The Testaments Season 1 Episode 7 Includes Another Cameo as Suitors Are Named

Critic’s Rating: 3.8 / 5.0

3.8

There are some hours of TV shows that stand out more than others, and The Testaments Season 1 Episode 6 certainly had that.

However, Episode 7 isn’t going to be that far behind, and it’s thanks to the reminder that the Sons of Jacob and the Eyes aren’t all that dumb.

They don’t always get it right, and they act on a matter of fear, but they are made up of smart people — and that’s how Gilead got its start in the first place.

Agnes Has Told Us She Was Indoctrinated from the Start

It’s easy to hope that Agnes can see through Gilead and figure out that this regime isn’t right, but The Testaments Season 1 Episode 7 reminds us of something that she has told us from the start.

She believes in Gilead.

She believes the men are trying to keep the women safe, and she supports the structure and the entire society.

The rebels are terrorists in her eyes, and they need to be treated as such.

When Daisy backed away from the look of the bodies hanging during The Testaments Season 1 Episode 5, Agnes didn’t.

While yes, part of that is showing just how “normal” this is for her, it also shows her belief in what the Commanders, the Eyes, and the Aunts say to her.

So, it’s not that surprising to see that she wants a good marriage, and she wants to impress her suitor, Commander Weston.

There is a part of me that wonders about Weston. He wants a “challenge” with his Wives, and that doesn’t sit well with me.

What does he mean by a challenge? Is this some sort of code?

When she learns about who she is set to marry, there’s a sense of relief, because she knows that Weston is a good match.

At least, in terms of power on The Testaments, he is.

I do feel for Shunnamite, though.

All she wants is a good marriage and to feel worthy of being in this society, but she isn’t a plum.

She continues to support her friends, but at the same time, she’s jealous. It’s not easy to strike that balance, but she does manage it pretty well.

Out of all her friends, she’s the only one being left behind, and that’s a scary thought. I still come back to the question of what happens to the daughters of Commanders who don’t get their periods.

Will Shunnamite be forced to become an Econoperson, or will she be a Martha? Could she get the opportunity to be an Aunt?

I don’t think the book ever explored this, and The Testaments has an opportunity to show us.

But deep down, the scene, with the girls all finding out who they’re marrying and how Shunnamite and Agnes are focused on those marriages, makes it clear that the girls have been indoctrinated.

It’s not quite indoctrinated in full, though. Agnes has items she collected from the time before Gilead was formed, and she makes up stories about them that remind me of The Little Mermaid.

However, it’s this that tells us she has some memories of the past.

She knows that her name before Agnes was Hannah, and it’s only a matter of time before June learns Agnes is there and tries to get her daughter back.

Rita Is Still in Mayday!

We do get another cameo from The Handmaid’s Tale, and this time, it makes a world of sense.

The last we saw of Rita, she had remained in Toronto.

Sure, she helped with Mayday’s plan to take down Gilead in Boston, but she had set up a home in Toronto despite it no longer being safe for the Gilead refugees.

Not everyone will be forced out, and Rita is one of those people.

What I do love about Rita’s cameo is that we see that she’s still working with Mayday, but she’s not immediately sold on the idea of Daisy going in.

After waiting around at the diner, Daisy finally realizes that the waitress was the one who was going to pick her up and take her to a safe house.

June is lucky that Daisy had the patience to wait. How many others her age would decide to run off and take matters into their own hands?

Also, the fact that the waitress just kept filling up Daisy’s coffee without question made it clear to me that she was the Mayday operative who would eventually meet her!

It leads to Daisy meeting Rita, and while she doesn’t understand the powerhouse she’s met, we do.

And we get to see how nurturing Rita has continued to be, despite all the hurt and pain she went through.

She’s even found her calling, choosing to enroll in culinary school — although, I bet she didn’t put the wedding cake for Serena Joy on her list of accomplishments!

This is when we get to see how Daisy ends up becoming a mole in Gilead.

It turns out that Mayday didn’t initially pitch her the idea, and Daisy wanted to do it to get vengeance for her parents’ deaths.

I just wish that someone had some brains in all of this.

Daisy was never in the right mindset to understand the dangers of being part of the rebellion group, and Rita should have fought harder to keep her out of it.

While Rita tried to help a little, it wasn’t enough to prepare Daisy for anything that she was going to have to do or see.

And with all this time she spent with Rita, I have to question why Daisy is so focused on talking to June or getting Garth to talk to June.

Wouldn’t she connect more with Rita?

I get that The Testaments had to keep Rita’s cameo a secret, but there had to be a better way to make the idea of June being Daisy’s first choice make more sense.

Daisy didn’t even get to see June while infiltrating the Pearl Girls.

Speaking of the Pearl Girls, I would like to learn a little more about them.

How long does it take the Pearl Girls to go from being brought into Gilead to helping spread the word about this “sanctuary?”

I think there’s some sort of spinoff to explore there if there was ever a wish.

At least we learned that Daisy wasn’t putting her radio into her own bed frame.

It doesn’t take long for the Eyes to find that radio, but because of the location, it’s Daisy’s bunk neighbor who is hauled away.

Daisy is going to have to live with the guilt now of getting an innocent girl in trouble, although was she all that innocent?

This is the girl who saw Daisy come back to bed that night, and she would have heard something happening within the bed frame.

If she kept her mouth shut all this time, is it a hint that she was another Mayday operative?

Garth keeps saying that Daisy is as close as Mayday has gotten to a Commander, and that can still be true, but it doesn’t mean that Mayday doesn’t have other operatives within the Pearl Girls.

Weston says the Eyes don’t make a mistake, so what has this girl done to threaten Gilead, and how long until she mentions what she saw Daisy doing?

Garth may need to get Daisy out before it’s all too late.

Now, we want to hear from you!
What did you think of this installment of The Testaments? What questions do you have, and what did you think of Rita’s cameo? Drop your thoughts in the comments, and get the discussion flowing!