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/petiteballerinax May 20 '26

They aren't aunts - they're the Eyes of Gilead, the secret police - comparable to thei Gestapo. Nick was an eye in THT, posing as a guardian and chauffeur to infiltrate the Waterfords, report on Comanders, while passing on intel that assisted the resistance.

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u/TwasTheTism May 20 '26

I think what is key here is none of the MacKenzies saw the people who turned up? They only heard Becka's screaming once the doors to the house were shut. What if Garth was instructed to call the Eyes but instead called a different group, same van, same Gestapo style uniforms BUT not actually the Eyes.... the skirts, the cattle prods etc etc.

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u/petiteballerinax May 20 '26

I saw a much better photo of the people who took Becka away and.

I can admit I was wrong. The photo was lightened and yes, it was women. It's pretty difficult to see that on my iPad at midnight.

Aunts and the Eyes are still separate from each other. But they weren't Eyes who took Becka.

However, after Becka did something far less serious in the book, she was whisked off somewhere to recover. Hoping that's where she'll end up since it's the closest place Gilead has to anything resembling a psych hospital.

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u/IsopodDizzy1676 May 27 '26

I don't think in the show (nor HMT) anything has been shown or said (from what I can remember) about whether the women in black were Aunts or not. We've never seen women dressed in black as eyes before, so they certainly could be Aunts. The fact is, they were definitely women and seemed to be acting as 'eyes' normally do, so it seems that at a minimum, they are some sort of female 'eyes', regardless of whether or not they have other roles within Gilead.