The Testaments episode 8 debunks two major fan theories in game-changing instalment

*Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Testaments episode 8.*

Since The Testaments began airing, there have been theories aplenty flying around on the internet as to how fans think the series will unfold and how closely it will stick to the original Margaret Atwood novel.

A point of focus for many on TikTok and Reddit has been the “what’s to come” trailer for the series, which many saw at the end of the third episode. It obviously includes snapshots of episodes gone, but also includes brief snippets of scenes we’re yet to see. Naturally, fans have continued to speculate about what some of those scenes could spell for the characters, namely Hulda (Isolde Ardies).

We last saw her as a ball of pure excitement as she got her period and was thrust into the world of being an adult woman, eventually going to the dentist for the routine check-up that’s scheduled in for the Plums once they turn Green. Fans sadly knew what that meant, having already witnessed Dr Grove’s (Randal Edwards) predatory behaviour when Agnes (Chase Infiniti) went for her appointment.

This episode sees Agnes take over the narrating duties and as the Greens start to prepare for their betrothals, the “lucky” cohort of newly engaged girls get a lesson in biology and sex, a typical Gilead iteration that’s devoid of any real meaningful detail, centring on their duties as wives. It’s that lesson that strikes something in Hulda, who is clearly anxious about the whole affair.

Taking her to one side afterwards, Agnes encourages Hulda to speak and it’s then that she reveals Agnes’s (and the viewer’s) worst nightmares – that when she went to see Dr Grove (aka Becka’s dad), he sexually assaulted her. Agnes encourages Hulda to go to the Aunts but Hulda, based on everything she’s been taught growing up in Gilead, blames herself for “tempting” him.

Agnes explains in her narration that she knows she’s not being the best friend, seeing as she’s not confronting the fact that she knows what Dr Grove did to her and is instead pushing a very hesitant Hulda to be the one to speak out.

Unlike previous episodes that include flashbacks, this one is interspersed with dream sequences that highlight Agnes’s frame of mind, one of heartbreak at the prospect of not marrying Garth (Brad Alexander) and also, hope as she imagines them both dancing at their wedding.

But that dream quickly becomes a nightmare when, just as they’re about to kiss, Agnes is interrupted by Hulda’s cries from above. Hulda’s standing on the balcony of the school’s hall and shouting for her friend to help her. But when Agnes turns back to alert Garth, she sees that she’s actually stuck in an embrace with Dr Grove. Agnes is trying to break free of his tight grip but is unable to and we sadly see Hulda plunge to her death below.

It’s a scene that flashes up in the trailer and is one that has led fans to wonder whether that would be the tragic outcome of Hulda’s story – but thankfully, it was merely a figment of Agnes’s imagination. When Hulda falls, Agnes snaps awake as, in actuality, she’s sitting in the lunch hall across from Hulda.

Many have suspected that Hulda’s bright sparky energy would quickly be dimmed once she is forced to reckon with the true darkness of Gilead and while she doesn’t meet such a ghastly end, it’s clear that Agnes is beginning to see the true impact of their totalitarian society.

Another fan theory that is dispelled in this week’s episode is the identity of Garth’s parents. Garth has undoubtedly been one of the more enigmatic characters of the show, with it being revealed early on that he’s actually working for Mayday and alongside Daisy (Lucy Halliday). Playing both sides of the Gilead fence is no easy feat and that’s led fans to believe that his father could be someone that we’re already familiar with: Nick Blaine (Max Minghella).

Some fans have thought that Garth’s father could be Nick, who was killed in the Mayday plane bomb attack, and his mother could be Nick’s widow Rose (Carey Cox). Although Alexander has acknowledged the similarities that Nick and Garth share, this theory has always had many holes in it. Not least because the timelines don’t match up and Nick and Rose’s son would be considerably younger than Agnes.

Others have also suggested that Garth could be Serena’s (Yvonne Strahovski) son, Noah. The theory outlines that Serena could have joined Mayday after her escape and encouraged her son to infiltrate Gilead, with his biological father being Commander Waterford (Joseph Fiennes). Again though, seeing as the series has altered the original novel’s timeline and is set just four years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale, then it doesn’t seem likely.

Working as a Guardian for the MacKenzie family, Garth has continued to be the apple of Agnes’s eye but this week, cements his future marriage with her best friend Becka (Mattea Conforti).

Throwing the first engagement party of the season is a big deal and it turns out that an initially sceptical Becka is the one to do so, underlining her upcoming nuptials to future Commander Garth. It’s also an opportunity for us as viewers to get a small window into Garth’s life and his parents, seemingly doing away with circulating theories.

At the party, we see Garth’s dad, Commander Chapin (Roger Shank), paralysed in a wheelchair. Agnes explains to her friends that he was one of the Commanders that led the fight to keep Boston. When Agnes approaches, Garth’s father knocks over a glass and his mother (Martha Girvin) prompts Garth to take him outside for some fresh air. Garth and Daisy use it as an opportunity to chat, with Garth explaining that he can’t understand what they’re saying so there’s no need to worry about talking in front of him.

Garth then explains that his dad was poisoned in an assassination attempt by Mayday, the very group that Garth is now a part of. Even though Garth maintains that his father is the bravest man he’s ever known, he says that he was just fighting for the wrong side.

But is there more than meets the eye to Garth and Commander Chapin’s story? No doubt, the theories will continue to swirl and we’ll just have to wait and see.

The Testaments continues to air on Disney+ in the UK every Wednesday. Sign-up to Disney+ from £5.99 a month.

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