The Testaments on Hulu serves as a continuation of the Emmy-winning Hulu show The Handmaid’s Tale. When the original show aired its series finale last May, it should have felt like the end of an era.
It was the culmination of six seasons of June Osborne’s (Elisabeth Moss) harrowing journey through Gilead. It was six seasons of suffering, defiance, and slow-burning revolution. It all came down to a final hour that was supposed to leave us shattered.
The Handmaid’s TaleThe TestamentsCreatorBruce MillerBruce MillerCastElisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, and O-T FagbenleChase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday, Eva Foote, Rowan Blanchard, Kira Guloien, Amy Seimetz, and Ann DowdRT Score83% (as of April 8, 2026)85% (as of April 8, 2026)IMDb Score8.3/10 (as of April 8, 2026)TBA
However, it left many of us shrugging. June’s story in the series ended with her returning to the Waterford ruins and recording the opening lines of her book, The Handmaid’s Tale. Fans didn’t get to see the much-anticipated reunion of June and Hannah, which could’ve been the satisfying finale we all wanted.
The show couldn’t just reunite them in the finale, and many fans knew it. The reason was no mystery. The spinoff titled The Testaments was already in development when the final season was being made.
That knowledge quietly gutted the finale of its stakes long before the credits rolled. With Moss returning as June in The Testaments premiere for a guest appearance, the damage is now fully visible (via Deadline). The Handmaid’s Tale finale was more like a handoff than a proper ending.
The Testaments Rewrites What We Knew About Gilead
One of the reasons why the initial seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale became a huge success was the dystopian threat that raised the stakes high enough. Gilead was presented as a meat grinder that no one truly escaped. The show never guaranteed the survival of any characters, including Elisabeth Moss’s June.
The show spent six seasons convincing us of the Gilead threat, but The Testaments undid all of that when it was first announced. The existence of the show meant that we already knew several key plots from the series finale.
We knew Gilead persisted. We knew June lived. We knew which characters made it out. The finale could not deliver a knockout punch because the sequel had already spoiled it for us.
This issue was raised with both Moss, who is also an executive producer, and creator Bruce Miller. Moss addressed the fact that the series finale was impacted by the announcement of The Testaments. She told THR:
I didn’t have the task of writing [the ending], but I understand and I’m aware that that was the biggest challenge: The Testaments has Hannah not get out. That was definitely something we would have played with for the end of Handmaid’s; June maybe getting her out. But we had to move towards the sequel that had been written. Now, I don’t think that was a bad thing. But was it the thing that was probably most present? Yeah, I would say so.
She later joked with TV Insider that knowing the sequel series was in the works “gave us a lot of liberty” with how the original show would end. She added that they didn’t have to worry about whether this was “the end, the end, the end.”
Miller admitted to THR that he had a different ending planned for his show. However, his ending was influenced after The Testaments TV show was announced.
June Deserved a Better Goodbye After 6 Seasons
Elisabeth Moss as June in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 | Credits: Hulu
After six seasons of watching Elisabeth Moss carry one of the most physically and emotionally punishing roles on television, June Osborne deserved a finale that belonged to her alone. Instead, her farewell was structured around what The Testaments would need from her later.
Hannah was still missing. June’s story had to be paused mid-way so that the sequel show could pick it up. While June is mentioned in Margaret Atwood’s sequel book, she isn’t one of the main characters.
However, the new Hulu show appears to have sought Moss’s help to appeal to the fandom. She made her return as the heroic character in the recently premiered first episode.
Showrunner Bruce Miller explained the decision, sharing with Deadline that June is “such an anchor for the character of Agnes that I don’t think you could have the story without June, even if there was no Handmaid’s Tale.” He further claimed that they moved around their schedules to get Moss into the show “a little.”
She appeared in a sequence that narrated Daisy’s (Lucy Halliday) storyline. On a side note, Daisy’s storyline was changed in the series, meaning that she is not related to June like in the book. June’s appearance was as a mere observer.
However, her guest appearance is a damning one for The Handmaid’s Tale. A reminder that the ending of one of the defining TV heroines of the decade was written around the sequel waiting in the wings.
What do you think of Elisabeth Moss’s appearance in The Testaments premiere? Let us know in the comments below!
The Handmaid’s Tale and three episodes of The Testaments are now available for streaming on Hulu.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
