As we near the end of The Handmaid's Tale season 6, and the series overall on Hulu, there's certain storylines that are happening to wrap up the story and even set up the upcoming spin-off too. In season 6 episode 8, "Exodus," Aunt Lydia makes a major choice that's setting up her up for what's to come in The Testaments. Spoilers below for The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments.
Episode 8 of the final season sees Serena get married to Commander Wharton, though the fairytale is over pretty quickly. He's brought a handmaid into their home so they can have many and multiple children. She's having none of that. Serena takes Noah and decides to leave. Though where is she going to go now?
The couple's wedding was key to the revolution set up by Mayday and the handmaids' involvement. One part of that was adding a sedative to the wedding cake to knock everyone at the party out. It's the perfect opportunity because most, if not all, of the important people of Gilead are at the wedding. Plus, security detail was pulled from other key spots they'd usually be at. It's perfect, until a hiccup comes along in the form of Aunt Lydia.
She just can't keep herself away and ends up coming to the wedding, missing the meeting Lawrence set up for her. She knows something is off, especially after finding all the cake none of the handmaids ate. Thankfully, June kills the disgusting Commander Bell and gets Janine away from his home, leading them back to where the handmaids are stationed. Aunt Lydia has figured out June is back, and demands to know where she is. That's when June pops up.
Aunt Lydia's shift in The Testaments starts in The Handmaid's Tale season 6 episode 8
She has a great speech, and I'm just in awe of Elisabeth Moss every time she has a scene. Aunt Lydia is listening, though it isn't until Janine walks in, telling her she gave her girls to the commanders, knowing it was sexual abuse, that she really listens and is moved. She tells her favorite handmaid that she just wanted to save her girls. To save them, Janine asks her to let them go.
Aunt Lydia has always had a soft spot for Janine, and she has seen things happen to her - like being sent to Jezebel's earlier in the season of Commander Bell just taking her as his handmaid - that she can't unsee, as June said. The perfect picture of Gilead is crumbling for her, which is a huge turning point. All of this is also one step at setting up the character's arc in The Testaments.
The spin-off series has been confirmed, though no release date has been set yet. Details are scarce, though we do know that Ann Dowd will reprise her role as Aunt Lydia in the new series alongside new cast members. The upcoming show is based on another of Margaret Atwood's books in the universe, which means we have an idea of what's to come. Once again, spoilers from The Testaments novel below.
In the story, we jump 15 years in time following the events of The Handmaid's Tale. Gilead is still there and hasn't been knocked down. And Aunt Lydia remains too, but now she's a spy and mole secretly working for Mayday to continue the goal of bringing Gilead down in the hopes of bringing justice to a republic she believed so hard in. It's crazy to think she would be someone working for Mayday, but this most recent episode sets the stage to that shift in Lydia's character.
I'll be honest, I haven't been on board Aunt Lydia's redemption story. It's hard to forget everything she's done in the past. But this episode is making me warm up to her a little bit more. You can see the curtains that were over her eyes start to make way for the truth of what Gilead is.
It was really interesting to see her turning point in The Handmaid's Tale season 6 episode 8, and now I'm actually really intrigued to see how her story plays out in The Testaments. This is a new Lydia, and we're here for it after everything these poor girls have gone through. There's only two more episodes left of the flagship series. I don't know what's coming, but I feel like it's big and Aunt Lydia could very well be a part of it.
The Handmaid's Tale season 6 releases new episodes Tuesdays on Hulu.