Fans of The Handmaid's Tale spin-off The Testaments have been given a disturbing look into the early days of Gilead, as a key mystery is solved. The latest episode, titled 'Stadium', reveals the backstory between Aunt Lydia and her colleague Aunt Vidala, showing a brutal test of loyalty that changes Lydia forever.
In the episode, set during Gilead's takeover of Boston, Lydia and Vivian (later known as Vidala) were teachers at the same elementary school. After being rounded up by the Sons of Jacob, Lydia pitches the idea for the Aunts programme to survive. To prove her loyalty, she is tasked with executing Vivian, but the gun is unloaded. The moment, according to actress Ann Dowd, 'changes' Lydia profoundly.
Dowd explained in an interview with Variety: 'Like suddenly, the hood comes off [Vidala's head], and there is my colleague, and I'm going to shoot her. Something very powerful and deeply intense happens to Lydia, then that changes her.' Mabel Li, who plays Vidala, described the scene as 'genuinely scary' even with a fake gun.
The episode also sets up tension in the present timeline, with Vidala resenting Lydia's willingness to kill her. Li noted that Vidala's criticism of Lydia's softness stems from 'deep resentment from the betrayal that happens in their past'. The Testaments is available on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in the UK.
