One of the few The Handmaid’s Tale actor’s in The Testaments opens up about how their character has evolved on the new show

The Handmaid’s Tale sequel, The Testaments, is coming to Hulu on April 8, 2026. Created by Bruce Miller, based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, the upcoming show will follow Agnes MacKenzie and Daisy among other teen girls who are raised in a school led by Aunt Lydia to become perfect wives in the future, but will rebel soon once they realize something wrong is happening.

Aunt Lydia is one of the very few returning characters from The Handmaid’s Tale, and actress Ann Dowd is reprising her role in the sequel from its predecessor. Speaking to Deadline, Dowd opened up about how her character has evolved in the new show.

How Aunt Lydia has evolved from The Handmaid's Tale to The Testaments

While The Handmaid’s Tale ended with June finally breaking free from Gilead, she however could not reunite with her daughter Hannah, who was left behind in Gilead. Fifteen years later, Hannah is named Agnes, and is being raised with girls who are the daughters of the most respected leaders of Gilead. Her and the story of her friends is the one we will witness in The Testaments, and Aunt Lydia will be the one to discipline them into becoming the most obedient and submissive wives.

Aunt Lydia was an antagonist in The Handmaid's Tale, as she trained, disciplined, and punished Handmaids in Gilead. Towards the end of the show, viewers did see her aid the resistance against Gilead, but she chose to stay back and bring reform from within. Thus, she is now leading a school meant to train girls into perfect wives in The Testaments, but her character has evolved over the years. Speaking with Deadline, Ann Dowd spoke about how her character has evolved as she enters the world of The Testament, saying:

"It’s a whole different world. And she enters as a gentler self, that fierceness, that wall is no longer present. Now, it’s there somewhere in her, it doesn’t just disappear, but I think her focus on the school and what she wants the girls to learn about being a hostess, a wife, a mother, a homemaker, all these things. Note, no reading, writing, mind you, no mathematics, imagine that. And rules are rules, and they are enforced, you can be sure, and with God’s blessing."

Aunt Lydia has seen the reality of Gilead and it's leaders, and wants to protect the girls in the only way she knows. While Aunt Lydia still has her staunch religious views in The Testaments, teaching the girls how to behave, how to obey is the way she thinks she can protect them. This is similar to what she did in the past and will continue to do so in The Testaments. She is just not as harsh as she was to the Handmaids. Trying to explain her character, Dowd also added:

"She loved them deeply in The Handmaids Tale and thought that they had gone astray in their lives. They had no relationship with God. They were living with men they weren’t married to. These very strict things that Lydia believed in and realized, ‘If I want anything to change, I’m going to have to use force and scare them into it, or they’re not going to listen to a word I’m saying.’ She established that level of ferocity to keep them in line, I think. But loved them just the same, even though I’m sure people who have seen her in the beginning in The Handmaids Tale don’t think of her as loving the girls, but I hope they see it a little bit. I don’t know. Is that fair to ask?"

One might wonder why Dowd doesn't think of Aunt Lydia as inherently bad. Afterall, the woman has a lot of internal misogyny, and spends all her time trying to make women obey, serve, and be mere servants to the leaders of Gilead. However, Dowd clarified that she understands Aunt Lydia. From the beginning of The Handmaid's Tale to now the beginning of The Testaments, Dowd has learnt not to judge her because that is vital for an actor-character relationship to succeed. As Dowd said:

"There’s a reason why she’s doing what she’s doing. It’s something that she believes in. What does she believe in? What are you going to do and not judge? And that way, the relationship stays open between character and actor. And that’s a wonderful thing. I know it sounds like I’m making up nonsense, but she speaks to me. I speak to her. I’ve come to know her. She has come to know me, and I have found her to be tremendously helpful in certain ways in my life."

Thus, Aunt Lydia will be doing whatever she believes in and thinks is best for the girls, even if it seems wrong to the viewers. She has always been a complicated character, not easy to understand or decode. Based on Dowd's words it seems that Aunt Lydia will continue to be the complex woman she is, in The Testaments, but in a slightly different way.

The Testaments will premiere on Hulu on April 8, 2026 with the first three episodes. The remaining seven episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays until May 27, 2026.

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