Handmaid’s Tale sequel focuses on Gilead’s daughters, streaming on Disney+
Testament ★★★
After six seasons The Handmaid’s TaleThe dystopian baton has been passed on to this sequel. Once again, we are in Gilead, the brutal Christian theocracy that has violently replaced the United States and exiled the modern world through bloody methods, including women’s rights. But 15 years have passed, and the focus is on the establishment’s daughters, “pious girls” who are being raised to be responsible, child-bearing wives of the nation’s leaders. There’s a risky balancing act on display.
like The Handmaid’s Tale, Testament It has an acclaimed Margaret Atwood novel as source material. Both shows were created by Bruce Miller, and both expand the plots of the books. Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), Gilead’s ruthless enforcer of misogyny, tried to break June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss). ServantHe now runs an elite girls’ academy whose young students include Agnes MacKenzie (Chase Infiniti). Although she doesn’t realize it, Agnes’ privileged stepparents, the authorities, and the audience know that she is June’s eldest daughter, Hannah.
When honest Agnes is asked to mentor new student Daisy (Lucy Halliday), who has transferred to Gilead from Canada, the narrative centers on the concerns of these young people. They are young and brainwashed, they have no memory of America. Gilead’s atrocities, such as cutting off a criminal’s hand with a bandsaw, occur out of focus. At times the storytelling has the tone and pop soundtrack of a Young Adult drama. Agnes has a cruel stepmother (Amy Seimetz), but her father (Nate Corddry) is a Gilead girl.
“These women will change history,” Agnes says in voiceover, but the path to their revolutionary activism is complicated. Showing Gilead’s hypocrisy means focusing on the pure parameters of the girls. Several episodes focus on students competing to impress potential suitors through community rituals; It reads like a 19th-century romantic comedy, complete with dastardly sabotage by an ambitious mother. The exchange of glances between Agnes and handsome young security agent Garth (Brad Alexander) continues.
Daisy, in particular, is written as extremely rebellious, but the connection between the teens is real and reflects the hope Atwood conveys on the page. But a crucial failing is the waning interest in Aunt Lydia. The book gave him an extensive backstory explaining how he chose to become a collaborator, but this is condensed into a single chapter here, along with his zealous sidekick Aunt Vidala (Australian actor Mabel Li). Ultimately, the defining quality is Infiniti’s deeply felt performance as Agnes. One war after another The star is engaging and when on screen Testament develops. The show extends to Infiniti and beyond.
Testament Streaming on Disney+ starting April 8.
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Craig Mathieson is the TV, film and music writer for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X.
