The Testaments - First three episodes

In The Testaments, we return to Gilead. Though the end seemed near for this republic, there's much more to explore. The first three episodes lay this foundation.

The Testaments is the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, whose final season appeared in 2025. It focuses on the period after June Osborn (Elisabeth Moss) has moved to Canada. The Republic of Gilead still stands strong, and calm seems to have returned after the events of the sixth season of The Handmaid’s Tale. As stated in the first episode, history has simply been rewritten.

Unlike The Handmaid’s Tale, we now see Gilead from the perspective of young women who know nothing other than the devout lifestyle in Gilead. Agnes, played by Chase Infiniti, is the daughter of a Commander and is preparing for life. This takes place at a school run by Aunt Lydia (also played by Ann Dowd in The Testaments).

The Testaments comes across a bit lighter in the first three episodes compared to its predecessor.

Agnes is a so-called 'Plum.' This means that once she has had her first menstruation and proves to be fertile, she will be married off to a Commander. Her education is therefore largely focused on running a household and family life in Gilead.

However, at school, she is asked by Aunt Lydia to take Daisy (Lucy Halliday) under her wing. Daisy is a 'Pearl Girl,' someone who has come from outside and wants to belong to the religious Gilead. There is a considerable amount of distrust between the Plums and the Pearl Girls, causing both to wonder who is really keeping an eye on whom.

The Testaments comes across as somewhat lighter in the first three episodes than its predecessor. This is largely due to the perspective from which it is told. We follow a group of young girls who are indeed worried about their future and the uncertainty that comes with it, but at the same time, they also look forward to that future with hope. There is still plenty of laughter among them when the aunts are not paying attention, making it less somber than the story seen from the perspective of a Handmaid who has experienced life before Gilead and wants to return to it.

The lighter tone is also evident in the music used and the fact that, in addition to the red, white, and green clothing, we now also see pink and purple clothing. This makes it all feel a bit less heavy.

However, we are certainly not allowed to forget where we are. Hanging corpses, indoctrination, and extreme forms of punishment are still present, and in the scenes where the women are allowed to unleash their fury on people who have committed an offense, it is impressively depicted how indoctrinated they have become.

The first three episodes promise a lot for the rest of the season. Personally, I am particularly curious about how faithful they will remain to the book. The Testaments was released in 2019 (34 years after The Handmaid’s Tale) and provided many answers to questions that were still open after the first book. However, the TV series The Handmaid’s Tale has gone much further than the book it is based on, so perhaps I will be surprised by the direction they want to take.