The Testaments Episode 7 Recap: Commitment

As the first season of Hulu’s ‘The Testaments’ nears its end, Agnes, Daisy, and the other girls find themselves at a decisive turning point in their lives. The previous episode ended with the Aunts visiting the houses of the Green girls, presenting them with their three options for a husband. In this episode, the girls come face-to-face with the choices they have to make, and things seem to get even more complex than before. Meanwhile, Daisy has an entirely different, life-threatening problem at her hands. SPOILERS AHEAD.

The Story of How Daisy Became a Pearl Girl

The day starts with Daisy and her fellow Pearl Girl getting called in for their treatment. It turns out that both of them have tattoos that are now being removed. As Daisy goes through the painful process, flashbacks reveal the real story behind her “rose with thorns” tattoo. In the previous flashbacks, we saw Daisy left at a cafe by June with the promise that someone from Mayday would come get her. She is supposed to wait for them, but as hours pass, no one shows up. With nowhere else left to go, Daisy does as she was asked, but eventually, the time comes for the cafe to be closed. Still, Daisy refuses to leave and stands outside, even though the place is locked up. This is when the cafe’s owner, who had been pouring her coffee all day, reveals that she is Mayday.

It turns out that waiting was a test that Daisy needed to pass in order to be taken forward. The woman leaves her at Rita’s house, where Daisy discovers that new documents will be made to get her out of Canada. Because of her history, Gilead will not stop until they have their hands on her. So, she needs to flee Canada and start a new life elsewhere. For now, Colombo is her best option. However, when Daisy discovers that even her real parents were killed by Gilead, she decides to do something about bringing them down. While her resolve seems unshakable, Rita and the cafe owner have to think very carefully about what to do next. This is also where it is mentioned that Daisy never got her period, which is normal now, because most girls don’t anymore.

With Daisy refusing to give, Rita begins her training, and the first step is to get a tattoo. This is necessary to fit in with her backstory, according to which she ran away from home with a boy who then left her to fend for herself on the streets. The second lesson is to never underestimate the girls of Gilead. While they might not be able to do multiplication, Rita warns Daisy that they have been raised to be vigilant about things that Daisy never had to think about growing up. She advises the girl to trust no one and never confide in anyone but her handler. She is also familiarised with the faces of all the Commanders, and then, is sent to actually live on the streets before a Pearl Girl approaches her with the promise of making her life better.

The Eyes Investigate the Pearl Girls

The girls receive their matches, and Agnes is loath to discover that Garth is not amongst hers. Instead, she has the attention of Commander Weston, who runs the Eyes. While the other girls are excited for her, Agnes is heartbroken to discover that Becka received Garth as a choice. While she tries to tell her friend that she is not angry about it, she fails to understand that Becka doesn’t care for marriage at all. This leads them to have an argument, which ends when Commander Weston walks into the school with guards. He isn’t there to see Agnes, but to resolve a security issue, for which he needs to interview the Pearl Girls, including Daisy. The thought that she may get caught and be killed terrifies her.

Back then, after spending days on the street, she was finally approached by a Pearl Girl, who took her to the hotel to get cleaned up. She and her friends tried to explain to her how Gilead treats its women like gold, and whatever is being taught about them outside is lies. Cautious not to seem too easily persuaded, Daisy decided to get a shower, a meal, a rest, and leave. But right as she was about to walk out the door, the Pearl Girls gathered around her and blessed her.

This is the moment Daisy saw their duality, how they could have goodness and beauty while also being a part of something so evil as Gilead. But the story was always supposed to end with her joining them, and that’s what she does. She gets in a car that takes her out of the city and into the outskirts, where she is handed over to the Guardians, one of whom is Garth, and smuggled into Gilead. In the current time, she is interviewed by Weston, where she relies on her training to get out of it without giving herself away.

When the interview is over, she is taken over by a bout of anxiety. When Agnes notices this, she invites Daisy to her house in the evening, so they can spend some time together. They talk about the bands Daisy used to listen to, the ones that talked about love, heartbreak, and the anthems of being single and badass. In return, Agnes shows her the collection of trinkets she picked up from the beach. She knows these things don’t belong in Gilead anymore, and she doesn’t even know what half of them are. But it is enough to have a connection with the other world.

Agnes Meets Her Match

When Agnes shows her collection to Daisy, she shows her something that she believes would be a trinket shared between lovers. Daisy, however, reveals it’s a crack pipe used by addicts. However, not to be cruel, she tries to fit the narrative around Agnes’ perception. The thought of being lied to and being patronized makes Agnes angry, and she calls an end to their evening. It is time to dress up and be ready for the interviews. As Agnes, Becka, and Hulda sit for interviews in their homes, three different pictures emerge. Hulda is eager, Becka is miserable, and Agnes is poised. All parents try to paint their girls as obedient, upstanding young women.

Becka gets a break when Garth shows up with an unexpected kindness. Meanwhile, Agnes meets Commander Weston. Everything goes well in the beginning, but then Agnes mentions Weston’s dead wife, and he decides to end the interview. Before leaving, he reveals that his previous wife died in childbirth. Notably, he talks about the grief of losing his child that day, not his wife. As Weston walks out, Paula gets angry with Agnes for ruining a great thing. Agnes steps out and watches Garth smoking at a distance. When he leaves, she picks up the cigarette butt he’d thrown.

She picks it, puts it to her lips, and smokes, when suddenly he returns. He reminds her that smoking is prohibited, prompting her to hide the butt, which she later adds to her collection. She asks him if he thinks she has a personality, a question stirred in her by Daisy from their earlier conversation. When Garth tries to assure her that she does, she asks him how his evening with Becka went. This makes him end their conversation and leave. Later that evening, Paula returns from her ride, ready to confront Agnes for her behavior. When Rosa asks her to go easy on the girl, Paula reminds her that she is not allowed to have opinions.

Fortunately for Agnes, Paula is not in the mood to reprimand her, at least not right now. This is because Commander Weston wasn’t entirely repulsed by her insolence. In fact, he saw her as a challenge, and he relishes the opportunity to break the horse, which is not docile yet. Meanwhile, Daisy survives the Eyes’ investigation as they take away the girl in the bed next to her, which is where they likely found the radio Daisy had been using. She is relieved not to get caught, but also feels guilty for letting an innocent girl take the fall.

Read More: The Testaments: How did Neil and Melanie Die? Who are Daisy’s Real Parents?