Why as a fan of The Handmaid’s Tale you really want to see The Testaments
After a long time without any word from Gilead, we dive back into the world of The Handmaid’s Tale. And honestly? This series couldn't come at a better time. In a time when femicide, Andrew Tate wannabes are taking over the media, and the Epstein files are still making headlines, this series comes just in time. In The Testaments, we no longer follow June, but the new characters Agnes, Daisy, and Aunt Lydia. They symbolize a new era in the religious dictatorship. Because honestly? Gilead is still horrific. We just see it now through a coming-of-age lens. And that is surprisingly good.
Can a spin-off really be good? Spoiler alert: yes
When the news breaks that there’s a spin-off of some series coming, I start to tremble. Is it really going to be good? Can the series or film have the same charm as the original? I was afraid of that, because this is a trick that has often gone wrong. Just think of Joey, the spin-off of Friends that scored so poorly it ruined Joey’s character. Or How I Met Your Father, which was off the air after a year. Yet The Testaments manages to hit just the right itch
Although this series is just a bit different, it still manages to achieve the same atmosphere. It doesn’t feel like a weak copy, but like a continuation and a new perspective on a beloved story. For those who don’t remember, I’ll briefly explain where we left off: June Osborne is far from done saving the world. To symbolically close the chapter, she returned to the Waterford House and visited her old room where it all began. After a desperate search, she was finally reunited with her daughter, Hannah. Now that June has become the leader of the resistance, her work is far from over, and we see that immediately in the spin-off.
What is The Testaments actually about?
The story begins fifteen years later with Hannah, who has been given the Gilead name Agnes. As a young girl, she was adopted by Commander MacKenzie and his deceased wife Tabitha. Instead of learning the wise lessons from her mother, she grew up in the midst of the regime. With what end result? She is completely brainwashed. Everything June fought for was for nothing. We are back to square one. The 15-year-old Agnes does everything that any teenage girl in Gilead does: she goes to an expensive boarding school with her friends (who, by the way, is run by, hold on tight, Aunt Lydia?!) and she can’t wait to get married. Because no, she is not going to become a breeding machine like her mother, but she will be married off to a much older commander. Just when she is almost old enough, she meets Daisy from Canada. This is the start of her doubts about faith and her way of life.
Oh, just a little announcement: The Testaments is really different from the dark predecessor. We follow a much younger audience, with teenage problems. Those girls still have to discover themselves, and that is quite difficult in a world that suppresses every personal opinion. It’s not about resistance and escaping death, but about a believer who starts to doubt everything. Those dark colors have made way for a literal pink lens. This series is lighter, funnier, but that youthful curiosity transforms into a story that is just as impressive and heavy as we are used to from The Handmaid’s Tale. As a true fan, this is definitely a good continuation to discover all the secrets of that terrible world.
So definitely turn on your TV tonight. Close the curtains, snuggle under a blanket, and let yourself be swept away again. Who knows, a whole new feminist might awaken in you.
