The Testaments Season 1, Episode 4, “Green Tea,” is a reminder of the true horrors of Gilead. Not that they ever really went away, of course, but the presentation of it in the first few episodes of The Testaments has been different from The Handmaid’s Tale. Because we’re largely following teenage girls raised there, ones who know no different and are afforded greater status than the Handmaids, then it’s been a little more subtle and insidious in its displays of the regime’s evil, rather than the unrelenting grimness of its parent show. That changes in Episode 4. Warning: This article contains SPOILERS, as well as discussion of sexual assault.
The ending to “Green Tea” finds Agnes getting changed, before noticing that her undershirt has been unfastened – and she was not the one who did it. It gradually dawns on her that this was done by the dentist, Dr. Grove, whom she had visited and been anasthetized by earlier in the episode. erer It doesn’t go into specifics at this point, but the implication is that Agnes was sexually assaulted by Grove while she was unconscious.
The devastating reality of this is that it isn’t the first time it has happened to Agnes. In Episode 2, during another visit to Dr. Grove, he ran his hand over her breast while examining her teeth. The show didn’t linger on it then, and nor did Agnes; it’s clear she tried to push it to one side, and as a young girl raised in a regime that does not teach about sex or consent, but does teach that men matter more than women, she may not have even fully understood what happened, though it was enough to fear a return visit.
The Testaments Episode 4 does not show us anything in the moment, but it’s framed disturbingly. As Agnes is put to sleep by the creepy Dr. Grove, we’re supposed to know that something is going to happen to her in that moment. And that, despite Daisy going with her, there’s nothing anybody can or will do to prevent it. That builds to the reveal at the end of the installment, where there’s now no mistaking it.
It’s harrowing to watch as Agnes realizes something happened to her while at the dentist and breaks down, even if she doesn’t know exactly what. This also represents a shift in her arc. The early episodes established that while Agnes was slowly aware of some of Gilead’s issues, she also still bought into a lot of it. She was mostly happy, and wanted the happily married life with kids that was sold as the perfect future for the Plums. This brings the horrors of Gilead crashing into her reality, but it will also be part of the catalyst that will likely lead her to rebel.
With that, there’s also the question of whether Paula knew about Dr. Grove, given she was insistent upon her going to the dentist. This isn’t made clear, but for what it’s worth, in the book (where the scene is more graphic), Agnes firmly believes that Paula was all too aware of what would happen. This fits with the presentation of the character, who hates her daughter-in-law, but also Gilead as a whole. It suggests that Grove’s actions are an open secret among the adults, but that it’s the status quo and the powerful man who must be protected, not the innocent girls.
This is paired with Daisy’s own reckoning with the evils of Gilead, which also comes at the end of the episode. Having learned exactly what she’s been thrust into, she breaks down crying and has to try to strengthen her resolve, especially after also learning there’s no easy way out.
There is also no easy fix. As Paula evidences, adults either won’t care or simply won’t believe them. The system is not designed to help or support them; it’s designed for people like Dr. Grove. There would appear to be few people that Agnes could turn to, outside of Daisy. One option might be Aunt Lydia, who herself is aware of what Gilead is, but that itself is not going to be easy, and would require more trust between them.
Both Daisy and Agnes, in different ways, have lost their innocence and had their security and stability ripped away. But this is the world of The Handmaid’s Tale, where there is usually a glimmer of hope amid the despair. That means, as The Testaments goes on, and as grim and horrifying as it is, we’re also going to see just how they strike back.
New episodes of The Testaments release on Wednesdays on Hulu.
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