The Handmaid’s Tale Sequel Finally Confirms Who Replaces June and Nick — and Sets the Stage for a Devastating New Tragedy
A year after The Handmaids Tale signed off, Hulu returns to Gilead with The Testaments, adapting Margaret Atwoods novel and shifting the spotlight to a new generation—girls groomed as future Wives, not Handmaids—injecting the saga with fresh faces, sharper stakes, and chilling new power plays.
Hulu did not wait long to drag us back to Gilead. One year after The Handmaid's Tale wrapped, The Testaments picks up the story from a new angle: the kids who grew up under this regime, especially the ones being molded into future Wives. It feels new for the most part, but the show is also quietly echoing some very familiar moves from its predecessor.
Warning: spoilers for The Testaments Season 1, Episodes 1-3, plus mild book spoilers.
Where we are now
The Testaments adapts Margaret Atwood's follow-up and jumps ahead four years after The Handmaid's Tale ended. June and Nick's relationship was the tragic thread that ran through that series: they fell for each other, had a child, tried to get her out of Gilead, and then Nick died at the end of Season 6 as a major strike landed against the Commanders. With that in the rearview, the new show seems to be setting up a spiritual sequel to that dynamic — only this time it's centered on June's daughter, Hannah, who the series reveals is living as Agnes MacKenzie.
Agnes and Garth: a familiar spark
Agnes isn't a Handmaid, but the parallels with June are hard to miss. She's trapped in a Commander's household with a Wife she dislikes (the feeling is mutual), she's followed the rules her whole life but the seams are starting to show, and, crucially, there's a driver in the picture. In Episode 2, Garth helps Agnes out of the car, they both stumble through the moment like awkward teens, and her narration leans into desire.
"wanting"
That beat is not subtle. The show is clearly teasing something between them, and it tracks. Agnes is a teenager being trained to be the perfect, obedient Wife — almost certainly to a much older Commander — so crushing on the decent guy her own age feels honest. It also gives the series a teen-forward, coming-of-age energy that The Handmaid's Tale rarely had, with more room for friendships, petty feuds, and first-love complications.
- Agnes is June's daughter, living under a new name (Agnes MacKenzie).
- She's stuck with a Commander's Wife who despises her, and the feeling goes both ways.
- She's starting to push against the rules she was raised to obey.
- Garth is her household's driver — and more on him in a second.
Why this probably ends in tears
Garth is not just a friendly face behind the wheel. He's a Guardian and a Mayday spy, which is a nice way of saying he's in danger 24/7. Agnes, meanwhile, is on track to be matched with a high-ranking Commander. Even if their feelings deepen beyond a crush, this world doesn't leave much room for that kind of happiness. If the June/Nick echo is intentional — and it sure looks that way — expect the show to use their connection to underline how Gilead chews up anything tender.
About Becka and Agnes
The show also flirts with another thread: Becka seems to have a quiet, complicated attraction to Agnes. It's not as in-your-face as the Agnes/Garth beats, but it's there — and it would be a bold, smart addition. In a regime that calls homosexuality a sin, letting an LGBTQ+ romance unfold would deepen the coming-of-age story and raise the stakes for both characters. The big question is how far the series plans to take it, and whether that ends up overshadowing or complementing the Agnes/Garth angle.
New episodes of The Testaments drop Wednesdays on Hulu. We'll see how far these echoes go.