Warning: This article includes MAJOR SPOILERS for The Handmaid’s Tale’s finale and MINOR SPOILERS for The Testaments!
The ending ofThe Handmaid’s Talemakes it almost a necessity forThe Testamentsto bring back Elisabeth Moss’ June. After eight years, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale has finally come to an end, and the creative team is actively working on thesequel seriesThe Testaments, which started filming on July 26, 2025. Although the new show doesn’t have a release date yet, it’s expected to come out in 2026.
Based on the second book by Margaret Atwood, the story follows the perspective of Aunt Lydia, Agnes Jemima (aka Hannah), and Daisy – three women in Gilead who work together to take the oppressive society down 15 years after the disappearance of June. Because the two shows connect, the finale ofThe Handmaid’s Tale sets up the Testamentsin a few ways. Most notably, it keeps Hannah and June apart. However, this choice necessitates the return of June, which would deviate from the source material.
The Handmaid’s Tale Left June’s Story Unfinished
June Won’t Stop Fighting Until She Gets Hannah Back
The Handmaid’s Talewrote themselves into a corner by the end of season 6 that’s impossible to escape. Tonally, a happy ending where Hannah and June suddenly reunite and the world is good again would never feel appropriate in the dystopian story. On the other hand, June’s driving characterization is her desire to get Hannah back, so it feels like a betrayal of her character arc for her never to see Hannah again. There’s no reason to think that she will ever stop fighting to get Hannah back until she either accomplishes her goal or one of them dies.
The Testamentsalso became an issueforThe Handmaid’s Taleseason 6because they couldn’t reunite June and Hannah. Hannah/Agnes needs to be separated from her mom because that’s central to the story of the sequel book. However, they also couldn’t kill off June unless they wanted to completely change part of the sequel story (which I’m keeping vague to minimize spoilers for people who don’t know the book). Ultimately, these things make June’s story feel incomplete at theend ofThe Handmaid’s Tale’s finale. Gilead is surviving, Hannah is stuck in a terrifyingly oppressive group, and June is alone.
It’ll Be Weird If June Isn’t In The Testaments
June’s Daughter, Hannah, Is A Main Character Of The Testaments
Given the fact that The Handmaid’s tale centers on June and it didn’t give her a satisfying ending, it would feel weird not to see her at least in a guest capacity inThe Testaments.Elisabeth Moss' character was the thing that drew in many viewers. Plus,The Testamentsis branded as both a sequel series and a spinoff, and a sequel without any appearance from the previous main character would feel awkward. At the very least, flashbacks and little clips of her would help fill in the gaps and make them feel like one cohesive story.
On top of that, it would feel weird to follow June’s child’s story without the mother ever appearing, even if it’s not in the narrative’s present time.The Testamentswill need to account for where June is and why she hasn’t succeeded at getting Hannah out of Gilead, especially since it will include a time jump like the book. (Though, the gap will only be a few years between the shows instead of 15 years.)Elisabeth Moss’ comments about June’s potential returnindicate that it might not happen in season 1, but June coming back is an inevitability.
The Testaments book suggests that Agnes is Offred’s daughter, but they leave it slightly ambiguous. However, the TV show makes it clear that Hannah and Agnes are the same person.
June Doesn’t Really Appear In The Testaments Book - But The Show Can Change It
The Handmaid’s Tale Made Changes To The Source Material, Too
June’s ending in Margaret Atwood’sThe Handmaid’s Taleis ambiguous because the book ends after she gets into the van, which happens at the end of season 1, and she doesn’t physically appear in the sequel book. It’s implied that she’s in hiding and working for Mayday, but that’s never overtly confirmed. Still, Hannah/Agnes learning that her mother was a Handmaid is a motivating force in her story, so June’s presence is felt even though she’s not there. Additionally, June has a voice inThe Testamentsbook through her journals.
However, the TV show version ofThe Testamentsalready can’t work as a one-to-one adaptation. The writers of the sequel show will need to adjust the story a little bit to account for the five seasons of story that exist after the first book’s ending. In the show’s canon, June isn’t just Offred, and her story doesn’t end with her getting into the van.
Since they’ll need to make changes to account for this anyway,they can easily have June appear on the TV show. They don’t need to makeThe Handmaid’s Tale’s main character a lead or even a recurring character by any means. However, Elisabeth Moss could easily make guest appearances as June since she’s an executive producer onThe Testaments.
