Spoilers ahead for Episode 1 of The Testaments and MAJOR spoilers ahead for the novel and rest of the series. Read carefully!
Every streaming service has some hit originals, and The Handmaid's Tale is definitely one of the best Hulu shows to watch. Those with a Hulu subscription followed the Emmy-winning dystopian drama for years, before its series finale in May of 2025. Luckily we're back in Gilead for the book to screen adaptation The Testaments, based off Margaret Atwood's sequel novel. The premiere episode had a killer cameo from the original series, but I'm worried it lowkey spoiled a major twist.
What we know about The Testaments has been limited... unless you read the novel. While it remains to be seen how the work is brought to the screen, readers already know about a number of forthcoming story points. And although June doesn't physically appear in the source material, Elisabeth Moss had a surprise cameo in the final moments of Episode 1. Although I think it might have been a little too early, thanks to heavily hinting at a major twist.
After being introduced to Pearl Girl Daisy (Lucy Halliday) throughout Episode 1, we got a moment alone with her. First audiences saw her listen to "Radio Free America" with a portable radio that she seemingly smuggled into Gilead. Then we're treated to a scene of her in Toronto, where she's watched by a smiling June.
MAJOR spoilers for the future of The Testaments below. Final warning for those who want to be surprised by everything coming on the spinoff.
Daisy's backstory is something that'll gradually be revealed throughout The Testaments, but I thought that the June cameo in Episode 1 was a clear indicator of what those have read the book already know. Namely that Daisy is actually Baby Nichole, June's daughter who Alexis Bledel's Emily brought to safety when she escaped Gilead in The Handmaid's Tale. That's the reason that Elisabeth Moss' signature character was shown watching over her, in a scene that already makes an exciting deviation from Atwood's novel.
The details of how Daisy/Nichole came to be in Gilead will likely be shown in subsequent episodes. In The Handmaid's Tale series finale Nichole was left with June's mother Holly as both she and Luke continued to fight for a reunion with Hannah (aka Agnes).
While those who read the book obviously know the full story, I have to assume that more than a few Handmaid's Tale fans might have made this connection when June surprisingly showed up and smiled as she watched Daisy. I'm eager to see how much Elisabeth Moss appears in the spinoff, or if this was simply one way to help hook audiences into this corner of Gilead. Either way I was happy to see her, even if it might have revealed a twist of the series a hair early.
In addition to her Emmy-winning performance as June Osbourne, Moss also directed a whopping 10 episodes on the original series, as well as being a producer. And I'm hoping that Moss will end up directing for The Testaments as well, which she's also an Executive Producer on.
The first three episodes of The Testaments are streaming now on Hulu as part of the 2026 TV schedule. New episodes will air once a week moving forward on Wednesdays.
