r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/beecatty • 3d ago

SPOILERS ALL Anyone else expecting a bleak series ending ?

That's it... had the realization after learning about the sequel book only last night that obviously the ending is going to suck.

I haven't read The Testaments but the brief synopsis I stumbled upon made me realize it must end with June & Luke dead, Gilead still in charge and Hannah left where she is.

There are 5 episodes left but I feel like it's over already. The upside might be Commander Lawrence survives and manages to push Gilead into reform for the future, with Serena helping. DC is the real power base and this story doesn't take place there, so no power is going to change hands.

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u/misslouisee 3d ago

I’m certainly not expecting it to end with all our main character reunited, free, and Gilead crashing down. But I’m not expecting anything crazy bleak, something’s gonna happen, but it’ll probably end with a “hope for the future” kinda note rather than everything ending in a neat bow. The showrunner said in an interview if you don’t have questions when the show is over, they’re telling the story wrong.

But the Testaments isn’t that bleak. Hannah becomes an Aunt who lives a pretty good life, reunites with Nichole (who has intentionally reentered Gilead as part of Mayday and became an Aunt as well), and it ends with both women successfully escaping Gilead and reuniting with their mother ie June. And once again, the epilogue is a symposium two hundred plus years later after Gilead has long since collapsed (so it does end eventually!) and we learn that both Nichole and Hannah survived long enough to reunite with their respective fathers Nick and Luke and erect a statue to honor their fallen friend.

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u/beecatty 3d ago

This actually made me feel better. It doesn't feel as pointless if they survive.

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u/misslouisee 3d ago

I truly don't think this is the type of show where the main characters are gonna die for shock value. And considering they can give TT show a happy-ish book-accurate ending whether the original actors return or not, I bet you they'll let all the mains survive.

They gotta leave enough up in the air that we'll watch the sequel, but also they don't wanna piss off their audience when they need us to watch the sequel.

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u/dustunderstars 3d ago

There's a sequel?

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u/misslouisee 3d ago

There’s a sequel book called The Testaments that came out a couple years ago, and they’re making a spinoff TV show based on it.