- 3 weeks ago
Unravel the mysteries and unanswered questions from "The Handmaid’s Tale" as "The Testaments" sheds new light on the fate of beloved characters, the resistance’s future, and life inside Gilead’s oppressive society. From Aunt Lydia’s past to Agnes’s true feelings about Gilead, dive deep into the revelations and surprises that expand this chilling dystopian world.
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00:00You want to know what it was like for me, growing up in Gilead?
00:03Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at loose ends from The Handmaid's Tale that
00:08were revisited in The Testaments. The real brutality is when it asks you to endure,
00:14knowing what you have done and what has been done while you stood by.
00:19Spoilers for both shows will follow. Does the resistance continue?
00:23What are you doing? Come on. Okay, I'm going back for my stuff.
00:27No. No, why? Because you're in danger. I need to get you out of here.
00:31The Handmaid's Tale concluded with a victory for Mayday, the resistance group working to bring an
00:36end to Gilead. While Gilead lost the War of Massachusetts, the Republic maintained control
00:42over territory that the resistance is still fighting to reclaim four years later. Radio Free Boston
00:48provides a means of communication for Mayday members working on the inside. If you listen closely,
00:54you'll notice that one of the voices on Radio Free Boston is Mark Tuello, the U.S. government
01:00operative who aided June. Also, Stephen Colbert's voice can be heard.
01:05This is Radio Free Boston. If you're hoping for some tunes, you're in the right place.
01:10For our Mayday heroes behind the lines, tonight's messages are on channel 99.2.
01:15Among the new Mayday recruits is Daisy, who learns that she was rescued from Gilead as a baby.
01:20After her parents are killed, Mayday arranges for Daisy to infiltrate Gilead as a pearl girl.
01:27Daisy, be a good girl and stay with Agnes. Lambs, don't stray.
01:31Yes, Aunt Lydia. Thank you, Aunt Lydia.
01:35What are wife schools like?
01:37We're all too familiar with the horrors that handmaids endure. We also know that being a wife
01:43in Gilead isn't as glamorous as the commander's claim. Yet, the handmaid's tale only briefly touched
01:49upon what goes on within the walls of a wife school. We learned why wives in training plums
01:55wear purple, marking a transition as they prepare for marriage.
01:59What's this training? To run their households?
02:05To act like wives.
02:06They're not there for very long. They move them through, try and get them matched up quickly.
02:10It sounds horrifying because it is, but the girls are naive. They've been brought up their
02:15whole lives to believe this is their purpose.
02:17You have your dress fitting?
02:19We're moving, girls. Let's go.
02:20After lunch.
02:21Becca was already green.
02:23She was getting ready to be matched.
02:25She was moving on without me, but we didn't talk about that.
02:29While many buy into this fairy tale, others begin to see the schools for what they truly are.
02:34The Testaments provides a first-hand perspective of the wives in training,
02:38exploring their dynamics with Pearl Girls, aunts, commanders, and each other.
02:43We'll pray together. We'll show contrition.
02:49God is merciful.
02:52The aunts, not so much sometimes.
02:54What happened to Rita Blue?
02:56I want to join you. Mayday.
02:59You are hurt and confused and angry, and anger gives you adrenaline, makes you feel brave.
03:05What's wrong with being brave?
03:08I said feel brave. There's a difference.
03:10Once a Martha who worked for the Waterfords, Rita soon becomes one of June's most resilient
03:16allies. Not only did Rita help June get out of Gilead, but she played a key role in rescuing her
03:22and several others from the gallows. The Testaments catches up with Rita, revealing that she's still
03:27fighting the good fight four years later.
03:29Where's Linda?
03:31Oh, she dropped you off. This is my place. I'm Rita.
03:36First things first. I have a friend in immigration who's making a new passport for you so we can get
03:42you out of Canada.
03:43Her life has become more peaceful, living in a cozy Canadian cottage and even finding time to enroll
03:49in culinary school. She hasn't left the resistance, though, making the arrangements for Daisy to
03:55infiltrate the Aunt Lydia school as a pearl girl. Rita is no stranger to hiding in plain sight,
04:01training the next generation until Gilead is no more.
04:04Before Gilead, this guy worked in crypto, and now he's a commander.
04:10Oh, and he's racked up a couple of restraining orders for domestic violence.
04:14Just memorize their faces. It makes it easier when you don't know much about them.
04:19Does Agnes slash Hannah remember June?
04:22Please, God, let her remember me.
04:30At the beginning of The Handmaid's Tale, June's daughter Hannah has already been given to a Gilead
04:35couple and renamed Agnes. June was briefly reunited with her young daughter, who felt
04:40abandoned despite her mother's best efforts. Nevertheless, there was still a strong mother-daughter
04:46bond between the two. They crossed paths again years later, but this time, Agnes seemingly no
04:51longer recognized June. While June will never stop fighting for Hannah, has Agnes forgotten her
04:57biological mother entirely?
04:59We don't...
05:02It's rude to talk about that here.
05:04In The Testaments, Daisy asks a now-teenager Agnes about her birth mother. Although Agnes doesn't
05:11give a direct answer, Daisy clearly pushes a button, suggesting that Agnes does have some
05:16buried memories of June, but she doesn't truly know who her real mom is, yet. But more on that later.
05:23That would come soon.
05:26I had no idea how much that would change things.
05:28What happens to Aunt Lydia?
05:30She had been worshipped, then vilified.
05:32Thank you, Aunt Lydia.
05:33Then worshipped again.
05:35Blessed day, Aunt Lydia.
05:36In the four years since the War of Massachusetts, the purges had happened. As always, those remaining
05:42were able to shape history as they liked.
05:45Few Handmaid's Tale characters were easier to hate than Aunt Lydia, who acts as if she has her
05:50girl's best interests at heart, despite the cruelty she subjects them to. By the show's conclusion,
05:56Lydia begins to recognize the errors in Gilead. She even does right by some of the handmaids
06:02she wronged, reuniting Janine with her daughter. Although she once publicly renounced Gilead's
06:07commanders, Lydia has since been welcomed back and even runs her own school.
06:12Do you know why this statue was erected?
06:16So you can always be watching over us?
06:19Yes. We inspire the world with our good works, Agnes. Do you agree?
06:25Yes, Aunt Lydia.
06:26While she's reclaimed a position of power, this is a more affectionate Lydia than we first met years ago.
06:32We wouldn't say Lydia has been redeemed, but you get the sense that she's now committed to
06:36shielding her girls, and keeping notes about the men who abuse them.
06:40May God protect these girls, because I'm not sure I can.
06:45What's Agnes slash Hannah's relationship with her adoptive parents?
06:49The commander doll was always doing very important work, just like my father,
06:54keeping us safe from heretics and Mayday terrorists.
06:57When Agnes was briefly reunited with June in season two of The Handmaid's Tale,
07:02she mentioned that her adoptive parents only hit her when she misbehaved.
07:06Agnes' adoptive father, Commander Mackenzie, would make an on-screen appearance in season five.
07:12Then, in the series finale, June learned that Agnes and her adoptive parents were being relocated to Washington, D.C.
07:18And it will be 2,000 miles closer.
07:22I know that isn't enough, but it's a kind of progress.
07:25While Agnes' adoptive mother, Tabitha, also appeared in The Handmaid's Tale,
07:29we learn in the Testaments that she has since passed away.
07:32It didn't take long for Mackenzie to take a new wife named Paula,
07:36who has a more contentious relationship with Agnes.
07:39Although Mackenzie genuinely cares about Agnes and seems more considerate than the other commanders,
07:44he still follows Gilead's heinous practices.
08:02How did Lydia become an aunt?
08:05Teaching these girls was like a recipe for a tough steak.
08:10Hammer it with a mallet, then marinate and tenderize.
08:18I had seen it both before, on myself and other women.
08:23We really only got one episode of The Handmaid's Tale that delved into Lydia's backstory.
08:28Once a teacher, Lydia wasn't the most compassionate person even before Gilead.
08:33Seemingly befriending a struggling mother, Lydia ultimately reported her to Child Protective Services
08:38because of her active sex life and lack of Christian values.
08:42How could you do this to us?
08:44I had to, to protect Ryan.
08:47From what? He's fine, he needs me. He needs his mother.
08:52Ma'am, you're entitled to appeal our determination at your hearing in six weeks.
08:55Six weeks? Why?
08:57This is your fault, Noelle. You must know that.
09:00The Testaments returns to Lydia's past following the Sons of Jacob coup.
09:04It appears there'd be no place for a woman like Lydia in this new world.
09:08Never married.
09:10No. Does that matter?
09:17You had an abortion.
09:19To spare herself from execution, Lydia suggested that Gilead would need instructors to teach girls.
09:25In doing so, Lydia essentially created the ant position.
09:28The episode reconceptualizes Lydia as someone doing what she must to survive, even if others must suffer at her hands.
09:36How quickly people forget that nothing good comes without a little grinding down of the tooth.
09:43For a seedling must fight its way through the dirt to meet the sun.
09:48How does Agnes slash Hannah view Gilead?
09:51The Testaments is largely told from Agnes' point of view.
09:54Like the other wives in training, Agnes has been brainwashed into believing Gilead's teaching.
10:00At the beginning of the series, Agnes has bought into the fantasy, yet isn't without some hesitance.
10:06I was a precious flower.
10:09Then why did I sometimes feel like a prized pig?
10:12Even so, Agnes has accepted that this is the status quo,
10:16and she has a more comfortable life than some of the other women in Gilead.
10:20Upon getting her first period, Agnes finds that she actually doesn't have it much better.
10:24In addition to being assaulted while unconscious, Agnes dreads the idea of marrying Commander Weston.
10:31It becomes increasingly clear to Agnes that Gilead isn't a fairy tale,
10:36but a nightmare she can't wake up from.
10:38Men like that enjoy a stubborn spirit.
10:41It's no fun breaking in a horse.
10:43It's already docile.
10:45What happened to June Osborne?
10:47What are you doing?
10:48Come on.
10:49Okay, I'm going back for my stuff.
10:51No.
10:52No, why?
10:53Because you're in danger.
10:54I need to get you out of here.
10:55A handmaid who becomes the face of a rebellion,
10:58June Osborne's initial story ended with a moment of self-reflection.
11:02At the same time, June's fight was far from over,
11:05with rescuing her daughter still top of mind.
11:08Being such a recognized figure,
11:10June is long past the point of blending in with other handmaids.
11:13Thus, June must rely on someone else to infiltrate Gilead.
11:17Still working for Mayday,
11:19June is the one who recruits Daisy after she loses her parents.
11:22Your parents were working with Mayday.
11:25They were working with me.
11:26My parents are armed smugglers or something.
11:31They run a vintage store.
11:33My dad doesn't even know how to use to find my friends.
11:35They are the least spy people in the universe.
11:41There are things you don't know about them, Daisy.
11:43While June is limited to a recurring character in The Testaments,
11:46she remains an integral player.
11:48She drives the plot forward,
11:51sending Daisy to Agnes and perhaps finally finding a way
11:54to get her daughter out of Gilead for good.
11:56You are never alone.
12:01Mayday's got you.
12:04We've always had you.
12:09From the beginning.
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12:36How has June's status impacted Agnes slash Hannah?
12:40Although Agnes has been shielded from her mother,
12:43June goes from just another handmaid
12:46to public enemy number one in Gilead.
12:48If Gilead wanted to hit June where it hurts,
12:51they could have used Agnes as leverage.
12:54They never hurt a child.
13:00It's all they care about.
13:02Gilead doesn't care about children.
13:06Gilead cares about power.
13:08In the Testaments,
13:09Paula tells Agnes that Gilead
13:11did want to send pieces of Agnes to June,
13:14especially after the handmaid attack.
13:17Her father stood in their way,
13:19but with this revelation,
13:20Agnes begins to comprehend
13:22that her biological mother
13:23was a bigger deal than she thought.
13:25Daisy confirms this when she tells Agnes
13:28that her mother is June Osborne.
13:30The terrorist?
13:32Why would you say that?
13:34Why would you say something like that?
13:36She isn't a terrorist.
13:39She fights for what she believes in,
13:42just like you do.
13:43Although Agnes initially denies this,
13:46it doesn't take long for her to accept
13:47what she knows deep down.
13:49June is her mother,
13:50and Agnes, or Hannah,
13:52is her mother's daughter.
13:54I'm going to do what Mayday couldn't.
13:56I'm going to destroy Gilead
13:58with what it values most.
14:00I'm staying in the fight,
14:01and I'm going to create my own army.
14:04Because nothing can be more powerful
14:06than a teenage girl.
14:08Are you looking forward to
14:09The Testaments Season 2?
14:11Let us know in the comments.
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