The Handmaid’s Tale sequel is already striking a balance that makes it dramatically compelling without being too much of a weekly TV punish.
One of the things that will strike you about The Testaments versus The Handmaid’s Tale is the look of the series.
No longer dark and suffocating, it is bright, clean and open with rich hues of green and purple, with a grand period building as Aunt Lydia’s School for Girls. It all looks very inviting until you notice the nearby rifles as the teens play, or the dead bodies hanging from poles around Gilead, reminding you this is still the dystopian society which oppressed June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) for six seasons.
We are now around 5 years since June’s story concluded and focussed on Agnes (Chase Infiniti), the adopted daughter of Commander Mackenzie (Nate Corddry) and his wife Paula (Amy Seimetz).
Agnes attends Aunt Lydia’s school with best friend Becka (Mattea Conforti) where girls wear plum coloured uniforms until they reach their first period and graduate to green on the road to being married to procreate.
But Lydia (Ann Dowd) pairs Agnes with a new girl from Toronto, Daisy (Lucy Halliday), who wears pearl in the student hierarchy.
Agnes is instructed to mentor her, but there are instant suspicions.
“Did she ask you to watch me?” – Agnes.
Even her friends are mistrustful.
“It’s time to plum up and get her before she gets you” – friend
Australian Mabel Li features as Aunt Vidala, one of the immediate superiors who oversee the students, constantly reinforcing the rules about godliness, obedience, civility and the lustful male urges which will bring them to ruin.
“Shame upon any of you who tempt a man” – Aunt Vidala
Beyond music and sewing classes, the horrors of this society are never far away. Becka is about to be paired with a husband she has no desire to meet. Paula runs her household with a severe, callous style. One man will have his hand cut off for pleasuring himself, in one of the more shocking scenes of the premiere.
And Daisy’s trauma at what she encounters will immediately put her and Agnes in peril if secrets become revealed.
It all sets up the relationships succinctly and with clarity. The most interesting is between Agnes and Daisy as they navigate agendas and facades, one minute confidantes, the next adversaries just trying to survive a brutal society.
“Do you think she will cut out my tongue?” – Daisy
Amongst the other supporting characters are Garth (Brad Alexander), a handsome young Guardian working for the Mackenzie family, and Rosa (Kira Guloien) a friendly Martha working in the household. There’s also a cameo you won’t want to miss.
Bruce Miller who steered The Handmaid’s Tale to such success is creator of the show based on Margaret Atwood’s book. Whilst the predecessor was often sensational, it was often a punish and too confronting for some. This feels like it has learned from experience how to strike a balance between the dystopian horrors and the requirement to keep viewers coming back.
As much as I was compelled by June’s bleak existence I felt cheated by her refusal to escape Gilead, dooming me to yet another season of torture and subservience.
Perhaps at a younger age Agnes won’t have so many agency to escape, yet she is showing the rebellious streak required to endure and very likely take us along for the ride.
The Testaments is now screening on Disney+