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Agnes recounts first seeing Jade at a Thanks Giving welcoming returning Pearl Girls and their converts. Jade appears tall, awkward, and boldly observant, giving Agnes the sense she will not easily fit into Ardua Hall or Gilead. Agnes and Becka, nearing completion of Supplicant training, anticipate becoming Aunts and Pearl Girls but Agnes now doubts parts of Gilead despite believing in service.

The next day, after Jade’s vigil and change into brown, she is made to witness a Particicution. Two men are torn apart by Handmaids; one is Dr. Grove, condemned for his assault on Aunt Elizabeth and known to both Agnes and Becka from past harms. Agnes feels grim satisfaction at his punishment, while Becka faints, later burdened by guilt for having confided his crimes.

Back in their rooms, Agnes comforts Becka, who insists she has her emotions under control but believes her disclosure led to Dr. Grove’s death. Agnes assures Becka she never revealed the secret, yet notes Aunt Lydia’s reach makes concealment unlikely.

Aunt Lydia then arrives with Jade, assigning Agnes (Aunt Victoria) and Becka (Aunt Immortelle) to house and train her in Gilead’s ways. Jade’s tremulous yet stubborn smile signals nonconformity. Agnes recognizes that their placid routine is ending with Jade’s presence, even if she cannot yet see how profound the change will be.

Agnes closes by contrasting her sheltered generation with the founders’ hardened experience. She notes the older Aunts’ ruthlessness, forged before Gilead, which she and Becka lack—an imbalance that frames the power dynamics shaping Jade’s indoctrination and their own futures.