The Testaments finally spotlights Aunt Lydia as it airs a big, game-changing episode

The Handmaid's Tale was, by definition, the story of a Handmaid named June Osborn (Elisabeth Moss) who fought to escape the tyranny of Gilead. But within the wider tale of this fascist regime, other voices soon came to the fore.

Chief among them was Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), a cruel taskmaster who punished June and the Handmaids when they stepped out of line. Here was a woman who subjugated other women like her in a violent patriarchy just to uphold the status quo. Yet as monstrous as she was, Lydia only grew more fascinating over time once the cracks in her armour started to show.

It was with great anticipation then that fans came into The Testaments hoping to understand Lydia better (and perhaps watch Dowd nab another Emmy for playing her in the process). Five episodes in, she's largely been absent though, save for a few sporadic scenes following her introduction to Agnes MacKenzie (Chase Infiniti) at the start.

While it was smart to focus on the new characters first, establishing them as important in their own right, longtime fans of the franchise have been waiting to scratch that itch and dive into what Lydia's been up to (especially for those already familiar with her trajectory in Margaret Atwood's book).

After five episodes of switching between Agnes and Daisy (Lucy Halliday), the latest episode of The Testaments finally adopts Lydia's viewpoint via, not just narration, but also flashbacks to her life pre-Gilead.

It's there that we come to realise she and Aunt Vidala (Mabel Li) actually knew each other prior to the takeover. They were working together as teachers in a school when Gilead agents stormed in and took over as part of a larger, nationwide coup.

Like they did in The Handmaid's Tale, such scenes provide us with horrifying glimpses of that sudden change in leadership and how it looked for women throughout the country who suddenly lost everything. Well, except for Lydia.

Upon witnessing the murder of multiple women who were shot in the stadium where they'd been rounded up, Lydia realised she would have to change if she were to survive this new world order:

"Men who understand the power of women, who want to control it instead of deny it… There is no one more terrifying."

To ingratiate herself to those in power, Lydia began to make suggestions to Commander Judd (Charlie Carrick), suggestions that would go on to shape the formation of Gilead itself as we know it now.

"If you believe society is best served by separate spheres for men and women, shouldn’t they be truly separate?" pointed out Lydia. "Who’s going to teach the women to be better women?"

Yep, Lydia is the one who came up with the Aunt system she went on to lead. And later, we find out that she even helped pick out the fabric of their uniform, choosing the most uncomfortable option to bypass the "ease and comfort" which bred "entitled little brats" in the "old world."

How much of this was a survival measure and how much of this radical ideology did Lydia truly believe in? It seems she herself began to lose sight of the truth, asking, "Was I a phoenix rising from the ashes? Or a cockroach? I don’t know, but I was alive."

That belief in both herself and Gilead was tested when Lydia was forced to raise a gun to one of the women bound in the stadium, only to discover that it was her old colleague looking up at her.

"Please," begged Aunt Vidala. "I don’t want to die, Lydia. Don’t. Please."

We already knew she would survive given her involvement in the present, but what we didn't know was that Lydia would actually pull the trigger on Vidala, only for us to quickly realise that the gun hadn't been loaded.

As Lydia said earlier on in the same episode, "I learned quickly that having friends in Gilead is a liability and only brings suffering."

This is exactly the kind of character development that viewers have been waiting for. Not only does this help us better understand the moral greys that Lydia has always worked within, such scenes also provide greater insight into her position within Gilead and how a woman rose to such prominence in a malicious, male-led society.

The timing of it all couldn't be more perfect either, not just because the new cast needed their own chance to shine, but because of how these flashbacks recontextualise a big reveal that suddenly comes at the end of the episode.

Back in the present, Lydia and the other Aunts raise a glass to all the hard work they've put into matching each of their girls with a Commander.

But after the others leave, Lydia's narration chimes back in, reminding herself of the promise she made to the girls after the deaths of those in her charge during the attacks on Jezebel's and Boston (as seen in The Handmaid's Tale).

"I vowed to document everything and everyone," recalls Lydia. "Aunts were allowed to write, we were the only women who could. But what was I writing? The crimes of weak men and too many women."

Yep, Lydia has decided to "bring down these men" from the inside, collecting evidence that can one day be used against them and destroy Gilead for good. "May God protect these girls, because I’m not sure I can…"

It's quite the contrast from when we first watched Lydia devote herself to this regime in flashbacks from the very same episode. But that was the point, not just to misdirect us from the twist that's about to come, but also to remind us that her allegiance to Gilead didn't come as easy as others might assume.

When this shift happened exactly isn't clear, although the final season of The Handmaid's Tale hinted this could happen, especially in regard to Lydia's love for Janine (Madeline Brewer), a perpetually abused Handmaid who she formed a deep connection with.

But at the end of the day, Lydia has always tried to protect the women she's in charge of. Or at least, that's what she always told herself so she could sleep better at night.

Readers of the book this show is based on will have already seen this twist coming. But no matter. Weaving it in at this precise moment, just as the show hammered down on Lydia's past misdeeds, is a genius move, one that bodes well for how this game-changing development will continue to evolve in the episodes that remain this season.

So does this all mean that redemption is at hand for Aunt Lydia?

The Testaments isn't quite her story in the same way that The Handmaid's Tale was for June. But together with Agnes and Daisy, Lydia can at least strive for something better, even if it doesn't make up for all her past atrocities.

The Testaments continues to air on Disney+ every Wednesday.

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