The sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale focuses on the young teens of Gilead
The Testaments couldn’t have come at a more depressingly relevant time given the state of the world.
From the reversal of the historic Roe vs Wade ruling in America, to the erosion of women’s bodily autonomy across the world, to Incel culture via Andrew Tate and the Manosphere, to the continuing unfolding horrors emerging from the Epstein Files, being a woman in 2026 has never been a more frightening prospect.
That’s why I believe Disney+ and Hulu drama The Testaments should be compulsory viewing in all schools and serves as a warning that if we don’t try to change things now, all hope could be lost forever.
The series is adapted from Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s Booker Prize-winning 2019 novel The Testaments, which itself was a sequel to her seminal 1985 classic The Handmaid’s Tale.
The follow-up novel came about thanks to the success of Hulu’s adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale starring Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss in the title role. The original series first hit screens in 2017 – not long after Brexit and newly elected President Trump’s first term in office – and instantly captured the zeitgeist thanks to its dystopian, Black Mirror take on the world.
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Atwood has previously said how The Handmaid’s Tale was originally based on things that had already happened across history and were still happening, however, since she published her novel over 40 years ago, it appears those times have become a disturbing and tangible new reality for us.
The Testaments TV show follows a group of teenage girls from the upper echelons of Gilead society preparing to become Wives to Commanders, many of whom are much older than them. Their destined husbands are determined by the Aunts in a series of arranged marriages to ensure there isn’t any accidental incest, given the use of Handmaids and babies getting handed over to Gilead’s finest families.
The girls known as ‘Plums’ – thanks to the Cadbury shade of purple they wear – are forbidden from reading or writing at the risk of losing a finger; their sex education is non-existent; they witness Gilead’s harsh brand of Old Testament justice; and they are constantly warned not to tempt men, who apparently can’t control their urges.
Amid the Plums is Pearl Girl Daisy (played by Lucy Halliday), a Canadian teen from Toronto posing as a Gilead convert after she’s sent into Gilead by the resistance movement Mayday. Street-wise and sex-savvy, Daisy serves as the audience’s perspective in the show as she challenges the Plums in the face of the regime’s fallacies.
While the drama isn’t as dark as its predecessor, The Testaments delves into issues of consent and sexual abuse in a more age-appropriate way. The Testaments shows why we all need to be educated about sex and making informed choices about our bodies.
The Testaments is also one of the few shows to feature periods and menstruation so prominently. Gilead celebrates menstruation as a sign of fertility to the point that the Plums ring a bell heralding the news and then embark on a catwalk of sorts while their fellow pupils cheer them on. Not since reading Judy Blume have I seen so much discussed about periods, if only there were more positive depictions of period in media.
Sadly, it’s a double-edged sword for the girls as it means it’s now time for them to find a husband as they essentially become child brides. Again, this complexity is intriguing and one that feeds into grooming teens – the way the Commanders eye up Agnes MacKenzie (Chase Infiniti) as a potential bride-to-be when she greets her father during a meeting is chilling.
But amid all the bleak dystopian misogyny, hope springs: Daisy is trying to stoke a fire from within Gilead and give the Plums agency. It’s this message that’s so important: you may be a teenage girl but you still have the power to shape the world and make your voice heard.
I’ve always believed that TV has the power to change things for the better in this world. If you can see it, then you can be it. Whether it’s onscreen representation from the likes of Netflix’s Heartstopper depicting blossoming queer love, to soaps brilliantly covering a myriad of topics from domestic violence and stillbirth, to Adolescence, which led to discussions in Parliament about male radicalisation. Meanwhile, a whole generation of women pursued STEM careers thanks to Gillian Anderson’s iconic performance as medical doctor and scientist, FBI agent Dana Scully in The X-Files.
If The Handmaid’s Tale was sounding the alarm for my generation, then The Testaments is the wake-up call for this generation. The future of the world is in your hands, and you have the chance to change it right now.
The Testaments airs weekly on Hulu and Disney+ on Wednesdays