Original subtitles

Previously, on the testaments...

You want to know what it was like for me, growing up in gilead.

At the aunt Lydia school, plum dresses were for older girls like us.

Up, then.

Well, don't you look pretty as a picture?

Thank you... mother.

Predestined to marry high gilead commanders,

which only happened if god blessed us with a period.

You're insane. The skirt looks fine.

Even god knows Paula has no taste.

Then we became Greens.

I wish I was green this season.

I wish we all were, together.

It's starting to move very, very fast.

It's a dress, not a husband.

Not yet.

White was for the Pearl girls.

They were new arrivals from outside of gilead.

Weirdos.

This is Daisy.

I'd like you to show her around. Make her feel comfortable.

May the lord open.

You may socialize.

What is all this then?

This is Daisy.

It's a blessing to meet you all.

They stuck you with a Pearl girl? What did you do wrong?

She didn't do anything!

Well, you can't trust her.

It's time to plum up and get her before she gets you.

Shame upon any of you that tempt a man!

By his hand! By his hand!

Daisy!

Jesus Christ, he was fucking wide awake.

Miss Agnes, I am so sorry.

I committed blasphemy.

Our secret.

Shunammite said you should never, ever trust a Pearl girl,

but that was exactly what I did.

It was when I became eligible.

And when I met Daisy.

It was when it all started.

The aunts told us lots of girls never blossomed

because they're disobedient and prideful.

And those girls are worthless to god.

Getting your period was like a stamp of approval from god himself.

I was one of the chosen ones.

Me.

Why me?

There was a chance I'd be able to conceive.

I was supposed to be ecstatic, and I was.

But I was also scared to death.

It's hard to tell one from the other sometimes.

Blessed morning?

Rosa?

Rosa?

Rosa?

What on earth are you doing, skulking around?

Blessed morning, mother.

Going out for a morning ride?

It's too early for your manipulative nonsense.

What are you doing?

Mother, as he blessed Ruth and Leah,

he has blessed me this day.

As he answered the prayers of Sarah, Rachel, and Rebekah,

he has saved me from barrenness.

By his hand, he will make me fruitful.

Blessed be his miracle.

Wait for me in the parlor.

When becka got her period, her mom was so happy,

she started laughing and crying at the same time.

I doubt Paula has ever cried.

Or laughed.

We're not telling fibs now, are we?

You know, the aunts will do their inspection.

No. I wouldn't.

Welcome to the sacred calling of womanhood.

There's a lot of tedious bother to the whole enterprise.

These are called wings.

They go beneath your underpants and snap shut.

Like this, yes?

Change the pads every few hours.

Cleanliness is godliness, especially so on these days.

You should never smell it on yourself.

Understood?

Yes, ma'am.

I was scared my first time, too.

Thank you for your help.

It's a woman's duty to pass on this kind of wisdom.

Of course, no one bothered to do it for me.

Tabitha made this for you before she passed.

It's a cover for your pad.

Thank you.

See if you can see the rainbow through the rock.

Is it translucent?

- You got it? - No, it looks like a heart.

It does. You're right.

As I was walking along the forest,

I came upon an enchanted castle.

I saw inside there were all these little girls locked up.

Sweet, godly girls.

They were all under the spell of wicked witches.

Luckily, I had a magic ring.

But the ring only had the power to save one little girl.

So, I looked at all of them very carefully.

And out of the whole bunch, I chose you.

Is that how I'll get a baby?

You won't need to, sweetheart.

You are going to have a baby grow inside your tummy.

Blessed morning.

Agnes has blossomed.

Praise be his mercy.

How do you feel?

A little sick to my stomach.

It's a blessing to feel your body's miracle.

Agnes will have some appointments now that she's eligible.

Yes, ma'am.

There's the new doctor, of course.

And a proper tailor.

And I'll enlist Dr. Grove for the teeth whitening.

We need to make her as appealing as possible.

Yes, ma'am.

Congrats, Agnes.

I prayed so hard.

How about some coffee? Isn't that what women drink?

Yes, please.

It's completely obvious.

I'm walking weird.

You're perfect.

You're filled with his divine light.

And then, a husband.

Yes.

We pray a kind one.

A real young woman.

Your mother would be so proud of you.

Rosa took care of Tabitha when she was dying.

She sat next to her bed and fed her ice cubes.

I heard they're redistricting.

- Enjoy your special day. - Heads up.

Under his eye, sweetie pie.

Under his eye, Rosa.

Would people notice the difference?

That I was a woman now?

Was it something you could sense?

Like a wild animal in the grass.

Or smell? Like the air before a storm.

Blessed day.

Like a guardian walking past you in the summer heat.

He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.

Amen.

Blessed day, miss Agnes.

Blessed day. Have you seen becka?

No, I'm sorry. I was praying while I waited for you.

You don't have to do that. Just go inside like a normal person.

Where are you going?

Curiosity got Eve kicked out of the garden.

But aunt Lydia said I should stay with you.

You can't come.

Is this about yesterday?

Let's not dawdle. Hurry along.

Aunt gabbana?

It's beautiful, shunammite.

Blessed day! Girls! Up, up! Let's go!

Girls, up, up. Someone's been blessed!

No, let's go!

Agnes MacKenzie.

What a day this is.

Aunt vidala, as he blessed Ruth and Leah,

he has blessed me this day.

As he answered the prayers of Sarah, and Rachel, and Rebekah,

he has saved me from barrenness.

By his hand, he will make me fruitful.

Praise be his mercy.

Your blessing is a blessing upon us all.

One of your own has been touched by his divine hand, girls.

Praise be.

Praise be, Agnes.

She's so lucky!

Take my meatloaf.

You need iron and folic acid and bioflavonoids.

I'm stuffed, hulda.

Is your menstrual pad all soaked?

No. Not yet.

Cool. You're so blessed.

Well, green means more work. And dancing in public.

And Agnes hates dancing in front of people.

That could be a nightmare.

Shut up, sh...

What crawled into your tights?

I'm sure you'll be next.

My breasts have been feeling pretty sore.

They look bigger, don't they?

My father always said I was blessed in that department.

Beck, I can ask Paula if I can come to your house today.

I can say it's for green stuff.

Up, girls!

I have another fitting.

Up, up, quick. Shake your tail feathers.

We need you in corrections.

Come! A Pearl girl needs your guidance.

On your special day? What a drag.

Corrections were done in a separate part of the school.

The aunts' wing.

This room reeked of the aunts.

- What did she do? - I don't know.

It smelled like boiled wool and sweat.

It smelled of certainty, if certainty had a smell.

This young woman made a confession this morning.

She has admitted to using the lord's name in vain.

Agnes.

Aunt Lydia trusted you to guide this girl as you would your own child.

I'm sorry, aunt vidala.

You have been blessed with womanhood today.

Is that a challenge you are ready for?

Yes, aunt vidala.

Then show me.

Teach your straying lamb.

Get up!

You don't lounge around while defending his name.

What must a sinner do?

Pay, aunt vidala.

She must pay for her sins, aunt vidala.

Pay for her sins! Pay for her sins!

Tell her what she is, Agnes.

Dirty words come from what?

A dirty girl.

Dirty girl! Dirty girl! Dirty girl!

Corrections was our time to unleash,

and we devoured it.

Dirty girl! Dirty girl!

I'm ashamed of how much I miss it.

Dirty girl! Dirty girl! Dirty girl! Dirty girl!

Whose fault is this?

We understood power and rage.

Teenage girls appreciate rage.

In gilead as elsewhere.

You are nothing.

You're a slut from the streets of sodom.

A child of sinners and whores.

She was there!

And she heard my blasphemy. I swear to god.

Alright, friends. Time for cake.

Open.

A vessel unclean has no use in the service of the lord.

God wants you to put your shoulder into it, Agnes.

I expected more from you on your special day.

Now clean up and get to class.

That soap is disgusting.

I heard the Marthas use rendered cow fat and fireplace ashes.

By his mercy, at least aunt gabbana spared our tongues.

It would've taught you how to stay silent.

Agnes, I had to confess my sins.

I made a commitment to god to be a good Pearl girl.

Well congratulations. You're being a perfect little Pearl girl.

I didn't mean to rat you out.

But when you got all up in my face, it was a lot.

Corrections are a lot for you. Assembly is a lot for you.

Maybe serving god is just too much for you.

I really am sorry.

Why did you come here?

Why don't you just go back home?

Not everyone has a home to go back to.

Some people have crappy lives.

A Princess wouldn't get it.

By his grace, I was granted a fresh start here in gilead.

Please give me a chance.

And on this day of all days.

I think you deserved every bit of that punishment.

Every bit.

- Do you agree? - Yes.

Thank you for coming, Mrs. Braden.

Please do say hello to the commander for me.

Lovely to see you, Mrs. MacKenzie.

- Agnes, we'll just be a moment. - Praise be.

There are changes happening in your body, and more on the way.

Your prefrontal cortex is still developing

and all that estrogen pumping through your body

will tempt you into impulsive decisions.

Dangerous ones.

Womanhood is a test, Agnes.

A lifelong test.

The aunts didn't teach us science.

My prefrontal cortex had no idea what Paula was talking about.

Dr. Grove is ready for you, Agnes.

I blinked and you girls grew up.

Becka's gonna be thrilled you're a green now.

I'm glad we're in it together.

There was a lot on her mind today.

Well, becka's a worrywart.

It's just how she is.

Open.

Well, praise be. Perfect teeth.

Just perfect.

You know, maybe you could help her through it all.

She's less anxious around you.

I mean, you've always been so mature for your age.

Thank you.

Okay. Only an X-ray to go.

Can I have a, size two bite wing, please?

Now, I hope that this isn't too heavy for you.

I imagine your breasts must be quite tender.

It's not too heavy.

Lovely.

You know, you really are getting to be a big girl, Agnes.

And that's that.

Let's take some pictures.

Excellent. Thank you. Open.

And bite. Perfect.

And, as still as you can be.

That's when I started having nightmares about my wedding night.

About my husband.

A dark bedroom.

Then a smell.

And then he was in front of me, my husband.

But he had no face.

I tried to run away, but he always caught up with me.

Wake up.

Agnes.

Aunt Lydia?

Yes. It's time. Come along.

It's a chilly night, dear.

Come along, dear.

We gather here tonight as this daughter of gilead comes of age,

seeking his divine protection.

And she will need it, his protection.

For being a woman on god's green earth is no easy feat.

In you go, dear. Rub-a-dub-dub.

But we needn't look so far back

to see the suffering of women, do we?

That's why gilead was created.

To bring women back to their rightful place.

The world would be lost without you.

Who can bring forth god's children?

Who will populate this world so his divine presence can be multiplied?

Who, but you?

You join your sisters now in this holy endeavor.

Agnes MacKenzie, jettison all that came before this moment,

and embrace your new role.

May the generations born to your womb

be worthy in his eyes.

Blessed be the fruit.

Blessed be the fruit.

May the lord open.

A token of your passage.

May he bless your new path.

Under his eye.

Under his eye.

Wonderful.

Hi.

Want some help?

I thought I was gonna drown in there.

Me too, when I had my initiation.

I feel like I'm still drowning.

It's better that you're here, though.

Praise be.

I thought you were mad.

This was your season, and I was ruining it.

I thought you didn't want me to be a green.

I didn't.

I didn't want this for either of us.

I don't want to get married.

I don't want a husband.

But what else would you do?

I don't know.

Aunt Lydia said we... Get to leave everything behind.

Everything that happened before tonight.

Do you think that's real?

What would you want to leave behind?

It will be great.

Pushing strollers together.

No aunts following us around.

That does sound nice.

All will be well, Rebecca.

All manner of things will be well.

I'm freezing.

Yeah. Come on.

Let's go home.

It made no sense to say you didn't want to get married.

It was going to happen.

"Want" had nothing to do with it.

There were things to be wanted.

Even in gilead.

Even if there were consequences.

Blessed morning.

Pray, you know smoking is not allowed, right?

Yes, miss Agnes.

My apologies.

Congratulations.

On your initiation.

Thank you.

Better get inside, miss Agnes.

Sometimes you couldn't help but want.

Even if you tried your best to stop it.

But there was no point to it.

All that wanting.

Agnes! Finally!

Your father is home.

He'll be pleased to hear of your development.

You look so pretty this morning.

He's in the parlor.

Finished, and the samples could be contaminated.

All these things need to be fixed.

If they're temp controlled, then I think the transport is gonna be fine.

It's certainly vital.

Blessed morning, angel.

Father, as he blessed Ruth and Leah,

he has blessed me this day.

As he answered the prayers of Sarah, Rachel, and Rebekah,

he has saved me from barrenness.

By his hand, he will make me fruitful.

I know he will.

Blessed be the fruit, Agnes.

May the lord open, daddy.

Congratulations.