‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: June’s Daughters Could Have Huge Roles in ‘The Testaments’ Spinoff Series

One question that’s been burning on fans’ minds since season 1 The Handmaid’s Tale is if June would ever find Hannah and get her out of Gilead. Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments—The Handmaid’s Tale sequel—answers that question. Now, Hulu has already acquired the rights to adapt The Testaments into a spinoff series. And based on the novel, Hannah and Nichole could play huge roles. But will showrunner Bruce Miller follow The Testaments to a T? The Handmaid’s Tale differs from its namesake in a lot of ways.

[The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments spoilers ahead.]

Who are the three narrators in ‘The Testaments’?

June Osborne’s daughters, Hannah and Nichole, aren’t frequently seen in The Handmaid’s Tale. But their safety is top priority for the main characters. June, Serena Joy, Emily, and Commander Lawrence helped get baby Nichole out of Gilead at the end of season 2, but June stayed behind to find Hannah.

Now, in season 4, it June seems poised to escape Gilead without her. This leaves Hannah’s fate open-ended. Will she stay in Gilead? Could she be smuggled out? Will the United States regain control of the land Gilead took over? The Testaments answers all of those questions. But The Handmaid’s Tale has gone off book from its source material, so it’s possible the spinoff series will stray a bit as well. Atwood is working closely with both of the shows, however, so she will likely prevent too much deviation from her plot.

In The Testaments, there are three narrators. One of them is a child in Gilead. Another is an Aunt. The third is a child in Canada. Eventually, readers learn those narrators are none other than Ann Dowd’s Aunt Lydia, Hannah/Agnes, and Nichole/Daisy.

Does June ever find Hannah?

As of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4 Episode 5, June has not been reunited with either of her daughters. Like in the original novel, June is only referred to as a Handmaid. (Atwood intentionally left her clues about the characters’ identities unanswered, so readers could make their own conclusions.) Hannah and Nichole are renamed Agnes and Daisy by their adoptive parents, and they learn their biological mother was a Handmaid.

The novel also reveals June makes it out of Gilead and is working with Mayday in Canada. She keeps tabs on her children from afar, hoping to one day be reunited with them.

What happens in ‘The Testaments’?

As for Nichole/Daisy, she is adopted by a Canadian couple that run a thrift shop. They’re very protective of her, and she eventually learns why. In the book, Daisy learns about Baby Nichole—June and Nick’s daughter who was “stolen” from Gilead. The country adopts Baby Nichole as a symbol warning the nation of the evils that reside outside of Gilead.

After her parents are murdered, Daisy learns she is Baby Nichole, her parents adopted her to protect her, and they were part of Mayday. Back in Gilead, Agnes avoids getting married to a commander by deciding to become an Aunt instead. After years of being a “Supplicant” (an Aunt in training), Agnes eventually meets a girl who came to Gilead from Canada. That girl is her half-sister, Nichole, who goes to Gilead to learn more about her past life. The epilogue of the book reveals Agnes became an Aunt named Victoria, Lydia betrayed Gilead by providing secrets to Mayday, and the Gilead regime eventually fell.

If The Handmaid’s Tale creative team plans on being loyal to Atwood’s Testaments plot, that means Hannah, Nichole, and Aunt Lydia could be the show’s three main characters. And the novel certainly provides a bevy of fascinating storylines on which to build a captivating show.

New episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale air Wednesdays on Hulu.