The Testaments’ Major Handmaid’s Tale Cameo Officially Explained by Creator

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The new series, The Testaments, begins about four years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale. While the story introduces new characters, some familiar faces do return, most notably Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), who continues to work within Gilead and now oversees a school for future wives of Commanders. The first three episodes of The Testaments also feature a brief appearance from another known character. Be warned: the following contains spoilers for the first three episodes and minor spoilers for the book the series is based on.

The first episode of The Testaments Season 1 focuses on two main characters. We meet Agnes MacKenzie (played by Chase Infiniti), who is revealed to be Hannah – the long-lost daughter of June Osborne and Luke Bankole, taken by Gilead years ago. We also meet Daisy (Lucy Halliday), a new arrival to Gilead claiming she’s seeking God and a fresh start. The episode ends with a flashback to Daisy’s life in Toronto, where it’s revealed that June, played again by Elisabeth Moss, was secretly watching her.

All of this is detailed in Episode 3, after June shows up following an attack on Daisy’s parents’ shop. June explains that Daisy was rescued from Gilead as a child, a fact Gilead isn’t happy about, and that a group called Mayday has been keeping an eye on her. This revelation sets Daisy on a course back to Gilead. According to showrunner Bruce Miller, who spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, this is why they decided to bring June’s character into Daisy’s story.

I always suspected June’s story in The Handmaid’s Tale wouldn’t be fully resolved, and if we were going to revisit Gilead, it felt natural to check in on her. She’s still actively involved in fighting the system, even if she’s not directly in Gilead. This idea mirrors the novel The Testaments, where June is working from a distance, though we don’t see her actions firsthand. It was always a possibility to continue her story.

June’s character was always intended to be a part of the show, as it centers around her daughter. It felt natural that she’d be interested in what happened to her daughter and would want to be involved in her life as much as possible. Plus, Elisabeth Moss was a fantastic collaborator. She directed episodes, and Warren Littlefield and I worked incredibly closely with her – she was truly exceptional.

The opportunity to include her in this role arose naturally because she’d already returned to her other roles on the show. As an executive producer and creative partner, it felt right to bring her character, June, into the story organically. We didn’t need to center the show around her; instead, we could integrate her whenever she impacted one of our existing storylines.

What Elisabeth Moss’ Return as June Osborne Means For The Testaments

Now that June is back, it’s unclear how big of a role she’ll have. Her character is central to the story – she’s a mother to Agnes and Daisy, the events take place after her uprising, and she continues to oppose Gilead. However, the focus remains on Agnes and Daisy’s journey. According to showrunner Miller, they’re trying to balance what the story needs with what’s feasible given actress Elisabeth Moss’s availability.

There’s always a push and pull between the everyday practicalities and the artistic vision when making a show. My main focus is figuring out a compelling story for the character June and what she’ll be doing each episode. But I also have to be flexible, because Elisabeth Moss is incredibly busy with other projects. Since she needs to be physically present for filming – you can’t do it remotely – we have to work around her schedule.

I immediately started thinking about how long we’d have the actress and how that would impact the story. I began planning how many episodes she could appear in and what kind of stories we could tell with her character. It quickly became a practical matter – figuring out logistics like getting her to the set – but even with those considerations, we still wanted her scenes to feel really grand and memorable.

The show is currently striking a good balance. It feels natural for June to still be working with Mayday after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale, and her continued involvement with the search for Hannah makes sense, even if she isn’t aware of all the details. We don’t yet know if June realizes Daisy has been sent to the same location as her daughter and Aunt Lydia. Similarly, while Lydia’s betrayal of Gilead was foreshadowed in the original series, it’s unclear if she and June have spoken since Boston fell, as the show’s creator has mentioned.

It’s unclear if June and Lydia have met since their last encounter, but they’re both aware of each other’s presence. They’ve shared enough history to understand how to approach trusting one another, which is fascinating to observe. From afar, you can see Lydia’s protective feelings towards June’s daughter, and it’s clear she’s been observing her for a long time – she even tells June, ‘I’ve been watching you for such a long time,’ which catches Agnes off guard.

It’s still unclear how the story will ultimately resolve, but the addition of Moss’ character significantly raises the stakes in The Testaments. The show successfully establishes its own unique style and storytelling while remaining firmly rooted in the world of The Handmaid’s Tale. This development also gives the series a clear goal: to reunite June and Hannah. Reuniting them has always been the core of June’s journey, and now, seeing Hannah’s perspective as Agnes in The Testaments makes the possibility even more gripping, especially with June working towards that reunion from afar.

New episodes of The Testaments release on Wednesdays on Hulu.

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2026-04-08 16:43