r/TheTestamentsHulu

I'm only talking about the show.

The Angel's Flight escape plan began after Eleanor led June to the basement where Lawrence stored boxes of "Red Center dossiers". They contained identities and locations of Handmaid's children. There was another very important meeting in that basement.

Kid's futures are chosen for them. Who should do the choosing? Should it be the State? June was one of many folks who made the escape decision, from the bartender, maids, marthas (especially Beth and Sienna), and handmaids down to a specific individual who loved each kid.

What is Angel's Flight without the flight, hopeless and cancelled. The truck plan was doomed from the start. Lawrence knew it. One of my favorite THT scenes is in one of my favorite episodes, s3ep11 "Liars". June met in the basement with the rebel leader marthas. Even after June passed their pressure test, two of them tried to hide their disappointment that the boss gave the plane knowledge to June. One of the leaders of the rebellion made that decision for the kids.

I'm cynical about rebel leader June manipulating undercover asset Daisy, but she has a war to win. She doesn't think, for instance, about a few temporarily traumatized Angel's Flight kids and she shouldn't. Daisy has become unreliable and could be captured. Her knowledge is valuable to both sides. On the dock, June is testing the asset. Is the possible reward still worth the risk? June has a plan. Rita and others know about it. Should June pull Daisy and use her information to further the plan with another asset?

The dock meeting is like the basement meeting. In the basement, the resistance leader martha tested and helped June. On the dock, resistance leader June tested and helped Daisy. It was dangerous to keep the honey truck on the dock after it dropped the escapees. June kept the truck waiting because, from before the meeting, she was hoping to be able to send Daisy back in.

As far as June not learning about the effect of Gilead on individuals or not understanding the consequences of her decisions, she has faced the future of Hannah returning but not being her daughter. On the dock she says,

"I might never get my daughter Hannah back, but I will die fighting so that she can experience freedom as a woman, as a human being."

Even after learning that Daisy is close to Hannah, June is still going to pull her out, "I'm not gonna risk another one. I'm not gonna let you die." She doesn't reverse her decision until Daisy defies her and says, "Its my turn now. I might fail. I might even die. But its my choice."

"They don't know they need saving." Before the meeting, Daisy only wanted to save Becka and herself. After the meeting, she knows she needs to save all the girls.

Something about the dock scene bothered me until this rewatch. Right before June returns to the boat, she turns to Daisy and puts her hand to her open mouth in an exaggerated manner. I couldn't figure it out ... until thinking about the exchange above, I finally noticed that immediately afterward Daisy mirrors the the open mouth gesture. Is it symbolically a sharing of the burden?

I first thought that June took a pill and it foreshadowed her death. I believe it is burden sharing, but it could still foreshadow her death. Jesus and his disciples shared bread at the Last Supper. Is this a last meeting of June and Daisy?

With Midterms around the corner, the mod team wants to take the time to remind you to check your registration, look up your polling location, and research your ballot.

Much like Smokey the Bear, only you can prevent fascism. 🐻🔥

🛑 1. CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION

Make sure you’re registered and that your information is current, especially if you’ve moved, changed your name, or haven’t voted recently.

Don’t assume your registration is still active. Check.

🛑 2. CHECK YOUR POLLING LOCATION

Your polling place can change—even if you’ve voted at the same location for years.
Find out where you’re supposed to vote before Election Day, and make a note of the address and hours. Once you are in line to vote, know you have the right to stay in line to vote. You CANNOT be turned away once in line before the polls close.

🛑 3. KNOW WHAT’S ON YOUR BALLOT

Don’t wait until you’re in the voting booth to discover there are races or ballot measures you weren’t expecting.
Look up your sample ballot ahead of time and take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with what—and who—you’ll be voting on.

🛑 4. TRACK YOUR BALLOT

If you vote by mail, absentee ballot, or another method that allows ballot tracking, check the status of your ballot.

Make sure it was:
✅ Sent to you
✅ Returned successfully
✅ Received by your election officials
✅ Accepted and counted, when your state provides that status

If your ballot is marked as having a problem, don't panic—but don't ignore it either. Contact your local election office as soon as possible to find out what steps, if any, are available to correct the issue.
For the most accurate information, use your state or local election authority's official ballot-tracking system.

🛑 5. KNOW WHAT THE CANDIDATES ACTUALLY SUPPORT
You don't have to rely on campaign ads, social media posts, or someone else's opinion to decide how to vote.

Consider looking up:
• Candidates' official campaign websites and platforms
• Their voting records, if they currently hold office
• Interviews, debates, and public statements
• Nonpartisan voter guides
• Reputable fact-checking organizations
• Local journalism covering the candidates and races
• Information from organizations that clearly explain their methodology and sources
Read beyond the headline. Compare candidates. Look at their actual positions.

🛑 YOUR REMINDERS 🛑

✅Are you registered?
✅ Is your registration information correct?
✅ Do you know where you're voting?
✅ Have you requested your absentee ballot?
✅ Have you tracked your ballot and confirmed it was accepted?
✅ Have you looked at your ballot?
✅ Do you know what the candidates on it support?

Take care of these things before Election Day so you can walk in prepared.

The Handmaids Tale and The Testaments is a story about what happens when people become complacent while their rights, freedoms, and ability to make decisions about their own lives are slowly stripped away.
And while Gilead is fictional, the individual actions that built it are not. The denial of reproductive autonomy. The suppression of women’s rights. The use of religion to justify government power. The persecution of marginalized communities. The erosion of democratic institutions. The normalization of authoritarianism. Versions of these things have happened in the real world and are happening to real communities around us right now.

Our rights are interconnected. Protecting your own rights means protecting the rights of your neighbors, including people whose identities, beliefs, religions, or lives look completely different from your own.

Protect your rights. Protect your neighbors. Reject authoritarianism. Reject theocracy. Reject fascism. Reject Donald Trump.

Prior to watching TT, I had read both books but only watched the first season of THT. Recently, I went back and finally watched THT in its entirety, and one of the moments that haunts me the most is the subplot with Asher, the boy from Angel's Flight who struggles to adjust to living in Canada because he was too young when he lost his birth parents and only knows his life in Gilead (S4E2, "Nightshade"). Moira is angry because June takes the big swing and doesn't think about the consequences, leaving Moira, Emily, and Rita to deal with the aftermath, including navigating the trauma of small children who have lost the only lives and family they have ever known.

As far as I can tell, the June from THT never really grows or learns her lesson in this regard and continues making reckless decisions in the heat of the moment for the rest of the show.

However, in TT (S1E10) when Daisy wants to save her friends, June lectures, *"You cannot save them yet; they don't know they need saving."* I don't know if this is an intentional thematic echo on the part of the writers, but it hurt my heart to think that this June was painfully aware that the children from Angel's Flight were deeply traumatized, even several years down the line, and that she could not repeat the same mistake with these girls. That kids like Asher could never really leave Gilead behind emotionally because he never asked to be saved to begin with.

(Of course, as soon as June realizes Hannah is among the school girls, she is once again willing to throw caution to the wind and risk everything.)

Curious if others made the same connection. I don't think we will see characters like Asher resurface (TT is its own show, and they can't fan service forever), but the theme is one I really hope they revisit. Hannah's post-Gilead frame narration is tinged with bitterness, and I hope they take the time to explore how complicated it really is to "free" someone.

What was that experience like? Was it confusing watching it in this order? Was it genuinely surprising finding out, for instance, that Agnes is June's daughter at the end of the season?

I watched TT almost immediately after binge watching THT for the first time earlier this year, so I had June's experiences and her traumas fresh in my mind as I watched her daughter's story. I'm just curious what the experience was like for those who watched it in the opposite order?

Also, same question about the books for any who read TT before THT too!

(Reposted from The Handmaid's Tale sub--hope that's OK.)

So I just finished season 1, and I feel a very specific way of heartbroken. I find it devastating to see "from outside" what these way too young girls go through. Also, I do really enjoy THT and I liked this new series as well, and I tend to feel sad when I'm done with a series I'm fond of hahaha. Does anyone feel like this? I know we have a new season coming, but I feel sad that it'll take long to see how things work out for them. Also, the fact they're not following the book adds a new layer of uncertainty.

Help me cope by chatting, what was your favorite parts so far?

I loved the build up of scenes where we can see Becka's feelings towards Agnes.

P.S: I will probably feel okay in a couple days, I am autistic so this is normal for me I struggle to adjust after switching up routines :)

where they have some the testaments characters in a prominent event from the handmaids tale or some kind of post prominent event reaction like the wives reacting to Angels flight the next day? or showing a wives or kids reaction to what happened in boston. Do you think that that could work?

I watched the handmaids tale show like 3/4 times now. I really liked that show a lot. I’d even put it in my top shows. I recently got to know that they released a spin off. Once I watched the trailer, I was immediately concerned. The show itself I would say wasn’t as bad as I expected, but certainly not good and not even close to THT show. It sucks they made the commanders behave so much less narcissistic/messed up than in THT. I know it’s supposed to tell the story through the eyes of Agnes/Daisy, but still they made it really too soft/less scary. Also they messed up Aunt Lydia’s backstory and even completely contradicted the little backstory of her in THT.
I also hate how the aunts are now more loving than most of my own high school teachers. They made them overly soft. Again, I know it’s through Agnes/Daisy’s eyes, but this is just ridiculous.

Also sucks they recasted Commander McKenzie, the Jason Butler fit much better imo.

i think him stopping the idea of gilead sending agnes/hannah back to june in pieces. he started to lose faith in gilead so maybe he isnt mayday but he will look the other way when it comes to any mayday people/activities around him.

Whenever I think about Gilead, I keep going back to how, even though none of them are allowed to read, the girls in Hannah’s age group are likely the last ones that know how to do so in the first place. (With the exception of Pearl girls of course)

Like, Hannah was 5 when she was taken. Most kids learn to read somewhat before then (even just letters) but often it doesn’t “stick” until they get that really intense focus on letters + mini essays in kindergarten.

Hannah obviously still remembers how to write her name, and I’m sure the other girls her age also have at least that really basic understanding how letters work.

I feel like this gives them both an advantage and a sense of danger, in a way. As in, if they’re ever in an emergency, if they escape, or even if they accidentally glance at their fathers documents - they might be able to pick up a word here and there that would help them gain a better understanding of what’s going on in the world around them. But, like when Agnes received the cards from her suitors, it could be dangerous for them to even glance at those cards for too long.

Meanwhile, girls even a year or two younger than her cohort likely know so little about reading that they have no way of knowing information other than that which Gilead verbally tells them - but they also don’t have to worry about their second-too-long glances at text, since the men and authority figures figure that it means nothing to them anyway.

Again, this is super incoherent, and I think I need a rewatch of both shows to string together anything that even resembles an actual analysis on it, but I would love to hear if you have any thoughts about how Hannah’s cohort was the last one to really experience school + a lot of the structures of their old lives!

With season 2 about to start filming and set to release (most likely) next year, I thought it'd be fun for us to post our predictions for where this series will go.

Book spoilers ahead!

I think the next season will start with Agnes asking Daisy about her mother, and Daisy will tell her how June took care of her after her parents were killed, planting the seeds for Agnes starting to see June as something other than a terrorist/criminal.

I predict the Garth-Bekah marriage will start off contentious (she won't have liked being locked in her room), but to his surprise, she'll eventually want to join Mayday after hearing that Garth is a double agent (probably after Daisy blabs something in her hearing). After that, the two become (literal) partners in crime. Bekah will want to recruit Agnes, but Garth will find it too risky.

Somehow Shunamite will find out June Osborne is Agnes's birth mother, which will create a rift between the two (because Shu blames June for her brother's disappearance), but only temporarily.

After not getting her period, Shu will eventually become Aunt Immortelle. She'll learn how to read, and Aunt Lydia will subtly share things with her that will begin to unmask the rot upholding the Gilead system.

The Mackenzies will get a handmaid in season 2, Ofkyle. Agnes doesn't approve of this at first because it will feel like she's being replaced. Eventually she'll sit with her discomfort long enough (and through conversation with Daisy) to learn that the real reason she doesn't like this is because her birth mother suffered as a handmaid.

Agnes will decide to overcome her resentment and befriend Ofkyle, learning that her real name is Crystal. Eventually Crystal will get pregnant and then die in childbirth. By this point, she will have become a genuine friend to Agnes, who is devastated first of all at her death, and second by how uncaring Kyle and Paula are about Crystal's fate, now that they have Baby Mark. This will be the beginning of a rift between Agnes and her "father" Kyle.

Meanwhile, I think Daisy will continue communicating to June via the honey jars we saw at the end of season 1, mostly about her daughter but also about general happenings in Maryland. She'll tell her about Crystal's fate, which will prompt June to set up a memorial for her in Toronto's "Little America," and she finds Crystal's family, who are able to pay their last respects. They thank June, but June tells them it was only possible because of her daughter Hannah.

Eventually Agnes finds out about Daisy's correspondences with her mother and reprimands her first for not telling her and second for how much trouble she could get into for writing to June Osborne of all people. Daisy agrees to send one last note to June (so she doesn't worry about the abrupt silence) and offers Agnes the opportunity to say something to her mother. Scene change to June in Canada, reading Daisy's last letter, but then the voiceover changes from Daisy to Agnes as she tells her mother something like "Dear Mom, I'm OK, I'm surrounded by friends, you don't have to worry about me," and you see the emotion on June's face reading Hannah's words for the first time.

Those are my season 2 predictions. I think season 3 will show Agnes becoming Aunt Victoria and deepening her partnership with Aunt Lydia. Shu will teach her how to read, and Lydia will send her numerous incriminating files.

The worst will be her "mother" Tabitha's death file. She'll learn that Paula poisoned her (and killed her first husband) so she could marry Commander Mackenzie and improve her status. Kyle didn't kill her himself (which is different from the book), but he knew about it and helped Paula cover it up. This furthers the rift between Agnes and Kyle and leads to open enmity between her and Paula.

This news makes Agnes very wistful for a mother figure, and she wonders if she could have what she had with Tabitha if she were to find June again. Daisy assures her she will.

Lydia will gradually feed Agnes info about not only her birth mother but also about her birth father Luke as well. There isn't as much info on him, but Agnes is grateful for what little she can learn. As for her mother, her deeds sometimes appall her, sometimes inspire her, and generally fill her with pity for what she endured. She also reads files on the Commanders and finds just how deep the rot goes that undergirds all of Gileadean society. She comes to see her mother less as a desperate criminal and more as a hero for fighting back.

The last thing she reads are about the various attempts that June made over the years to get her daughter back. Agnes knew nothing of this previously, and for the first time feels genuine affection for her birth mother.

As those who've read the book know, the time will eventually come for the escape into Canada. Aunt Lydia will have finished her journal of all of Gilead's wrongdoings and give it to Aunt Victoria and Daisy (the latter of whom has returned to Pearl Girl status for the purposes of this mission) to leave Gilead and get the information into Mayday's hands in Canada.

There will be a teary goodbye scene between Agnes and Bekah as she and Garth do undercover work to set up their escape. And there will be a far more tearjerking scene when Shunamite/Aunt Immortelle sacrifices herself so Agnes and Daisy can make good their escape (she'll tell them to find her brother and tell him she loved him). Likewise, as the walls close in around Aunt Lydia, she will poison herself to make sure she tells Gilead nothing of her plans, but not before enjoining Aunt Vidala to take care of their girls in a post-Gilead world.

In the book, Lydia inserts a microdot into Daisy/Nicole's tattoo to smuggle the info that way, which gets infected, leading to a near-death scene as she and Agnes row to the Canadian shore. In the show, Daisy has no tattoo, and there is no microdot. Instead, I predict there will be a firefight between Mayday forces and Guardians on the water. Either Hannah or Daisy will end up shot by a Guardian--probably Hannah, just to up the dramatic stakes for the audience.

So, bleeding out, Hannah will help Daisy row to shore after the gunfight. Daisy will want to save Hannah instead and do first aid, but Hannah urgently tells her Gilead will capture and kill them both if they waste time, and the mission is more important than one life. So they row and reach the Canadian coast.

There, a bunch of Mayday operatives await, including June and Luke. Their elation at seeing Hannah immediately turns to horror as they see her covered in blood and barely able to stand. She's rushed to the nearest hospital and spends an agonizing night on the fence between life and death. As we all know, of course, she'll pull through; she'll regain consciousness and have that very emotional reunion with June and Luke that we've all been looking forward to seeing for years.

So after all that will come the episodes focusing on Hannah acclimating to her new life outside Gilead with her birth family. She'll get to know her parents--the good, the bad, and the ugly--and meet her little sister, Holly/Nichole. Daisy will help her adjust, and I think there will be a comedic "fish out of water" episode where she shows Hannah the city of Toronto and takes her shopping for clothes.

I think season 4 will be the final season, focusing on the fall of Gilead. The info smuggled out by Hannah and Daisy is disseminated all over the internet, destabilizing Gilead's authority and leading to power struggles across the republic. The capital in Washington is particularly unstable. June and Luke see a golden opportunity to strike a fatal blow against the country and join US forces going there. Hannah and Daisy, knowing that Bekah, Garth, and the others are in danger, vow to go as well.

At first, June is opposed to letting her daughter back into Gilead. But this is June's last and greatest test, not only accepting her daughter as her own person, but also as a fellow comrade, realizing that this is her fight too. Moreover, Daisy and especially Hannah have inside information on that region of Gilead, particularly on Commander Mackenzie (whom I predict will have overcome the power squabbles to find himself on top). This, then, will lead to Hannah's last and greatest test of her own, whether she can bring herself to betray and bring down the man who had been the only father figure she'd ever known for so many years.

So they devise a plan where Hannah returns to Kyle, making up a story of how she was kidnapped by her birth parents and forced to live in sin, but has only just escaped and now has valuable intel that will destroy June Osborne and Mayday for good. For Kyle, the prospect of landing a blow against such great sinners and getting his "daughter" back is too good to pass up. Paula, of course, doesn't believe it for a moment, so Hannah will have to neutralize her somehow. (Maybe she kills her?--it would be the only time in the series I predict Hannah will take a life.) As for Daisy, I'm thinking she keeps Commander Judd preoccupied by agreeing to become his wife--and then poisons him in recompense for Penny and the other wives he's had killed.

In the end, thanks to Hannah's and Daisy's efforts, Washington falls and the US retakes the capital. June and Luke are about to kill Kyle (and eager at the prospect!) when Hannah intervenes to save his life, saying that he genuinely cared for her for over a decade, and despite everything she still loves him in a way. So at Hannah's urging, Kyle is taken alive; she sometimes visits him in prison (the only one to do so). Baby Mark is taken and put into the custody of Crystal's family in Canada.

During the final battle, Garth sacrifices himself to save Bekah, leading to a very bittersweet reunion between her and Hannah. During her time away from Gilead, Hannah realized her love for Bekah is more than platonic. So during the finale (after a time skip so they're no longer teenagers), Hannah and Bekah get married in a joyous ceremony that is the utter antithesis of Bekah's forced wedding at the end of season 1. (Daisy is their maid of honor, of course.)

I predict the final scene of The Testaments will show Hannah and Daisy in a Hague-style courtroom where the two will give their testimonies on their experiences in Gilead. With her mother and father there in support, Hannah begins with the first words of the first episode (just like The Handmaid's Tale ended), "You're probably wondering what it was like for me, growing up in Gilead."

Sorry for the length, and kudos to you if you read all the way down this far. Also sorry that this got relatively fanfic-ish, but I suppose that's the nature of prediction posts.

TL;DNR version: Hannah/Agnes goes through some shit, but eventually finds happiness in the end.

Hi everybody, I finished recently watching the handmaid‘s Tale. And started watching the Testaments today. I’m a bit confused why Daisy has different parents? Isn’t Daisy actually Nicole? And if she is.. isn’t she at least seven years younger than Hannah?