Over the course of the series’ six seasons, Aunt Lydia has seen many atrocities committed at Gilead, and she herself was at the front of several of them. But a couple of weeks ago, something changed. The character witnessed the despair of Janine (Madeline Brewer) when she saw a slate of handmaids get mercilessly killed, and finally something clicked in Aunt Lydia’s mind. Littlefield stated:
“Lydia has absolutely lost her way. We’ve [previously] seen her learn that Gilead is an imperfect place, but she’s never rejected it.”
The producer called the Jezebels massacre “an awakening” for aunt Lydia, and teased how this new perspective will shape the character into a new form in The Testaments:
“The Lydia we’re left with says things that we never would have heard from — you’ll see in the final two episodes — words that Lydia never would have spoken. That’s incredibly powerful, and it’s part of how we end our journey.”
The End Is Near for ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
Just like The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments is based on a novel by author Margaret Atwood. The novel takes place 15 years after the events of the original story, and it makes Aunt Lydia a prominent character. It also adds two different POVs to the story: Gilead’s, through the eyes of Agnes (Chase Infiniti) and Canada’s through Daisy’s (Lucy Halliday), a young woman living north of Gilead.
