The Testaments Recap: A Fresh Angle

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The problem with Agnes MacKenzie being the narrator for a TV series about how hatred leads to oppressive governments is that she doesn’t offer any real insight. This isn’t her fault; she grew up in Gilead, a place that limited her education to things like sewing and religious texts, and is still very young. Even when it comes to herself, Agnes admits she’s not knowledgeable. She doesn’t even know how old she is or what changes are happening to her body, and she doesn’t know who her mother is.

June’s narration in The Handmaid’s Tale sometimes felt a bit obvious, but it was also beautifully done. It was particularly effective in the show’s first seasons at reminding viewers that June was relatable – she came from the same world we know. For example, in the very first episode, she says she’s ‘okay’ out loud, but thinks to herself, ‘pious little shit.’ This internal monologue, revealed through narration, highlighted the contrast between the calm exterior of life in Gilead and the harsh reality of experiencing it.

The third episode of Testaments shifts perspectives, moving from Agnes’s limited viewpoint to that of Daisy, her fellow student whom we previously thought was a runaway from Toronto. We learn Daisy also comes from our world, and her narration immediately feels more vibrant and relatable. She bluntly observes Agnes’s attraction to her Guardian, Garth, saying, “I wasn’t surprised she wanted to sleep with him… look at him!” This works because Daisy thinks and talks like a modern person, and a significant portion of the episode is devoted to revealing how someone with such a contemporary mindset ended up so far south.

Through a memory, we see Daisy as she used to be – before she felt the need to constantly think things over, when she could freely say what was on her mind. She starts to explain how she became involved in this strange situation, which immediately raises the question: who is she talking to? In The Handmaid’s Tale, it seemed natural that she was speaking directly to us, the viewers. But in this new story, we can’t ask Daisy anything, implying she’s addressing another character within the show. She then adds, “I’d been asking myself the same question,” which is reminiscent of Agnes’s struggle to understand herself. Considering they’re both still teenagers, it’s not surprising they’re grappling with these questions.

The day we learn about Daisy’s early life, two young women from a group called the Pearl Girls visit her parents’ antique shop, hoping to convert them to their beliefs. Daisy wonders why her mother, Mel, is so nice to them, but Mel believes there’s no reason to be unkind. Mel and her husband, Neil, are naturally warm and open people. Their shop is full of interesting items, and their family life is cheerfully a little chaotic. They’re open and honest with Daisy about topics like sex, and it’s likely Daisy’s friends are comfortable enough to call her parents by their first names.

We don’t learn much about Daisy’s ex-boyfriend, Justin, but he appears to be a nice person. We find out he did well on a science test, which is great. He’s also the one who gave Daisy the radio she uses in bed during the first episode. They spend time together after school, relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. These few hours are special for Daisy, though she doesn’t realize it at the time – they will end up being the last normal moments of her life.

When Daisy finally got home that night, she discovered Mel and Neil had been murdered, and the police had turned her house into a crime scene. At the hospital, a man pretending to be a social worker tried to drug and kidnap her, but June arrived just in time to stop him. Surprisingly, Daisy didn’t recognize June, even though June is the mastermind behind Angel’s Flight and famously smuggled a Commander’s baby to safety in Toronto. It seems odd that Daisy wouldn’t know her, especially since Daisy learned about Gilead in school – you’d think they’d mention the woman who escaped execution and liberated New England. It’s strange that history seems to have left her out; normally, the victors write the history books, but that’s another matter.

Daisy agrees to help because she’s under the influence of drugs and has a faint memory of June from when she used to visit a vintage shop, as we saw in the beginning of The Testaments. June calmly takes Daisy to a run-down motel and explains that she’s also in danger. June reveals that Gilead killed Daisy’s parents, Mel and Neil, because they were secretly working with the resistance, something Daisy struggles to accept, remembering her parents’ kindness. All Daisy wants is to contact her friend, Justin, but June tells her that life is over. When Daisy angrily slams the bedroom door, June can’t help but smile, recognizing the familiar teenage rebellion—some parts of being a girl can’t be erased, even by tragedy.

Take, for instance, Daisy sneaking out. After June falls asleep, Daisy quietly leaves the motel and climbs into Justin’s bedroom window. She breaks down in his arms, and they have sex. Bathed in the cool, blue light from his fish tank, Daisy desperately asks him to run away with her and start over. But Justin is just a child, and his bedroom is filled with things like aquariums. He doesn’t want to be left alone, and he can’t accept that Gilead is so close. Daisy climbs back out the window, where she finds June waiting for her on a particularly dark and difficult night. With nowhere else to turn, she allows the stranger to embrace her.

Now, in the world of Gilead, the once vibrant girl is seen in her plain white uniform, quietly caring for the Aunts – tending to their beehives, cleaning their rooms, and serving their meals. Today, the Plums, including Daisy, are going on a trip to visit their friend Penny, who is now married and goes by “Mrs. Judd.” Becka gently corrects them, reminding everyone that she’s still just Penny. It’s not really clear how important that difference is – one is a Wife, with all that status implies, and the other was simply someone who hoped to become one.

The girls never make it to Penny’s Barbie Dreamhouse. On the way, their purple bus is attacked, but surprisingly, they all stay relatively calm. Only Daisy gets curious and looks out the windows to see what’s happening. Garth, who seems to be wherever he’s needed, notices that the bus is being surrounded. Agnes is initially stunned, but Daisy quickly pulls her down to the floor for safety. They’re eventually moved inside an abandoned shop to get out of harm’s way.

Thankfully, the bodies on the ground aren’t students. Hulda gets a minor injury, and Shu announces, with a serious tone, that Aunt Vidala has a broken arm. It’s strange, considering Shu recently seemed excited by violence. The situation is frightening, but the Plums are still just teenage girls, stuck in an unfamiliar location, full of adrenaline and without adult supervision.

That’s how Hulda shares a surprising observation: she saw a Guardian’s hairy stomach while helping out in the temporary medical area. Agnes, shocked, asks Daisy if all men are like that. Daisy, who has finally become friends with Agnes after protecting her, explains that most grown men have stomach hair, and it extends further down. Becka is disgusted, while Shu is intrigued. This is a memorable day for the girls – something unexpected happened, and they’ve learned something they weren’t supposed to. They now have Daisy, their own ‘Pearl Girl,’ to answer questions their mothers won’t.

A week later, the Plums and Daisy finally arrive at Mrs. Judd’s house. The living room is decorated with soft, baby-pink velvet furniture. Penny already seems knowledgeable about adult topics, and surprisingly announces she might be pregnant. Becka wonders if life as a wife will be too difficult, but Penny appears to be handling things well. Her husband is showing some gray in his beard, but he’s just an ordinary older man—not frail or extremely old. Things could be much worse, actually. For these women, finding a husband who is a Commander, lives nearby, and is still young enough to avoid health concerns might be the best they can hope for.

As the Plums leave, Daisy stays on the school bus and reveals in a voiceover that she isn’t a genuine Pearl Girl. The real surprise is that Garth is also part of Mayday. Daisy gives him the map of the Aunt Lydia School, and he explains the caravan attack was a Mayday operation – an attempt to rescue someone from Gilead, though we don’t know who, or if it worked. Hearing that Mayday would risk the lives of young girls on the bus, Daisy urgently tells Garth she needs to talk to June. But Garth doesn’t recognize the name, which is shocking – even if June isn’t well-known in Canada, she’s definitely famous within Gilead, especially among those involved with Mayday.

Before everything changed, June revealed the truth to Daisy at a late-night diner. Gilead doesn’t want to harm Daisy; they want her to return home. Daisy’s birth parents were originally from Gilead, and Mel and Neil adopted her to protect her, but they loved her as their own child. Mel often reminisced about the night she first held Daisy, describing how the baby stubbornly sang show tunes for hours until she finally drifted off to sleep. June explained that’s how you truly become a child of your parents – through shared moments of vulnerability, being the focus of their affection, and experiencing a love so strong they would sacrifice anything for you.

June tells Daisy that another Mayday contact will be coming to the diner to get her. This feels like the start of a new chapter for Daisy, but it’s hard to understand how someone whose parents sacrificed everything to keep her safe from Gilead could willingly choose to go back in—to live right under the control of the men who believe she’s their property. When Commander Judd asks why she joined the Pearl program, Daisy explains, “There was nothing left for me.” It isn’t a lie; it’s the painful reality.

As June leaves the diner – and possibly the narrative – she tells Daisy, “Don’t let them break you.” This is the second time we’ve heard that phrase in just three episodes of The Testaments. It makes you wonder who June Osborne really is. Currently, she seems like just an ordinary woman, like Daisy, who enjoys listening to the Stephen Colbert radio show.

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2026-04-08 20:57