The Testaments season finale revealed some interesting new information about how Gilead responded to June’s participation in the liberation of Boston. It also set up season 2. Beck is married and in her own home. But Shu, Agnes, and Daisy are back at the Aunt Lydia school and ready to cause some good trouble.
There was a lot going on in the season finale of The Testaments. So, if you were confused by everything that happened here’s a breakdown of the significant moments:
Becka Is Saved By Her Mother
After being taken by the Eyes at the end of episode 9, Becka is held in the Eyes secure jail. She’s not doing well mentally. Aunt Lydia tries to intervene for her, however she can’t help. Agnes tries to get Aunt Vidalia to help as well as appealing to Aunt Lydia. However in Gilead, when a man is killed by a woman there’s no mercy shown. Even whan that man is a pedo.
Desperate to help her friend, Agnes asks her fiancé Commander Weston for help. He says there is nothing he can do. Agnes confides in him that she was one of the girls Becka’s father hurt, and Becka was acting in defense of her friends.
Weston does end up pulling some strings. He gets Becka released to her mother temporarily. Coached by the Aunts, Becka’s mother takes the fall for her and confesses to the crime. She knows that means she will be executed. However, her confession will give Becka a chance at life. Ultimately, she is hung as Becka is married to Garth.
Agnes Gets Dumped
I never trusted Weston, and I was right. Even though he did help Becka, he backed out of the engagement. He uses the excuse that Agnes is too close to the Groves and the murder that happened. It seems like it’s really because Agnes was abused and she’s no longer “pure”. Which is gross on so many levels.
Agnes is free of Weston, but not Gilead. An engagement to a powerful Commander being called off by him is a very bad thing for her status in Gilead. She already has a black mark against her because she is June’s daughter. Losing the status of being married to a powerful commander like Weston will hurt her.
Daisy Refuses To Quit The Fight
Garth reaches out to Mayday to get Daisy pulled because she’s acting recklessly and not listening to him. Daisy is given a message to sneak out of the dorm at night. She does, and she’s hidden in a honey barrel and taken to a dock. June appears with a small boat. Other Mayday operatives who are leaving Gilead for one reason or another get on the boat, and Daisy is supposed to leave too.
But Daisy refuses to go. She tells June that she won’t leave her friends, and she won’t stop fighting for them. She plans to build an army from inside Gilead. Ultimately, June lets Daisy return to the Aunt Lydia School but warns her to pay attention to Garth and stop going rogue.
Aunt Lydia Sees The Writing On The Wall
When Aunt Lydia tries to leverage her relationship with Commander Judd to intercede for Becka she discovers that Judd no longer is holding up his end of the relationship. Her power and status is waning, quickly.
Lydia has been in Gilead long enough to see that Aunt Vidala is the next chosen one. She skillfully sees that Aunt Vidalia is being groomed to replace her. That perfectly sets up her role helping the girls in season 2. And it gives her good reason to want to destroy Gilead.
June Finds Out Information About Hannah
One of the most emotional moments of the episode is when Daisy is arguing with June about Daisy returning to Gilead. She is talking to June about her friends at the school. When she mentions Agnes, June is shocked to realize that Daisy is friends with her daughter.
I assumed from the start that June sent Daisy into the Aunt Lydia School specifically to get close to Agnes/Hannah. But that wasn’t the case. June didn’t even know. Tearfully, she asks Daisy about Agnes and what kind of person she is. Hopefully, finding out about Hannah will inspire June to ramp up her fight against Gilead.
Agnes Remembers Who She Is
Daisy got to drop another bomb in this episode when she told Agnes that June was her real mother. At first, Agnes was horrified and shocked that notorious “terrorist” June Osborne was her real mother. But that knowledge triggered some of her early memories of June and Luke.
Her parentage is confirmed by a drunken Paula. Paula, bitter about the wreck of Agnes’ future after her broken engagement, tell Agnes June was her mother. She also tells Agnes that Gilead wanted to hurt June by sending pieces of Agnes to June one after another. But Commander McKenzie wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt her.
Hannah was forced to confront her true identity. She brought out the bag of treasures she’d collected over the years and keeps hidden in her room. In it was a drawing that she had done when she was younger. Her name, Hannah, was written in childish writing underneath.
The memories of her mother, and knowing how hard her mother fought for her, will inspire Agnes to fight the oppression of Gilead from the inside just like her new friend, Daisy.
Blessed Be The Fight
After The Testaments season finale, the pieces are in place for the rebellion to start. Daisy is fully committed to teaching the girls how to own and use their power. With Daisy leading the girls, Aunt Lydia using her knowledge of Gilead’s secrets, and Mayday operatives fully embedded in Gilead’s power structures the fight to free the world of Gilead is ready to go to the next level. Praise Be.