Spoilers ahead for The Testaments.
The Testaments has started streaming on Disney+, and we couldn’t be more excited. It’s been a full year since The Handmaid’s Tale wrapped up, taking us far beyond the events of Margaret Atwood’s original novel, and we’re equal parts eager and nervous to reenter Gilead alongside our protagonists. Fans of the series are already buzzing about what’s to come, and anticipation is at an all-time high.
There are some new (and familiar) faces in Gilead.
Atwood first released The Handmaid’s Tale in 1985, yet the sequel didn’t arrive until 2019 — two years after the TV adaptation began. Terrifyingly, the story remains just as chillingly relevant today, if not more so. The acclaimed author has also noted that Ann Dowd’s portrayal of Aunt Lydia in the first series helped inspire her character’s development in the second book.
Despite the many overlaps between page and screen, changes were necessary for The Testaments adaptation, including one significant alteration to the character of Daisy.
Who is Daisy in The Testaments?
Played by the talented Lucy Halliday, Daisy is the third narrator of The Testaments, alongside Agnes (Chase Infiniti) and Aunt Lydia. On screen, she appears earlier than in the book, as we’re introduced to her at the same time as Agnes, rather than following her initial attempts to infiltrate Gilead. She is a Pearl, a young woman brought into Gilead under the guise of a better life, supposedly converted for her own protection and opportunity.
Her on-screen counterpart closely mirrors the book version at first. Both versions of Daisy grew up in Toronto until her parents were killed because they were secretly working with Mayday against Gilead. In both the novel and the series, Daisy later infiltrates Gilead as a spy, helping Mayday bring the oppressive regime down and seek justice for her parents’ deaths.
How does Daisy differ between The Testaments series and book?
The biggest change involves the age difference between Daisy and Agnes, which significantly affects the story’s dynamics. In the book, Agnes is ten years older than Daisy and works as an Aunt named Victoria, while Daisy remains younger. In the series, however, Agnes and Daisy are presented as roughly the same age.
Why does this matter? In Atwood’s novel, Daisy is revealed to be Baby Nichole, June’s daughter smuggled out of Gilead at the end of The Handmaid’s Tale. She becomes a symbol of hope, the only child safely removed from Gilead, and hides in Canada under a new identity. Agnes, meanwhile, is actually Hannah — June and Luke’s daughter from before Gilead, kidnapped and adopted by a Commander and his wife.
In the show, Daisy cannot be Baby Nichole because she would need to be several years younger than her half-sister. Hannah was about six when kidnapped, and Nichole was born roughly a year later, creating a seven-year age gap. By presenting Daisy and Agnes as equals, the series shifts their relationship from sisters to potential friends and collaborators, fundamentally changing the story’s emotional core.
While the book starts 15 years after the main events depicted within Atwood's first Handmaid's book, this show only jumps four years ahead following the final season of The Handmaid's Tale. This also explains the age differences, as the show creators must have prioritised the Agnes reveal over Daisy.
Additionally, at the end of episode three, it’s revealed that June (Elizabeth Moss) is in contact with Daisy throughout her mission. It seems highly unlikely she would knowingly send her own daughter into Gilead, further confirming this departure from the source material.
She sat down with Glamour to talk the chilling parallels of the series' dystopian story with real-life attacks on women's bodies.
This adjustment changes the central narrative, which in the book focused on the sisters and Agnes’ ignorance of her true family connection. Now, the story has more room to explore new dynamics, and we’re curious to see where it takes these characters instead.
It also proves the show creators aren't afraid to go off-script, meaning anything can happen from this point onwards.
Watch The Testaments on Disney+.
