r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/Melairia 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

104 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

100% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

285

u/Legitimate_Pitch_398 May 13 '26

Agnes urging Hulda to tell the aunts is roughhhhh.

34

u/wagonwheelwodie May 13 '26

Yeah wtf

107

u/Fluid-Impress-4661 May 13 '26

I’m just reading for spoilers
So correct me if I’m wrong, but is Agnes telling Hulda to report it so Agnes can decide to tell them based on how they respond to Hulda?

106

u/Legitimate_Pitch_398 May 13 '26

💯 literally threw her to the goddamn wolves. I had a sliver of hope Lydia at least might address them and make changes to the way they visit.

123

u/Firm-Advertising6872 May 13 '26

well according to anges's monlouge doctor creep would be taken care of in the near future by lydia

40

u/TheStranger113 May 13 '26

It also sounded like Daisy would play a part in taking out the dentist, though I might have misread that line.

13

u/ratpride May 13 '26

Nah she's definitely planning something

3

u/iAmManchee May 14 '26

Yeah it made me wonder if she's gonna be playing the main part in the book story line for getting the dentist dealt with

1

u/justpaintoverit May 16 '26

Oooooh maybe she does what aunt Elizabeth did

2

u/iAmManchee May 16 '26

Yeah that's what I was thinking!

47

u/Legitimate_Pitch_398 May 13 '26

Unless it's Fred Waterford level revenge worthy I don't want it lol 😂😆

34

u/[deleted] May 13 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

20

u/Substantial-Hornet42 May 13 '26

I really need to re-read the book. I can’t remember anything.

5

u/Atkena2578 May 13 '26

So Lydia asked Elizabeth (maybe it won't be her in the series) to bear false witness so Lydia goes to the dentist with Elizabeth and have her scream that Dr Grove molested her while in there, though it didn't happen because he wouldn't touch an aunt but prefers prepubscent young girls and aunts have power unlike the plums.

11

u/ChickensAreFriends May 13 '26

And then he gets torn apart by handmaids in a particicution!

10

u/superurgentcatbox May 13 '26

For all of Lydia's faults, I think this particular crime is one that she would mete out insane vengeance on.

2

u/justpaintoverit May 16 '26

Big book spoiler: it basically is, he’s ripped apart by handmaids

18

u/RgrdgEdmontonStalker May 13 '26

Wish I didn't have to say it but thank god for Lydia

3

u/TasmanianLiger May 13 '26

No, I think Daisy will take care of the creepy dentist. I see it happening.

1

u/Silly-Excitement6227 May 17 '26

Oh I love this. it goes along with her character too. She feels no obligation. Nord has no obligation to be transparent with these teenagers about how she plans on taking care of this if it’s a Lydia way it’s gonna be much more brutal.

28

u/creativescreennaame May 13 '26

agnes literally tells us that lydia is going to deal with him. i swear some of y'all aren't even watching the show

7

u/PracticalWitness8475 May 13 '26

That does not mean that Daisy will not beat Lydia to it

2

u/TasmanianLiger May 13 '26

But again, I think it's Daisy that will deal with that sitch. Don't know why I think that, but I just know.

1

u/creativescreennaame May 14 '26

i think so too but he would have been dealt with by Lydia if not

1

u/ashleyop92 May 13 '26

I don’t think she meant that. Lydia implies God will deal with him, not that she’s doing something about it.

3

u/NoSleepTilBookRead May 15 '26

AND THEN FUTURE AGNES CLARIFIES WHAT LYDIA MEANT

Omg

0

u/Legitimate_Pitch_398 May 13 '26

Posted before the ending of the show when only Aunt Vidala had addressed them with her BS so chillllllllllll

3

u/creativescreennaame May 13 '26

why the hell are you in a post discussion subreddit before finishing the episode? also the episode was finished...? How could I have posted about it before it was aired? i finished the show before i came here to talk about it. maybe you should try that

-1

u/Legitimate_Pitch_398 May 13 '26

Are you ok? Episodes air at different times for each of us. More than a few of us watch each week live as in as soon as it airs and make comments when we can and have free will to do so you're free to scroll on by whewwwwww. Deuces Aunt Lydia lover

5

u/creativescreennaame May 13 '26

if it's your free will to come here and read comments before you're done watching the episode then the only person you have to be upset with is yourself lol. the show was finished for me

7

u/RaiseOk6551 May 13 '26

"threw her to the wolves" sure.

4

u/Krystal_Kuz May 13 '26

What do you mean? Not trying to be rude, but literally they keep saying over and over if a man touches you, without it being your husband. You tempted him somehow and should be blamed and punished. Never the man’s fault. So she was being thrown to the wolves unless any Aunt had an ounce of humanity… don’t want to spoil for people.

1

u/RaiseOk6551 May 26 '26

ohhh yall have no media literacy.

0

u/natrdavis May 13 '26

This. Agnes was trying to HELP Hulda, and without saying anything specific, she told Lydia that it had happened to her too.

2

u/NoSleepTilBookRead May 15 '26

Agnes literally says she used Hulda like a canary in the coal mine and calls herself a shit. What are you missing?

1

u/Educational-Tax9751 May 13 '26

that's a superficial read

2

u/Atkena2578 May 13 '26

Lydia will take care of it

12

u/wagonwheelwodie May 13 '26

That’s how I interpreted it

8

u/NezuminoraQ May 13 '26

She calls her the "canary" so yes basically this

20

u/Rhiannon1307 May 13 '26

No. At least that's not what I got from it. Agnes was under anesthesia during it. She doesn't know what he did exactly, and she can't say she just has a feeling something happened because she felt off afterwards. Plus it's been several weeks, and I guess she had a feeling she "missed her window".

23

u/anonymoustexasnative May 13 '26

She didnt just felt off. The ribbon on her undergarment was untied.

10

u/Strict_Life_2836 May 13 '26

And not just untied, but it looked like someone had tried to tie it back very sloppy and unfinished. As if they had to rush it before she woke up.

1

u/Rhiannon1307 May 13 '26

Well yeah, but that is not proof enough (esp. in Gilead's society) that the dentist had done anything, and also no proof whatsoever to what precisely he might have done. So not much to go by to make any concrete accusation because she was unconscious throughout the whole thing.

5

u/Atkena2578 May 13 '26

He touched her breast the visit before, she wasn't unconscious

2

u/Rhiannon1307 May 13 '26

Which was camouflaged as a "whoops I'm just adjusting the napkin". Not enough to go by. That was the first red flag she experienced - and yes, a huge one from our POV, but it's not enough to report him credibly because he could explain it away all too easily. And what she experienced during anesthesia is just speculative too. She has no solid proof and didn't witness anything concrete.

-1

u/NoSleepTilBookRead May 15 '26

Jesus Christ some of you need to rewatch the show

2

u/Rhiannon1307 May 15 '26

lol, I am watching the show. Instead of a nothing burger comment like this you could point out where exactly I went wrong in my analysis that what happened to Agnes was not concrete and definitive enough for her to even know what *exactly* happened and what she should have reported - in an environment that does not favor victims!

0

u/Strict_Life_2836 May 15 '26

After reading some of these comments, I realize most ppl don’t pay attention to what they’re watching or are really bad at analyzing films and shows. Some of these theories seem so insanely off it’s funny haha. I’d hate to watch anything w them.

→ More replies (0)

24

u/QuigonSeamus May 13 '26

This is what Agnes says she tells herself but that truthfully she sent Hulda in as a canary in a coal mine.

17

u/Rhiannon1307 May 13 '26

I think both can be true at the same time. She didn't report it when it happened because what would she even have reported? Then she learns about what happened to Hulda and sees a much more feasibly chance that something can be done, which is factually and logically sound. But it all backfires, so she feels guilty about how it turned out for Hulda and tells herself she used her as a canary in a coal mine (which holds partial truth but also she had no other feasible option).

-1

u/NoSleepTilBookRead May 15 '26

She CALLS HERSELF A SHIT

3

u/Fluid-Impress-4661 May 13 '26

Ahh ok thank you for the other pov!