The Handmaid’s Tale season five is finally here as we join June on the next step of her journey in a dystopian future. The story follows the former handmaid's attempts to rise up against her oppressors in the dystopian country of Gilead. However, there is a major difference between the show and the two novels - warning... spoilers ahead!
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In the show, baby Nicole is secretly smuggled out of Gilead and into Canada by June and Emily, where she is given to June’s husband Luke and her best friend Moira to care for. In the show, Nicole’s location is not a secret, and sparks rage among Gilead’s highest as they campaign fiercely to have her returned to their country.
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Serena Joy is also allowed to visit her adoptive daughter before her arrest in Canada, where she has a tense exchange with Luke about Nicole’s parentage at the airport. So how are the books different? Warning, spoilers ahead for The Testaments.
Warning, spoilers ahead!
In The Testaments, Nicole is a teenager living in Canada, and her true identity is kept a closely guarded secret that not even she knows. She lives with her adoptive parents and is taught about baby Nicole in school - but her shocking reality is discovered after her parents are murdered by Gilead operatives and she is placed into hiding by the secret organisation, Mayday, who reveal her true identity to her.
Since the novel takes place 15 years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale, we’re looking forward to seeing how the TV show handles its divergence from the original source material.
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Serena is initially allowed to have visitations with Nicole
We will be finding out, as it has been confirmed that a spin-off to The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments, is already in the works, and will see Aunt Lydia take centre stage as the main role.
According to the series showrunner Bruce Miller, the spin-off will be an “extension of the series”. He told TIME: “The Testaments really gives us much wider glimpses into other parts of the world. They can't keep Offred in Gilead for many more seasons, or a certain amount of wheel-spinning will be going on. They have to move her along.
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