I'm convinced the finale of The Handmaid's Tale perfectly sets the stage for The Testaments spin-off

Hulu's adaptation of Margaret Atwood's celebrated novel series The Handmaid's Tale finally concluded with an explosive finale after six seasons.

The story came full circle as June Osborne tries her best to escape Gilead's totalitarian regime, which forced her to become a child-bearing slave for powerful men, and she struggles to reunite with her daughter Hannah.

While June's story came to an end in The Handmaid's Tale Season 6 finale, Hulu has already greenlit a sequel spin-off series, The Testaments (based on Atwood's 2019 novel) that will see actress Chase Infiniti continue the story as June's daughter Hannah, who has now become Agnes.

The season 6 finale saw Hannah at the burned-out ruins of the Waterfords’ house (the place where her harrowing journey started), and she begins to record her story for her daughter.

I think June's recordings acted as the perfect plot device to pass on the baton to Infiniti's Agnes and plant the seeds of resistance in the coming generation.

More on The Handmaid's Tale finale in our story.

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I think June's recordings in The Handmaid's Tale finale perfectly set the stage for The Testaments

In The Handmaid's Tale Season 6, June's main focus was to reunite with her daughter Hannah, but it was a far-fetched dream. However, after Commander Lawrence's tragic sacrifice, Commander MacKenzie was assigned to Washington, DC, and the finale saw him relocate with his wife and adopted daughter Hannah.

This chance opportunity came as good news for June as the once far-fetched dream (to be reunited with her daughter) was slowly coming closer, after Mark Tuello confirmed that her daughter is now only 2000 miles away from her.

However, The Handmaid's Tale finale also suggested that while the physical distance between June and Hannah has decreased, there's still a long way ahead, which will now be explored through Hannah/Agnes' point of view.

Talking to Variety, showrunner Bruce Miller discussed the small easter egg in The Handmaid's Tale finale, which is the click sound as June begins to record her story, which will eventually become her book for her daughter:

“Well, if you go back and watch the pilot, at the beginning of the pilot, you can hear her click that tape recorder that she clicks at the end of the series to start recording ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ in the audio...''

I think this final moment not only neatly wrapped and gave June's story its complete full-circle moment, but it also set the stage for her daughter to take over her legacy and join the resistance started by her mother.

In addition to June's daughter, Agnes, The Testaments will also focus on Aunt Lydia, who also had her shining moment in The Handmaid's Tale finale.

While she started as an enforcer of Gilead's conformity, it was interesting to see her transformation into a quiet rebel. I think Aunt Lydia's redemption arc came into full motion when she helped Janine escape Gilead's rule, and the stage is set for her full transformation in the upcoming spin-off series.

I appreciated how the characters in the parent show had natural conclusions to their character arcs, while the essential conflict in the story remained open for the spin-off series and a new generation of characters to take over. The characters who will be a major part of The Testaments (like Aunt Lydia) were kept in the spotlight, giving them perfect launches for the new show.

In addition, while Atwood's sequel book is set 15 years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale, the upcoming spin-off series will feature a three to four-year time jump, keeping it close and connected to the parent show.

As Miller confirmed with Variety, while June was not much referenced in the sequel book, her presence will be strongly felt in the spin-off series, as her daughter will continue her legacy in her show:

''I think that June is much more present. And although Agnes doesn’t know in the story that that’s her mother, she’s telling a story in retrospect in “The Testaments,” just like “The Handmaid’s Tale,” so that Agnes certainly knows the whole story. So her very strange, very influential collection of mothers is a big part of the story.''

He added:

"She’s got a lot of June in her, which means she’s big trouble.''

While June could not be reunited with her daughter, the recordings were a perfect way to connect the two characters and introduce the audience to the protagonist they will eventually meet in The Testaments.

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Also Read: Watching June and Nick in The Handmaid's Tale, I realized some love stories aren’t meant to last forever