Based On What We Know About The Testaments Planned Adaptation, I'm Worried The Handmaid's Tale Series Finale Will Be Partly Spoiled

Potential spoilert alert for both The Testaments and The Handmaid's Tale.

The streaming wars have been going on for years, and are showing no signs of slowing down. Each service has its own set of megahits, and for those with a Hulu subscription one of those titles is definitely The Handmaid's Tale. The Emmy-winning dystopian series is wildly popular, and gearing up for its sixth and final season. A spinoff is expected to follow the final season, an adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel The Testaments. But based on what we know about The Testaments so far, I'm worried The Handmaid's Tale series finale will be partly spoiled.

What we know about The Handmaid's Tale Season 6 is limited, but those who've read The Testaments might have some clues as to how things are going to end for June. The pressure is on to stick the landing, as well as plant narrative seeds for the forthcoming spinoff. And since I've read the sequel novel, I'm worried that the series finale will have less impact... especially if they're setting up the story I read.

When will The Testaments Premiere?

The news that The Handmaid's Tale's sixth season would be its last came with along with some good news: Hulu is planning on continuing the story with a TV version of The Testaments. The ending of The Handmaid's Tale Season 5 showed June and Serena Joy ending up together with their babies as they fled Toronto. And it should be fascinating to see if/how the story ends to set up the spinoff.

Of course, the biggest question is: exactly when will the upcoming series premiere? Unfortunately, there's currently no release date for The Testaments. While the project has been announced, it seemingly hasn't been officially ordered to series by Hulu. While this is likely just because The Handmaid's Tale is still running, that's the situation we're currently in. Hopefully an official green light happens sooner rather than later, as that'll likely be a relief to the hardcore fandom of the burgeoning franchise.

Who will star in The Testaments?

Information about The Testaments is limited, but the fandom is no doubt hoping that some of the beloved Handmaid's Tale cast ends up making the transition into the spinoff. One actor has already been confirmed for the developing follow-up series: Aunt Lydia actress Ann Dowd.

This won't be too surprising for those who read The Testaments, as Lydia is one of the book's three narrators. The novel offers an intimate look at her psyche and backstory (which differs from the one we were shown on The Handmaid's Tale). Fans will likely also be crossing their fingers to see Elisabeth Moss back as June, especially as she's also a director and executive producer on the acclaimed series. Unfortunately, one character that's almost definitely not returning is Emily, as Alexis Bledel left The Handmaid's Tale prior to Season 5.

How Does The Testaments Tease The Handmaid's Tale Ending?

Here is where we really get into some potential spoilers for The Handmaid's Tale's sixth and final season on the air. Because the mere plot of The Testaments offers hints at how the show might end up wrapping up... especially since the spinoff is in active development. Buckle up.

The Testaments is set 15 years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale novel (which ends at around Season 1 of the TV series). Offred is no longer the narrator, instead the narrators consist of a remorseful Aunt Lydia, June's daughter Hannah/Agnes who grew up in Gilead, and an older version of Baby Nichole named Daisy, who doesn't realize that she played a role in the global Gilead conflict just by being born. These three stories start off separate, and end up connecting by the time the book's thrilling conclusion comes to pass.

If the TV version of The Testaments ends up being accurate to the novel, then we might be able to surmise a few things.

1) June and Luke potentially never get Hannah back from Gilead.

2) They eventually give up Nichole for her own safety.

3) Lydia will regret her cruelty and end up finding redemption.

And all three of these would seemingly need to happen before The Handmaid's Tale ends. But whether or not these are actually the plans remain to be seen. If they are, then unfortunately the hardcore fandom might already know how certain things end up.

Big Questions About Season 6 of The Handmaid's Tale We Still Don't Know

Of course, there are still a number of huge questions about The Handmaid's Tale that can't be surmised by what we know from The Testaments. So that should provide surprises for even the most hardcore fan of Margaret Atwood's dystopian franchise. And if the spinoff is going to go down differently than the book, then there's even more narrative possibilities for the series to play with.

For one thing, there's the ongoing plot in Toronto with Luke, Moira, and Rita.

When we last saw, anti-refugee sentiments up north were growing, and making things unsafe for those who escaped Gilead. Luke was arrested for accidentally killing the man who tried to assassinate June, so hopefully he doesn't get set back to Gilead as a result. Either way, things aren't looking good.

Another big question is what's going to happen to Serena Joy.

While she was an original architect of Gilead, she also faced the wrath of the fictional extremist country. She ended up in custody in Toronto, working with Mark Tuello up until she's released. But she ends up in danger at the Wheelers, and had to escape with baby Nichole on the same train June ends up on. These two women and their children are now together, and that relationship will presumably be a big one in Season 5.

What's the latest Testaments news?

Since the creatives behind The Handmaid's Tale are busy in the final months up until Season 5 arrives on Hulu, news about The Testaments is super limited. As previously mentioned, the spinoff was announced, but not officially ordered by the streaming service. So detail about its writing and eventual production are basically non-existent.

The most recent updates about The Testaments came from Deadline's interview with producer Warren Littlefield. He confirmed that the spinoff is "a priority project” and offered "we’re full speed ahead; it’s a really important franchise." So we should believe that, for the time being, the plans for the show are still going. But unfortunately we don't have much more information than that.