Official Trailer
Rating: 7.9/10 | Genre: Drama | Seasons: 1 | Episodes: 10 | Status: Returning Series
Starring: Ann Dowd, Chase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday, Rowan Blanchard, Mattea Conforti
I just finished binging “The Testaments” and I have to say, this is one of those shows that sneaks up on you. I wasn’t expecting much going in. Another “Handmaid’s Tale” spinoff? Sure, why not. But this thing actually works in ways I didn’t anticipate. It’s darker than the original series in some moments and somehow more hopeful in others. The fact that it focuses on a new generation of girls fighting against the system feels fresh, even though we’re still in Gilead’s suffocating world.
This isn’t a perfect show. There are moments where it leans too hard on exposition and some plot threads feel a little thin. But the cast carries it so well that you forgive the rough spots. Ann Dowd is doing the heavy lifting as Aunt Lydia, and she’s as terrifying and magnetic as ever. But the real surprises are the younger cast members. They feel like actual people instead of just characters hitting story beats.
Season 1
Okay, so we’ve got this girls’ academy run by Aunt Lydia where the best and brightest young women in Gilead go to prepare for their futures as Wives. Spoiler alert: those futures are not good. The season follows three main girls: Agnes, Daisy, and a few others as they navigate this brutal system.
The first episode, “Precious Flowers,” sets up the world nicely. We see how these girls are trained, what’s expected of them, and how some of them are already starting to question things. Agnes is the standout here. Rowan Blanchard plays her with this mix of curiosity and fear that’s really effective. She’s asking questions that Gilead doesn’t want asked.
Then “Perfect Teeth” gets into Agnes’s coming of age stuff, and it gets uncomfortable fast. The show doesn’t shy away from showing how twisted these rituals are. It’s not gratuitous though. It serves the story.
“Daisy” is where things shift. We get these flashbacks to her life in Toronto before she was brought to Gilead. Chase Infiniti is great in this role. You see how much she’s lost and it makes her more desperate to escape. These flashback sequences are some of the best stuff in the whole season.
As the season goes on, the girls start planning their escape. It’s not some big action sequence. It’s small, careful, terrifying. They’re looking for allies. Some they find. Some betray them. There’s this real tension because you know the system is powerful and these are just kids trying to survive.
Lucy Halliday’s character has this arc that I didn’t see coming. I thought she was going to be the weak link but she turns out to be the backbone of the group. Mattea Conforti rounds out the cast and brings a different energy. There’s less screen time for her but she makes it count.
The pacing is solid throughout the ten episodes. The show knows when to slow down and build character moments and when to ramp up the tension. Some of the quieter scenes with just the girls talking are actually my favorite parts. That’s when you really understand who they are and what they’re risking.
I will say that the final episode doesn’t totally wrap everything up. There are loose ends and unanswered questions, which is frustrating but also means there’s room for season two. I’m assuming there will be a season two since they’ve set it up to return.
The show looks great too. It has that same oppressive, gray Gilead aesthetic from the original but the academy itself is weirdly beautiful in this cold, controlled way. The cinematography makes you feel trapped just watching it.
If you’re already a “Handmaid’s Tale” fan, you should definitely watch this. It adds something real to the world instead of just rehashing what we’ve already seen. And if you haven’t watched the original? You might want to start there, but honestly this show does enough explaining that you could jump in cold. You’d catch up pretty quick.
The biggest question I have is whether the show can sustain this momentum if it gets renewed. Season one works because everything feels urgent and new. Will the second season still hit the same way? What do you think happens to these girls next?
Episode Guide
Season 1 (10 Episodes)
Episode 1: Precious Flowers (4.9/10)
In the halls of Aunt Lydia's premarital preparatory academy, the finest in Gilead, Agnes is assigned to mentor a new Pearl Girl, and a fragile alliance begins.
Episode 2: Perfect Teeth (3.6/10)
As Agnes begins the rituals that mark her coming of age, she struggles with the confusing stirrings of adolescence. Meanwhile, Daisy is subjected to Gilead's system of discipline.
Episode 3: Daisy (4/10)
An incident on a school trip spurs Daisy's memories of Toronto, revealing her past and a world shattered by violence.
Episode 4: Green Tea (4.8/10)
As the Green girls gather for a tea party, Daisy struggles to keep on task, while Agnes begins to understand what being a woman in Gilead means.
Episode 5: Ball (4.2/10)
At a debutante-style ball where Green girls are paraded before Commanders, the illusion of elegance begins to fray. Agnes discovers Garth's status has changed.
Episode 6: Stadium (4/10)
As the Aunts sift through ancestry records to finalize matches, Agnes plots for her chance at love. Meanwhile, Lydia contemplates the choices that shaped her rise in Gilead.
Episode 7: Commitment (4.8/10)
As Daisy's secret past threatens to surface, Agnes grapples with an unwanted match and a forbidden crush. Becka meets with potential matches and finds unexpected kindness in one of them.
Episode 8: Broken (4.8/10)
As Agnes is swept up in wedding plans, Daisy hides a life-altering secret, and Hulda faces backlash after speaking out.
Episode 9: Marat Sade (3/10)
As Daisy steps into a new role, she considers what she’s willing to lose to help her friends.
Episode 10: Secateurs
While Becka faces the consequences of her actions, Agnes and Daisy must decide how far they're willing to go to protect her.
Where to Watch
Stream on: Hulu, Disney Plus, JioHotstar