*Warning: This article contains full spoilers for The Testaments episode 10, Secateurs.*
The ending of the penultimate episode of The Testaments left on a sombre note for Becka (Mattea Conforti) as she was put in the back of a van and whisked away by The Eyes.
Agnes (Chase Infiniti) thought that by telling her parents that Becka had killed her father, they would get her the medical help she needed, with it clear that Becka was experiencing some kind of breakdown.
Instead, Becka and Agnes were left heartbroken at the betrayal and in the finale, Agnes is left to contemplate what fate her best friend could be meeting. It’s a sad series of events that weighs heavy on everyone, including Daisy (Lucy Halliday), who is left with the guilt of having brought Dr Grove’s abuse to light in the first place.
It’s never a smooth ride in Gilead and the finale sure brings new meaning to the term ’emotional rollercoaster’ as Becka’s fate is revealed, along with Agnes and Daisy’s. The episode also boasts a surprise appearance from The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood herself, as well as a return of Elisabeth Moss’s June Osbourne.
But what exactly unfolded in the finale of The Testaments? Read on for a full breakdown.
The Testaments ending explained
Taken by The Eyes to prison, Becka lies restrained and clearly in a state of psychosis, singing to herself and not responding to a concerned Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), who comes to visit her.
Agnes’s narration at the start of the episode details the extremities of Becka’s attack on her father but the Plums and Greens at school are left to ponder what exactly happened to Becka, even though Agnes knows all too well.
In the prison, Aunt Lydia meets with Commander Judd (Charlie Carrick) and the true state of affairs is revealed – that Dr Grove was to be executed by Gilead for his crimes anyway.
With that in mind, Aunt Lydia makes a case for Becka, seeing as the same result has been achieved. Judd is having none of it and says that Becka doesn’t need to be killed, but proposes a future as a Handmaid instead. It’s either that or The Wall but Aunt Lydia can’t think of anything worse for one of her students. Judd confirms that it’s down to the court to decide and tells Aunt Lydia that they are no longer a ‘we’, indicating they’re not a team anymore.
Agnes can’t hold it together at school, rushing out to break down to Garth (Brad Alexander) but is pulled away. She then confronts Aunt Vidala (Mabel Li) about what the Aunts are actually doing to help Becka and it’s clear that the usual Gilead sentiments aren’t cutting it with Agnes anymore. She doesn’t understand why nobody is stepping up to protect Becka, who thought she was doing God’s will.
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That day, Agnes is paid a visit by Commander Weston (Reed Diamond) but it’s clear that her mind is preoccupied. When they’re left alone, he asks how she’s doing and saying that they’re to be wed soon, Weston says that her concerns are now his. Confirming if he means that, Agnes then asks if he can help Becka.
Agnes says that Dr Grove broke the laws of God before Becka did and then says that Becka was only acting to protect her, revealing to Weston that she was one of the girls that Dr Grove abused. Weston thanks Agnes for her honesty and then says that he will do what he can for Becka, but appears uncomfortable.
We later see Becka being transported back home by Weston and some guards, with Weston informing her mother (Kate Hewlett) that this is just temporary, with Becka set to be questioned in a few days, remanded to the state and kept on 24-hour surveillance. But nevertheless, Mrs Grove is happy to have her daughter home.
That evening, Aunt Lydia tells Aunt Vidala that because of what’s happened, she envisions the school’s name (and hers) being tarnished, with Vidala likely seeking to push her out. The pair then have a frank confrontation about the day in the stadium, with Vidala claiming that Lydia never liked her, even before Gilead. But Vidala then tells Lydia that they must work together to try to save Becka.
What happens to Daisy?
After meeting with Garth in the garden, Daisy says that Mayday needs to help Becka but he says there’s nothing they can do. Daisy threatens that if Mayday doesn’t do anything to help her then she will and says she quits Mayday.
But we later see Garth tuning into Radio Free Boston and hear June say that she’s got the message about the ‘loose cannon’ and it will be taken care of that evening. That day, Daisy also gets a secret message in one of the honey jars, telling her a location to meet that evening.
When she goes to the location in the night, she’s transported in the honey delivery truck. She turns up at a dock and there, she’s finally reunited with June. Daisy thinks June’s there to help but June’s actually there to extract her, which Daisy doesn’t take too well to. She tells June that they need to do something to help Becka and in her explanation about why these girls are worth fighting for, she mentions Agnes.
It’s then that June stops in her tracks, realising that Daisy has been getting to know her daughter Hannah, who has been renamed Agnes MacKenzie. June asks how she is as a person and whether she’s happy, with Daisy referring to her as ‘one of the bravest people she’s ever met’. June doesn’t want to let Daisy die but Daisy says she’s willing to take the risk, but that it’s her choice.
Driven back to the school, Garth greets Daisy hurriedly as the guards are out looking for her, having found out that she’s not in her bed. Garth hands her a cigarette and makes out as though she only left her bed to go and smoke, saving her by coming up with an excuse. When Aunt Lydia chastises her in her office, Daisy uses the opportunity to also confront her about Becka.
It’s in their conversation that Daisy says that mothers would do anything for their children, including even die for them and questions what Lydia is doing to save Becka. But Daisy’s words clearly have an impact on Lydia as along with Vidala, they go to visit Becka and Mrs Grove.
Outlining what happened on the night of Dr Grove’s murder, Lydia tells Becka that she found her mother leaning over her father with the pruning shears. Becka is confused by the change in story but Vidala doubles down, telling Becka that she tried to resuscitate her father and that’s why she was covered in blood. Mrs Grove says that this is what should’ve happened and accepts her fate, confessing to a murder she did not do in order to save Becka from either being killed or forced into being a Handmaid.
What happens to Becka?
Agnes is told by her father that Weston has called off the engagement on the basis of trying to distance himself from the Becka scandal, but her father is left confused by his sudden change in plans. It’s clear he doesn’t like Weston anyway but Agnes knows that Weston called off the wedding due to her admission about Dr Grove. With no engagement, Agnes’s father says he’ll do everything he can to ensure Agnes is alright and he then informs Agnes that Becka is going to be OK, but that her mother killed Dr Grove.
That night, Agnes is awoken by her stepmother Paula (Amy Seimetz) who eerily confronts her about the called off engagement. She refers to Becka as ‘fallen’ and ‘sullied’, but Agnes says that Garth could still marry Becka to save her from being seen as such.
Clearly in an emotional state, Paula then tells Agnes that Gilead wanted to ‘make her pay’, clearly referring to June. She says that Gilead wanted to serve Agnes up ‘piece by piece’ but her father wouldn’t let it happen. Agnes then runs out in the night and goes to Garth’s guard quarters. There, she begs Garth to marry Becka, to save her from a life as a pariah. Agnes makes it clear that it’s a big ask even of her, making her feelings for Garth somewhat clear to him.
We later see Aunt Estee (Eva Foote) administering Becka – now wearing a wedding dress and veil – with a sedative, but Becka doesn’t want to get married. It turns out that the day she’s to be wed to Garth is the very same as Mrs Grove’s execution. We see them both, seemingly in the same courthouse, going to their respective fates that have been decided for them. Becka’s fears are somewhat quelled when Agnes comes to see her beforehand though, with the pair sharing a kiss.
Prior to the wedding ceremony, Garth is made a Commander by Judd. They walk down the aisle at the same time that Mrs Grove is killed, with only Commanders in attendance at her hanging. At Becka’s wedding, the Aunts, Agnes and Daisy are in attendance, with the ceremony clearly painful for Agnes to sit through.
Afterwards, Garth carries Becka into their home and up the stairs. Becka is clearly still unconscious due to the medication but when Garth lays her down on a bed, she starts to stir and looks at him as he slowly closes the door. He locks it from the outside, indicating that this may be his way of dealing with her going forward.
What happens to Agnes?
After Becka’s wedding, Agnes tells Daisy that even though she’s now screwed up her life, she feels as though it was worth it. Taking the moment to get personal, Daisy says that the same sense of justice is clearly from Agnes’s mother, June.
Daisy explains that she met June once (a lie, obviously) and tells Agnes that June isn’t a terrorist but fights for what she believes in. “Your mother wasn’t just a Handmaid, she was the Handmaid,” Daisy tells her before saying that she thinks Agnes’s real name is Hannah.
It’s something that clearly strikes a chord within Agnes, who gets teary upon hearing the name. When she returns home, we see her get out her secret bag of belongings that she’s collected. She obviously showed them to Daisy previously – but it turns out that she was keeping something to herself.
As fans of the original series will recognise, Agnes retrieves a folded piece of paper. When she unfolds it, we see a beautiful painting and in the corner, the name ‘Hannah’. We get a flashback to The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 where we saw her quiet act of rebellion in signing her name off as Hannah rather than her Gilead name of Agnes. Viewers have been left wondering whether or not Agnes recalls her past – and it turns out she does.
We then see June leaving her home to find a jar of honey on her doorstep, with the surprise coming straight from Daisy. In the lid, she writes a lengthy note to June telling her that the girls she’s met in Gilead have changed her.
As for what lies ahead in Agnes’s future, she returns to school but Aunt Lydia admits that it’s unprecedented for a Green to return to them after a failed engagement. Agnes is upfront about knowing who her mother is and Lydia remarks that June never gave up, something they won’t do either when it comes to Agnes’s future.
In Daisy’s note and narration, she informs June that she’s going to build her own army because “nothing can be more powerful than a teenage girl”. We then see Agnes being joined by Daisy and Shunammite (Rowan Blanchard), clasping each other’s fingers as they walk through the school hallway together.
Something tells us that the smell of rebellion is in the air!
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