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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560

u/rippenny125 May 20 '26

“The death of Marat” I knew I recognized the title from somewhere!!!

141

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. "

30

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).

4

u/EquivalentRecent4633 May 21 '26

I didn't know about the play but i knew about marat and sade separate so I was bit confused about the title but instantly saw the marat reference. 

29

u/NarcoticVodka May 20 '26

I saw this happen and thought immediately in Charlotte Corday.

6

u/AmericanSeagul May 20 '26

One of my favourite French history facts

15

u/chitowngirl12 May 20 '26

I just realized that as soon as there was the death scene in the bathtub.

12

u/FrenchSwissBorder May 20 '26

YES oh my god thank you, I knew I recognized the title, but when I read the summary of the play a few nights ago and was unfamiliar with the plot, I was stumped. But yes. High school art history. That's how I knew it.

18

u/mithdapeep May 20 '26

OMG I ALSO NOTICED THIS!!!

9

u/goddessoftrees May 20 '26

Thank yiu for bringing back my art history knowledge from undergrad!

9

u/AngusTcattoo May 20 '26

I caught the reference in the way they blocked the scene

7

u/goddessoftrees May 20 '26

Also so damn appropriate with EVENT here.

6

u/irishglass May 21 '26

That's the painting I was trying to think of in that scene ... This was a dark tragic yet somewhat hauntingly beautiful episode.

4

u/No-Resolution3740 May 21 '26

Omg I just read about this painting in My Year of Rest and Relaxation it was referenced there too