Handmaid’s Tale sequel reframes power by focusing on the enforcers

Monica Hesse argues that The Testaments, Hulu’s Handmaid’s Tale sequel, widens the scope by shifting to the enforcers—the Aunt Lydia who becomes regime architect, Agnes's journey from a Gilead plum to potential leader, and Daisy’s encounters with the Pearl Girls—probing how ordinary people are drawn into authoritarian power, and while it risks echoing the original’s missteps, it offers a sharper look at the narratives people tell to justify oppression.