I am over the moon to be back reviewing the sequel series to Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments for its first season! It was such an honor to partner with Hulu and review seasons 5 & 6 of The Handmaid’s Tale, and I’m delighted to be back for The Testaments! It is such a privilege to be here with you through this first season together and see where this story takes us into the season finale on May 27th. This review will be an overall review of season one, its overarching themes, expectations you should have, and will not contain any spoilers. I will reference spoilers of The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE END OF SEASON 6 so be sure that you are caught up!
Where We Left Off in The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu
The series finale of The Handmaid’s Tale left off with Boston being liberated from Gilead and back under American control. June and Luke go off on their own to further Mayday’s work of trying to bring down Gilead and bring Hannah home. I know a lot of fans were disappointed that they didn’t manage to rescue Hannah during The Handmaid’s Tale series, but ever since I read the novel The Testaments in 2019, I know that wouldn’t be where we ended up. (For what it’s worth, I absolutely loved the series finale, you can read my full review of that that episode HERE.) For clarity, I will be distinguishing between the novel of The Testaments and the Hulu series by explicitly referencing it as the novel or the Hulu series.
What is The Testaments on Hulu and How Does the Book Fit In?
Margaret Atwood’s original novel The Handmaid’s Tale was published in 1985, and ever since, fans have been wondering what happened to Offred at the end of the novel because it ends so ambiguously. Because of this, Margaret Atwood blessed us all by publishing The Testaments, a sequel to the original novel, in 2019 to answer fans’ questions. The novel The Testaments focuses on three female narrators: Aunt Lydia, Agnes, and Daisy. I HIGHLY encourage reading the novel, The Testaments, ahead of the show, although it’s not necessary. I also recommend the audiobook because Ann Dowd is the voice actor for Aunt Lydia’s chapters!
If you have already read the novel The Testaments, this is where I’m going to remind you to seriously manage your expectations. I want to level set expectations really quickly: showrunner Bruce Miller and executive producer Elisabeth Moss have made it clear that this series is a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale TV SERIES and is NOT a direct adaptation of The Testaments THE NOVEL. I’ve already seen entire first season of The Testaments the Hulu series, and I would suggest you think of it as a hybrid of the book and the show. Expect deviation from the novel, but in my opinion, they are great changes for a tv series! Remember that book audiences and television audiences are completely different, and the way you tell stories must be adapted with that in mind. Both the novel and series are EXCELLENT and I encourage you to think of them as separate pieces of art/literature and enjoy them for what they are.
Synopsis from Hulu
“An evolution of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Testaments” is based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name and is a dramatic coming-of-age story set in Gilead. The series follows young teens Agnes, dutiful and pious, and Daisy, a new arrival and convert from beyond Gilead’s borders. As they navigate the gilded halls of Aunt Lydia’s elite preparatory school for future wives, a place where obedience is instilled brutally and always with divine justification, their bond becomes the catalyst that will upend their past, their present, and their future.”
Credits: The series is created by showrunner and executive producer Bruce Miller and executive produced by Warren Littlefield, Elisabeth Moss, Steve Stark, Shana Stein, Maya Goldsmith, John Weber, Sheila Hockin, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears and Mike Barker, who will also direct the first three episodes and finale. “The Testaments” is produced by MGM Television and 20th Television.
Cast: The series stars Ann Dowd, Chase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday, Mabel Li, Amy Seimetz, Brad Alexander, Rowan Blanchard, Mattea Conforti, Zarrin Darnell-Martin, Eva Foote, Isolde Ardies, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Birva Pandya, and Kira Guloien.
The Vibes
I have been so fortunate to have already seen the full season, and I think fans of The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu will love the overall vibe of The Testaments on Hulu! Because two of our three main characters are teenage girls in Gilead, it often feels like a fun story about teenage girls at school, and at moments it is. But just when it seems so sweet and innocent, the writers remind us that we are in Gilead and something brutal takes place that our characters must confront.
It often feels much lighter than The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu, but we are quickly reminded that we are still in Gilead, and these young women are being raised to be the Serena Joys and Naomis of the future, but as child brides to the Commanders. Rather than following the stories of low status women such as handmaids, we are following a privileged young daughter of a High Commander. Unfortunately, we see that this still does not protect her from Gilead’s evil.
Final Thoughts
As always, the visuals are STUNNING and costume designer Leslie Kavanaugh is BACK and has extended the world of Gilead into such beautiful costumes that further the story into new territory. A lot of the soundtrack of The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu started with 80s music and I love that The Testaments on Hulu has a lot of 90s nostalgia within its own soundtrack. (Psst….Bruce Miller, was this intentional?)
Things to Pay Attention to While Watching Season One
- If Gilead is all you’ve ever known, what would it take to start to see the darkness and evil within it?
- When is violence justified?
- Does wealth and privilege protect you from oppression?
- Revolution requires playing the long game
- How do you handle a crisis of faith when you live in a theocracy?
- Nature vs. Nurture in terms of character
Season One Posting Schedule:
Today’s review is a spoiler free overview of the entire first season through episode 10. Hulu will drop the first three episodes of The Testaments on Wednesday April 8th, and my review (with spoilers!) will go live after 9AM Pacific Time on that day once the embargo is lifted. Then every following Wednesday, we will have one new episode drop on Hulu with my corresponding review and analysis going live here on the blog after 9AM Pacific every Wednesday. Spoilers are strictly embargoed, and I will not reveal ANYTHING until I am approved to do so by Hulu’s screener guidelines for members of the press and media. (You’re free to ask but you will get zero answers from me!)
On a Personal Note
As always, a massive thank you to Hulu for trusting me with this privilege of a lifetime to be able to see all ten screeners before the episodes drop. This project is a complete dream come true and I will always be so grateful to be a small part of these two series that mean so much to me.
