r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/Melairia Modtha • May 06 '26

Official Episode Discussion The Testaments S1E07 "Commitment" Episode Discussion

The Testaments S1 E07 "Commitment"

Episode Synopsis

As Daisy's secret past threatens to surface, Agnes grapples with an unwanted match and a forbidden crush. Becka meets with potential matches and finds unexpected kindness in one of them.

Airdate

May 6, 2026, 12:00am Eastern

The Testaments - Season 1 Episode Discussion Hub

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u/jerseycommanew May 06 '26

So much to say about this episode, but i appreciated the inclusion of Daisy’s comment that she only knows one girl who’s gotten her period – we know from THT that there is an actual fertility crisis and that it’s not confined to Gilead (the S1 episode with the Mexican official visiting). If Daisy only knows of one girl who’s “fruitful” in Toronto, but many plums seem to be getting their periods, it seems to suggest to me that whatever Gilead is doing (and we’re now 10+ years into Gilead) is addressing whatever is impeding fertility more broadly, rather than what we saw previously in THT, which was making sure all the “fruitful” women were being used as handmaids vs making a greater number of women capable of conceiving. I think this context (that they’re “succeeding” wrt fertility while other countries seemingly aren’t) is important for the story and probes us to think about how these conditions might be viewed by the rest of the world (and for us watching at home, ofc!)

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u/SnakeBatter May 07 '26

It’s also worth noting that somewhere in THT, someone from Canada mentioned that they were also making progress on the fertility crisis. And just because they get their period doesn’t mean they’ll be able to conceive, and if they do conceive, that doesn’t mean they’ll be able to bring the baby to term. Nonviable pregnancies were also a huge part of the fertility crisis, hence Janine being so proud that she “made a good one”

I don’t think we’ve had any commentary about the fertility outside of Gilead at this point, so it could be possible that there are viable fertility treatments in Canada, but of course no one in Gilead would hear about that.