The Testaments Recap: Girl on Girl

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Becka warned Agnes and the other Plum girls back at Precious Flowers that things quickly accelerate for them. It begins with simply getting your period, but soon escalates to preparations focused on attracting a husband. This includes things like teeth whitening, dance lessons, and a custom-made green wardrobe designed to emphasize their developing figures. Ultimately, their fathers choose husbands for them – someone local or from far away, perhaps a military officer or a doctor. This man could be gentle and religious like their fathers, or he could be cruel. And there’s a significant possibility that these young women will be married to much older men.

In this world where fewer and fewer women are able to have children, girls like Becka and Agnes aren’t sure they’ll even reach the age where they can. They’ve been raised to believe a woman’s period means she’s been deemed worthy by God to potentially become a mother. When Agnes first gets her period, she feels both incredibly happy and frightened, knowing her life is about to change in ways she can’t control. Because girls in Gilead aren’t taught science, Agnes doesn’t understand the hormonal changes happening in her body and believes her life is only influenced by her father and God.

When a girl begins to menstruate in Gilead, it’s marked by a predictable and formal ceremony. She first learns a prayer to recite to her parents and the Aunts on that day. The Aunts then examine her to confirm it’s genuine. At school, the girl who has started her period runs up to the bell tower and rings the bell. The other students gather on the lawn, eagerly awaiting her appearance as they believe she is a special vessel of God. Agnes, on her own day, finds the whole thing amusing and repeatedly rings the bell, ironically looking very young and childlike while doing so.

It’s heartbreaking to think about how Agnes’s life is about to change in Gilead. Now that she’s started her period, she’s suddenly considered eligible for marriage, and everything feels different. I was right there with her when Rosa, the Martha she loves, made her that first cup of coffee – it felt like a strange, grown-up moment. Agnes was clearly worried about how people would see her differently, especially the men. And honestly, I was picking up on a little something between her and Garth, her driver – he’s way more handsome than a Guardian should be! Even if he didn’t notice the little spark between them, everyone will notice the brooch the ‘marriageable’ girls wear. It’s just… a really sad sign of what’s coming for her.

Agnes getting her period felt like a step into becoming a young woman, and her friends, the Plums, celebrated with a joyful group hug when she shared the news. At lunch, Hulda, very curious about it all, offered Agnes some meatloaf, believing the iron and nutrients would help. She even asked Agnes about how heavily her pad was soaked! Shu, feeling a bit envious, claimed her breasts were starting to grow, suggesting her period was about to begin. She casually added that her father always complimented her figure, without a trace of embarrassment.

It’s disturbingly commonplace to praise a woman’s body in a society that objectifies women, valuing them primarily for their reproductive capacity and elevating men as their supposed guardians. This is exemplified when Agnes’s stepmother, Paula, takes her to the dentist – who also happens to be Becka’s father. During the appointment, he subtly touches Becka’s chest while placing the X-ray apron on her, a gesture he knows isn’t accidental. He’s done this to many young women, considering Agnes’s body an extension of his own power and control, and dismissing any notion of wrongdoing.

The Plums were still talking about periods in the cafeteria when the Aunts pulled them aside to a section of the school with their old, unpleasant living spaces. (There’s a lot of forced marching in Testaments.) This is also where the Aunts carry out punishments, called “corrections.” Daisy, thinking Agnes had reported her for speaking out of turn, turned herself in first—how devoted she seems. Now, the Plums are supposed to deliver Aunt Vidala’s punishment in a back-and-forth exchange. Vidala starts by saying “dirty words come from…” and the rest of the Plums yell “dirty girl” at Daisy until she cracks. It only takes 12 seconds of this ritualistic shaming before Daisy pulls Agnes down with her, exclaiming, “She was there!” Shu was right to warn Agnes about Daisy—you can’t get away with breaking the rules when you’re with a Pearl Girl. Vidala then forces Daisy and Agnes into the bathroom, where they have to wash their mouths out with gritty, homemade soap and rough horsehair brushes.

At first, I found the celebration of Agnes getting her period and the harsh punishment of Daisy to be completely at odds with each other. The Plums were loving and supportive of Agnes, then immediately filled with anger towards a girl they barely knew. However, both events were displays of control—the Aunts manipulating girls into policing each other with jealousy and contempt. Gilead has become skilled at turning women against each other, and they’ve even made it something the women desire. When Agnes reflects and says, “I’m ashamed of how much I miss it,” she isn’t longing for connection with other girls. She’s admitting she misses having an outlet for her anger.

Daisy eventually says she’s sorry for betraying everyone, but the system Aunt Lydia put in place to look after people clearly isn’t effective. It makes you wonder why Lydia favored Daisy in the first place. Daisy seems to be working as a spy, but she’s not very good at it. She quickly manages to upset the one person who was even remotely friendly to her. Later that night, another student at Pearl will catch Daisy sneaking around, drawing maps with burnt matchsticks and making a lot of noise.

Okay, so things are still pretty intense at MacKenzie Manor. I was seriously stressed watching Agnes have a terrible nightmare about her wedding night, and then – talk about a jump scare! – she wakes up to Aunt Lydia standing over her bed! Honestly, the whole period thing is still happening, and it’s… a lot. Lydia throws a green cloak on Agnes and basically drags her to the pool for some kind of secret, candlelit baptism. It’s all done in front of the Aunts and the other girls who are becoming Green. It looked beautiful, don’t get me wrong, and I always love seeing Ann Dowd (she was amazing in Testaments!), but it felt like we’ve seen this all before. They really want us to understand that girls are considered ‘unclean,’ and periods are sacred. Seriously, ‘Blessed be the fruit’ is getting a workout!

After the ceremony, Becka confessed to Agnes she felt completely overwhelmed, like she was drowning. She admitted she didn’t want a wedding or a husband, but as a Green, it felt like she had no other choice. It’s a harsh world, and she felt pressured because, apparently, it’s considered a waste not to have children. Agnes pretended not to get it, but honestly, I could tell she felt it too. She wants Garth, the Guardian, and she’s struggling with that desire. As Agnes narrates, she says, “Sometimes you just want things, but what’s the point when you already feel like it won’t matter?” That line really hit me hard. It’s so sad to think about these young women already feeling hopeless about their own desires, like they’re stepping into adulthood already convinced nothing will ever be fulfilling.

When Agnes returns home, she finds her father back from his duties as a Commander. He’s in the parlor with other Commanders, likely plotting something unpleasant, as she enters, still wearing her green cloak and with wet hair. She kneels to say the traditional prayer, and afterward, the men congratulate her father, Commander MacKenzie. He seems pleased with Agnes, having raised her to be considered capable of bearing children. He embodies everything Gilead expects of a man – wealth, power, a wife, and a family. Yet, to the men in the room, Agnes, like all young women, is simply a target for their unwanted attention, and they make no effort to hide their predatory gazes.

It seems Agnes won’t be single for very long. Commander MacKenzie doesn’t seem interested in pursuing her, and Paula is clearly keen to get her married off. We’re gradually learning about Paula’s difficult past – we already know about her tough upbringing with horses. This week, we find out that she received no support when she started her period, a stark contrast to how she patiently explains feminine hygiene to Agnes’s daughter, offering the kindness she never received.

Agnes might be in a better place if Tabitha, the woman who raised her in Gilead, hadn’t passed away. Paula gives Agnes a small pouch for menstrual pads that Tabitha lovingly embroidered before she died—an odd gift, but likely part of a larger, unknown tradition. Holding something made by her mother sends Agnes into a strange, dreamlike state. She remembers being a little girl, listening to Tabitha tell a story about a magical castle where sweet girls were trapped by evil witches. Tabitha had once used a special ring to save one of those girls, and Agnes realizes that girl was her.

Considering what viewers know about Agnes’s circumstances when she arrived in Gilead, the overly sweet narrative feels disturbing. However, you can still sense the genuine love Tabitha felt for the daughter who was taken from her. It’s difficult to picture the mother from Agnes’s memories willingly giving her child to the first man who asked to take Agnes MacKenzie as a second wife. It’s also hard to believe Tabitha would send Agnes off to school with the harsh, pragmatic advice Paula gives, even if that advice is realistic. Paula tells her, “Womanhood is a lifelong test,” and that’s especially true in Gilead, where women have lost their rights and are instead subjected to endless, restrictive traditions.

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2026-04-08 19:58