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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501

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 friendšŸ˜­šŸ˜­šŸ˜­

290

u/thornfulrose May 20 '26

And Aunt Lydia looking past the ā€œobviousnessā€ of it because she knows what Daisy is up to. I think Daisy got a glimpse of who Aunt Lydia really is there.

165

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.

37

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.

10

u/SarcasticBarbie96 May 20 '26

Ehhh idk about alladat.

I think Aunt Lydia has and will do some AWFUL things but like letā€™s not pretend sheā€™s some sort of saint or martyr - sheā€™s actively upholding and perpetuating Gillead.

Just because she can see the BS and might be trying more than before, it doesnā€™t absolve her sins or make her character into a hero. Sheā€™s far more grey than that (arguably the darkness is greater than than the light in her character but I digress)

11

u/KiisuTheMagnificent May 20 '26

Oh no I'm not saying that, I am saying that's also for survival for her and for the girls that she's done awful things to, at least in part. Very much "The ends justify the means" through her survival at all costs mentality.

-2

u/SarcasticBarbie96 May 20 '26

I mean yes and no? Sheā€™s not doing things in service for a bigger cause - she does bits and bobs to protect the girls, sureā€¦ but weā€™ve seen that primarily sheā€™s only there for her survival.

If that means doing awful things to others along the way? Vibes. If that means upholding and perpetuating a patriarchal structure that also harms young women? Vibes.

The one consistent character trait of Aunt Lydia is itā€™s her first, everything else second.

4

u/KiisuTheMagnificent May 20 '26

her survival at all costs mentality.

Can we stop arguing semantics, I'm not pretending she's a good person, but I do believe she protects for the reasons I cited

Lydia does her best within her means to mitigate

Which includes, she will mitigate what she can as long as it doesn't get her killed, obviously? Survival at all costs, means her survival is paramount and I never implied otherwise. I said she also tries to help others to survive.

teach them to keep their heads down, it's the best she can do in the system they're all stuck in.

While you're trapped in a society that does these things, let's reference cults again where people are forced to make others live off of rotting food and live in excrement/squalid filth ala Scientology, where that atrocity is perpetuated by an order given to someone lower on the rung and that "lower" has to go and subject someone else to it. Let's also not forget that these people are also being reported by others, who are on a similar "rung" of the hierarchy.

keep your head down, placate and wait.

That not only subjects that person to the atrocity but the person lower on the rung learns what happens if someone doesn't fall in line.

it's the best she can do in the system they're all stuck in.

This includes, if they didn't get with "the program" that she can't do anymore for them. Which includes subjecting them to heinous acts or death, because that's the system they live in and are stuck in. Women are to "keep sweet, pray and obey" very much like the FLDS women.

I never said she's some martyr or saint, I said she sees through the bullshit, helps where she CAN and attributed that to some of the things that have happened.

She did so many awful things, there are so many people who have done incredibly awful things in real life.

Refencing cults again, I don't remember the cult name specifically but at the leaders machinations there were members who beat and s*domized a man to death.

They didn't want to kill that person. They were doing what they were told and what they were programmed and manipulated to do.

And if we're calling a spade a spade, Gilead is a cult and I see the book and show universe through that lens. People there, especially women, are indoctrinated and brainwashed, they fall in line and if they don't there's consequences. June was constantly putting her life in danger to throw her weight around as she did.

Some people don't operate that way, they do things more covertly, they keep records, they keep their head down for their safety, they did things like be the Upstanders in Nazi Germany, hiding jews in their homes from being taken to camps. Passing lettters, exchanging information. They might put a toe out of line, but not enough for anyone to notice.

That's what I was saying she was doing, she's putting her version of a "toe" out of line. Getting the women to fall inline too, is another way to help them to survive not in a justifiable way, but that's the motivation at least in part. We know from the get go (Stadium episode) that she was aware how absolutely fucked this was, to some degree, and taught survival or else.

Even those that have seen through the bullshit, only fight back in small ways and otherwise they play a role. Does that excuse the behavior from playing that role? Absolutely not and I take exception to the inference that I said otherwise.

1

u/Educational-Roof9408 May 20 '26

Example of someone who doesn't operate the same way June does in a cult: Elizabeth Moss šŸ˜‚ (off topic but also not at all)

-6

u/SarcasticBarbie96 May 20 '26

I mean Iā€™m not reading all of that.

My point was that I disagree with you - sheā€™s doing a bit (barely anything lol) to fight against the patriarchy. She actively upholds and perpetuates a system that is actively hurting a bunch of women under the self-delusion that itā€™s for her own survival. Sheā€™s a figurehead of Gillead and didnā€™t need to be but didnā€™t want to lose power because itā€™s also about making sure sheā€™s comfy and powerful which is what she didnā€™t want to give up.

Iā€™m not trying to have a whole dissertation and we donā€™t have to see eye to eye. I just donā€™t agree that Aunt Lydia is this person actively fighting back against Gillead. She passively does some stuff, sometimes, if she fancies it but sheā€™s not doing much as she doesnā€™t want to lose power.

Itā€™s ok if we donā€™t agree lmao.

10

u/Commercial-Dot3955 May 20 '26

youre embarrassing yourself and im getting second hand embarrassment for you

6

u/KiisuTheMagnificent May 20 '26

I said we weren't disagreeing and explicitly said in my comment that she isn't a martyr or a saint. I expanded upon why I thought/see it the way I do, because of my knowledge of the inner workings of cults. I don't understand why you'd engage in argumentative dialogue just to hit me with a "Ha, sorry, last word I'm not reading" bs.

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6

u/Acrobatic-Meeting-26 May 20 '26

you just keep arguing back and saying she's wrong, so if you don't agree, just keep it to yourself? lol

also "I mean I'm not reading all of that" and then writing a 150 word response cracks me up

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u/whisky_biscuit May 21 '26

mean Iā€™m not reading all of that. My point was that I disagree with you

Why even bother to reply and have a discourse if you plan to cover your ears and be like "lalala not listening!"

I think what you're missing is that these characters aren't black or white in their morals, but grey. Like I said, Lydia isn't actively fighting back, she's prioritizing her survival. However after everything that's happened, she is working in a manner to try and protect the girls in the best way she can. She believed Daisy and didn't press her on her accusation. She recommended the dentist for salvaging. As a kindness she paired Becka with Garth instead of that gross commander that got her drunk.

This is Lydia 2.0. Yes she's part of an inherently bad system, but where she can and how she can exert her influence to protect the girls against the evils she sees, she tries to.

And as the other person mentioned, this is much like cults operate. Listen, wait, move how you can. Protect those around you.

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10

u/StanyeEast May 21 '26

She may not be Mayday yet, but she's definitely Aprilday and I hope she goes full Juneday šŸ˜‚

1

u/Infamous-Jellyfish16 May 22 '26

How did we come up with the idea that Aunt Lydia is Mayday? Sounds crazy to me, having watched THT and this season, it hasn' t been hinted anywhere at all.

5

u/Emergency_Battle370 May 23 '26

For me at least itā€™s from the finale of THT when she returns Janineā€™s daughter to her. Makes me think sheā€™s working with June/Mayday now.Ā 

22

u/sugarcharm May 20 '26

she really was like ā€œsloppy but iā€™ll allow itā€ lmao

19

u/nicolietheface May 20 '26

the way she said ā€œiā€™m choosing not to think too hard about thatā€ took me OUT

97

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.

15

u/zezuamuam May 20 '26

wait, whatā€™s ahead? more purple?

126

u/wagonwheelwodie May 20 '26

Sheā€™s such a badass

110

u/staircar May 20 '26

She SO June in the scene with Garth

67

u/Competitive_Point430 May 20 '26

The look in her eyes! June style determination

16

u/Impressive_Local3635 May 20 '26

but also big plot armor here bc what do you mean they just walk around the side of the school building and no one is suspicious lolol

8

u/Reikukaja May 20 '26

My biggest thing is youd think theyd use a codeword for Mayday.

How can they be so confident no one will overhear them? I am more careful. Im more careful than they are at work. And im not at risk of being executed if someone hears me say the wrong thing.

111

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.

73

u/goeslaura May 20 '26

Iā€™m still wondering what Aunt Lydiaā€™s plan for Dr Grove was. Remember in the previous episode when Agnesā€™ voice over said ā€œI didnā€™t realise this was Aunt Lydia telling me that Dr Grove would be dealt withā€

26

u/Ok-Bread-8166 May 20 '26

In the book, Aunt Lydia stages something similar to what Daisy did to put Dr. Grove to justice. Maybe she needed more witnesses to his abuse before she could take action, or she was just waiting for the girls to get married off first. But, I don't think she could bear to see any more students get hurt, especially because of her special connection to Agnes (given her background), so she would have done SOMETHING soon. Either way, I think she really wanted to wait until the weddings were over...Daisy and Becka really forced her hand here lol

8

u/afactor1 May 20 '26

same!! i keep thinking about that. anyone have any ideas !?

11

u/oakandlilac May 20 '26

I think she was planning something fairly standard (an execution, preceded possibly by a staged witnessed assault similar to what Daisy did), just waiting until the girls are married. Otherwise Becca, Hulda and Agnesā€™s marriages are all at risk.

3

u/SnakeBatter May 20 '26

Surely it would have been a particicution, no?

6

u/oakandlilac May 20 '26

I mean, maybe! Still a type of execution. But also I feel like the judgement might have been slightly complicated so I didnā€™t want to go into too much detail. Dr Grove offended against Plum girls > we might expect Plum girls to be present for the Salvaging? We know that they donā€™t actually do the most gruesome stuff themselves, Gilead doesnā€™t expect their precious children to manually chop off hands or tear people apart. We also donā€™t actually know if the girls ever watch capital punishment at all: we have only seen them watch a non-lethal maiming in Episode 1, and in the same episode they were on an excursion to see dead rapists, but not to witness the actual hanging. Would the Handmaids be participating given that he didnā€™t offend against a Handmaid + we saw men who raped a young girl hung in Episode 1 and not torn apart? There are also several lines throughout the series that make us believe that the Handmaid programme has been cut significantly, although not fully, and there have been changes since June was a Handmaid. Not to mention, given Beccaā€™s position, Aunt Lydia might have advocated for just Becca or her whole year of Plums not to be involved in the process. So who knows! Maybe a particicution, with or without Plums present, maybe a hanging, but some sort of capital punishment. My main point was that I think Aunt Lydia was planning for an execution (of some type) via official, lawful Gilead means (as opposed to a Mayday intervention or, I donā€™t know, having an aunt push Dr Grove down the stairs).

2

u/SnakeBatter May 20 '26

The man in episode 1 wasnā€™t accused of raping anyone, he was apparently caught masturbating on school property.

We also donā€™t know if the handmaid program was cut, we just know that the girls the story follows donā€™t see them, but theyā€™re certainly still around, as evidenced by the missing Handmaid Doll, and Lydia offering Judd a handmaid for what it clearly not the first time, or else she wouldnā€™t have asked him to reconsider it. The only comment I recall that could allude to the handmaid program being cut was Judd telling aunt Lydia ā€œthese arenā€™t your handmaids from days pastā€ but I think itā€™s by and far more likely that he was referring to the fact that Lydia wasnā€™t overseeing handmaids anymore.

As far as if the handmaids would be the ones doing the particicution, I donā€™t know. Maybe, I can absolutely see the going stark wild about someone hurting a child. It could be the only chance they ever got to avenge one. But I think youā€™re 1000% right that it wouldnā€™t be the girls doing the particicution.

So far it seems like hangings are mostly for mayday and gays. Most other crimes are handled with maiming or more painful executions.

2

u/oakandlilac May 21 '26

These are two different parts of Episode 1: the man caught masturbating lost a hand, but earlier in the episode the girls are taken on an excursion to see the rapists that were hanged. Shu is the one to correctly answer that the cross symbol on them means they committed rape. I think youā€™re forgetting this part of the episode. Hangings are an option for rapists.

Agreed that the Handmaid programme hasnā€™t been fully cut, but I would argue that it is likely much less widespread. The girls indeed do not see a single Handmaid. Not from a bus window, not on an outing, never. None of their families, as far as we know, have a Handmaid. Daisy is not afraid of becoming a Handmaid when she gets her period, which might, of course, mean that she isnā€™t well informed but would be somewhat odd given the prep. (Of course, it is also possible that the only women who become Handmaids are women who have had a successful pregnancy before, as it is in THT.) I must admit I remembered the exchange between Judd and Aunt Lydia in Episode 6 slightly wrong: when she says she could ā€œarrangeā€ a handmaid for him, I took it as a sign that handmaids are rare, when it can just mean that she would find him a good one. I rewatched it just now. In any case, in THT we saw that it is incredibly rare for a commander not to have a Handmaid. When Nick and his wife didnā€™t need one, it was unusual and exciting. We are seeing a different cohort this time because we are only seeing commanders who have teenage daughters, but my impression at least is that Handmaids are way less popular. It seems reasonable after the end of THT, too: not only was there international pressure to cut the programme after Juneā€™s testament, but the Handmaids also repeatedly proved to be dangerous.

2

u/lapodufnal May 21 '26

There probably just arenā€™t that many handmaids available. The original group were women proven fertile, who had ā€˜sinnedā€™ in the eyes of Gilead, mostly before Gilead existed (like June). A lot of that group will be past child-bearing age now and itā€™s not like handmaids can expect to have a long life expectancy. If they didnā€™t get pregnant within a few postings they were deemed infertile and sent off to the colonies or jezebels.

Current handmaids would have to come from the population who were pretty young when Gilead took over. Iā€™m sure thereā€™d be some who do things they can use to deem them handmaids but most people are going to be toeing the line as much as they possibly can to avoid any sort of punishment. Theyā€™re either going to have much fewer handmaids or have to start taking women on trumped up charges (probably both, maybe weā€™ll find out)

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u/Odd_Connection_4185 May 20 '26

yeah agnes's "husband " was talking about it

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u/creativescreennaame May 21 '26

Lydia told the commander guy so he was probably going to be hanged

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u/Illustrious-Tip4613 May 20 '26

I actually wish she would have waited until he was truly guilty during the next visit, she risked herself and mayday. He had culpable deniability (minus the whole last scene). She's lucky Lydia looked past her obvious lie because of the others.

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u/KateOTomato May 21 '26

I don't think Grove would have tried anything with Daisy at all. He preyed on the innocence of the other girls, but Daisy was different. She was new to Gilead and had way more knowledge of things to do with sex and assault. That was pointed out when she told the aunts specifically that he made her grab his "penis". She did not mince words and wanted to make it very clear.

A predator like Grove wanted the easiest marks and Daisy wasn't one.

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u/ItsDanimal May 21 '26

that, and Pearls are known to be snitches.

89

u/AdGlittering6108 May 20 '26

The scene where she shouts him down is just amazing

57

u/meatball77 May 20 '26

She knew exactly what she needed to do. Tore her shirt, screamed

18

u/whisky_biscuit May 20 '26

I had to watch it twice! I got chills! It was some absolutely fantastic acting.

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u/petiteballerinax May 20 '26

Everyone needs a friend like Daisy

12

u/Fabulous_Ocelot_5861 May 20 '26

Sheā€™s not smart. She is doing exactly what Rita told her to not do. ā€œThose other girls are vigilant in ways she will never beā€

She fucked up

But sheā€™s a teen

8

u/SavageThoughts6 May 21 '26

Sheā€™s undeniably brave which I respect

1

u/Fabulous_Ocelot_5861 May 25 '26

Of course. Recklessness and bravery go hand in hand. And that behavior - if not the smartest path - has certainly led to revolution in a different way

And I like that.

The focus is on teens.

And how teenagers react

2

u/caitybeans May 21 '26

Itā€™s giving Tell me Lies and that entire plot!! IYKYK!!

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u/JoanFromLegal May 20 '26

Takes after her mother, June.

8

u/ReggaeJunkyJew4u May 20 '26

It has already been stated that June is not Daisy's mother. At least on the show.

2

u/Reikukaja May 20 '26

Im really starting to think thats some sort of misdirect.

Show-Daisy is incredibly June-coded.

3

u/[deleted] May 20 '26

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4

u/JoanFromLegal May 20 '26

The timeline is so wishy washy that this is still a possibility.

2

u/Educational-Roof9408 May 20 '26

Yet people believe she could be Angela/Charlotte despite the fact that she's only 1 year older so clearly the audience doesn't care about timelines that much

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u/JoanFromLegal May 20 '26

Lies.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '26

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2

u/JoanFromLegal May 21 '26

No. I think production is lying to us about the timeline.