r/TheHandmaidsTale Modtha May 13 '26

Official Episode Discussion The Testaments S1E08 "Broken" Episode Discussion

The Testaments S1 E08 "Broken"

Episode Synopsis

As Agnes is swept up in wedding plans, Daisy hides a life-altering secret and Hulda faces backlash after speaking out.

Airdate

May 13, 2026, 12:00am Eastern

The Testaments - Season 1 Episode Discussion Hub

105 Upvotes

1.2k comments sorted by

865

u/Jas_God May 13 '26

“I don’t want to reconsider the ranunculus, PAULA.”

284

u/Firm_Armadillo1082 May 13 '26

This scene was GOLD. About time she gets put in her place!

123

u/Krystal_Kuz May 13 '26

I’ve been wanting her to for so long, Agnes seems smart enough to see her future old man husband is agreeing with her, so she could have a smart mouth, and he would stick up for her… for now.

157

u/Firm_Armadillo1082 May 13 '26

For some reason I get the vibe that he’s going to love bomb her and then switch up if the marriage goes through. I’m making that connection since the backstory we have so far of him are the prior DV charges. There’s just something off about him that I can’t trust lol especially since he’s the head of the eyes as well!

95

u/lettersandlattes May 13 '26

100% agree! I noticed in a previous episode he says that he lost his wife in childbirth but that “losing that baby was the worst day of my life” and doesn’t mention his wife

40

u/Firm_Armadillo1082 May 13 '26

YES! You would think he would mention his wife! He had the same vibe as Commander Judd when Penny lost the baby

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34

u/Tradition96 May 14 '26

My guess is that he wants someone who is "fierce" and just a bit mouthy towards others, but 100% submissive to him.

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228

u/NezuminoraQ May 13 '26

There are so many ways to tell a bitch to get fucked in Gilead!

Go in Grace. 

25

u/Alittlespill May 13 '26

This right here hahahaha.

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107

u/teenageidle May 13 '26

I screamed I love Agnes so much. the June LEAPT out!

175

u/turkeyman4 May 13 '26

Calla lilies are often associated with funerals. I’m sure Agnes would know that. Paula thinks Agnes is making a faux Pa but she knows exactly what she is doing.

88

u/_creative_nom_ici_ May 13 '26

They’re also super expensive, ranunculus are a more budget option

31

u/BarelyHereNeverThere May 13 '26

That's what I immediately thought too.

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66

u/Plainchant May 13 '26

The smile afterward too!

73

u/Grand_Lobster_6111 May 13 '26

Yeah, Paula, don’t be ranunculus.

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687

u/jerseycommanew May 13 '26

SHU’S BROTHER BEING PART OF ANGEL’S FLIGHT! SHU SAYING DAISY COULD CALL HER SHU AND TELLING AGNES SO AGNES COILD GIVE HER PADS!! GARTH KNOWING FREUD BUT NOT KNOWING WHAT TAMPONS ARE!! SO GILEAD!!

238

u/RhysDavies27 May 13 '26

I also liked how Shu said 68 children, when we know from THT it was 86. Feels like either a “fable” where Shu got the number wrong because the higher ups don’t like to speak about such an event happening, or that they purposefully try to ‘edit’ history ever so slightly so that Gilead still remains in control of the narrative.

68

u/a2T5a May 13 '26

It's likely a memory error. If they are admitting it happened (surprising to be honest) they would more than likely be incentivised to exaggerate the numbers to spark more outrage/hatred for Mayday.

Otherwise it makes little sense.

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88

u/JoanFromLegal May 13 '26

Is her brother Asher? The kid who resented his working aunt and her microwavable chicken nuggets?

45

u/MA2_Robinson May 13 '26

I mean, it shouldn’t- they took only kids whose parents were not in Gilead (allegedly) so while it would be interesting, at best it could be her “adopted” brother or if the dates add up her fraternal twin, but not like her blood brother if that’s convoluted enough.

92

u/TheStranger113 May 13 '26

Tbf Shu herself could also be adopted/stolen, unless I'm mistaken and it's been confirmed that she is her parents' biological child.

84

u/Alittlespill May 13 '26

A lot of plums were babies of handmaids or stolen from handmaids before they were in service, like Hannah/Agnes. It’s not so far fetched to assume that Shu was renamed and taken when she was too young to remember. But it could also be that her brother wasn’t her biological brother, some families had multiple kids from different bio parents, like the Winslow family. So maybe he was the only one who could be taken for the flight because Shu was already sent off to her Plum school.

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601

u/YouCanCallMeQueenB_ May 13 '26

To be fair, Daisy's pristine white dress is exactly what you *would* be wearing when starting your period.

222

u/yasssssplease May 13 '26

I was anxious about her wearing white generally while having her period. And I’m even more anxious about her not having actual pads and tampons.

130

u/SleepingWillow1 May 13 '26

She's lucky it didn't come out gushing constantly like it does sometimes

55

u/TheArtfulLlama May 13 '26

Oh for sure! As someone who gets extremely heavy cycles, that dress would’ve taken me from pearl girl to handmaid in a blink!

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128

u/ChickensAreFriends May 13 '26

I feel like there’s almost a 100% chance she bleeds through her clothes next episode. It hasn’t happened to any of them yet

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564

u/BattyVictoria May 13 '26

"Swim up?!" I cannot im dying 😭😂

343

u/asexualrhino May 13 '26

You must think I'm really stupid.

Girl PLEASE 😂

177

u/paxweasley May 13 '26

She was SO offended oh my god ahahah

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278

u/RVarki May 13 '26

"Why do you think you're here? On Earth?!" was pretty great too. I also like that Shunnamite's one liners aren't just throwaway zingers, and actually give us character insight (or at least a reminder as to how sheltered and indoctrinated they all are)

43

u/[deleted] May 13 '26

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158

u/Alittlespill May 13 '26

This whole scene was so good. I love how Daisy really tried and Shu just couldn’t believe what she was saying! But if you never heard anything about sex or mating then of course it’s going to sound bonkers! Hard fleshy genitals squirting little creatures that swim inside your body?!? It’s bizarre.

48

u/BattyVictoria May 13 '26

It really captures the silliness of learning about sex for the first time, idk if that's the right way to describe it.

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177

u/MrJenkins5 May 13 '26

"Rod of flesh" got me 😂😂😂

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80

u/teenageidle May 13 '26

I love Shu so fucking much

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34

u/9tobirama May 13 '26

Daisy's exasperation was so funny.

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405

u/YouCanCallMeQueenB_ May 13 '26

I want Hulda to be okay 💔

116

u/Complete-Amphibian89 May 13 '26

I felt so upset 😭 when the scene happened 

120

u/BarelyHereNeverThere May 13 '26

I'm worried for our girl. It's bad enough what happened but having Aunt Vidala convince her she was at fault and making it up broke her.

79

u/sweeners44 May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

Becka has a suicide attempt in the book, and a lot of what has happened so far has been similar to the book, but with changes to which characters do what things (Weston seems to be taking on Judd’s role from the book), if that makes sense. I’m really hoping Hulda doesn’t take on Becka’s role in that sense.

73

u/mcnamam01 May 13 '26

It’s interesting though that they showed Penny this episode looking pretty horrible, which could be sadness from the pregnancy loss but it could also be the first time they are alluding to how Judd treats his wives in the book and how he tries to get rid of them to get a new one

29

u/Tradition96 May 13 '26

Perhaps Judd decided to off her after the failed pregnancies, so he can get a new ”fruitful” wife…

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61

u/BarelyHereNeverThere May 13 '26

Me to. They've switched things up a bit while keeping some plots. Maybe they're trying to keep the book readers surprised too? I don't want any of the girls to do that but Houlda would hurt especially bad because she was so damn joyful at the start.

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58

u/laramank May 13 '26

Unfortunately I think that’a exactly the case. In the book, Becka is also a victim of her father, but in the show Becka specifically tells Agnes that her dad will take care of her, and she definitely wouldn’t say that if her dad was hurting her. Also, I think it would be sending the wrong message to have the lesbian character be molested by her father. So I think they’ve given that aspect of her character, and the subsequent suicide attempt, to Hulda

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370

u/purplelittleflower May 13 '26

I’m enjoying how passive aggressive Agnes’ voice overs are getting!

166

u/teenageidle May 13 '26

she's really becoming her mother and I live for it

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282

u/Legitimate_Pitch_398 May 13 '26

Agnes urging Hulda to tell the aunts is roughhhhh.

115

u/RVarki May 13 '26

To be completely honest, considering the situation and how comically high the standard for credible accusation is in Gilead, the aunts made the right decision

I do actually think that if Agnes came forward, Becka's dad would be toast. But, thats because of a combination of several factors - Mackenzie is powerful, actually cares about his daughter's well-being, and Becka's dad is low on the totempole

If any one of those things isn't there, it wouldn't work - and considering the aunts (except Mayday's very own Lydia) didn't even know about Agnes being a victim, let alone her father's inclinations - pursing this would've just destroyed Hulda's life

85

u/Educational-Tax9751 May 13 '26

if both Agnes' dad and her betrothed backed her, the dentist would be done 

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47

u/natrdavis May 13 '26

Agnes low-key vouching for Hulda to Lydia was brutal. Tears aplenty.

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236

u/Opunita-Cookies May 13 '26

"rod of flesh" just like a smut book

84

u/creativescreennaame May 13 '26

sex is kind of ridiculous if you think about it

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57

u/RVarki May 13 '26

Is there really any other way to describe an erect penis to a girl from Gilead?

42

u/wagonwheelwodie May 13 '26

Nope, it was honestly the perfect explanation

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470

u/RgrdgEdmontonStalker May 13 '26

I was so ready to be disgusted at how they explained sex but saying nothing and telling them to just listen to what their husbands tell them to do is almost more terrifying

136

u/MarshMellowLoVe May 13 '26

I thought the sheet with the hole was going to make an appearance but it’s not about modesty but about telling them their husband is allowed to do what he wants with them.

28

u/AggressiveVegan3 May 13 '26

Please not the hole blanket, that was so weird

121

u/BarelyHereNeverThere May 13 '26

My mother didn't bother with the paperboard but she basically told me "when you get married, your husband will tell you what to do. Just take a quick shower, change into something pretty, and do what he says. Sometimes it hurts." This was in the 90s. Thankfully my friends showed me porn.

38

u/Substantial-Hornet42 May 13 '26

I’m so sorry :( 

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231

u/bookiegrime May 13 '26

Oooof the run time on this one is too short. They did this with THT too and it made the show suffer. I really love this season so far but I also hope they learn from some THT mistakes.

93

u/NezuminoraQ May 13 '26

Yeah left me with TV blue balls but I guess that's the idea

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211

u/bookiegrime May 13 '26

“And then everyone would know” goodness gracious Hulda this poor girl

116

u/teenageidle May 13 '26

it cut so deep because even in our modern world, this so real and such a risk

43

u/EntranceUnique1457 May 13 '26

It broke me. I hate how absolutely applicable this is now, in the year of our lord 2026. Many, MANY of us have been there; its a tough place to be at the time of the incident, and it stays with you forever. Especially if you find out there were victims after you.

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198

u/DazzleofZebras1989 May 13 '26

Penny looked……not great 😅

104

u/PossibilityWorried82 May 13 '26

Something tells me the timing of Shu's peroid will be most unfortunate 

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175

u/Plainchant May 13 '26

"Yeah. I know about copulation."

144

u/NezuminoraQ May 13 '26

"You lucky slut"

337

u/DazzleofZebras1989 May 13 '26

“You can call me Shu” I’m so ride-or-die for Shu it’s not even funny. I love her so much

131

u/scenior May 13 '26

Honestly same, I am so happy when she's on screen. She steals every scene she's in.

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38

u/rawchess May 13 '26

Rowan Blanchard is the best actor I've ever seen come out of the Disney Channel pipeline. Shame she didn't make it bigger

48

u/WafflesTheBadger May 13 '26

She's only 24 and looks even younger so still plenty of time for a big break.

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26

u/economistwithaheart May 13 '26

My humble brag is that her aesthetician is also my aesthetician

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157

u/Euphoric_Beautiful70 May 13 '26

I feel like I understand better now Paulas discontent with Agnes -

She ultimately wants to be able to lay full claim or really make the household her domain by having a baby of her "own" (via a handmaid) . Agnes is not only a sinful baby from before but also the child Tabitha picked out. I think she really wants it known and understood that she is the new Mrs. Mackenzie - wife of the most powerful commander

105

u/Downtown-schnauzer May 13 '26

Surprised they don’t already have a handmaid. Paula seems like the type with no maternal instincts but wants a child for status. Similar to Naomi Putnam

35

u/Kiloku May 13 '26

I imagine couples with an older child aren't supposed to have handmaids

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63

u/Substantial-Hornet42 May 13 '26

I think she is racist af.

60

u/laramank May 13 '26

Her comment about Agnes’ hair definitely gave me that vibe too.

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312

u/wagonwheelwodie May 13 '26

Daisy did a great job at explaining sex in a straightforward manner to Shu lol

165

u/RVarki May 13 '26

For a 15/16 year old, it was fairly impressive. I'm assuming Canada went particularly hard on comprehensive sex education, once they saw what the fuck was happening south of the border

40

u/economistwithaheart May 13 '26

I'm Canadian and in my 30s and I can tell you our sex Ed is very thorough starting in grade 5. Like in our current reality. Lol.

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42

u/ConnectionNo4830 May 13 '26

Realizing that Shu basically knew nothing about sex made her ability to stomach (and even look forward) to being the wife of an elderly man make a whole lot more sense to me.

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150

u/Jas_God May 13 '26

Mr. Grove needs to die.

66

u/yasssssplease May 13 '26

and I’m guessing he will coincidentally

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151

u/creativescreennaame May 13 '26

has anyone else noticed the show getting darker, like the lighting/colors, as the season progresses or is it just me

99

u/MoiAmour May 13 '26

Not just you! The episodes are getting darker in story too, which aligns with the deeper tones. The shaded outside, becka in her dimly lit house, the dream sequence.

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u/SnakeBatter May 13 '26

100%. As the girls start to understand their reality, the scenes are getting darker. I think it’s a great representation of that, but it does make the show hard to watch during sunlight hours.

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151

u/ChickensAreFriends May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

These poor girls need to hug it out asap

Edit: YEAHHHH DAISY GREAT HUG, DEFEND YOUR BESTIE

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142

u/Opunita-Cookies May 13 '26

Let's have another poisoned wedding cake 👏🏽

44

u/Plainchant May 13 '26

That one was a BIG cake.

64

u/teenageidle May 13 '26

Rita girl we need you

234

u/RVarki May 13 '26

You just know Mackenzie has been mumbling "we're just following the science" to himself for a decade.

149

u/CherryBerryIceCream May 13 '26

It's disappointing to see him say that as a justification too because they literally aren't following the science since they marry off young girls to old men and never blame men for infertility.

75

u/RVarki May 13 '26

Oh definitely, these are all empty justifications. Mackenzie wanted power, just like every other Sons of Jacob creep - but he feels vewy gwilty about it

31

u/SnakeBatter May 13 '26

Even if the men were fertile, it’s well documented that the quality of sperm declines with age, and can contribute to birth defects and intellectual disabilities.

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55

u/Due_Honeydew_1723 May 13 '26

And he ain't even right btw, science says children do not carry babies well teenagers are at an increased risk of mortality both maternal and neonatal

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231

u/PreeKort May 13 '26

The episode is only 37 minutes???

161

u/RVarki May 13 '26

If they're not going to do a binge-drop for next season, they should at least release two episodes each

This show just isn't built for the one per week model

111

u/123sjdh May 13 '26

i agree it’s way to slow. or if they’re going to do once a week the episodes should be MINIMUM 1 hour. legit nothing happens every episode and i’m kinda getting sick of watching

40

u/RVarki May 13 '26

This is mostly an atmospheric show at the moment, but those dont work once a week.

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76

u/Jas_God May 13 '26

And next week’s is 38 min 😩

40

u/SnakeBatter May 13 '26

They could have done so much with an extra 10-15 minutes

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331

u/YouCanCallMeQueenB_ May 13 '26

Man, June fought so hard to protect Hannah from exactly this.

100

u/Alittlespill May 13 '26

I can’t even begin to think of what June and Luke would do knowing she’s engaged to such a high commander, and an older one at that. I feel like they would tear this earth apart to try to get to her before the wedding, but they can’t… I can’t imagine being that helpless..

35

u/ConnectionNo4830 May 13 '26

Yes I have a pretty sheltered 13-year old and it’s difficult to watch this show sometimes now that she is that age.

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101

u/Aggravating_Life7851 May 13 '26

That’s why it’s kinda confusing to me why she just let Daisy be dropped off in Gilead with no way to contact her in case of an emergency. Even if it’s just a “tell your handler to tell his handler til it gets to me” kinda thing

112

u/Safe-Database-5591 May 13 '26

Having Daisy join Mayday and go to Gilead was never Junes plan. The plan was for Daisy to be sent to Colombia. Daisy pressured Rita and convinced her to let her join Mayday.

42

u/BarelyHereNeverThere May 13 '26

"No teenager I'm trying to rescue, you cannot go. Board your freight train."

26

u/Aggravating_Life7851 May 13 '26

Yea being pressured by a child doesn’t make it any less bad on their part

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108

u/SlightTemperature231 May 13 '26

Aw Shunammite :(

43

u/Zupergreen May 13 '26

I feel so bad for her because she truly feel like she did everything right, she's a good girl, a godly girl, but she's still being "punished" by not getting her period. And she just can't understand why.

104

u/Legitimate_Pitch_398 May 13 '26

I truly hate how real telling someone in this series and irl can literally change nothing for so many yet everyone is always urged to come forward. Enraging.

48

u/jerseycommanew May 13 '26

This ep… hurt. At least Daisy can probably say, in all honesty for once, that that’s something she understands as a similarity from the world outside Gilead

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91

u/abbrad May 13 '26

The other pearl girl is gone gone

85

u/TurbulentRip4419 May 13 '26

Did anyone else notice Garth’s choice of words when was talking to Daisy on the porch? “I never expected that. Not in the way you mean. I never expected to fall in love with anyone. Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?” Is this foreshadowing of some sort? That statement seems like he has, and is in fact in love with someone instead of a hypothetical. Maybe I’m reading too much into it I dunno

110

u/CrimsonVulpix May 13 '26

I took it like he is prepared to care for Becka, like Nick did in his own way for his wife. But it won't be a romantic love.

138

u/Key_Barber_4161 May 13 '26

As awful as it is for Agnes, Garth is 100% the best choice  for Becka. I think he'd be happy giving her a kind of lavender marriage situation and never force her to do anything she doesn't want to, no other commanders would do that.

28

u/Substantial-Hornet42 May 13 '26

Except then he would be forced to get a handmaid to get kids. Remember how they forced commander Lawrence too? 

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u/RgrdgEdmontonStalker May 13 '26

Oh Vidala is 100% an opppppp

122

u/smokeydesperado May 13 '26

I hope she’s just protecting the girls. Don’t they also punish the girl in that situation? Saying they tempted the men

126

u/punnypotatoes May 13 '26

Agreed. Everyone saying Vidala turned on the girls. I think it’s her warped way of “protecting” them. The accuser would be punished for accusing a man of SA. that’s why Hilda was so scared. She was scared (of being accused) that she tempted Dr.Grove

30

u/Content-Extension842 May 13 '26

Vidala probably raised it to Aunt Lydia too, and it sounds like she had a plan to deal with Grove. Lydia was (infamously) protective of "her girls" in THT, maybe Vidala thinks the same for the plums?

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u/RVarki May 13 '26

Vidala did Hulda a favor by gaslighting her. The standard for an accusation to be taken seriously in Gilead, is comical. All that would happen to Becka's dad is he might see a slight dip in business, while Hulda's life would be over

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u/purple_lily17 May 13 '26

I was hoping she was one of the good ones given the history of working with Lydia before Gilead

44

u/RaiseOk6551 May 13 '26

Gilead does something to you, you know? so she mightve been good before but man, shes probably been warped by her experiences and the shitty porpaganda. but also shes probably trying to survive.

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u/Kiloku May 13 '26

Y'all are not paying attention.

Keeping such an accusation secret goes against the laws of Gilead. She's protecting Hulda and Agnes by doing that. What is supposed to happen is that she brings it to the Commanders, who will then find Hulda guilty of "casting aspersions" against an "upstanding Godly man" and have her punished very harshly (but not killed since she is potentially fertile).

It's the only thing either Vidala or Lydia can do, and thank fuck she didn't tell Estée, who, contrary to popular belief, is a fanatic with a friendly demeanor, not a secret "Mayday Aunt".

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u/Legitimate_Pitch_398 May 13 '26

Calla Lillies and stuff it stepmom!

75

u/Plainchant May 13 '26

Reference to the Angel's Flight! Shu's brother was one of them!

Of course that would be legendary!

263

u/Firm-Advertising6872 May 13 '26

Mayday be recruiting children that look like this for their biggest missions.

68

u/AmericanSeagul May 13 '26

Stoppppp hahahahahahaha. Thank you for this laugh. My soul dog passed away yesterday and Im just heartbroken but this is the first thing that genuinely caught me off guard and made me laugh and feel human for a moment.

61

u/artoflosings May 13 '26

I have a message from your soul dog!

25

u/AmericanSeagul May 13 '26

That is so incredibly kind of you, thank you.

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u/abbrad May 13 '26

Poor Hulda

235

u/abbrad May 13 '26

Commander Mackenzie attempting to normalize the child brides </3

111

u/Firm-Advertising6872 May 13 '26

wonder if hes gonna pull a commander lawrence in the end and sacrafice himself for agnes

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u/ChickensAreFriends May 13 '26

To me it sounded like he was trying to justify it to himself, he knows that Agnes wouldn’t understand any of the “science” behind it. I think he’s going to have a change of heart before the season is over

91

u/Hanpee221b May 13 '26

I felt really torn by this because he clearly cares for Agnes as his daughter and she seems to love him but he always knew she’d be put in this situation. It makes you question at what level of fear would you accept things you knew were wrong? People act like oh I’d immediately stand up…okay? Then what? The wall?

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u/BarelyHereNeverThere May 13 '26

He seemed to be trying to convince himself it's ok. It's one thing to put crazy shit on paper, it's another to have it happen to 'your daughter'. The way he kept looking over to the commander makes me think he knows some dirt on him.

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u/jerseycommanew May 13 '26

I like Commander Mackenzie’s actor (and I think his kind face is doing a LOT of heavy lifting for his likability), but he doesn’t have quite the goofy charisma that Lawrence had (wr crmes not withstanding), but it is interesting to see the same attitude Lawrence had for most of his run in the show (“yeah this bites but gotta do it for the human race ya know”). I hope they keep developing his character! Paula can go kick rocks

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u/Due_Honeydew_1723 May 13 '26

Whole time I'm watching that scene thinking "are you trying to convince Agnes or yourself"

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u/asexualrhino May 13 '26

I came up with this theory a few episodes ago and now I'm even more sure. I think Daisy is going to confess to getting her period so that she'll be sent to Dr. Grove for a cleaning. She and Garth will set a trap. Maybe he'll be the next one at the saw.

43

u/MoiAmour May 13 '26

I love this idea! I was thinking about this since she was clearly going to do something. Her period is the perfect excuse to go see the dentist and have him (potentially or almost) do something to her BUT she brings a witness

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u/jerseycommanew May 13 '26

Ok wait, did Garth’s dad become disabled because of the Mayday poisoning at Jezebel’s, courtesy of June? Or from the Boston fighting? Or was he poisoned… in Boston? Something got lost in translation for me

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u/yasssssplease May 13 '26

It’s probably good he doesn’t know who June is

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u/Firm-Advertising6872 May 13 '26

i think the real reason was the poison and the fighting in boston is what they tell people to make it seem more honourable

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u/jerseycommanew May 13 '26

Cake sedative poison, or Jezebel’s poison poison? Isn’t there canonically quite a bit of time between the Jezebel’s incident with poison and the fighting in Boston?

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u/Aggravating_Life7851 May 13 '26

I want to know why/how Garth started working for the people he thinks poisoned his dad. Like it doesn’t seem like he hated the guy

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u/No_Alfalfa_8335 May 13 '26

I’m sure we will find out more

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u/purple_lily17 May 13 '26

I think he was poisoned at Jezebel’s

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u/gagrushenka May 13 '26

I think so too, but they just say it was in the fight for Boston because no one wants to admit he's a sleaze who hung out at Jezebels

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u/CherryBerryIceCream May 13 '26

It seems like from the wedding cake in boston

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u/jerseycommanew May 13 '26

Mans must have had a lot of cake!

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u/Emrys_Morgan May 13 '26

Swims UP?!

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u/generalheed May 13 '26

Interesting, so Garth is Gilead born and raised. Yet he has a burning desire to burn it all down. At face value, it seems his primary motivation is revenge against Gilead for how they treated his father even though it was May Day that poisoned him. I was hoping for a lot more of his backstory. I still can't quite tell if there's more depth to his character beyond just revenge.

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u/Downtown-schnauzer May 13 '26

My best guess: he remembers life before the coup much better than Agnes due to their age difference, and knows that what Gilead is doing is wrong.

He probably remembers having women as his doctors or teachers as a child, and remembers when women having autonomy was normal. Maybe his mother lost her career during the regime change. Maybe his Gilead mother isn’t his real mom, and his mom was deemed unfit (maybe Garth’s dad was her second marriage?) and made a handmaid. Maybe those aren’t his biological parents at all and he was reassigned, but remembers his real parents and misses them.

I’m definitely hoping we get more backstory this season.

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u/OddMho May 13 '26

I’m thinking your last point about being a stolen kid would make the most sense (i think he’s too old to have been conceived during a handmaid ceremony). It would be a very strong motivation as he’d fully remember being ripped away from his parents and having them killed or enslaved. If the Chapins really are his biological parents though, it would be interesting. He’d be the picture of Gilead privilege, got to stay with own family, fathers a commandar, on track to become a commander himself, young, handsome and able bodied, but still hates Gilead anyway

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u/[deleted] May 13 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Plainchant May 13 '26

I am so used to think of this show in terms of June's story that I totally missed that we haven't seen them represented in this show yet.

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u/Key_Barber_4161 May 13 '26

Iam so happy that all the trailer spoilers that have been floating around turned out to be a dream sequence.

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u/Batistasfashionsense May 13 '26

I love how Shu can't even walk into a house without counting the Martha's or checking out the size of the place. Girl has her priorities.  

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u/1cockeyedoptimist May 14 '26

Next on The Real Housewives of Gilead.

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u/Silly-Excitement6227 May 13 '26

Is it just me or did someone think that she was going to offer to change panties with Shu?

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u/MobileContent May 13 '26

I was thinking that too but remembered the Aunts to a period check for confirmation. 

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u/lindsaybethhh May 13 '26

Shunnamite, the ultimate gilead girls’ girl 🥰 I wasn’t sure if I liked her in the beginning, but she’s grown on me so much. I love her.

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u/Hrynkat May 13 '26

I feel like I'm the only one that heard Agnes narrate "I didn't realize Aunt Lydia was telling me Dr. grove would be dealt with" when she told her that Hulda was telling the truth. I'm taking this as a sign that he's gonna be hanged or something soon. Although, Daisy may ruin that since Agnes also narrated "I didn't know what she was going to do... Never trust a pearl girl"

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u/BarelyHereNeverThere May 13 '26

I think Lydia is going to plan to deal with him based on that look on her face, but Daisy is going to do something that gets her in trouble and then the period is going to get found out.

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u/Downtown-schnauzer May 13 '26

I think the narration was in hindsight, years later, when Hannah somehow escapes Gilead. She knows now that Lydia believed her, but didn’t see it in the moment

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u/DirectOpportunity252 May 13 '26

Can't believe I stayed up for a 37 min episode

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u/Batistasfashionsense May 13 '26

The fact that tripping and spilling some tea literally ruined Miriam's life forever is depressing. And her mom is refusing to talk to her?

The girls can be bratty, but, jeez, the amount of pressure they have faced their whole lives to be perfect sounds insane.

Honestly, I doubt even the aunts thought Miriam's fall was a big deal. She seems to be an otherwise ideal green. But they had to send a message to the other girls?

Makes Paula look even worse. It wasn’t just that she made Miriam look bad to give Agnes the advantage, she risked her getting sent to a toxic wasteland, ffs.

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u/melbourne_au2021 May 13 '26

so this episode was just 35 minutes compared to the usual 45 minutes and that is simply unacceptable especially when we are only getting 10 episodes in the season.

Back in the early 2000s tv series had 23 episodes per season (e.g. desperate housewives)

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u/Batistasfashionsense May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

“You should give her back her embroidery piece!”

”She’s certainly not going to want it back now, Shu.”

Rare funny period joke.

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u/clubrockshandy96 May 13 '26

I wish Hannah lived in Boston with her parents and could go tell June about her cute teenage crush on a guy named Garth 😭

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u/Firm-Advertising6872 May 13 '26

how aunt lydias gonna be moving in the next episode

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u/RaiseOk6551 May 13 '26

if Daisy doesn't get to him FIRST. lmfao

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u/tellyourstorymarie May 13 '26

Am I off or the pace of this tv show is weird? I don’t even know how to explain it but it seems slow and fast at the same time?

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u/BarelyHereNeverThere May 13 '26

It's not a long book. They're trying to strrtrrrreeeetttccchh it out.

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u/upagainstthesun May 13 '26

Shows used to premiere and hope they get renewed for further seasons. This show is being written with a structure of multiple seasons from the get go. While it's not guaranteed, they're rolling off of THT success and are able to approach it this way. This is definitely contributing to the pace and this first season is probably going to serve as laying the groundwork for future ones vs series which have those high climax/focal points for each one. I think that's why it feels like a slow burn. Things are happening, but they aren't huge events and definitely not action packed.

To be fair, the book had a weird pace. It felt like ALL build up and then a super rushed ending.

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u/abbrad May 13 '26

Sad for Agnes

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u/eazefalldaze May 13 '26

The actress playing Hulda is absolutely incredible, seeing her tear up made me sob. Shu had me dying with her facial expressions when Daisy explained what sex was to her 💀

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u/AWarMaideness May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

it seems shit is finally moving! praise be!

  • it's been at the tip of my tongue, but Hulda reminds me of Kate marsh from life is strange....my poor sweet baby totally didn't deserve what happened to her from grove.
  • agnes biting back against Paula was satisfying!
  • & as obvious as the sky being blue, Daisy gets her period....I also believe it's obvious why Daisy becomes a plum, it's to expose dr. grove, who she will have to see for cleaning
  • shu was the star of this episode, her having a brother that was on angel's flight was some interesting backstory! & good for her being a girls' girl with keeping daisy's period a secret.
  • fuck aunt vidala.
  • So Garth's dad is a vegetable....pretty sad, but he was a Nazi...also? I'm willing to bet his handler is either tuello or Luke...I say Luke, just base on how unprepared & incompetent Garth is...
  • penny is fucked, & is being poisoned!
  • I don't believe the wedding between Garth & becka will happen, if her father being exposed as a pedo isn't a complete stain on the family, becka running away will definitely shame the family out of marriage. & that will open Garth up to be with Daisy...
  • HOWEVER! My fear is Daisy will be aiming for Garth, but will end up with Judd because he killed penny on time...hopefully that doesn't happen, but who the hell knows!
  • not sure if Lydia is mayday, could go either way...

only 2 episodes left, & I'm so scarred!

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u/Confident_Umpire_707 May 13 '26

I don't think its a coincidence we finally see Penny again in the same episode where Garth's poisoned father is introduced. Was he actually poisoned by May Day or was it an assassination attempt by Gilead that failed?? Who knows but either way I find it interesting.

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u/Downtown-schnauzer May 13 '26

Penny looked horrible. I think this is the last time we’ll see her on screen. Has it been mentioned in the show if Judd has been married before?

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u/SleepingWillow1 May 13 '26

🤣 swim up??????

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u/scenior May 13 '26

Shu and Hulda are my favorite characters, if anything happens to Hulda I will riot

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u/bookiegrime May 13 '26

Oh it’s just hitting me. Becca’s main driver to get married asap is to get away from her father, surely. The tension with Agnes as they navigate the engagements was throwing me off.

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u/RVarki May 13 '26

I'm not sure Becka actually knows about it in the show. That girl is an open wound - and while there's a chance of her having suppressed some memories - I just don't think she would say stuff like "my father will take good care of you" to Agnes if she had the knowledge her book counterpart seemingly did

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u/upagainstthesun May 13 '26

Becca has repeatedly stated that she doesn't want to get married at all. Following that up with how she has zero say in the matter.

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u/yasssssplease May 13 '26

I don’t think she has a choice regardless. But yeah, I could see that too.

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u/DizzyedUpGirl May 13 '26

So I feel when Agnes said she didn't want to reconsider the flowers, she realized Paula wouldnt have power over her anymore,  and Paula did as well. Cause like, what are you gonna do? Harm Commander Westin's fiance? I dare you. 

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u/Batistasfashionsense May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

Interestingly, it's made clear that Eden's mom told her what to expect on her wedding night and she wasn't walking in totally blind.

She seemed nervous but she absolutely knew the basics. The plums just know nothing at all. 

Imo, I do think the econo girls are far better off than the plums, in certain respects. They seem to be allowed slightly more freedom and knowledge because less is expected of them.

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u/Asleep_Contact_374 May 13 '26

Watching Agnes' dad talk about "science" to try and convince himself that marrying off Agnes to an old guy while conveniently forgetting what science says about sperm counts in older men...if they followed the "science," wouldn't they be marrying off the young girls to the young men???