The Testaments Season 1 Episode 10 Finale Review: Agnes & June's Revelations + Becka Catches a Break

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]Welcome to Media Melanie TV. Today I'm back to talk about The Testament season 1 episode 10, Cicaders, which is the season 1 finale. And we do know that the show is coming back for a season 2 and honestly hopefully a lot more. This truly has been an incredible season of television. This episode was great. I think Stadium is still at the top of my list for my favorite episode of the season, but all of these really did hit quite hard.

[00:00:26]Did anybody catch that Margaret Atwood actually made an appearance in this episode as the woman who let Lydia into the jail? I think that's a fun little tidbit. But there were quite a few moments here that actually either gave me goosebumps or put tears in my eye.

[00:00:41]And you never know what exactly is going to make you emotional, but there really were a few moments here that felt quite powerful to me. The first one, when June realizes that Daisy is talking about Agnes as her daughter Hannah, I felt like June did. That was an incredible reveal. And it also confirms that June didn't know that Daisy was going to be put in a position where she was going to be interacting with Agnes. And the fact that she got to hear more about her daughter and then also seeing Agnes react when Daisy tells her that June is her mom. Those two moments absolutely incredible. Other moments I enjoyed Agnes going to Vidala and trying to advocate for Becca's safety. Agnes is in a pretty tough position. She woke up feeling obviously guilty about what happened and Becca getting taken away and she puts everything at risk for her friend. Her wedding is now called off.

[00:01:39]Commander Weston doesn't want to be involved with the scandal. Although he did actually help by getting Becca released back to her mother, which honestly I was a little bit surprised about. But I also think Agnes is dodging a bullet by not having to marry him. So I think next season it will be really interesting to see exactly what is next on Agnes's journey. All right, but before we get more into this episode, and we do have a lot to cover, please go ahead like this video, hit that subscribe button. The Testaments might be over, but I've still got some other shows I'm talking about, including The Way Home on Hallmark. Its fourth and final season, you can actually catch seasons 1 through three on Netflix, and I could not recommend this show more. Along with that, from on MGM Plus, season 4 has a confirmed season 5. It's a mystery box horror show that I am obsessed with. Your Friends and Neighbors is still available here for season 2 exclusive member content, so don't miss that. and my memberships are open, which is a really great way to support me and my journey to become a full-time TV content creator here at the channel. And thank you to all of my existing members. I do also have a two-part review up on Off-Campus on Prime, which is a new hockey romance.

[00:02:46]And then coming up on June 10th, every year after, I've got a preview up on that book to TV adaptation. I will also be covering the vampire list, which drops in June. That is season 3 of Interview with the Vampire on AMC. Silo is coming back for its third season on Apple in July. And then also L, which is in the world of Legally Blonde, and it takes place in the 90s, and if you know me, I'm a 90s girl, so I can't wait for all of these summer shows. So, be sure you stick with me for all of the TV talk. But for now, let's dive back into this episode. I think the true highlight of this episode for me was seeing Paula so upset, sitting there and crying and angry.

[00:03:26]And obviously she blames all of this on Agnes and centers herself at the middle of it like, "Oh, I did everything I could for you and this is how you repay me." Seeing her upset was such a big payoff because she is just such a terrible character.

[00:03:42]And especially compared to her husband, I mean, Commander McKenzie, I mean, of course, he's a commander in Gilead, so how good can you really be? But you can tell that he actually really does care for Agnes. And that is most definitely not the case for Paula. Agnes is more of a possession to her. Seeing Agnes asking G to try to save Becca by marrying her, I thought was another really strong moment. And you could also sense a vibe and connection between the two of them.

[00:04:09]But also, there was the moment where Agnes went to visit Becca right before she got married, and they shared a kiss, which I really didn't see coming. And Becca's like, you know, everything's going to be okay because you're here right now. And I do waver if that is just kind of a kiss of friendship. And I mean, hey, this is a coming of age story. So, obviously, teenagers are confused. Agnes very clearly also likes G, but it it is a little bit at least hard for me to discern whether or not this love between Becca and Agnes is more than friendship on Agnes' side. I mean, we know Becca loves Agnes, and she did a lot of this for Agnes because of what her dad did to her. So, I think it's going to be interesting in season two to explore more of the relationship dynamics that Agnes is exploring. And now Becca is saved. I didn't see that coming, although a commenter did point out that in the trailer we did see an image of Becca in the wedding dress, which could have been a hallucination or dream or something like that. But now we know at Becca is safe. and the plan that Daisy outlined to Aunt Lydia about I know some mothers would absolutely put themselves on the line for their children and the fact that Becca's mom was willing to do that. I mean, she's already lost her husband and probably feeling pretty disgraced and knowing that she knows her husband.

[00:05:28]I mean, did she believe the allegations or not? I'm thinking she probably did and maybe even blamed herself for it and that is part of why she was willing to go along with this plan with Becca saying that she walked in on her mom with those pruning shears the cicaters.

[00:05:45]I think this was actually a really fun twist. It was something that I definitely didn't see coming. And honestly, I am a little bit surprised that Gilead even allowed that to happen.

[00:05:56]But seeing some of these ants advocating for Becca and putting this plan into place also solidifies that hope is not lost in Gilead. When Agnes goes to see Lydia towards the end and they talk about the hurdles that have to be overcome and Agnes brings up, yeah, you know, including my lineage and my mom June the criminal. And Agnes had a similar reaction when Daisy told her who her mom was. I mean, she called her a terrorist. But then Lydia says, "You know what? I knew your mom. She never gave up." and neither will we. And that was very smart of Agnes to use the word criminal around Aunt Lydia to kind of feel out what her reaction would be. And given what her reaction was, I think that actually makes Agnes a little bit more comfortable with who she is, just given that Aunt Lydia actually spoke highly of her mom. And then at the end of the episode where Agnes is walking against the crowd and then embraces the pinkies with the other girls, I think that was a very smart and symbolic way to show that these girls are going to go against the grain, go against the norms here in Gilead to work together and fight for this cause. And I love Daisy's never give up attitude. She had the option to leave. They were trying to extract this loose cannon. She goes to meet June. Daisy wants to stay in there.

[00:07:12]She wants to be a part of this fight and she's willing to put her own life on the line, which on one hand is a little bit surprising just given how everything went down. And yes, it was her decision to go into Gilead, but I think part of that was offering her a secondary solution that sounded terrible. Like, who wants to go to a country where they don't even speak the language? So, I think Daisy's arc this season has been really interesting. And the fact that we still don't know exactly who Daisy is is another mystery that we can continue to explore in subsequent seasons. And I've mentioned this. I did a collaboration over at Matt and Just TV. They're good friends of mine on what is Daisy's true identity? Actually, some of my commenters have pointed out, could Daisy be the daughter to Commander Lawrence and Elellanar who maybe they smuggled out of Gilead before a lot of this stuff went down? Now, I don't believe that there was any mention that they had a daughter, but that doesn't make it out of the realm. And now, because both of them have passed away, that would actually track with Daisy's parents no longer being alive. But I do pose this question to everybody now that we've had the full season, who do you think Daisy actually is? It seems like because she's like 99% not Nicole, whoever she is has to be somebody meaningful to the story that perhaps we've seen before or even if we haven't seen them before, fitting in somehow to the narratives that we saw in The Handmaid's Tale. And just going back to a moment between this interaction between Daisy and Agnes at the end and really too the voice over at the end. Nothing is more powerful than a teenage girl. I love the story that they're setting up for here. And speaking of Nicole, for a moment, too.

[00:08:54]I'm pretty sure one of those girls that we saw with June in the front yard, one of them has to be Nicole, Holly, June's daughter, I'm assuming. So, that is actually a really subtle glimpse into the fact that her daughter survives. And I think that also is basically telling us that Daisy is most definitely not Nicole because I mean, obviously, the timing doesn't work out either. and the showrunners have said that it's not. But I don't know if we can necessarily always believe what they tell us because they don't want to ruin their own show, right? But this sort of meta nod when Daisy says she wasn't just a handmmaid, she was the handmmaid. And that was kind of bookended with Paula saying and alluding to the fact that Agnes' lineage and her beginnings obviously play into the fact that this is the bad that's happening to her now. Kind of like a karmic situation. Like what do you expect having come from this criminal?

[00:09:47]But you can literally see it click in Agnes' mind when Daisy says that she's Hannah and then going back to the piece of paper that she saved with the name Hannah that she literally wrote on it.

[00:09:58]Something at the beginning of the series I was kind of like questioning was how does Agnes not remember she's Hannah?

[00:10:03]Well, this does prove that she definitely remembers. she's held on to this and maybe it's something that she's pushed out of her mind because it was traumatic and like Paula said, they wanted to like carve her up and serve her up. Send a toast, send an ear, whatever, whatever. But Commander McKenzie didn't let that happen, which again feeds into this kind of like morally gray leaning decent character that Commander McKenzie is. And it also shows that he really does love his daughter, unlike stupid Paula, who is very much the evil stepmother in all of this. But the way that this episode ended with the narration and then Daisy sending that message to June in the Honey, I think that this season was exceptional. It's probably going to end up on my top 10 shows of the year with Stadium landing on one of my favorite standalone episodes of the year. And currently, by the way, another show up for contention is Widow's Bay on Apple TV. I've got a short video up on that. I am obsessed with that show. It's a horror comedy, but I do think the show accomplished quite a bit in this first season.

[00:11:04]Sometimes sequels can be a little iffy, especially when it's a based on source material and b coming off of the highly successful show of the Handmaid's Tale. And again, this nod to she wasn't just a handmmaid, she was the handmmaid. I really enjoyed that tie-in, that connective tissue. And there are so many different directions we can go now in season 2 with the girls now joining forces with Daisy. I think she's going to be maybe a little bit of a tough cell, but because she was there and embracing Pinkies, I think that is very symbolic of her joining in this fight. And then the needle drop that ended this show, Hunger and the Pine by Alt J could not have been better placed.

[00:11:44]And it's kind of a bittersweet song alluding to butterflies and needles. Two very different things. Some that symbolize good, some that symbolize bad and hurt. Realization grows on me as quickly as it takes your hand to warm the cold side of the pillow. I'm there for you, but there for me. I'll hum the song as the soldiers sing as they march outside our window. Hunger of the pine and then embracing you. I'm a female rebel sleeplessly embracing. I think this was really the perfect song to end this season. And there were some tough to watch moments in here too. Becca when she was sitting in that prison singing rise and shine and give God the glory, glory. And then the way it sort of ends on this like tragic ethereal note, children of the Lord. Something that I really struggle with is the fact that Gilead is supposed to be this god-fearing place, yet they take very literally the whole eye for an eye situation. And these are supposed to be children of the Lord, but we're going to just like allow them to not have any rights. And it seems like they were in fact going to hang the and it seems like they were going to execute the dentist, but we don't even know that for sure.

[00:12:51]Would Commander Jud have actually gone through with that? I mean, probably very likely. But also Lydia's arc this entire season. I mean, Lydia has always been quite a morally gray character. And then seeing what she did in Stadium and the conversation between her and Vidala and Lydia saying, "Everything came so easy to you." And Vidala saying, "What do you know about me? you never asked.

[00:13:14]And then finally banding together to put together the plan for Becca's mom to go down for her crime, which again I think was just exceptional and such a great twist here.

[00:13:27]And you can see Lydia's concern when she first goes to see Becca. Take the restraints off. Have you eaten? Yeah, Lydia has traditionally been in it for herself and this has been a big essentially game of survival, but at the same time, she cares about these girls.

[00:13:41]It hurts her when her girls are hurting and that scene between her and Agnes at the end. And you know, we're not going to give up, the togetherness, the camaraderie. You just really feel that and these undertones throughout the season as a whole, but especially here in the final episode. And Becca's fate would have been to be a handmmaid. And I believe I've seen some comments here that that's what happens in the books.

[00:14:05]Now, I could be wrong. I did not read the book, so I don't really want any future spoilers. But obviously, if that was the case, they're still very much diverting from the source material and giving Becca another chance as a wife.

[00:14:17]And the fact that G was willing to step up because Agnes asks also shows a lot about G's character. And I think some of us have been a little bit wishy-washy.

[00:14:27]Is G a double agent? I don't think so.

[00:14:30]He's becoming a commander and marrying Becca, who really has been quite tainted with this whole scandal. And G knows that Becca did it. I mean, it's very clear. You can see all the scratches on her at the end under her wedding dress.

[00:14:45]and she can barely even hold up that bouquet on did give her something obviously to calm her down, but also watching the execution of her mother and the look on her face and the fact that she was willing to sacrifice herself for her daughter was just absolutely a moment of humanity that just struck so hard. And just the overall bittersweet nature of watching your mom get hung and then having to go get married.

[00:15:14]Becca's given up on life, but is this going to give her new energy? Is she going to be able to join forces with the other girls to continue fighting? Or is this going to sort of like keep her down and say, you know, I've already been through so much. I can't risk anymore.

[00:15:31]My mom's not here anymore. You know, I killed my dad. So, what is going to be this next step for Becca? I'm hoping it is going to be a logical progression where she does want to continue this fight. She loves Agnes and I think she would do anything for Agnes. And yeah, it was kind of a big jump to hear what her dad did and then just like go and do what she did. Although I will say I enjoyed that he did have some wounds to his genitalia which obviously are very welld deserved. We don't know how far he took his abuse with some of these girls, but I think it almost doesn't even matter because really abuse is abuse.

[00:16:08]And despite being a very dark show, there are still some pretty solid oneliners in here. Like when Daisy tells Shu at the beginning, you know, to butt the f out and people asking what is Agnes doing and Daisy's like, she's sacking the f up. I love Daisy's potty mouth. Like I can be a little bit of a potty mouth myself. I try to keep it pretty clean here on the channel, but Daisy is not afraid. She gives no fs.

[00:16:33]She is willing to put it all on the line for these girls and these friendships that she's made. And I just think that is incredible. And does she always make the best decisions? No. I think she did act quite rashly and really did kick off the chain of events. I mean, yes, the dentist initially kicked off the chain of events, but Daisy doing what she did was the catalyst that caused all of this fallout with Becca and losing her mom.

[00:17:00]But Becca is getting a second chance.

[00:17:02]So, I'm hoping that she's going to use this to keep up to keep on fighting the good fight. And you can also see the ants coming around. I talked about Aunt Lydia, but even when Agnes goes and talks to Vidala and then she turns around and faces the camera and you can see the tears in her eyes. I mean, these aunts do have to keep up a pretty tough exterior with the job that they're doing, but they also just really care about these girls. I mean, at the heart of it, this is a show about women supporting women. And even though it may not look like that sometimes coming from these aunts, it is a game of survival.

[00:17:41]But you can still tell that underneath the surface, they actually care. And even G had that moment of humanity when he's embracing Agnes when she goes to him and Aunt Estie comes and says, "Hey, like what are you doing? Unhand her."

[00:17:52]And Gar's like, Gar's like, "Have some grace. Look at what just happened." I think this is very much a big shift in Gilead. And by the end of however many seasons we get, if they are able to take down Gilead, I cannot think of a better conclusion. And obviously, there's going to be a lot of steps along the way, probably some missteps as well. But just knowing that this is the mission right now, taking down Gilead, does instill some hope as well, even if some of these girls end up being sacrificial lambs. And again, like, what is next for Agnes? Now, I don't think they're going to make her a handmmaid, but I suppose it's possible. Are they going to make her a Martha? Is she going to become an aunt? Will anybody ever marry her after this? And even like Agnes says, "Do you know how difficult it is, G, for me to ask you of all people to marry Becca?" Which is basically her saying, "I like you. I care for you. I don't want to see you with somebody else, especially my friend, but I also want to save my friend's life."

[00:18:55]Could Agnes ever get a happy ending? I mean, could we ever see these girls leaving Gilead by the end of this? Are we going to see a reunion between Agnes and June? And how is that going to go?

[00:19:05]How is Agnes going to feel about that?

[00:19:07]And with Commander Weston now not marrying Agnes, I do wonder, does it have more to do with the scandal? Or is it also because Agnes admitted to him and was quite honest and he thanked her for the honesty that the dentist did this to her as well? And I wonder if there's a component of Agnes now being impure and Commander Weston not wanting to have any involvement in that. I think it's probably a combination of the two, that and the major scandal, and he just really doesn't want to be associated with that. And I would be surprised if somebody else steps up to marry Agnes at all. But at this point, I do think Agnes' focus, motivations, and goals are shifting quite a bit. And while she's still coming to terms with her mother, she used some pretty harsh words. She said her she called her a criminal. She called her a terrorist. So, I think there's also going to be a lot of internalized struggle for her really figuring out what that means for her, what that means for her actions moving forward. But I do think it's still a pretty tough pill to swallow. even though she did know that she's Hannah, but now having heard this from Daisy and Daisy having met her mom, everything has changed. But I guess something that also surprised me was June wanting to pull Daisy out. And a lot of that is because Daisy's a loose cannon and everything that obviously happened and this chain of events that she did kick off, but June basically saying, you know what, sometimes collateral damage happens. You just have to live with it. it is what it is for the bigger picture fight. And I love Daisy pushing back and saying, "I'm not going to give up like you did." And June did have a good point though in terms of Daisy wanting to save the girls. And she said, "You can't save them until they know that they need saving." So, I also think that is going to be something where yes, this is sort of planted the seed with the girls that this is a terrible place and they will eventually come around and realize yes, is there hope for us to go and live a normal life? But I do think there is still quite a bit of a journey that each one of these girls is going to have to make to realize that. And I do think that Shu is going to be the one that's probably going to take the longest. But this is definitely a good first step in that direction. And again, just the visual of them going against the crowd of girls at the end. I think that was a really subtle but still powerful way to convey them and the part that they want to play in Gilead moving forward. And even June asking, "Is Agnes happy?" And Daisy saying, "She could be happy. They all could be happy, but not if you pull me out of here and don't allow me to go back in and try my best to make this whole thing right."

[00:21:48]And June saying, "May God protect you."

[00:21:50]And Daisy saying, "I think she will." I thought that was another really strong moment saying essentially that God is a woman. But at the same time, if God is a woman and they truly believe that, would a woman do this to other women? That's the part I struggle with with some greater good in the universe. But I guess on one hand, you have to have suffering to have joy and happiness on the other side of things. And back to Aunt Lydia for a moment, I think some of this is the fact that the reputation of the school is obviously going to be called into question because these ants are the ones who are leading these girls. And like it said, you know, you're the one who led us astray. If anybody did, you are the one who's responsible for that. And then Vidal is saying,"I was reminded that we are God's instruments and we must not be like the stranded man rejecting the plane and the rescue." So now the girls having more of the backing of these ants is really going to bolster this effort to eventually take down Gilead. And yeah, there still needs to be a little bit more buy in, but I think we're get getting closer at least. But I've just got to say overall, I think this was an amazing season of television. and it far surpassed my expectations. It did seem when we first saw the trailer, okay, is this going to be kind of like a feel-good CW teen drama situation, but it's so much more than that. Yes, we have these teenage girls. Yes, it is very coming of age, and we did see quite a lot of disturbing things. And I wasn't sure how far this show was going to go, having young people and showing terrible things happening to them. But I think they balanced it in a a way that really worked. It told the story and it was believable the progression of everything. I think some of these episodes were pretty short, but overall, just in terms of the arcs of each of these characters this season, I mean, I would give this season a solid 8.5. And that leaves some room for improvement for subsequent seasons. And even though we only have season 2 renewed at this point, I feel like it's pretty safe to say that the multi-season plan that they have in mind for this will likely be carried out. And I will be and I'll continue to be one of the biggest supporters of this show. And like I said, even though it's over, there are so many more great shows coming to our screens this summer. But I would also just like to know from everybody, how would you rate this season? What were some of the highs for you? What were some of the lows? Any favorite characters, favorite story lines? I I just want to hear more about what everybody else thinks about this as well.

[00:24:18]I think part of the fun of talking about these shows is having a comment section where we can interact and make it more of a two-way street and a conversation.

[00:24:27]That's one of my favorite parts. And I just truly want to thank everybody who has been here for this journey this season. Thank you so much. It has been an absolute pleasure talking about this show even through some of these very dark moments. So, thank you so much for being here and I will be back again soon and most definitely we'll be covering any news in the offseason, any production updates and that sort of thing. So, make sure you stick with me because there's a lot more TV talk going on. Media Melanie clicking off.