‘The Testaments’ review: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ sequel gets new energy in its YA look

Honestly, I wasn’t sure we needed more The Handmaid’s Tale.

When Season 1 premiered in the early months of Donald Trump’s first presidency, it struck a chord, showing a real concern about the decline of women’s rights and the rise of authoritarianism. That concern is more important than ever during Trump’s second presidency, as the administration continues to systematically attack women in a way reminiscent of the Christo-fascist nightmare of Gilead.

Yet between these offices of presidents, and between The Handmaid’s TaleFrom start to finish, the series is lost. After Season 1, it moved beyond Margaret Atwood’s novel, and in its efforts to transcend our own growing dystopia, it became a gruesome, self-indulgent spectacle.

Much of this anger is still on display Testamentsa follow-up series based on Atwood’s 2019 novel of the same name. However, the show also has something new — and perhaps hopeful — to say, and that’s thanks to its focus on the younger generations growing up in Gilead.

Testaments focused on the youth of Gilead.

Testaments introduces viewers to a new category of Gilead’s hard-hitting show: Plums. Named after the distinct shade of purple they wear, Plums are the youngest daughters of high-ranking Commanders. Unlike the traces of The Handmaid’s Talethey had no independent life before Gilead. They do not know what they have lost, it is only the country in which they were raised.

The Plums are trained for marriage at a school run by them The Handmaid’s TaleAunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), her role in the series is greatly reduced compared to her role in Atwood’s novel. In fact, a lot has changed between the novel and the show, creating a painful depiction of the marriage process between Commanders and their child brides. From classy tea parties to a swinging prom ball, Testaments presents its new encounter with a difficult upcoming story.

Our gateway to this world is Agnes MacKenzie (Chase Infiniti), the adopted daughter of a powerful Commander. Born before the coup that established Gilead but too young to remember much of it, he has been raised in a series of religious, patriarchal propaganda that denigrates women as temptations. Agnes remembers that after smiling at a boy once, she was forced to stand with her mouth taped, holding the sign “slut”. On a field trip, Aunt Lydia’s subordinate Aunt Vidala (Mabel Li) shows her students a group of men who were hanged for rape. What is the lesson? That these men did something wrong, but so did their victim, who “wanted attention.”

These gruesome “courses” are meant to grind the girls into perfect pieces in the Gilead machine. But they are still teenage girls, and inside Testaments‘ very refreshing moments, we see them doing so. In one telling scene, the Plums repeat their pre-lunch prayers, emotionlessly, as one. Once the Aunts give them permission to “cohabitate,” their robotic system spell breaks and they begin a lively conversation. In some places, they play outside, worry about their clothes, and even hold secret lashes that they know Gilead would consider a sin. Even Gilead isn’t immune to the girls’ misbehavior, as one of Agnes’ friends Shunamite (Rowan Blanchard) often throws shade at the other students. Her scornful delivery of “weirdos” is a welcome break from the “proper” girl talk about God’s blessings and fair weather. (Although it does make you wonder how such propaganda has persisted through the years of Gilead oppression.)

Between a corrupt marriage market and a disturbing school environment, Testaments it just proves cool The Handmaid’s Talebut it is even more reserved in its depiction of atrocities. There is an occasional scene of severe punishment, but no overt depiction of sexual violence. Abstinence is a welcome departure from the original series, and it’s one of them Testaments‘ superpowers: proof that seeing a bad idea take shape can be more effective than a violent scene played out for the sake of shock.

Testaments The small group is amazing.

A collection of “The Testaments.”
Credit: Disney / Russ Martin

One of the Testaments‘ The biggest strength is its acting, led by One Battle After Another Infiniti breakout. Her Agnes is a bundle of repression, designed to hide her deepest fears and desires beneath a cool exterior. As the series progresses, she struggles against this forced pleasure again and again, committing small acts of rebellion that bring about catharsis and other complications. It’s amazing to watch the Infiniti chart grow that much, especially as Agnes’ ominous voice suggests further rebellion.

Starring in the series is Lucy Halliday as Daisy, the Pearl Girl. These are young women from outside Gilead who have joined the country and turned to its ways. Daisy is from Toronto, and, as the trailer shows, she still has connections in Canada that prove she’s not the beautiful pearl of Gilead she wants to be. He’s a firecracker whose rebellion must be tempered if he’s to survive, and Halliday plays that contrast with just the right amount of concern, even a touch of dark humor.

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Testaments‘ Other Plums are also outstanding. Blanchard’s sassy Shunamite brings a welcome dose of comic relief to the series, yet as the season progresses, her insecurities lead to painfully vulnerable moments. Elsewhere, Mattea Conforti will break hearts as Becka. She has just entered her period and started the matching process, but she is not happy and is very afraid of being arrested. Who can blame him? While Testaments avoids most of the claustrophobic close-ups described The Handmaid’s Taleit still evokes a sense of confinement. The series often returns to Agnes’s giant dollhouse, a replica of her mansion. Like his dolls, he and the other Plums are treated as toys, made to do as Gilead wishes. The result is paralyzing.

At times, Testaments‘including The Handmaid’s TaleThe dark and coming-of-age tale doesn’t work well, as does the inclusion of a love triangle that falls into melodrama territory. However, the series finds new energy in its adult perspective, which focuses on people who have never known anything but approval, but who slowly gain the will to do something about it. Maybe that’s the message, combined with something else Testamentsthe use of YA tropes, will speak to audiences of Agnes and Daisy’s age in a way that darkness The Handmaid’s Tale he may not be able to.

The first three episodes of Testaments premieres April 8 on Hulu, with a new episode following each week.