In the 34 years between the publication of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and its sequel, The Testaments, her 1985 book became a classic. It was adapted for film, for television, and became a staple of classrooms across the world. So, there was an anxiety about this delayed extension of the saga. Was this a cash grab? A desperate stab at relevance? Would it sully its predecessor? And then The Testaments came out and it was… good. So good it won the Booker Prize. That’s where the new Disney+ adaptation picks up: with a story that feels fresh and vital and every bit as compelling as the original.
Agnes Mackenzie (Chase Infiniti) is the daughter of a commander in the theocratic, patriarchal state of Gilead. She attends an elite finishing school run by the formidable Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), where she is being groomed to lead a household and – God willing – become a mother. “I was a precious flower,” she muses. “Then why did I sometimes feel like a prized pig?” As Agnes stumbles towards an arranged marriage, a new girl, Daisy (Lucy Halliday), arrives. She is an apparent convert from Canada, but is keeping certain facts, about her parentage and her mission south of the border, to herself. In fact, almost everyone at this school, which seems to prop up the regime, is holding onto dangerous secrets.
