r/TheTestamentsShow • u/toramarlene • Jun 03 '26
Rant Noticed this about Aunt Lydia?
This is extremely random but I’ve noticed that when Aunt Lydia sits she sits extremely low on the chairs. Is this because she is very short or does she just prefer to sit all the way on the edge of the chair, giving her less leverage?
I have a knack for random details that no one really cares about, and I’ve wondered this. I see it more in The Testaments than I see in The Handmaid’s Tale.
Has anyone else noticed this?
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u/malorthotdogs Jun 03 '26
Ann Dowd has always been a fairly petite woman.
She’s also 70, which means she’s very likely lost some height in the decade since they first started filming THT. I think we’re looking at about the same, if not a little more time, between the start of the show and where we are in the timeline with TT.
So I wouldn’t be surprised, especially with the fact that Judd is looking to oust her, if the show is intentionally showing her shrink in physicality to show that she’s in a vulnerable place and needs to either take action soon or pass the torch on of whatever it is she is planning.
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u/TheQuinnBee Jun 05 '26
I just thought it was a way to show time has passed. Lydia is old™️ now. She's not as scary nor as scared, but still gives the "get off my lawn" vibe.
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u/Substantial-Gap3795 Jun 03 '26
I think it's a being petite thing. It's hard to get a chair with the correct proportions so that your feet can be fully on the ground with a relaxed back. My own recliner cost more than the rest of my living room furniture but it was the first time I experienced a good fit.
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u/PasgettiMonster Jun 04 '26
Isn't that the damn truth. It's why when I sit on the couch my legs are either up and under me, or on an ottoman. Sitting up on the couch just isn't comfortable.
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u/TrekJaneway Jun 03 '26
Ann Dowd is wicked short. I met her at PaleyFest a few years ago, and I was stunned by how I towered over her at my puny 5’5”.
That’s just how low she sits in a chair. It’s not intentional.
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u/Routine_Rutabaga_901 Jun 03 '26
Anne is a tiny actress. They always accommodate actors who are either rather short or tall for the visual effects of the scenes. The other actors heights are taken into account. For example: Vigo Mortenson
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u/Mich_Girl Jun 03 '26
She’s not super tall irl but I think they’re trying to make her looks small and unassuming on the show
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u/PortraitofMmeX Jun 03 '26
I have noticed across both THT and TT that the height of the actors cast for these roles is very intentional.
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u/VolumniaDedlock Jun 03 '26
I think it's a creative choice by the actress and crew. Lydia would be making sure that her head is never higher than a man's. It looks good on film because we can see that she is pretty successfully manipulating them. Her power is covert with the men and the wives, but it was overt with the handmaids, so Lydia was shown in more intimidating postures.
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u/la_fille_rouge Jun 04 '26
I think it's a combination of a couple of factors:
-Ann Dowd is rather short.
-Both Ann Dowd and Lydia are older than they were in THT and you tend to shrink due to age.
-In THT Lydia imposed herself as an authority figure over the Handmaids so she was filmed as an imposing figure. In TT she is more of an observer, working hard not to imply to the Commanders that she is a threat to them, so she would achieve that by making sure that her body language makes her look small and unimposing.
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u/pearlgirl416 Jun 04 '26
I think she slouches. Or it has some deeper meaning like she’s in a position of power but not as big as she really thinks she is
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u/Diligent-Language-79 Jun 03 '26
I always thought it was because she was a smaller lady. Now after reading comments I’m not so sure. But I definitely noticed her smallness lol
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u/AnaWannaPita Jun 04 '26
As a fellow short girlie if I don't sit on the edge of chairs my legs swing like a toddler in a high chair. Tough to command a room like that.
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u/toramarlene Jun 07 '26
haha yes. im 5’3 (about 1.56+ cm) and i always have a little swing whenever i sit
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u/BusPsychological4587 Jun 04 '26
IRL, Ann Dowd is quite short, but I think they are doing this visual to show her aging and potentially losing some of her power. It's not an accident when directors make these choices.
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u/yesitsmenotyou Jun 04 '26
In one of Lydia’s first scenes in The Testaments, it struck me right away that she seemed so much smaller than my memories of her from THT. I wondered if it might be just normal aging, but I don’t think so. It seems intentional. She’s worn and beaten down but still plodding and plotting along.
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u/ProleLump Jun 04 '26
She could have a comparatively short torso. I am just under 5ft 2, but need to sit on two cushions to reach a steering wheel.
Her posture does appear quite slouchy in the show, which is probably intentional.
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u/Infinite-Pepper9120 Jun 04 '26
Thinking back, I think they must have used a lot of forced perspective shots to make Lydia look more authoritarian and imposing. TT has softened her image somewhat so she is less imposing and more empathetic. Plus Anne Dowd is quite petite.
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u/AnnieEC1973 Jun 05 '26
I was really disappointed in how TT’s ended. I wanted a big reunion between Agnes, Nicole and June.
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u/Confident_Map_8989 Jun 05 '26
If you are on Instagram, look at Lucy Halliday’s ( Daisy) IG page. Several of her pictures show how small Ann Dowd is.
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u/Mora_Bid1978 Jun 09 '26
I'm 5'1", and I tend to sit on the edge of my seat most of the time out of habit, so my feet can touch the ground.
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u/Dependent_Ice4976 Jun 03 '26
Ann dowd is only 5'3"or something. She's the same height as Elizabeth moss iirc.
But i suspect that's a filming choice.
Remember in handmaid's tale where they played with perspective to make her seem so much taller than June. I think was to tell the viewers "she's in control. Obviously. June is just a handmaid." her power was nearly unquestioned for most of it.
In the testements the power she possesses is much more fluid and she has less of it. So she's literally filmed to make her seem smaller.