The Handmaids Tale: What we need to know about Season three

If you have tuned in for the last two seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale which airs on Hulu’s streaming platform then you already have a good idea of what the series is about. It is based on the novel of the same name by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and follows the main character named June also known as Offred, who is played by an actress of Mad Men fame Elisabeth Moss. This is not an ‘easy’ series to watch as it features a dystopian society called Gilead which is run by a far-right religious group who seems bent on stripping its citizens of their most basic human rights.
After the first season audiences were both disturbed and enthralled by the show that continued to touch on themes which are near and dear to the heart of a lot of the world at the moment, namely women’s rights.

The Novel

The book shares a lot of similarities with season 1 but it definitely did not continue past the point where we know that June is alive and well in Gilead. Instead, it leaves off on something of a cliffhanger where the reader is unsure of her fate.

In response to the widespread fervor surrounding the show and the fact that audiences would like to know what the creator of Gilead herself sees for June’s future, she has penned a sequel set to come out this September.

The Testaments

The title of the sequel is The Testaments which for such a short title seems to hold all sorts of loaded secrets regarding what author Atwood sees for her beloved and not so beloved characters. Barely any information has been released regarding the novel but we know that it will take place fifteen years after the first one which featured June seeing the doors of a van shut in her face.

It will also be from the viewpoint of three separate women who lived in the Republic of Gilead and their ‘testaments’ to what they have seen and experienced. We are very hopeful that we will get to find out what really happened to June or if she is even still alive in this version of events.

Will “The Testaments” Influence The TV Series?

The word is still out on whether or not this new novel will influence the storylines behind the television series. But it is pretty safe to say that for now the two will definitely be on divergent paths. We are stilling living in Gilead alongside June and her fellow rebels.

The new novel tells of what befell everyone in Gilead but the show seems pretty set on showing the journey from start to what we eventually hope will be the end of Gilead. Now, let’s take a look back on what we learned during seasons 1 and 2 about this dystopian nightmare.

Season 1

The first season had audiences on the edge of their seats as they were introduced to what is now Gilead and the United States of America pre-Gilead. When the series first began viewers were quickly introduced to June, who quickly became Offred and the duties that are expected of her as a Handmaid of Gilead.

The primary duty is to produce a child for her assigned Commander, Fred, played by a chillingly quiet Joseph Fiennes and his wife Serena Joy played by the outstanding Yvonne Strahovski. The powerful couple is unable to have children of their own like most of the Commanders of Gilead.