Original subtitles

This is radio free Boston with an update.

Gilead forces...

Mayday bombs were unsuccessful...

We're fighting for you.

And for everyone still inside,

keep your head down and stay safe.

For our mayday heroes behind the line, tonight's messages are...

turn your dial to 101.6.

99.2... This is radio free america.

Forever the sound of freedom.

The possibility of raising sanctions

against the gilead state.

You want to know what it was like for me,

growing up in gilead?

I'm ashamed to say that I believed in gilead once.

I guess it's easier to accept a story,

even a childish one,

rather than believe that the people around you are monsters.

Blessed morning, Agnes.

In this story I'm telling, I'm not really sure what year it was.

Sorry.

It's hard to remember actual dates because

- girls were forbidden to have calendars. - Blessed morning.

Just reading one could cost you a finger.

Zilla is going to be doing your hair now.

You learned to Mark time in other ways.

It looked just like our real house.

It had my bedroom and the dining room.

A wife's parlor, even an attic where the Marthas slept.

I was a plum.

In my world then, that made all the difference.

It was all we wanted.

And it also terrified us.

The commander doll was always doing very important work,

just like my father.

Keeping us safe from heretics and mayday terrorists.

The Martha dolls were always busy.

But at night, they would let the little girl doll

sit in the kitchen with them.

They would make her cinnamon toast and they would all talk.

There is a wife doll.

In blue, of course.

That would be Paula, who was my new stepmother then.

Blessed morning, Agnes dear.

Rosa, how's your leg?

Please tell me it's better.

Yes, ma'am.

It's kind of you to ask.

Praise be his mercy.

The high dusting is catching up with us, I'm afraid.

Yes, ma'am.

I'll do that after the commander's meeting.

Thank you, zilla.

Zilla was new.

Her tongue was removed as punishment before she was posted with us.

Probably for blasphemy.

That was a big one for some wives.

Well, she's certainly an improvement.

That last one we had was a chatty Cathy.

Sometimes, when I was playing with the Dollhouse,

I would lock the Paula doll in the attic,

which was not nice.

The Paula doll would pound on the door and scream,

but the little girl doll would pay no attention.

And sometimes she would laugh.

Is that the new skirt?

Up, then.

Well, don't you look pretty as a picture?

Thank you.

Mother.

I was worried it would make you look gawky.

But no.

Praise be his mercy...

For not making me look too gawky.

I'm an irritant to Paula.

She wants me married and gone.

I was born in the sinful before-world.

Please keep the counter clean, Rosa.

- We don't want to get ants again. - Yes, ma'am.

Don't slouch, dear.

Slouching girls get fat husbands.

Blessed morning, miss Agnes.

Under his eye, sweetie pie.

Bye, Rosa.

Once, when we were pinks, I smiled at a boy on the playground.

The aunts taped my mouth shut and made me stand in the dining hall for two days,

holding the sign for a slut.

That was for smiling.

I wonder what would happen if I kissed one.

When we became plums, we started going on the field trips.

They were fun.

Some parts more than others.

I got you!

Come along, girls.

- Come on, girls, come. - Quickly.

Quiet, quiet, quiet.

Gross.

Hulda, enough.

God's justice is beautiful.

I'm sorry, aunt vidala.

Friends... These men...

Do you know what crime they committed?

Yes, shunammite.

Rape!

Aunt vidala, that's what the red "x" is for.

It's for rape.

Praise be.

Friends, these men... These horrible men, these...

Rapists.

You say "rapists."

Rapists, yes.

Thank you, shunammite.

Not "raper."

I didn't know that.

Friends, it's a ghastly story.

These men stole a young girl, much like yourselves.

This young girl was the kind who liked being the center of attention.

A spirited girl.

That kind of girl often earns a violent end for herself.

Praise be his judgment.

These men saw this girl, and they were overcome by their urges.

They came in the night and took her.

From her own bed.

What about her guardians?

Some of them were her guardians.

The urges of men are terrible things,

and those urges must be curbed.

That is the burden that god has personally laid upon each of you.

Just by existing, we were mortally dangerous to otherwise perfectly good men.

They were helpless to resist us.

Even us, the daughters of commanders, the most godly of girls.

Check the vehicle.

- Clear. - All clear.

I was a precious flower.

Then why did I sometimes feel like a prize pig?

All clear. Good to go. Open the gate.

Secure the gate and take up your posts.

At the aunt Lydia school, pink dresses were for little girls.

Plum dresses were for older girls like us.

Predestined to marry high gilead commanders once we became eligible.

Which only happened if god blessed us with a period.

Then, we became Greens and got pins.

Blessed be the fruit.

You're insane. The skirt looks fine.

May the lord open. Don't bother.

Even god knows Paula has no taste.

Move along, friends!

Becka was the first person I met when we moved here from Colorado.

She was my best friend.

Except we weren't allowed to have best friends.

The aunts said that best friends led to keeping secrets,

and secrets led to disobedience,

and disobedient girls became women who were immoral, obviously.

We've been sent good weather.

His blessing.

You have your dress fitting?

Keep moving, girls. Let's go.

After lunch.

Becka was already green.

She was getting ready to be matched.

She was moving on without me.

But we didn't talk about that.

This will be our third seamstress.

My mother thinks if she gets the bodice just right,

everyone will forget my dad's a dentist.

Maybe you should dress as a tooth.

Blessed day. We've been sent good weather.

That I receive with joy.

Very, very cute hair.

Yeah, I definitely agree.

Thanks. New Martha.

Blessed be yours, too, seriously.

My Martha sucks. I look like I have bedhead.

Shunammite. Chitter-chatter, chitter-chatter!

Flap your tongue around and you're likely to lose it.

Yes, aunt vidala.

Have a graceful day, girls.

More haste, less speed.

Aunt Lydia was a legend.

Blessed day, aunt Lydia.

She had been worshipped, then vilified...

- Thank you, aunt Lydia. - Then worshipped again.

Blessed day, aunt Lydia.

In the four years since the war of Massachusetts,

the purges had happened.

As always, those remaining were able to shape history as they liked.

Some people were hung,

and some had schools named after them.

At one time, we too were foolish,

disobedient, deceived...

and enslaved by all kinds of passions and envy.

We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

But when the kindness and love of god our savior appeared, he saved us.

Not because of the righteous things we've done,

but because of his mercy.

He saved us through the washing...

White was for the Pearl girls.

They were new arrivals from outside of gilead.

- Haven't been justified... - Converts to our godly struggle.

You might become heirs, having the hope of eternal life.

Aunt Lydia and her missionaries gathered them from all over the world.

They were mostly runaways.

Of course, they had to be young and possibly fertile.

Weirdos.

The aunts said the Pearl girls came eager for a new start.

They were even more eager to prove their godliness

by telling on you to the aunts.

We all knew someone who had been ratted out by a Pearl girl.

Amen.

The passion of the converted.

What a pain in the ass.

Nice work, con stance.

Pretty daisies, hulda.

Really?

Thank you, aunt estee.

They're actually black-eyed Susans.

Should you be thanking me?

No. Thank him, aunt estee, for making me able.

And for the flowers he made. And the thread.

Pray forgive me?

You are forgiven.

Just be mindful around aunt vidala.

Aunt gabbana, blessed morning.

Agnes?

Aunt Lydia would like to speak with you.

Come along.

Agnes, get up, please.

I'm sure it's good news.

Back to work!

By tradition,

only dead people are allowed to have statues.

I have been given one while still alive.

Praise be your works, aunt Lydia.

I have been prematurely petrified.

Agnes MacKenzie...

How the time goes by.

I have been watching you for quite a while now.

Why, aunt Lydia?

Soon to be eligible?

May god make me truly worthy.

You will be rewarded.

If you are free of sin, of course.

Do you know why this statue was erected?

So you can always be watching over us.

Yes.

We inspire the world with our good works, Agnes.

Do you agree?

Yes, aunt Lydia.

Excellent!

I have good work that needs doing.

Helping a new friend feel welcome.

Agnes, this is Daisy, one of my precious, precious pearls.

Recently arrived.

Daisy may be joining your class.

She's going to be a plum?

Perhaps.

I'd like you to show her around, make her feel comfortable.

Be her shepherdess.

It's an honor for you, Agnes.

Thank you, aunt Lydia.

Daisy, be a good girl and stay with Agnes.

Lambs don't stray.

Yes, aunt Lydia.

Thank you, aunt Lydia.

Wonderful. Go in grace.

Blessed fruit.

May the lord open.

Painting and sketching.

Music classroom.

Comportment's this way.

Domestic management is upstairs, with aunt loreal.

Hospitality, decorating, culinary arts.

Fiber arts, like embroidery, lace-making.

You can make a tablecloth.

If you dare.

And scripture class.

Praise be his word.

Weirdo.

Aunt Lydia didn't tell me much about you.

Did she tell you anything about me?

Nothing, miss Agnes.

Did she ask you to watch me?

Of course, miss Agnes.

To learn how to behave properly.

Discipline and corrections are in the aunts' wing.

You only go there when you earn it.

And lunch.

Blessed be his bounty.

This is the dining room. Pray obviously.

Let's eat.

You cannot be mistress of a house unless you are the mistress of yourself.

Do you understand me, girls?

Yes, aunt vidala.

It is an offense to god to waste food with poor preparation.

If your meal is unacceptable, speak firmly to your Martha.

Do you understand me, girls?

Yes, aunt vidala.

Friends, let us give thanks to him.

And...?

God is great, god is good.

Thank you, god, for our food.

By his blessings, we are fed.

Give us, lord, our daily bread.

Amen.

Girls...

You may socialize.

What is all this then?

This is Daisy.

Aunt Lydia asked me to make her feel welcome.

Hey.

It's a blessing to meet you all.

Ditto.

We're enjoying very fine weather.

By god's blessing.

It's a high-pressure system, I think.

Daisy, pray, where do you hail from?

- Toronto, Canada, -miss...? - Shunammite.

That's a beautiful name.

It is.

I imagine Canada's very different from gilead.

Toronto has been forsaken by god and defiled by Satan.

It is suffocating in sin.

So, do you miss it?

I pray it will be swallowed whole by the earth.

May he hear your prayer.

Daisy... do you like soft-serve ice cream?

Food is one of his miracles.

They have it here.

Strawberry and vanilla.

Hulda will take you.

Yeah, I can make you a swirl cone.

I'm sort of an expert.

Aunt Lydia urged me to stay with miss Agnes.

Ice cream is definitely one of his miracles.

And you wouldn't want to insult god.

You should get some.

Come on.

They stuck you with a Pearl girl? What did you do wrong?

She didn't do anything!

This is unprecedented.

So, what did aunt Lydia say?

She said she's new here.

I'm just supposed to be a shepherdess.

I don't like her. She didn't seem very nice.

Well, you can't trust her. She'll tell aunt Lydia everything.

She's a Pearl girl.

Becka?

Your Martha is here to collect you.

Yes, aunt estee.

My fitting.

Pray for me.

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.

Well, I can't wait to have a husband.

Becka, pray, come along. Shake a leg.

Go in grace.

In grace I go.

You should tell on her.

Your Pearl girl.

For what?

Just say that she gossips or has a foul tongue.

- Shu... - Or that she ran off to go get ice cream.

That could be plausible.

She'd be punished.

- You're an awful person. - Stop.

I didn't say to make her a gender traitor or anything.

Just something small.

Agnes, I know that you are very, very nice,

but it's time to plum up and get her before she gets you.

Cinnamon toast.

Praise be his bounty.

Is it awful?

God never sends us more than we can bear.

Sometimes he does get close, though.

Becka had her final fitting.

She must be happy to be getting a new dress.

I'm sure she looks perfect.

She's a beautiful girl.

She could get an offer from a commander at the dance.

Her dad could.

She could marry one who lives in Wyoming...

Or anywhere.

Not Maryland.

She won't move far if she marries a high commander.

They need to live near the capital.

She could marry one who... Doesn't let his wife have any friends.

Try not to think about it.

Rosa, how did you meet your husband?

Before, I mean.

We met in a bookstore.

Almost everyone we knew then was meeting online, on tinder, bumble.

We met in the cookbook section.

What's tinder?

It's not something you're ever gonna need to know, pumpkin.

Blessed evening, ma'am.

The commander will be home Thursday. I have some things for the Marthas to do.

You said your leg was better.

It is, ma'am.

Good.

Head up to the third floor. We'll start there.

Yes, ma'am.

I grew up riding.

When a horse would come up lame, my father would shoot it.

It was hard.

But it was the merciful thing to do.

Haven't I told you that story?

No, mother.

I learned that sometimes you have to be hard.

Sometimes you have to cut off weak branches.

And bothersome ones.

You'll understand when you're running your own household.

Blessed evening.

Assembly time, my plums. Two lines, two lines.

Posture, Agnes.

I'm sorry, aunt vidala.

Plums, please assemble in the dining hall.

Hurry along!

Pinks. To your classes. Chop, chop!

Blessed day, miss Agnes.

Blessed day. How was it?

May the lord open. Fine.

Shut up. It was fine.

If you like puffy sleeves.

Blessed day, graceful friends.

We need your energy

because we have some difficult work to do today.

For him.

Are you ready?

Yes, aunt estee!

Ooh, someone's in trouble!

Good.

He's the gross one.

This man is a sinner, hidden amongst us.

He was found touching himself. Abusing himself. On school grounds.

Gilead trusted him to protect you, god's most precious girls.

Instead, he chose wickedness.

We do not play with the power of creation.

What are they gonna do to him?

Quiet!

He deserves our judgment, but do not relish in it.

You are not blameless, girls.

Shame upon any of you that tempt a man!

Now... this is your decision.

You will have to make many difficult decisions when you are wives.

So, what do you say, girls?

Should this man go unpunished?

Please. Please.

- Please! - Or should he pay?

- By his hand! - By his hand!

Punish him! By his hand!

I am so proud of the women you are becoming.

By his hand! By his hand!

By his hand! By his hand!

My god.

By his hand! By his hand!

Justice! Justice! Justice! Justice!

My god.

Pray, are you okay?

I'm fine. Praise be your concern.

By his hand! By his hand!

Daisy? Daisy!

Fuck! What the fuck was that?

He broke the rules.

They cut it off. I saw his arm.

Jesus Christ, he was fucking wide awake.

For fuck's sake!

Jesus, what the fuck?

I'm... I'm sorry. I'm... Agnes.

Agnes.

Don't, don't tell.

Sweetie.

Agnes, help Daisy get cleaned up.

How do you feel?

They told us about assemblies...

But I didn't think it'd be like that.

Like what?

Thank you for taking care of me.

When aunt Lydia gives you an assignment, you do it.

Miss Agnes, I am so sorry.

I committed blasphemy.

You were unwell.

I took his name in vain, Agnes.

There is no excuse.

I know I must confess.

Okay.

Aunt Lydia is in charge of punishing Pearl girls.

Okay.

Praise be her discipline.

I need to learn.

Do you think she'll cut out my tongue?

There are stories.

Pray, no. Not for this. Probably not.

Okay.

If it's god's will.

If it's god's will.

If it's god's will.

If it's god's will... I can't.

Agnes, I can't.

It's okay. You don't have to.

You don't have to.

It was just us.

God sees our sins.

We'll pray together.

We'll show contrition.

God is merciful.

The aunts, not so much sometimes.

Are you sure?

Our secret.

Shunammite said Daisy was dangerous.

She was right, of course.

She said you should never, ever trust a Pearl girl.

But that was exactly what I did.

Blessed night, my pearls.

May god protect you.

This is radio free Boston.

If you're hoping for some tunes, you're in the right place.

For our mayday heroes behind the lines,

tonight's messages are on channel 99.2.

And remember, folks, don't let the bastards...

Red dog, green house, white barn, you have packages waiting.

If you're in the paperclip club, sit tight.

That's it for tonight.

It was still cold.

But I remember the nights were getting shorter.

The shorebirds were back.

You could hear them really high up.

A sure sign of spring.

I didn't know who my mom was yet.

My real mom.

That would come soon.

I had no idea how much that would change things.

Without calendars, you learn to Mark time in other ways.

It was when I became eligible.

And when I met Daisy.

It was when it all started.