Season One Episode Six – Stadium
This episode begins with Aunt Lydia watching the Green girls from the top of the stairs as they make their way to class. As the girls pass through the hallways, the other Aunts begin coming downstairs and head toward the office. The Green girls watch them nervously, curious and anxious about which of them will soon be matched with a Commander.
Agnes tells Hulda to stop pacing even though she is nervous because the Aunts are about to match them with their future husbands. While the others seem nervous and curious about what is to come, Becka is clearly not happy about the situation at all. Her reaction makes it clear that she is not looking forward to being matched or getting married.
In the office, the Aunts begin pulling files from the shelves, with each Green girl and Commander having their own file. As Aunt Lydia looks through them, she quietly wonders what Agnes wants and admits that she is not quite sure yet. Really? None of these girls want to be married! Yet the Aunts are treating these matches as if the girls’ opinions matter, making the whole process feel not normal at all.
Before Gilead, Aunt Lydia is shown as a teacher sitting in the lounge with her colleagues, once again dealing with cancelled classes. She goes looking for coffee, only to find the can empty because someone forgot to bring more supplies. Then Vivian walks in and says something is happening outside. She tells Keith that the men outside want to speak with him, and everyone looks toward the glass doors to see several men waiting. As Keith steps outside to talk to them, the women watch nervously through the glass. Suddenly, one of the men shoots Keith in the head. The women begin screaming as the men enter the room and start taking them away. Lydia resists at first, but the men refuse to let her go, and she is taken away with the others.
The men take Lydia and Vivian to a stadium, where they are ordered to remove all of their belongings and place them in a box. The women are being interrogated and then sent to different areas of the stadium, leaving everyone terrified and confused about what is happening. Lydia and Vivian sit together in the open stadium, watching as women are taken away one group at a time. Then they witness something horrifying. On the field men line up a group of women and and shoot them. At this point, there is no doubt that something terrible is happening. Everyone is scared and have no idea what is coming next. I would be freaking out too!
Back in Gilead, the Aunts are discussing the certification of the Green Girls who are ready to move forward. Hulda is taken into a private room where she is examined to determine whether she has truly become a woman. Aunt Vivian completes the examination and confirms that Hulda is ready. It is another reminder of just how little control these girls have over their own lives and bodies.
Back at the stadium, before Gilead, Lydia and Vivian sit quietly as they watch more women being taken away. The fear is written all over their faces, and I’m sure they are both wondering the same thing: When will they come for us? With no idea what is happening or where the women are being taken, they have no choice but to sit and wait, terrified that they could be next.
Agnes, Becka, and Shunammite talk nervously as they wait to find out who the Green girls will be matched with. While Agnes and Shunammite seem curious about their futures, Becka is especially worried. She is afraid that because she got drunk at the ball, the Aunts will punish her by matching her with someone from the Colonies. You can really feel how much anxiety these girls have about something that is supposed to be a happy occasion.
Hulda is officially announced as a Green Girl and is now eligible to be matched with the others. Aunt Vidala then asks Hulda what punishment a girl should receive for being cruel to another girl. Shortly afterward, Shunammite is taken away and punished by having her hands beaten for the way she treated Hulda.
What exactly did Hulda tell the Aunts? And why would she turn on her own friend in the first place? I understand why Agnes and the others would have a hard time trusting her after this. If Hulda is willing to tell the Aunts what happens behind closed doors, who knows what else she might reveal? I definitely wouldn’t trust Hulda now either.
Back at the stadium, Lydia and Vivian are given nothing more than bread and water as they continue watching women being taken away. As night falls, things become even more frightening, and the two women try their best not to sleep. Vivian apologizes to Lydia for not bringing coffee to work that morning. Of course, coffee is the least of their problems now, but in this terrifying situation, they both find themselves wishing they could have just one cup. They try to stay awake, afraid of what might happen if they fall asleep. The next morning, Lydia wakes up and realizes that Vivian is gone.
Back at the school, Aunt Lydia watches as Shunammite returns to the dining room with both hands bandaged. Her friends ask how she is feeling, and she simply says she is fine. Hulda makes a comment about what happened, but Daisy tells everyone to cool it for a while. Then Shunammite shares some news she heard her father talking about that Penny has gone into labor, which means she will likely lose her baby. This is not good because it is Penny’s third pregnancy, and in Gilead, her entire purpose is seen as being able to have babies. If she cannot carry the pregnancy to term, it could have serious consequences for her future. Aunt Lydia watches as the girls pray for Penny, knowing just how much is at stake for Penny.
Back at the stadium, they finally come for Lydia. She resists, but the men force her to get up and take her to an office where she meets Commander Judd. He has already reviewed her file and begins explaining what will happen to the women and where they will be placed. Lydia quickly realizes that she needs to find a way to gain his confidence if she wants to survive. Thinking fast, she suggests that she could oversee the women and help manage them. Commander Judd listens to her, and Lydia begins to see an opportunity to make herself useful and perhaps save herself in the process. Quick thinking Lydia.
Back at the school, the Aunts are still going through the files and working on the matches when Commander Judd suddenly enters the room. He takes several of the Commanders’ files from the table, explaining that they are at war now. The mood immediately changes as the Aunts realize that the plans for the girls’ futures may be affected by what is happening outside the school.
The Green girls are at recess, but Agnes has other things on her mind. The girls begin arguing about who will be placed with which Commander, and the tension between them continues to grow. Agnes eventually walks away from the others and confides in Becka that she is in love with Garth. It’s clear that Agnes is struggling with the idea of being matched with someone else when she is in love the Garth.
As Agnes walks through the lobby, she sees Aunt Lydia sitting there. Aunt Lydia asks why she is not on her way to class, but Agnes takes the opportunity to ask if they can talk privately. Agnes then asks whether Garth would be eligible to be matched this season. Aunt Lydia looks at her and simply says she will think about it. Agnes may have gotten the answer she wanted or at least enough hope to keep her going.
Back at the stadium, Lydia is taken to a locker room and told to change into what appears to be a uniform. For the first time in a while, she is also given food. She is then brought back to Commander Judd, who tells her that if she wants to be trusted, she must prove that she is with them. Lydia is taken out onto the field and handed a gun. When she turns around, she sees Vivian standing in front of her. Lydia is ordered to kill her. Lydia says she cannot do it, but Commander Judd insists that this is her test. Lydia pulls the trigger, but she soon discovers that the gun was loaded with blanks. Vivian is still alive, and Lydia has passed the test. What a test! Lydia had no idea she was being set up, and Commander Judd now believes she has proven her loyalty.
Aunt Lydia and Aunt Vidala are the last ones making the matches for the Green girls, and Garth is finally placed in the pile to be selected. Meanwhile, Lydia learns that Penny has lost her baby and decides to speak with Commander Judd. Lydia suggests that he get a Handmaid, but he refuses. He is still hoping for the best.
Back at the stadium, Lydia is taken to Commander Judd’s office, where he tells her that she will be responsible for overseeing the women. He also gives her the task of choosing the fabric for their uniforms. Lydia chooses the roughest material available. At this point, comfort is no longer a way of life for these women. Lydia is beginning to understand that if she wants to survive in this new world, she has to become someone the men will trust.
The Green girls are waiting for their rides home when Hulda happily announces that she has her first appointment to get her teeth whitened. Agnes, however, doesn’t seem as excited. She looks concerned as she wonders whether Dr. Grove might try something with Hulda. Given everything the girls have been experiencing, it’s easy to understand why Agnes would be suspicious and worried about what could happen behind closed doors.
Aunt Estee is walking with Daisy and tells her that she was once a Pearl Girl. Daisy is curious and starts asking questions, but Aunt Estee doesn’t give her much information. She then reveals that she was the original Pearl Girl, which clearly impresses Daisy. At the same time, Daisy seems confused about why anyone would willingly choose to live in Gilead. And now I’m wondering if Aunt Estee is a spy too? There has to be more to her story, and I’m definitely curious to find out what she is really up to or she just believes what Gilead is telling her.
Aunt Lydia tells the other Aunts that all the matches have been made. She sends them out to inform the families, but she leaves Agnes for last. Lydia gives Agnes’s file to Aunt Vidala and sends her to deliver the news to Agnes’s family. Now the big question is, who will Agnes be matched with? After everything Agnes has shared about her feelings for Garth, I’m really hoping it’s him! It would be so good to see Agnes finally get the match she wants.
After all the Aunts have left, Aunt Lydia sits down with her journal and begins writing. She is carefully recording everything that happens in Gilead, keeping track of the people, their actions, and their secrets. Lydia is quietly building a record of everything she sees. She has dirt on all of them, and something tells me that journal is going to become very important.
This episode does a really good job of showing how Aunt Lydia became the person we know in Gilead without making her backstory as harsh or as drawn out as it is in the book. I actually think the changes work better for the show because we get to see Lydia make those choices and slowly realize that survival means finding a way to have power within this new system.
I’m not happy about what appears to be coming for the Green girls, but unfortunately, that is Gilead. The girls are being matched and sent off as if their futures are just another item on a checklist, while they have almost no say in what happens to them.
But the stadium scenes were probably the most disturbing part for me. The fact that Lydia, Vivian, and all those other women were simply taken without warning and that no one seemed to understand what was happening made it feel like it could happen now. They went from living their normal lives to being prisoners almost overnight. It makes me wonder if the signs were there all along and people simply couldn’t or wouldn’t believe what was happening.
Where are all the other men? We see Keith killed, but after that, the story focuses almost entirely on what happens to the women. Who is running everything outside of what we are seeing? Were the men taken too? Were some of them part of what was happening? I definitely think there is more to that part of the story that we will not hear about since this was all about Aunt Lydia.
How are you feeling about this episode? I hope you’re still enjoying the show as much as I am! There is so much happening, and I’m really curious to hear what you think about everything that is happened so far. I’m excited to see what happens next.
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