“I’m A TV Writer, Here’s My Honest Review Of The Testaments”
The Handmaid’s Tale is in many ways a hard act to follow, with the Elisabeth Moss led drama having become a huge international success and adapting the already popular Margaret Atwood novel. So when it was announced that a sequel series, The Testaments, was on the way, there was both hype and mixed expectations as to whether it could stand on its own. With the show’s first few episodes out already, does it live up to the hype?
What’s the show about?
The Testaments is based on Margaret Atwood’s 2019 novel, which brought us back to Gilead for the first time since The Handmaid’s Tale was published in 1985. The new show, much like the novel, continues the story told in the Handmaid’s Tale TV series, set sometime afterwards. Gilead is still an oppressive, dystopian world, and there’s a new focus now on a new set of young women who are realising the bleak future ahead of them.
The Testaments is boosted by the fact that it stars Chase Infiniti, who had already been cast when One Battle After Another, which she also plays a key role in, was released last year and eventually won the Best Picture Oscar. The actress plays Agnes, a woman finding who she is and how she fits into Gilead’s society. There’s also Lucy (played by Lucy Halliday), another young teen who lives in Canada and is on course to discover a dark secret. Aunt Lydia, who returns from The Handmaid’s Tale and is again played by Ann Dowd, is the head of the most prestigious girls’ school in Gilead, which Agnes attends.
Is it worth a watch?
The good news right off the bat is that, so far, The Testaments is a solid follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale, and the standard caveats of any similar sequel series have their pros and cons. There’s no Elizabeth Moss leading the series, but the new characters and shift in focus mean there’s more to explore. There’s a slightly different tone compared to The Handmaid’s Tale, but the focus on the young women and “next generation” of Gilead gives a fresher feel and allows for new and more interesting angles after six seasons of its predecessor.
There’s no Elizabeth Moss leading the series, but the new characters and shift in focus mean there’s more to explore.
Rufus, Contributing Entertainment Writer
Chase Infiniti, who we already mentioned had broken out in One Battle After Another, helps to anchor the series into place with her performance as Agnes, even though these early episodes mean there’s still much to be revealed from her character. The description that’s been thrown around online and in the media is that The Testaments is a bit more like a YA novel, which I agree with, except this is still the nightmarish world of The Handmaid’s Tale with all of its social and political commentary, rather than The Hunger Games. Agnes is confirmed to be the daughter of June, despite that character’s absence in the show, which immediately gives a gripping drive to unfolding events, not least because that dream of overthrowing Gilead remains to be achieved.
Does it live up to the hype?
The main issue with such a show as this is both living up to the expectations set by the last series and creating its own identity, which I feel it’s mostly done, but this is only four episodes in, so much can still be developed. Compared directly to that first season of The Handmaid’s Tale, which came out nearly 10 years ago, it’s not as magnetic, in part because it’s not a novelty, when the red Handmaid uniforms became iconic. But this sequel series remains relevant and does feel like a fresh coat of paint. While it can be enjoyed by those who didn’t watch The Handmaid’s Tale (or only saw some of it), the biggest appeal will obviously be for those well versed in the world of Gilead, and is in good ground for the rest of Season 1.
