Be warned, spoilers for The Testaments ahead!
When The Handmaid’s Tale wrapped up last year, many of us feared we’d seen the last of June Osborne. Our plucky, albeit sometimes exasperating, protagonist had carried us through six harrowing seasons of Gilead’s horrors, surviving betrayal, loss, and unimaginable oppression along the way.
Even with the release of The Testaments, a sequel based on Margaret Atwood’s novel, fans were left wondering what would come next. Written more than twenty years after The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments book follows three women as they navigate the brutal, controlling world of Gilead. While the novel is set fifteen years after the events of the first book, the series adapts the story to occur just four years later, introducing subtle but significant timeline changes.
Blessed be the fruit, y'all!
So, is June featured in The Testaments novel, and can we expect Elisabeth Moss to reprise her iconic role in the new Disney+ series? Here’s everything you need to know before stepping back into Gilead.
Is June in The Testaments book?
June Osborne does not appear in The Testaments novel, but her legacy drives the entire story. While June herself is absent, her daughters take centre stage… yes, both of them.
In the book, Agnes is revealed to be Hannah, June’s daughter with Luke from before she became a Handmaid. Agnes was adopted by a Commander and his wife, and when her adoptive mother passed away, Paula became her stepmother, shaping her upbringing in Gilead.
Meanwhile, Daisy is actually Baby Nichole, June’s daughter with Nick. At the end of The Handmaid’s Tale, June smuggled Nichole out of Gilead, sparking a series of events that forced her to take a new identity. Tragically, her adoptive parents were later killed by Gilead loyalists. Daisy goes undercover as a Pearl — a convert brought into Gilead — to expose the regime’s abuses from within.
It looks like the series is already taking liberties with the book, including significant changes to Daisy’s story. But will the show also alter June’s absence, or will her legacy remain the driving force from the sidelines? Only time will tell.
Is June in The Testaments series?
Initially, there was no word on whether June would appear in The Testaments. Elisabeth Moss was signed on as an executive producer and publicly praised the new cast members, but she didn’t hint at returning to the screen. It seemed unlikely, a secret that big would have surely leaked, right?
Well, fans were in for a shock when episode three revealed June’s return. She is first seen as an observer, quietly watching Daisy interact with her parents in their vintage store in Toronto. June reemerges after Daisy’s parents are tragically murdered, revealing to the teenager that her parents were secretly involved with Mayday, the resistance group working to dismantle Gilead.
The news completely upends Daisy’s world. Having grown up in relative normalcy, she suddenly learns she was born in Gilead and smuggled out into the care of her parents, who were then killed for their involvement with the rebel group. June guides Daisy into understanding her own past and helps her step into Gilead herself to fight back.
“I think in some ways, June is such an anchor for the character of Agnes that I don’t think you could have the story without June, even if there was no Handmaid’s Tale,” explained showrunner Bruce Miller. “Elisabeth Moss has been our creative partner since the very, very beginning, and in every way. So I think that having her as an executive producer, you feel the presence of June all the time. Fortunately, we were able to move our schedules around and do everything that we could to get her into the show a little,” Miller added.
We can’t wait to see more of June in The Testaments and watch her continue to shape the resistance against Gilead!
The Testaments is now streaming on Disney+.
