The Testaments review: praise be, the Hulu Handmaid's Tale spinoff doesn't disappoint under his eye

Date:
Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Description:
After the rocky Handmaid's Tale season 6 finale, The Testaments on Hulu and Disney+ is just the beginning of something even bigger, better, and bolder.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Take a look at The Handmaid's Tale Series Graph (episodes ranked by fan rating), and you'll see a near-impossible feat: back-to-back 9.0 and 5.7 ratings for the final two episodes of season 6. Translated, that's a Game of Thrones scale of reaction to the show's final-ever episode.

Given that the season 6 finale was an outright setup for new Hulu and Disney+ sequel series The Testaments , things didn't look too rosy. Thankfully, the reality is completely different and I genuinely think The Testaments is as good as season 1 of The Handmaid's Tale . For starters, the spinoff has
nailed the art of reintroducing us to somewhere we already know (the totalitarian regime that is Gilead) and making it feel fresh. There are still secrets buried beneath the surface that we're none the wiser about, and a simple anti-regime stunt from Mayday isn't going to get any answers this
time. Then there's the casting. We already knew that Ann Dowd is absolutely blistering as the impenetrable Aunt Lydia, but newbies Chase Infiniti and
Lucy Halliday mould the show into their own creation. We're looking at a
major star on the rise after One Battle After Another with Infiniti, people. If that's not enough to win you over to The Testaments , its main downside (feeling like it's just getting going) gives way to its biggest positive... surprises galore. Hulu subscription options: 12 month plan - $9.99 per month ($119.88 total cost) Today's best Hulu deals Get first month free Hulu - Monthly (with Ads) $7.99 $9.99 /mth View at Hulu Get First Month Free Hulu
(No Ads) $18.99 /mth View at Hulu The Testaments is the journey to revolution that The Handmaid's Tale season 6 wanted to be The Testaments | Trailer |
Hulu - YouTube Watch On Some 15 years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale , a lot has changed in the Republic of Gilead. Aunt Lydia has rescued herself from imprisonment by being handpicked to oversee the laws and uniforms governing Gilead's women in the form of a new school.

Here, students are separated into four colors: Pinks for elementary age,
Plums for young tweens who haven't come of age, Greens for those who have and are eligible for marriage, and the so-called 'Pearl Girls,' who have recently transferred in from the outside. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Where Margaret Atwood's book follows Aunt Lydia's perspective, Hulu's version homes in on devout Plum Agnes (Infiniti), who completely believes in the regime and what it's trying to achieve. She hates her stepmother, however, with her Commander father also constantly absent from the home.

One day, Aunt Lydia assigns her a Pearl Girl called Daisy (Halliday), prompting Agnes' friends to think she's done something wrong. Neither trusts the other, and while Daisy arrives with Gilead with secrets, Agnes begins to see the light.

It stands to reason that a school inside a totalitarian regime creates
instant intrigue, but it's the ensemble performances that elevate it. Main cast aside, our Aunts and Plums have been picked to perfection, straddling
the line between deranged and oblivious as, for the first time, men begin to feel the bulk of capital punishment. Today's best Disney+ Bundle deals Disney+, Hulu Bundle $12.99 /mth View at Disney+ Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle
- Basic $19.99 /mth View at Disney+ Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle - Premium $29.99 /mth View at Disney+ Aunt Lydia could make or break what happens in
The Testaments season 2 which I'm convinced is coming The golden trio.
(Image credit: Disney+) Ann Dowd remains the class act that we've known she
is for years, and I'm overjoyed that Aunt Lydia is the character that both Atwood and Hulu chose to continue. Season 6 saw her allegiance to Gilead finally falter, but this time around, I don't trust her.

Why? When we meet her again in The Testaments , her faith in Gilead appears
to be completely restored. However, she clearly knows more than she's letting on, and that makes her completely opaque when it comes to potentially betraying the regime further down the line.

It's a slippery business, and Aunt Lydia could either help or hugely hinder Agnes and Daisy on their upcoming journey. Obviously, there are no spoilers here, but the entire season of The Testaments feels like a starter for the main course still to come, and I'm convinced season 2 already has to be being developed.

Wishing for more of a fictitious dictatorship while living through
politically perilous times feels bizarre at best, but I'm hoping for as many instalments of The Testaments as I can handle.

In the meantime, what we already have is a heady and moreish binge dressed up in a coloured uniform. The soundtrack is bonkers yet effective, and you can never let your guard down particularly when it comes to plot details fans have been theorizing might come true. Frankly, I'd stream it over The Handmaid's Tale itself any day of the week.

It's obvious that we're getting them for more reasons than I've listed, and
if The Handmaid's Tale spinoff continues to live up to the level of
brilliance we see across these 10 episodes, totalitarian TV will never have been better. Today's best Hulu + Live TV deals Hulu Live TV (With Ads) $82.99 /mth View at Hulu Hulu + Live TV (No Ads) $95.99 /mth View at Hulu Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.
Hulu deals Get first month free Hulu - Monthly (with Ads) $7.99 $9.99 /mth View at Hulu Get First Month Free Hulu (No Ads) $18.99 /mth View at Hulu



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/streaming/hulu/the-testaments-review-disney-plus


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)