With The Testaments set to explore the next chapter of the nation of Gilead, one character’s ending in The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 has already determined one potential major departure from the book. The Hulu adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel envisioned a horrifically reshaped US government regime that forces fertile women into childbearing slavery, and ran from 2017 to 2025. While the main series has concluded, The Testaments will adapt the 2019 novel, picking up where season 6 left off as a new trio of characters set out to bring down Gilead.

In The Testaments, fifteen years have passed since June Osborne (Elizabeth Moss) first arrived at the Waterfords’ home, as Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) continues her duties, using her position to become the Mayday resistance’s latest agent after realizing the error of her devotion to Gilead’s ways. As her mission continues, the children of June, Nichole (Lucy Halliday) and Hannah, now named Agnes (Chase Infiniti), find their way into the fight. However, with where The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 left Nichole, the series may already have to write a new story.

The Handmaid’s Tale Didn’t Set Up Nichole’s Story In The Testaments

Nichole Is Left In A Very Different Setting

Image via Hulu

Image via Hulu

Image via Hulu

Image via Hulu

The Handmaid’s Tale season 6’s ending saw June decide to continue the fight against Gilead within the nation itself, leaving Nichole in the care of her mother, Holly (Cherry Jones), who is making her way to the recently-liberated Boston with the child. Both she and Luke (O-T Fagbengle) are dedicating themselves to the cause, wanting to ensure that the regime can never harm another woman ever again. As a result, the series has already deviated significantly from The Testament’s originalstarting point.

In The Testaments novel, Gilead is still in control of Boston, and Nichole is being raised in Toronto by an adoptive family of Mayday operatives under the alias of Daisy. When her adoptive parents are assassinated by Gilead operatives, Mayday operatives quickly usher her into hiding and reveal her true identity, before tasking her with a mission to journey into Gilead and recover vital intel. This mission brings the young girl into contact with her half-sister, as they both commit to ending the horror and carrying on their mother’s work.

However, while The Testaments was set up partially through Lydia’s fate, there are already many major discrepancies between the novels. Alongside Nichole’s guardianship and whereabouts, the US Government’s attempts to reclaim the country pushed Hannah’s adoptive family to D.C., rather than their remaining in Boston. As such, the two new characters will be beginning in far different circumstances.

Nichole, AKA Daisy, Is Confirmed For The Testaments

The Series Is Upfront About The Character’s Identity In Promotion

From casting confirmations for The Testaments, it is clear that the series will likely not rely on the hidden identity plot point. When Halliday was cast as Nichole, her identity was clearly given in the announcement, rather than obscuring her identity under the Daisy alias. From this, it is clear that the showrunners and Atwood will not be relying on the mystery of the protagonists during the television adaptation, instead jumping in where the original series left off.

How Nichole’s Testaments Story Could Work After The Handmaid’s Tale

New Television Series Developments Could Add New Context To Explain Certain Book Plot Points

While there are major differences from the novel it is based on, the development of The Testaments novel was handled in coordination with the then-ongoing The Handmaid’s Tale TV series. Because of this, likely, the showrunners have already been able to account for how it will approach The Testaments within their radically reshaped setting. However, there are still several ways that the series may be able to account for this status quo.

The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 also established a potential additional reason for Nichole’s targeting through the fate of her biological father Nick Blaine

Though Holly’s last interaction with June suggests that her mother will make sure that her daughter knows about her mother’s bravery, something may happen to Holly that leaves her in the care of Mayday agents Neil and Melanie. With June an active participant in the campaigns against Gilead, it is possible the Daisy alias may be employed to keep her safe from vengeful Gilead agents, even if she already knows about her true self, with Holly’s potential absence leading to this decision.

The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 also established a potential additional reason for Nichole’s targeting through the fate of her biological father Nick Blaine (Max Minghella), who boarded the ill-fated Commander’s flight after siding with Gilead. Before he left, Nick was an expecting father with Rose Blaine (Carey Cox), and had been urging her husband to be more active against June after almost losing their child. As such, with her losing her husband and father, Rose may have the perfect motivations for vengeance against her husband’s former lover’s child in The Testaments.