5 'The Handmaid's Tale' Plot Points That Cleverly Foreshadowed Sequel, 'The Testaments'

Elle

09-07-2025

* This article contains spoilers.
At the very minimum, fans of The Handmaid's Tale will have to wait at least a year until The Testaments, plays out on their TV screens. As the sequel to the series and Margaret Atwood's novel, it is expected that the upcoming TV series will answer and resolve a number of fans' burning questions and open-ended storylines.
Although The Handmaid's Tale season finale ended on a number of cliffhangers, true fans of the series will appreciate that throughout the series, plenty of foreshadowing that was sprinkled into the show that has set the stage for The Testaments.
From evolving character arcs to new generations taking on former legacies and the continued fight against the regime, The Handmaid's Tale has carefully been setting the scene for the new series, which we unpack below.
While Aunt Lydia has been one of Gilead's most brutal enforcers and enablers for the vast majority of the show, she's had a change of heart since season five, which continued into season six.
What began as small incidents of doubting herself, her values and easing up on the Handmaids, has turned into a full blown change of sides (even if it was momentary) in the eighth episode, Exodus, when she let the girls leave the Red Centre to flee to complete the Mayday mission and kill the Commanders.
As such, it comes as no surprise that The Testaments will see this continued change of heart. The sequel will see her embark on a more a present in bringing Gilead down from the inside. She does this through working for Mayday as a mole, she feeds them vital information regarding Gilead, which is then leaked to correspondents in Canada.
The season finale angered fans for many reasons, with one of the central gripes being that June and her daughter Hannah were never able to reunite for good.
As such, given that June was the central character in The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments will see her daughter, Hannah (Agnes MacKenzie), living in Gilead as a young woman who is initially unaware of her true identity.
The sequel is set to continue to tease her and June's reunion, and could possibly see Hannah follow in her biological mother's footsteps and begin to fight against Gilead.
If you've gotten through the entirety of The Handmaid's Tale, you'll know by now that the writers like to let fans believe that certain characters are dead. For example, many fans thought that Emily was dead after not appearing in the series for multiple seasons, however, her character made a return in the final season.
In episode nine, it is assumed that Nick (Max Minghella) dies in a plane explosion, alongside other Gileadean Commanders. As this occurred in the second last episode, we'd understand if you thought that there was no reason to fake his death, however, as his character is written into The Testaments novel, he could appear in the series,
Now that we know that Mayday was not successful in taking down Gilead by The Handmaid's Tale ending, it's clear that the mission will continue on, and become a central plot point in The Testaments.
At the beginning of the series Luke was more concerned with rescuing his daughter Hannah, then eventually began to put all his efforts into the fight against Gilead, so much so, that he is now one of the group's most established leaders.
Similar to Nick, Luke is written into the novel, meaning that there is every reason for his character to appear in the series, as a main proponent to undermining of Gilead.
The escape of June and Nick's baby, Nicole, to Canada was undoubtedly a monumental moment for both the regime and Mayday. Her escape marked a sign of hope for those wishing to be freed from Gilead, as well as the groups's continued fight in The Testaments.
Now living in Canada with adoptive parents and completely unaware of her true identity, Nicole's natural interest in human rights clearly derives from her roots.
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