Summary
- Hulu's adaptation of The Testaments will differ from the book since The Handmaid's Tale show explores June's journey beyond the novel's ending.
- From Aunt Lydia's moral gray areas to the identities of The Testaments' other narrators, Hulu's Handmaid's Tale adaptation has already "spoiled" certain reveals.
- The Testaments could lead to a more tragic ending for June in The Handmaid's Tale season 6.
A sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, Hulu's adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale season 5's ending, June has crossed the border several times.
As she struggles to reunite her fractured family and rescue both of her daughters from Gilead, June confronts the harsh realities of her position as a survivor, diplomat, and refugee — all things the novel didn't need to delve into. Other The Handmaid's Tale season 6 and the series finale.
5 Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale Has Already Teased Aunt Lydia's Moral Gray Areas
Season 3 Of The Show Dedicates An Episode To Lydia's Backstory
As early as The Handmaid's Tale season 3, the show explored Aunt Lydia's (Anne Dowd) less-then-clear-cut background. Before Gilead, she was a comionate teacher — albeit a bit lonely and, sometimes, misunderstood. The series shows that Lydia was compelled to do what she felt was right, even when her moral com wasn't quite centered. Still, Dowd captures the more human element. While Atwood's character in the Handmaid's Tale was cruel to her core, the author does use Aunt Lydia as a point-of-view character in The Testaments, allowing the apparent Gilead loyalist to tell her story.
At this point, it's hard to imagine Lydia having those leanings in the show.
There's always been a complexity to Hulu's version of Aunt Lydia. Like everyone else who's complicit in Gilead's regime, Aunt Lydia has been abusive — physically, verbally, and mentally — to the handmaids placed in her "care." By being so dedicated to the handmaid system, Aunt Lydia is aiding those who sexually assault women. There's no getting around that, no matter the character's backstory. In the show, Lydia has dug her heels into being an acolyte of Gilead, despite a few glimmers of comion. That said, it's hard to imagine Hulu's version of The Testaments adapting her story faithfully.
I'm Convinced These Two Characters Will Both Die In The Handmaid's Tale Season 6
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Atwood reveals that Aunt Lydia actually despises Gilead, and that she has been playing a kind of long game for some time. Ultimately, Aunt Lydia is a very embedded Mayday operative, and she aids the rebel cause in The Testaments. At this point, it's hard to imagine Lydia having those leanings in the show. It's possible that her experiences — and time spent with Janine (Madeline Brewer) — will turn Aunt Lydia against Gilead before The Handmaid's Tale comes to an end, thus setting up her Mayday storyline in The Testaments.
The Handmaid's Tale is a television adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel, released in 2017. It is set in a dystopian future where a woman is compelled to live as a concubine under a strict fundamentalist theocracy.
- Cast
- Elisabeth Moss, Alexis Bledel, Nina Kiri, Ever Carradine, Josh Charles, Elena Khan, Birgitte Solem, Jim Cummings
- Showrunner
- Bruce Miller
- Writers
- Kira Snyder, Eric Tuchman, Yahlin Chang, John Herrera, Jacey Heldrich, Dorothy Fortenberry, Marissa Jo Cerar, Lynn Renee Maxcy
- Seasons
- 6
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu
4 Hannah Narrates The Testaments From Gilead
June's Daughter Is Secretly One Of The Sequel's Main Characters
In The Testaments, June and Luke's (O-T Fagbenle) daughter, Hannah (Jordana Blake), serves as one of the book's three narrators. However, she goes by the name Agnes Jemima and still lives with her adoptive parents, Commander Kyle and his wife Tabitha, within Gilead's boundaries. On Hulu's show, Hannah is adopted by Commander MacKenzie and his wife and dubbed "Agnes," so there are certainly similarities. However, the book version of Hannah/Agnes can't her biological parents — just a vague memory of running through the woods with a woman when she was very young.
Much of June's story revolves around trying to reunite her fractured family, and that includes rescuing Hannah from Gilead.
Of course, Hulu's version of the character has also been sufficiently indoctrinated by Gilead. At first, it doesn't seem like Hannah re June or their life together before Gilead's war. Although there are some breakthrough moments later on in The Handmaid's Tale, Hannah is still living with the MacKenzie family. Much of June's story revolves around trying to reunite her fractured family, and that includes rescuing Hannah from Gilead. That seems to be the plan heading into the sixth and final season of the show. Whatever happens will no doubt reshape The Testaments' characters and stories drastically.
The Handmaid's Tale Season 6's Actor Change Is A Big Step Forward For Gilead's Replacement
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3 Nicole's Story Will Have To Change In The Testaments
Unless June & Luke Die, Nicole Will Likely Know Who She Is
Nicole (spelled Nichole in the Hulu series) has already become something of a symbol in The Handmaid's Tale. A baby born to a handmaid in Gilead and brought over the border to Canada as a refugee, baby Nicole quickly became a pawn in the United States' struggle to make diplomatic with Gilead. More than that, Nicole became a pawn of sorts in Serena Joy and June's Handmaid's Tale storyline. For now, Nicole is safely in Canada with June, Luke, and Moira, but it's hard to know if that safety will last.
Nicole could still become a ward of Mayday...
In The Testaments, the third point-of-view character is Daisy, a young woman who lives in Toronto with her adoptive parents. On Daisy's sixteenth birthday, her parents are killed, and it's revealed that they were Mayday operatives assigned to protect her — because Daisy is actually Nicole. This revelation propels Nicole's whole narrative, which, in turn, impacts the story of her half-sister, Hannah/Agnes. Luke and June are both characters who could die in The Handmaid's Tale's final season, though the latter seems a little less likely. If that's the case, Nicole could still become a ward of Mayday.
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The Handmaid's Tale sequel should make one huge change as it begins pre-production so it does not suffer the same fate as the original show
2 The Testaments Never Directly Confirms That June Is Related To Its Narrators
Hannah/Agnes & Daisy/Nicole's Identities Are Left Ambiguous
Although The Testaments strongly suggests that Hannah/Agnes and Nicole/Daisy are June's daughters, it never outright confirms anything. That's how Atwood wanted it. Both teenagers learn that their mother was a handmaid, but, other than that, it's kept vague. Of course, Hulu's shows can't pull off the same trick. For Atwood, it was important that readers could their own judgments on the situation: the connections to Offred are there if readers want them, but the anonymity also reiterates that Hannah, Nicole, and June's stories are the stories of so many women impacted by Gilead.
The Testaments Creates A Big Challenge For The Handmaid's Tale Season 6's Serena Joy Story
When it comes to Serena Joy's story in the final season of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood's sequel, Testaments, presents some issues.
1 June's Story In The Testaments Could Tease A Tragic Handmaid's Tale Ending
It's Possible June Won't End Up With A Family At All
In Atwood's sequel, June ends up working for Mayday and keeping tabs on her supposed daughters from afar. If that ends up happening in the adaptations, Hulu's Handmaid's Tale series finale will be much darker — and more tragic — than anticipated. Separating June from her children feels like the only way for The Handmaid's Tale to successfully set up the storylines in The Testaments. Although that would be an immensely harrowing conclusion to June's six-season struggle, it certainly gives the sequel series a lot to delve into, all while keeping June alive when the credits roll.
Based on the book series of the same name by Margaret Atwood, The Testaments is a drama thriller series set fifteen years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale. The series will take viewers back into the heart of Gilead as a reckoning begins to brew for its founders.
- Writers
- Margaret Atwood
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator(s)
- Bruce Miller
- Where To Watch
- Hulu
