Reel Review Mom

If you’ve been feeling a Gilead-sized hole in your viewing schedule, your wait is finally over. Premiering recently on Hulu, The Testaments is the high-stakes, long-awaited sequel series based on Margaret Atwood’s 2019 Booker Prize-winning novel. 
While The Handmaid’s Tale was a claustrophobic descent into the rise of a regime, The Testaments picks up the story roughly 15 years later, showing us the cracks beginning to form in Gilead’s foundation. Here is why you need to jump into this new chapter. 

The Next Generation: June’s Daughters
The emotional heart of this series lies with the children June Osborne fought so hard to protect. The story cleverly follows two young women on opposite sides of the border

Agnes in Gilead: We see the world through the eyes of a young woman who has grown up as the privileged daughter of a high-ranking Commander. She knows no other world, but as she reaches marrying age, the “golden cage” of Gilead begins to feel much more like a prison. 

Daisy in Canada: Meanwhile, in Toronto, a rebellious teenager named Daisy discovers that her past is far more complicated than she ever imagined. Her journey back toward the border she was smuggled across as a baby is one of the show’s most gripping threads. 

Familiar Faces: The Return of the Legends
For fans of the original series, the transition to The Testaments is made seamless by the return of two powerhouse performers:

Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne: While the focus shifts to the next generation, Moss does premiere in the series, providing a vital bridge between the two eras. Seeing June in this new stage of the resistance adds a layer of weight to every scene she’s in.

 
Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia: Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the new show is the return of Aunt Lydia. No longer just the brutal disciplinarian, we see a much more complex version of Lydia here. She is a woman playing a very long, very dangerous game within the halls of Ardua Hall, and Dowd is—as always—absolutely chilling and brilliant. 

Why You Should Watch –
A New Perspective: We finally get to see what life is like for the “Plum Girls” (the daughters of the elite) and the “Supplicants” training to be Aunts. It expands the world-building in a way that feels fresh rather than repetitive.
High-Stakes Espionage: Unlike the survival-focused tone of the first show, The Testaments feels more like a political thriller. There are secrets, double agents, and a growing sense that the end of Gilead might actually be possible.

Stunning Visuals: The series maintains that iconic, haunting cinematography we’ve come to expect, but with a slightly more expansive, “global” feel as the action moves between the sterile halls of Gilead and the gritty resistance hubs in Canada.

The Verdict –
The Testaments manages to do the impossible: it honors the legacy of The Handmaid’s Tale while carving out its own identity as a fast-paced coming-of-age thriller. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or someone who has been waiting for the “beginning of the end,” this is a journey you don’t want to miss.
Catch The Testaments streaming now on Hulu.