We’re going back to Gilead, and I don’t know if we should be excited or terrified. The Handmaid’s Tale has been renewed for a second season, and Offred is back and more bad-ass than ever. (This page contains some spoilers from Season 1).
The Handmaid’s Tale, which picked up two Emmy Awards in September, and two Golden Globes just recently, has been a massive hit, and fans can’t wait to see what’s in store for the handmaids next. Season 2 will consist of 13 episodes, 3 more than the first season. The plot will focus on Offred’s pregnancy, a deviation from the original novel that was unveiled at the end of season 1. All the favourites from season 1 will be returning, including Moria (Samira Wiley), Janine (Madeline Brewer), and Ofglen (Alexis Bledel).
There will also be some newcomers this season, including Clea DuVall (Argo, Veep) as Ofglen’s wife Sylvia, and guest-star Marisa Tomei, whose character hasn’t been revealed. The series will also be venturing into new territory, exploring the colonies – the barren, polluted wastelands where infertile women and criminals are sent to clean up toxic waste (considered a fate worse than death). We may also be seeing some of Aunt Lydia’s backstory, with showrunner Bruce Miller claiming Aunt Lydia is “…one of my most fascinating characters.” Miller has also confirmed Offred’s mother, a prominent character in Atwood’s novel who is overlooked in the first season, will be a part of season 2, with particular emphasis on her brand of feminism.
Despite the first season finishing up at the end of the original novel’s plot, fans have been assured that season 2 won’t be anything “post-Atwood”.
“We saved a lot of things from season one that we weren’t able to cover,” said Miller, “It’s just an expansion of the world. We’re certainly not beyond the story that [Margaret Atwood] was telling. She’s still the mother of this series.”
And just in case anyone was hoping things might be looking up for the handmaids, Elisabeth Moss, who plays the series’ protagonist Offred, has stated that season 2 will be “…a dark season – it’s arguably darker than Season 1, if that’s possible.”
The first two episodes of Season 2 of The Handmaid’s Tale will drop on Hulu on April 25. You can watch the first trailer below:
