The Testaments (2026) s01e02 Episode Script

Perfect Teeth

1
Previously, on the testaments
You want to know what it was
like for me, growing up in gilead.
At the aunt Lydia school, plum
dresses were for older girls like us.
Up, then.
Well, don't you look pretty as a picture?
Thank you mother.
Predestined to marry
high gilead commanders,
which only happened if
god blessed us with a period.
You're insane. The skirt looks fine.
Even god knows Paula has no taste.
Then we became Greens.
I wish I was green this season.
I wish we all were, together.
It's starting to move very, very fast.
It's a dress, not a husband.
Not yet.
White was for the Pearl girls.
They were new arrivals
from outside of gilead.
Weirdos.
This is Daisy.
I'd like you to show her around.
Make her feel comfortable.
May the lord open.
You may socialize.
What is all this then?
This is Daisy.
It's a blessing to meet you all.
They stuck you with a Pearl
girl? What did you do wrong?
She didn't do anything!
Well, you can't trust her.
It's time to plum up and
get her before she gets you.
Shame upon any of
you that tempt a man!
By his hand! By his hand!
Daisy!
Jesus Christ, he was
fucking wide awake.
Miss Agnes, I am so sorry.
I committed blasphemy.
Our secret.
Shunammite said you should
never, ever trust a Pearl girl,
but that was exactly what I did.
It was when I became eligible.
And when I met Daisy.
It was when it all started.
The aunts told us lots
of girls never blossomed
because they're disobedient and prideful.
And those girls are worthless to god.
Getting your period was like a
stamp of approval from god himself.
I was one of the chosen ones.
Me.
Why me?
There was a chance
I'd be able to conceive.
I was supposed to be ecstatic, and I was.
But I was also scared to death.
It's hard to tell one from
the other sometimes.
Blessed morning?
Rosa?
Rosa?
Rosa?
What on earth are you
doing, skulking around?
Blessed morning, mother.
Going out for a morning ride?
It's too early for your
manipulative nonsense.
What are you doing?
Mother, as he blessed Ruth and Leah,
he has blessed me this day.
As he answered the prayers
of Sarah, Rachel, and Rebekah,
he has saved me from barrenness.
By his hand, he will make me fruitful.
Blessed be his miracle.
Wait for me in the parlor.
When becka got her period,
her mom was so happy,
she started laughing and
crying at the same time.
I doubt Paula has ever cried.
Or laughed.
We're not telling fibs now, are we?
You know, the aunts
will do their inspection.
No. I wouldn't.
Welcome to the sacred
calling of womanhood.
There's a lot of tedious
bother to the whole enterprise.
These are called wings.
They go beneath your
underpants and snap shut.
Like this, yes?
Change the pads every few hours.
Cleanliness is godliness,
especially so on these days.
You should never smell it on yourself.
Understood?
Yes, ma'am.
I was scared my first time, too.
Thank you for your help.
It's a woman's duty to
pass on this kind of wisdom.
Of course, no one
bothered to do it for me.
Tabitha made this for
you before she passed.
It's a cover for your pad.
Thank you.
See if you can see the
rainbow through the rock.
Is it translucent?
- You got it?
- No, it looks like a heart.
It does. You're right.
As I was walking along the forest,
I came upon an enchanted castle.
I saw inside there were all
these little girls locked up.
Sweet, godly girls.
They were all under the
spell of wicked witches.
Luckily, I had a magic ring.
But the ring only had the
power to save one little girl.
So, I looked at all of them very carefully.
And out of the whole bunch, I chose you.
Is that how I'll get a baby?
You won't need to, sweetheart.
You are going to have a
baby grow inside your tummy.
Blessed morning.
Agnes has blossomed.
Praise be his mercy.
How do you feel?
A little sick to my stomach.
It's a blessing to feel your body's miracle.
Agnes will have some
appointments now that she's eligible.
Yes, ma'am.
There's the new doctor, of course.
And a proper tailor.
And I'll enlist Dr. Grove
for the teeth whitening.
We need to make her
as appealing as possible.
Yes, ma'am.
Congrats, Agnes.
I prayed so hard.
How about some coffee?
Isn't that what women drink?
Yes, please.
It's completely obvious.
I'm walking weird.
You're perfect.
You're filled with his divine light.
And then, a husband.
Yes.
We pray a kind one.
A real young woman.
Your mother would be so proud of you.
Rosa took care of Tabitha
when she was dying.
She sat next to her bed
and fed her ice cubes.
I heard they're redistricting.
- Enjoy your special day.
- Heads up.
Under his eye, sweetie pie.
Under his eye, Rosa.
Would people notice the difference?
That I was a woman now?
Was it something you could sense?
Like a wild animal in the grass.
Or smell? Like the air before a storm.
Blessed day.
Like a guardian walking
past you in the summer heat.
He set my feet on a rock, and
gave me a firm place to stand.
Amen.
Blessed day, miss Agnes.
Blessed day. Have you seen becka?
No, I'm sorry. I was praying
while I waited for you.
You don't have to do that. Just
go inside like a normal person.
Where are you going?
Curiosity got Eve
kicked out of the garden.
But aunt Lydia said I
should stay with you.
You can't come.
Is this about yesterday?
Let's not dawdle. Hurry along.
Aunt gabbana?
It's beautiful, shunammite.
Blessed day! Girls! Up, up! Let's go!
Girls, up, up. Someone's been blessed!
No, let's go!
Agnes MacKenzie.
What a day this is.
Aunt vidala, as he
blessed Ruth and Leah,
he has blessed me this day.
As he answered the prayers of
Sarah, and Rachel, and Rebekah,
he has saved me from barrenness.
By his hand, he will make me fruitful.
Praise be his mercy.
Your blessing is a blessing upon us all.
One of your own has been
touched by his divine hand, girls.
Praise be.
Praise be, Agnes.
She's so lucky!
Take my meatloaf.
You need iron and folic
acid and bioflavonoids.
I'm stuffed, hulda.
Is your menstrual pad all soaked?
No. Not yet.
Cool. You're so blessed.
Well, green means more
work. And dancing in public.
And Agnes hates
dancing in front of people.
That could be a nightmare.
Shut up, sh
What crawled into your tights?
I'm sure you'll be next.
My breasts have been feeling pretty sore.
They look bigger, don't they?
My father always said I was
blessed in that department.
Beck, I can ask Paula if I
can come to your house today.
I can say it's for green stuff.
Up, girls!
I have another fitting.
Up, up, quick. Shake your tail feathers.
We need you in corrections.
Come! A Pearl girl needs your guidance.
On your special day? What a drag.
Corrections were done in a
separate part of the school.
The aunts' wing.
This room reeked of the aunts.
- What did she do?
- I don't know.
It smelled like boiled wool and sweat.
It smelled of certainty,
if certainty had a smell.
This young woman made
a confession this morning.
She has admitted to using
the lord's name in vain.
Agnes.
Aunt Lydia trusted you to guide
this girl as you would your own child.
I'm sorry, aunt vidala.
You have been blessed
with womanhood today.
Is that a challenge you are ready for?
Yes, aunt vidala.
Then show me.
Teach your straying lamb.
Get up!
You don't lounge around
while defending his name.
What must a sinner do?
Pay, aunt vidala.
She must pay for her sins, aunt vidala.
Pay for her sins! Pay for her sins!
Tell her what she is, Agnes.
Dirty words come from what?
A dirty girl.
Dirty girl! Dirty girl! Dirty girl!
Corrections was our time to unleash,
and we devoured it.
Dirty girl! Dirty girl!
I'm ashamed of how much I miss it.
Dirty girl! Dirty girl! Dirty girl! Dirty girl!
Whose fault is this?
We understood power and rage.
Teenage girls appreciate rage.
In gilead as elsewhere.
You are nothing.
You're a slut from the streets of sodom.
A child of sinners and whores.
She was there!
And she heard my
blasphemy. I swear to god.
Alright, friends. Time for cake.
Open.
A vessel unclean has no
use in the service of the lord.
God wants you to put
your shoulder into it, Agnes.
I expected more from
you on your special day.
Now clean up and get to class.
That soap is disgusting.
I heard the Marthas use rendered
cow fat and fireplace ashes.
By his mercy, at least aunt
gabbana spared our tongues.
It would've taught you how to stay silent.
Agnes, I had to confess my sins.
I made a commitment to
god to be a good Pearl girl.
Well congratulations. You're
being a perfect little Pearl girl.
I didn't mean to rat you out.
But when you got all up
in my face, it was a lot.
Corrections are a lot for
you. Assembly is a lot for you.
Maybe serving god is
just too much for you.
I really am sorry.
Why did you come here?
Why don't you just go back home?
Not everyone has a home to go back to.
Some people have crappy lives.
A Princess wouldn't get it.
By his grace, I was granted
a fresh start here in gilead.
Please give me a chance.
And on this day of all days.
I think you deserved
every bit of that punishment.
Every bit.
- Do you agree?
- Yes.
Thank you for coming, Mrs. Braden.
Please do say hello to
the commander for me.
Lovely to see you, Mrs. MacKenzie.
- Agnes, we'll just be a moment.
- Praise be.
There are changes happening in
your body, and more on the way.
Your prefrontal cortex is still developing
and all that estrogen
pumping through your body
will tempt you into impulsive decisions.
Dangerous ones.
Womanhood is a test, Agnes.
A lifelong test.
The aunts didn't teach us science.
My prefrontal cortex had no
idea what Paula was talking about.
Dr. Grove is ready for you, Agnes.
I blinked and you girls grew up.
Becka's gonna be
thrilled you're a green now.
I'm glad we're in it together.
There was a lot on her mind today.
Well, becka's a worrywart.
It's just how she is.
Open.
Well, praise be. Perfect teeth.
Just perfect.
You know, maybe you
could help her through it all.
She's less anxious around you.
I mean, you've always
been so mature for your age.
Thank you.
Okay. Only an X-ray to go.
Can I have a, size two bite wing, please?
Now, I hope that this
isn't too heavy for you.
I imagine your breasts
must be quite tender.
It's not too heavy.
Lovely.
You know, you really are
getting to be a big girl, Agnes.
And that's that.
Let's take some pictures.
Excellent. Thank you. Open.
And bite. Perfect.
And, as still as you can be.
That's when I started having
nightmares about my wedding night.
About my husband.
A dark bedroom.
Then a smell.
And then he was in
front of me, my husband.
But he had no face.
I tried to run away, but he
always caught up with me.
Wake up.
Agnes.
Aunt Lydia?
Yes. It's time. Come along.
It's a chilly night, dear.
Come along, dear.
We gather here tonight as this
daughter of gilead comes of age,
seeking his divine protection.
And she will need it, his protection.
For being a woman on god's
green earth is no easy feat.
In you go, dear. Rub-a-dub-dub.
But we needn't look so far back
to see the suffering of women, do we?
That's why gilead was created.
To bring women back
to their rightful place.
The world would be lost without you.
Who can bring forth god's children?
Who will populate this world so his
divine presence can be multiplied?
Who, but you?
You join your sisters
now in this holy endeavor.
Agnes MacKenzie, jettison all
that came before this moment,
and embrace your new role.
May the generations born to your womb
be worthy in his eyes.
Blessed be the fruit.
Blessed be the fruit.
May the lord open.
A token of your passage.
May he bless your new path.
Under his eye.
Under his eye.
Wonderful.
Hi.
Want some help?
I thought I was gonna drown in there.
Me too, when I had my initiation.
I feel like I'm still drowning.
It's better that you're here, though.
Praise be.
I thought you were mad.
This was your season,
and I was ruining it.
I thought you didn't
want me to be a green.
I didn't.
I didn't want this for either of us.
I don't want to get married.
I don't want a husband.
But what else would you do?
I don't know.
Aunt Lydia said we Get
to leave everything behind.
Everything that happened before tonight.
Do you think that's real?
What would you want to leave behind?
It will be great.
Pushing strollers together.
No aunts following us around.
That does sound nice.
All will be well, Rebecca.
All manner of things will be well.
I'm freezing.
Yeah. Come on.
Let's go home.
It made no sense to say
you didn't want to get married.
It was going to happen.
"Want" had nothing to do with it.
There were things to be wanted.
Even in gilead.
Even if there were consequences.
Blessed morning.
Pray, you know smoking
is not allowed, right?
Yes, miss Agnes.
My apologies.
Congratulations.
On your initiation.
Thank you.
Better get inside, miss Agnes.
Sometimes you couldn't help but want.
Even if you tried your best to stop it.
But there was no point to it.
All that wanting.
Agnes! Finally!
Your father is home.
He'll be pleased to hear
of your development.
You look so pretty this morning.
He's in the parlor.
Finished, and the samples
could be contaminated.
All these things need to be fixed.
If they're temp controlled, then I
think the transport is gonna be fine.
It's certainly vital.
Blessed morning, angel.
Father, as he blessed Ruth and Leah,
he has blessed me this day.
As he answered the prayers
of Sarah, Rachel, and Rebekah,
he has saved me from barrenness.
By his hand, he will make me fruitful.
I know he will.
Blessed be the fruit, Agnes.
May the lord open, daddy.
Congratulations.
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