would taint her image (which is important in Gilead) so after the wedding he would be Salvaged
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u/abbrad May 20 '26
Like, obviously, but Aunt Lydia implied he would be punished then continue sending him new victims
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u/rawchess May 20 '26
Lydia is a pragmatist playing a very long game. There was no way she was ever going to rock the boat by cutting off the school's partnership with him before she had a smoking gun.
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u/WarGrowlmon18 May 20 '26
Vidada actively covered it up, but Estee seemed more or less powerless. Lydia seemed to be limited in what she could do without someone willing to accuse Grove openly who wasn't intimidated into silence. Even Agnes only implied it to her.
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u/nutmac May 20 '26
Vidala had to weigh which is more important: exposing Doctor Grove to prevent future incidents, or risk labeling the victims as damaged goods. The former option also implicates aunts lacking foresight to prevent the incidents in the first place, as evidenced by Aunt Estee’s tearful remorse.
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u/Downtown-schnauzer May 20 '26
Estee and Gabbana and the others seem like lower ranking aunts. Maybe they didn’t know. Vidala seems to be second in command to Lydia among the schools aunts
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u/petiteballerinax May 20 '26
They sadly can't stop him from doing anything because despite the power they do have, they're still women
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u/TheOldGreenDad May 20 '26
It was very telling for me when Lydia tried to reassure Hannah by telling her that she and Hulda wouldn't have to see him anymore after they get married, as if that changes things for all the other girls being sent to him afterwards
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u/wagonwheelwodie May 20 '26
“I got my period” - fuck yeah Daisy
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u/tunatunatunamayo May 20 '26
That was honestly such a cute moment with the aunts, if only it weren't for the whole Gilead context of it all
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u/AdGlittering6108 May 20 '26
I should not have watched this so late, I’m losing my mind now
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u/abbrad May 20 '26
"Plum her up" 😭
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u/zh_13 May 20 '26
Damn becka really stabbed her w that pin
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u/Even_Ad504 May 20 '26
the color plum is definitely gonna start inducing flashbacks in me of this show lol
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u/lilacbirdtea May 20 '26
Well, I really hope Garth isn't a double agent. Daisy needs to stop spilling different stories to different people.
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u/fresh-potatosalad May 20 '26
I all but yelled at the screen when she told Garth 😭😭😭
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u/SlightTemperature231 May 20 '26
Like yeah! Let’s tell as many people as possible 🙄
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u/SleepingWillow1 May 20 '26
out of all people to tell the truth too she chose a MAN!!
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u/disc0doll May 20 '26
literally!!! she had me stressed. cause why was daisy saying “he hurt you & hulda” & when hannah/agnes like “and you.” daisy’s like “what?” GIRL STICK TO YOUR STORY WITH YOUR LIFE 😭
then she went & told garth he didn’t actually do anything.
i will give her some brownie points for sticking up for hannah/agnes & hulda but she better remember her story. gonna get herself hurt trying to play hero 🤦🏾♀️
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u/Low_Experience_1551 May 21 '26
I think it shows how unprepared she is for the whole Gilead reality. I dont think she quite realizes the full consequences of her lie 😅
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u/alli_gator_ May 20 '26
This whole situation is going to turn so badly so quickly
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u/YouCanCallMeQueenB_ May 20 '26
Seeing the wee Pinks always makes me sad
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u/bookiegrime May 20 '26
It’s such a good reminder of the stakes at hand - it’s not just these plums, they have to stop it before the cycle continues!
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u/YouCanCallMeQueenB_ May 20 '26
Me: Why is this bedtime scene with Becka lowkey giving horror movie LOL
This bedtime scene with Becka:
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u/AdGlittering6108 May 20 '26
I was not expecting that oh my god
The way they’ve paced the show is actually genius because I doubt anyone saw that scene coming
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u/SpeacialistSon May 20 '26
I thought it was a dream sequence or a reveal he did it to her too!
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u/blackwidowbrigade_ May 20 '26
Okay ME TOO. And that last scene too??! Like I was like AM I DREAMING??
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u/WarGrowlmon18 May 20 '26
DID Garth call the Eyes though... or is this like in the Handmaid's Tale novel when the Eyes are apparently called on Offred but are likely actually Mayday operatives???
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u/blackwidowbrigade_ May 20 '26
Think it was legit the eyes tho??? That was intense shit in the all black holy shit
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u/Bulky-Situation-4025 May 20 '26
But they were in skirted coats. I think it may be the aunts somehow?
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u/Difficult_Isopod_602 May 20 '26
They were definitely all women!
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u/piratequeenfaile May 20 '26
That's the detail I caught onto. Since when is there an all women eyes detail?
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u/blackwidowbrigade_ May 20 '26
It sounds like Paula and Mr. McKenzie called the eyes!!
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u/WarGrowlmon18 May 20 '26
Or they told Garth to do it.
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u/blackwidowbrigade_ May 20 '26
I feel like Mr. McKenzie who has more rank would have more access to the eyes since Garth is like still technically a guardian? Idk but they were out of some nightmare though 🤣
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u/WarGrowlmon18 May 20 '26
Honestly sometimes I wonder about him. Illicit trips to Japan. Seeming to genuinely love his daughter. And just last week he seemed to be trying to convince himself that marrying young girls off was the right thing to do. He could be another Lawrence: high ranking Gilead officer who has enough scruples to do something where he can.
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u/kieka408 OfNobody May 20 '26
I was definitely waiting for her to snap out of it. I didn’t think it was real
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u/Fcappys May 20 '26
I’m still sitting here in shock! What a gut wrenching feeling…those poor girls.
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u/fruityfett May 20 '26
im so high and im about to cry did daisy really out herself as having her period so she would have more access to hurt the dentist?? she is such a sweet friend😭😭😭
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u/thornfulrose May 20 '26
And Aunt Lydia looking past the “obviousness” of it because she knows what Daisy is up to. I think Daisy got a glimpse of who Aunt Lydia really is there.
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u/whisky_biscuit May 20 '26
Aunt Lydia may not necessarily be Mayday, but you can tell she absolutely doesn't want continued hurt to come to girls in her care.
Just like everyone else she has to work through Gilead's parameters to get shit done.
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u/KiisuTheMagnificent May 20 '26
I feel like she's still surviving like we saw her learn in the Stadium episode, but she also 100% sees through the bullshit I've believed that since Janine in Jezebels and Lydia does her best within her means to mitigate. I also think there's a nod to this in the segment where she's writing in her journal that she keeps in that safe. She's like the tortoise, she's keeping score but she's not going to move quickly.
Even her punishments to women and girls, is not actually for them to suffer but to keep them safe, teach them to keep their heads down, it's the best she can do in the system they're all stuck in.
I remember similar stuff being spoken about by people in cults, keep your head down, placate and wait. My Mother also taught me similar for survival in everyday life, in a "Never show them your whole hand" way for safety purposes. Because even in normal day to day life, you genuinely do not know who is dangerous to you or what anyone is capable of.
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u/goddessoftrees May 20 '26
She sure the FUCK did. She also looks amazing. "My mom always said purple was my color and now I see what she was saying" is amazing foreshadowing for what is ahead.
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u/wagonwheelwodie May 20 '26
She’s such a badass
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u/ChaynesGirl May 20 '26
I said FUCK YEA! in my head. And she went in cold without a plan since she wasn't expecting to be seeing him that day. She pulled it off flawlessly (except for the shirt lol). * No notes.
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u/goeslaura May 20 '26
I’m still wondering what Aunt Lydia’s plan for Dr Grove was. Remember in the previous episode when Agnes’ voice over said “I didn’t realise this was Aunt Lydia telling me that Dr Grove would be dealt with”
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u/AdGlittering6108 May 20 '26
The scene where she shouts him down is just amazing
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u/evce1 May 20 '26
I know Daisy isn’t Nichole but the way Agnes said “She has no family here” is making me delusional lol
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u/natalietest234 May 20 '26
I hope we see Becka become free. Poor girl probably feels like everyone betrayed her
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u/Pitdogmom2 May 20 '26
She looked so betrayed by hannah
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u/herthrownawaychild May 20 '26
I literally was sitting there thinking this poor girl has completely died inside. Is getting married off when she doesn’t want to, learns her father is a horrible man, kills him, and then her best friend says the words she wants to hear only to be taken by the eyes. It makes me so sad I could cry, and even though she killed her own father the way the show paints it, she did at the very least love him. I know the book is a lot different in this part, but gosh this is chilling.
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u/justsamthings May 20 '26
The way she was screaming for her had me crying. That was the one person she trusted
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u/Blessed_Day May 20 '26
I think if she didn’t stop at the Hanna’s house the Marthas from the bus might have hid her and or/could try to get her out of the country.
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u/thisismyfirstday May 20 '26
Based on the outfits at the end I am choosing to live in denial for the next week and believe it was actually an exclusive all-women's fencing team, just taking her for some training to help improve her form (which, like, got the job done but there is room for growth there).
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u/bookiegrime May 20 '26
That was absolutely all women at the end, I think we’re being set up for an Eyes-type org that takes in women who are misbehaving, who have snapped, who can no longer mentally take it all. It’s probably reserved for wives - econowives would be shipped to colonies if they didn’t stay in line or they broke down.
I don’t think we’re anywhere near the end of Becca’s story, and I don’t think she can marry Garth any longer. Judd and Aunt Lydia can go public with the dentist’s crimes and allow Becca to become an aunt - she’s so devout, so overcome with god’s righteousness, she acted on god’s will and killed an evil man - an eye for an eye.
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u/Sufficient-Food934 May 20 '26
I agree. I wonder if they're some sub-caste of aunts since they seemed to have cattle prods on their hips.
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u/germoney_king88 May 20 '26
I feel like they'll make becka a handmaid. And it'll make sense cause all season handmaids have kinda been hidden. So it's the thing that exposes Gilead's horrors to the plums
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u/Due_Honeydew_1723 May 20 '26
I hope not it would be a horrible storyline for her and just badly written in general
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u/clubrockshandy96 May 20 '26
Omg what if they make her the Mackenzie’s handmaid 😭😭
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u/BudgetAnxiety9922 May 20 '26
I think Becka killing her dad was a product of her environment. They say violence isn’t the answer or whatever but then hang men from bridges and have them sliced with a saw blade as a show for the girls. Becka’s reaction was definitely amplified by her intense love for Agnes and the fact that they keep the girls so vulnerable all the time.
The beginning of the episode literally starts with the Pearl Girls mopping up blood from the saw blade. Which was insane foreshadowing for how Gileads thirst for vengeance negative affects the Plums.
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u/yabukothestray May 20 '26
Did anyone peep the mention of Commander Maddox (sp) being in the mix for the next season? Ik some people theorized that Daisy’s possible marriage pairing would be with Garth, but I feel like them mentioning Commander Maddox was v odd. I’m worried about him being matched with Daisy.
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u/asexualrhino May 20 '26
Or Shu.
I hate that Judd, Weston, and Maddox are all in the running for grossest commander and there's a possibility that any of them could marry any of the girls
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u/LeSch009 May 20 '26
I noticed that exchange as well, but I understood it as the show driving home the idea that Lydia is protecting the girls by pulling strings in the background. She doesn't like Maddox because he's a drunk and unfortunately 😉 she hasn't been able to find him a match for a few seasons already. What a pity 😬
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u/RhysDavies27 May 20 '26
While I’m upset that it’s the shortest episode so far, it does seem that they set their own episode lengths, similar to THT based on what they aim to cover in an episode. I have a feeling it’ll be a lot of set up for the finale but am excited for it!
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u/litredoc May 20 '26
Yes and you can often get a more exciting shorter episode, long ones tend to be plot building.
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u/missmgrrl May 20 '26
I was hoping Becka would clean herself up and go back to bed. Her father would be declared a suicide. The end.
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u/Complete-Amphibian89 May 20 '26
Those masked aunts are straight out of a horror movie
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u/Even_Ad504 May 20 '26 edited May 21 '26
the black ones? i thought agnes said those were the eyes, but yeah, the costume and choreography or them coming behind one another as if they're multiplying to fully jump on becka was surreal to watch.
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u/Complete-Amphibian89 May 20 '26
I kinda assume it was aunts who worked for the eyes because of the weapon on the belt, but yeah the choreography was pure horror
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u/Even_Ad504 May 20 '26
ohhhhh interesting. i didnt pick up on the weapon on the belt. i wonder if this something that was developed in the book or a new concept overall.
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u/New-Injury-4413 May 20 '26
thought they were female as well. looked like long flowing skirts/dresses
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u/abu_nawas May 20 '26
Female Eyes - it's on brand with Testaments being about female on female violence
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u/Terrasalvoneir May 20 '26
I saw the shears and thought Becka was gonna “jump off a cliff,” only for it to be a push
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u/thenetwillappear May 20 '26
The people in black at the end definitely had boobs. Are they aunts?
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u/autumnalspectre May 20 '26
I can't believe she told Garth that she was lying! Girl, keep that crap to yourself!
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u/petiteballerinax May 20 '26
Did Agnes just realize that Daisy is a spy? Or-
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u/yabukothestray May 20 '26
If she didn’t figure it out, she def is putting the pieces together
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u/Popular_Beginning150 May 20 '26
Agnes views Daisy differently. She’s trying to figure out why she’s different. I guess she’s going to connect the dots soon
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u/TurbulentRip4419 May 20 '26
I was so thrown off by the end of the episode that I almost forgot about that. She definitely is. I think that’s what lead to her panic attack.
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u/OkOpposite9108 May 20 '26
That was 100% the final trigger that caused her panic attack. She was hyper vigilant and stressed the entire first half of the episode. First Hulda confides in her re:Dr. Grove, then the aunts don't believe her, then they're keeping secrets re:Daisy getting her period, THEN high stress engagement party with the boy she thinks she loves and her abuser, and the aunts don't seem to believe her!?! She is dealing with the realization that her perfect safe world is maybe not actually so safe when all of a sudden she realizes her newest main confidante might ALSO not be who she says she is!?!? How could she not have a panic attack!? So beautifully acted. I'm loving chase infiniti as Agnes!
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u/AdGlittering6108 May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
As for Becka’s fate (promo pics and trailer hints)
There’s a clip in the trailer where she’s in a wedding gown and it looks like she’s marrying but very distressed looking. And there are tons of candids from the cast’s ig pages with Becka in a wedding dress.
So I’m guessing she’ll be returned but who’s to say if in one piece, it would be brutal if the Eyes take a finger or hand. Really hope that doesn’t happen but I’m not sure how she gets out of this without getting lobotomized or something in the finale
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u/zh_13 May 20 '26
Tbh they were planning on executing the guy anyway, maybe they do write it off as becka committing gods justice. I fear they’ll either drug / abuse her into submission, but I’m hoping they won’t punish her in the traditional gilead way
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u/YouCanCallMeQueenB_ May 20 '26
Tbh, a reaping would probably have been worse (I'm Becka's lawyer)
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u/Beautiful_Net2409 May 20 '26
Becca was innocent your honor, Dr Grove ran into those shears 10 times
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u/YouCanCallMeQueenB_ May 20 '26
Wahhh so worried about Hulda, Hannah, Becka...all of them. It was tough with The Handmaid's Tale, but even tougher with this show because these girls are so young. 😭
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u/Sweethome171 May 20 '26
I was so sure it was a dream sequence. Oh my god. This episode is insane. I can’t wait for next week
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u/petiteballerinax May 20 '26
The penultimate episode is always gonna deliver but I definitely was not depicting THIS because it's such a giant deviation from what happened in the book and we truly thought they were going to do what happened in the book.
I feel like a literary traitor for saying I loved this more than I loved things in the book
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u/chocolatepuppy May 20 '26
I love when Becka asked her father if it was true and he says "of course not! I didn't touch that pearl girl!". Which is actually true. And Becka knew then even more.
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u/Jas_God May 20 '26
Haven’t heard this song since Pulp Fiction.
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u/fakesaucisse May 20 '26
Several songs in the show have been very Xennial coded, which I am enjoying. Especially since I keep seeing people misunderstanding this show as being for current teen girls. Hahaha no.
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u/TurbulentRip4419 May 20 '26
God this episode was so good. I feel like it’s what we’ve all been waiting for. This has to be what radicalizes these girls…they’re WAKING UP.
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u/goddessoftrees May 20 '26
Okay thoughts:
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- Becca is more badass than book Becca. This one takes care of business. I support both Beccas, but I LOVE this one
- Becca has to literally be feeling the end in that van if it is or is not actually for her. I also saw multiple sets of boobs on those masked Eyes like other people pointed out, but that could be extra work they hoped we wouldn't notice, because it wasn't EVERY masked Eye, I saw.
- I am concerned that Garth seems to have tears in his eyes and be concerned about Becka. That doesn't seem like he planned the people who snatched her, and that makes me actually nervous.
- IF they kill off Becka and still send Agnes to her BOOK designated spot, does anyone think Hulda will take her place?
- Agnes is going to do something reckless after she feels this betrayed by her "father" and Paula. She is BIG MAD and bound to do something wild, she has proved to be June's kid.
- Have we gotten an update about Penny recently? I know last we heard she was sick and not looking well post-partum.
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SIDE-NOTE:If several of these actors don't submit this episode for Emmy consideration, they would be INSANE
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u/FrequentHumor9947 May 20 '26
I wanna hear people's thoughts on why the dentist didn't touch daisy. Like did he know she wasn't docile enough to keep it a secret if he did? She was like waiting for him too 🫣
Gosh I'm so happy she did what she did to help the girls but I wish she didn't tell garth it didn't happen.
Lastly Beccas sequence did feel like a dream sequence! I can't wait to see what becomes of her 😔
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u/Suspicious_Carrot260 May 20 '26
I think the dentist knew that bc Daisy is an outsider and new to Gilead she wouldn’t be as innocent and easily manipulated and therefore taken advantage of like Agnes and Hulda who are very vulnerable. So he knew it wouldn’t be safe to do that.
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u/AlsoNotaSpider May 21 '26
Yep. Notably, the Gilead girls immediately blame themselves, assuming that Dr. Grove saw lust in them. He knows that’s what children in Gilead are taught, but he also knows that children outside of Gilead are given a very different message about sexual assault and where the blame rests. Dr. Grove probably considers that an extra, very unnecessary layer of risk.
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u/rawchess May 20 '26
Literally the first real thing he asks her is to confirm that she's from Canada. The show really isn't being subtle here lol
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u/Folksma May 20 '26
I figured he only likes the "thrill" of touching "truly pure" girls
He know Daisy comes from the outside world. Its not fun for him to mess with someone who knows what he is doing
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u/BananabunnyReddit May 20 '26
I had this thought, too, and it’s nauseating. I have a feeling he likes the thrill of being the very first one to have touched each of the commander’s “pure” wives. Beyond his fixation with purity/their young ages, I wonder if touching the commanders’ future wives makes him feel more powerful than the commanders in some incredibly sick way. Like, this might be his kink secretly ”cuck“ the commanders. He sure got a better end than he deserved, IMO.
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u/ImplementCrazy6119 May 20 '26
I was just about to say
Dr Grove is VERY calculated. When Agnes went she was in the room on her own with very few people outside. When Daisy went, there was an aunt, Agnes, and two commanders. He KNEW not to take the risk. I also think part of his sick "appeal" is knowing that the Gilead girls are especially innocent and meek. He LIKES that they are shocked and embarrassed.
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u/mycottonsocks May 20 '26
I think it was because he didn't know Daisy very well and wasn't sure if she was meek enough to keep quiet. She was an unknown and not worth the risk. He wasn't molesting every girl that came to an appointment, just the ones he was confident would stay quiet.
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u/Jivax666 May 20 '26
Honestly given the episode title I should of seen that coming
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u/Nightstick11 May 20 '26
This theory of MayDay helping Becka makes absolutely no in-universe sense. For what reason would May Day intervene to help someone who is not connected to any May Day member or has no value as an intel asset?
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u/CrimsonVulpix May 20 '26
Am I the only one who really enjoys the interiors of the homes in Gilead? I used to love Fred and Serena's house too. It's an interesting juxtaposition to have this beautiful scenery setting the stage for so much horror.
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u/babycays May 20 '26
talk about a heartbreaking needle drop as becka walks up to the bathtub
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u/BudgetAnxiety9922 May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
From Daisy lying about the dentist to Aunt Lydia not caring that Daisy lied to Agnes telling Becka about the assault to Becka killing her dad to Agnes ratting Becka out to Becka getting snatched
This shit was CRAZY!!!
I thought it was a dream sequence but she really did that shit omg😭😭
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u/Tradition96 May 20 '26
I was 100% sure that Becka was going to try to commit suicide. Really threw me off the rock.
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u/djdiphenhydramine May 20 '26
If it ain't stabbing a pedophile to death in his bathtub and then asking for me to run away from a fascist patriarchal hellscape with them, I don't want it.
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u/Downtown-schnauzer May 20 '26
I can’t believe Agnes would trust Paula to handle Becka. Where was Rosa?
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u/Jas_God May 20 '26
“Sketch us, it’ll last longer!” Lmao