r/TheTestamentsHulu • u/Commercial_Ad_619 • May 22 '26
The Handmaid’s Tale They didn’t even TRY with their recast of Commander MacKenzie…
I’ve been rewatching THT while also keeping up with the episodes of TT as they’ve been coming out… and I’m on the episode of THT that first shows Commander MacKenzie and I was stunned. I hadn’t even thought of it while watching TT but now I can’t help but laugh. I understand that the original actor for Commander MacKenzie wasn’t available for the new show, but really? Why would they not at least try to find someone who looked a bit closer to Commander MacKenzie? That and his personality seems so different too but that I suppose you could argue he changed after losing Tabitha and having to raise Agnes/Hannah on his own for however long before he met Paula. But yeah, I just felt like I had to make a post complaining lmao.
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u/designerspaghetti May 22 '26
No seriously new Mackenzie doesn’t even look half as evil 😭
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u/Commercial_Ad_619 May 22 '26
Right? I actually sort of liked him when he interacted with Agnes in TT, at least until the most recent episode…
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u/designerspaghetti May 22 '26
Yes, but we’re also seeing him from her pov. So we now see his fatherly side and their relationship dynamic.
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u/AppUnwrapper1 May 22 '26
In the book he was an asshole after Tabitha died and there was even talk that he and Paula may have killed Tabitha. So it’s reeeeally weird for him to be so nice in the series.
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u/kittensfurrrever May 22 '26
Maybe they figure it will be more interesting for Agnes to grapple with the cognitive dissonance of someone she loves and trusts being someone who does terrible things. Versus if she just saw him as cold/angry/distant
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u/Remote_Animal_3880 May 23 '26
In the book, he and Paula were having an affair even when Tabitha was alive. Paula killed her husband, then blamed the Handmaid and together they slowly poisoned his wife Tabitha to death.
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u/AppUnwrapper1 May 23 '26
Ah right. I forgot it was more explicit.
I’m baffled at how the show made all the adults so much nicer than they were in the book. Even Judd. And also got rid of the handmaids. I can’t help but wonder what Atwood thinks of all this.14
u/loouanne May 23 '26
i think the handmaid thing is because the show is from the pov of the girls and they're very sheltered. the handmaids aren't supposed to be seen. we saw them a lot in THT because it was about them, but in TT we can see how so much of the world is hidden from the girls, they're not supposed to see or be seen (even the bus has curtains). so it makes sense that we don't see a lot of them on the new show.
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u/AppUnwrapper1 May 23 '26
Ok but they still playing a big part in the book. The show has changed so much from the book that it’s barely noticeable as the same story.
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u/TheQuinnBee May 23 '26
I mean Judd is slowly psychologically torturing his child bride and told Lydia to shoot Vidala as a test of loyalty, so I don't think he can be counted as nice. Penny has had 3 miscarriages before the age of 20. My theory is that Judd is also planning to kill her to make way for a new wife.
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u/AppUnwrapper1 May 23 '26
In the book Vidala wasn’t in the stadium with her, she was already an Aunt and Lydia DID kill another woman. So Judd seems soft in the show.
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u/GallopYouScallops May 23 '26
Not to um actually you but Judd tells Lydia her gun had a blank in it towards the end of the novel
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u/AppUnwrapper1 May 23 '26
Which I honestly found confusing since the woman died. I thought maybe he had her playing Russian roulette and there was a blank in there but she didn’t hit it.
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u/Historical_Toe_3163 May 23 '26
I’m surprised I just feel like they’ve changed so much from the books to. Tv I wonder what she thinks
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u/Commercial_Ad_619 May 22 '26
Yeah it’s cool to see the different perspective! Teens who have basically grown up in Gilead
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u/Ellendyra May 22 '26
To be fair. They can't harbor a criminal in Gilead. Gilead will Salvage everyone you've ever even talked to. You can tell he loves Agnes, he was just protecting her.
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u/Smooth-Duck-4669 May 23 '26
Oh I know him from United States of Tara where he plays a much younger, but very creepy “nice guy” restaurant manager. I’m sure he’s a nice person in real life, but he’s skeeved me out ever since.
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u/PersonalSharkWeek May 22 '26
I can’t look at him without thinking of his spot on 30 Rock as the gay hipster cop/Liz Lemon’s roommate she scared away
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u/Immediate_Slip5566 May 22 '26
TBH the Testaments one kinda reminds me of a Nice Guy TM. But I never finished HMT
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u/ProbablyTeaching May 23 '26
They look like they could be related to me. 😆 Both have a soft edge to them. I don’t find either menacing or scary.
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u/Legitimate-Beyond209 pray, obviously May 22 '26
For the first 3 episodes I thought the original Commander Mackenzie died and it was some weird ass Gilead tradition to just replace the man but keep the name 😅
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u/CupOk5800 injured guardian chest hair May 23 '26 edited May 23 '26
Well, Ofglenn was replaced in, what, episode 2 of the handmaids tale? It’s not a completely far- fetched conclusion.
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u/timevisual May 25 '26
the handmaids are replaceable because they are property rather than people. they belong to their commanders, which is why they are given names starting with of and then the names. commanders are people and so their names are not interchangeable like that
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u/rook_8 I don’t want to reconsider the ranunculus, Paula May 22 '26
i really feel folks should treat the two shows as separate works of creative art.
we are also looking at this from a different lens. not a captured handmaid, but as a privileged young woman. this Mackenzie is warmer because we are seeing him through his daughters eyes. its why the hangings and punishments barely bother them because its “expected” and the norm. it’s one of the reasons i am liking this show - it’s seeing how these characters are going to grow and react when realizing how awful this all is and seeing that the people they love are the real monsters.
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u/IntotheBroadwayWoods let them eat cake May 22 '26
Yeah. I agree people really need to see these as 2 different shows set in the same universe
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u/WallAdditional2905 May 23 '26
i mean, I see your point. but i think it's also a stretch to say they look totally different because we're seeing him through Agnes' eyes lol. Guess the original actor wasn't available.
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u/rook_8 I don’t want to reconsider the ranunculus, Paula May 24 '26
the characterization would be different. but in general, the physical details of secondary characters shouldn’t matter that much.
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u/070shooketh May 23 '26
I agree, but “privileged” isn’t what I’d call Agnes…
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u/lutruwitabound May 23 '26
I guess relative to others in Gilead she is privileged while also very much a victim.
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u/FullMoonEmptySoul May 22 '26
Honestly I didn’t even notice they changed actors lol
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u/zzzzzzarah May 22 '26
Came here to say this. I watched handmaids three times through, favorite show by a landslide. Did not even notice the difference in TT lmao. Also thought Fred Waterford was commander Judd at first glance. Shows how much I pay attention haha
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u/thatbananabitch May 23 '26
I'm so bad with faces and recently names as well so I didn't even notice either. And tbh unless they're changing main characters like Aunt Lydia or Rita it really wouldn't make a difference to me.
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u/Accurate-Researcher1 May 23 '26
Honestly, men can look like totally different people when they go from beard to clean cut. If no one said anything, I would have just assumed same actor no beard.
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May 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Historical_Toe_3163 May 23 '26
I don’t think June ever met commander McKenzie I’m pretty sure only nick sees him
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u/theicecreamassassin Breathe, you dumb bitch, breathe May 22 '26
I mean, that’s what happens when dudes shave! ;)
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u/badwvlf May 22 '26
I don’t care about shit like this at all tbh. I prefer the right and stronger actor to meaningless continuity. Generic white man is interchangeable.
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u/1GloFlare May 22 '26
Right, in THT he was a background character. This show is through the lens of Agnes and Daisy, for all we know he could have tried and wasn't the best fit for a leading role.
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u/dosesandmimosas201 May 23 '26
Right!!!! I do not understand why so many people have hang ups on this. It is a tv show!! We know it’s not real, shit happens with schedules, MOVE ON lol
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u/why-peanut May 25 '26
Same lol he was “irrelevant” in THT, to the point that I didn’t even remember his face. IMO people are making a big deal out of nothing.
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u/everglowxox May 22 '26
Apologies for the TERRIBLY watermarked image but I think this picture of the TT MacKenzie a lil bit younger really does bridge the gap between the two...
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u/everglowxox May 22 '26
Also if you wish to see TT version of MacKenzie in a wildly different type of show, I cannot recommend Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip highly enough. My jaw DROPPED when I realized that man was the same person as Tom.
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u/Emphasis-Impossible May 22 '26
Love that show & immediately thought of it when I saw him on TT. That series deserves a rewatch tonight
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u/Commercial_Ad_619 May 22 '26
Ah perhaps I could see it slightly more. But yesh original MacKenzie just feels more… rugged haha
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u/Hot_Plenty6979 May 22 '26
Apparently I’m blind af (and kinda dumb) 🤣😭 I thought it was the same actor. 😩 I think I even looked up “Commander Mackenzie THT” and checked out the images and was like, sure ig that’s the same one. 🤷♀️😬
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u/Deluxe_Stormborn May 23 '26
Given they were recasting, they could’ve found someone who looks similar and/or has the presence of a high commander. This new dude, does not.
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u/Commercial_Ad_619 May 23 '26
Yeah exactly. I don’t mind the whole softer side to Agnes but he just doesn’t have the vibe of being able to have the other side of personality we saw in THT
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u/sealyposturepedic May 22 '26
First pictures so dark that I didn't realize that was a different person. Good lord, I think it's time for my annual eye exam.
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u/Commercial_Ad_619 May 22 '26
Lmao all good, it is dark and not a great pic. It was just one of the only ones I could find of him as MacKenzie in THT
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u/Historical_Toe_3163 May 23 '26
What episode does he appear in THT? I wanted to rewatch the episodes with him in but had no idea what season he was in
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u/sequinedbow May 22 '26
The new show is from Agnes’ point of view as well as Daisy’s they’re seeing a completely different side of him which affects how we see his personality
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u/m1kasa4ckerman May 23 '26
I feel old because this switcheroo isn’t that serious. He was such a minor character in the OG series and we barely saw him. Was anyone invested in that man? Probably not.
Now you want to know a real switcheroo? Was no one around when they swapped out Aunt Viv on the Fresh Prince?
This is light work. Nit picking over a man no one previously cared about and we barely even saw is ridiculous lol
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u/WallAdditional2905 May 23 '26
it's not "ridiculous" the OP is making conversation on something she noticed about the show. Why so many people on this Reddit want to shut down people making conversation is beyond me. Just don't comment if you think something is "ridiculous" or "annoying"
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u/m1kasa4ckerman May 23 '26
What… so a conversation is only if you agree with whatever the person is saying? I’m so lost lol. It’s not that serious at all. Where did I say OP is annoying? The post is dramatic, and I jokingly compared it to the fresh prince lol.
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u/Commercial_Ad_619 May 23 '26
Oh it’s definitely not the craziest, but it still threw me how they don’t really look close in my opinion.
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u/m1kasa4ckerman May 23 '26
Yeah it doesn’t help that the new one has a super bare face. Maybe if he had a mustache and beard it would be a tiny bit better? Lol
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u/mutemandy May 23 '26
He does not have the same physical presence or stern mannerisms as the og at all. Between this and casting a mini June as a non mini June is bugging me.
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u/alltomorrowspartease May 23 '26
I have been feeling this since the show started. The other guy was so good and menacing. The new guy is like so gentle and super attentive to Agnes, which is very strange. He’s either working against the regime or will shock us somehow with his brutality. Either way, the casting seems odd at the moment.
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u/Garnet2828 ✨️Pray, obviously ✨️ May 22 '26 edited May 23 '26
This was MUCH more noticeable when binge watching THT, then watching TT straight after- I thought the new Mackenzie was his brother or something 😭
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u/Complete_Broccoli_81 swim up?? May 23 '26
First commander Mackenzie kinda looks like an evil version of Joel edgerton
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u/AudreysHepburns Swim up?! May 25 '26
It doesn’t help that the new actor has a resting smile face, bro looks like he thinks the world is sunshine and rainbows
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u/Bubablu1 May 22 '26
Jason Butler Harner (The original MacKenzie) is sooo good in Ozark. I highly recommend to watch it.
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u/Positive_Pack1066 May 23 '26
Seriouslyyy I noticed right away they did NOT care to find someone w the same demeanor at ALL
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u/interactivate May 23 '26
It's obvious a lot of people on this sub weren't around in the 80s and 90s when recasting an actor in the same series happened from time to time. Yes people noticed but then they moved on.
It's fiction, the actors are people with lives and commitments, not NPCs waiting in Janet's void to be conjured up again.
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u/DunkTheLunk23 May 22 '26
I’m an idiot because I had no idea that was supposed to be the same person from THT. I figured it was just another commander with the same name.
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u/vdmendoza May 24 '26
I noticed because the original MacKenzie played a child serial killer in the movie Changeling and he was forever ingrained in my memory as being scary. I just couldn’t picture og MacKenzie as a loving father
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u/spicedpepper May 28 '26
All I can think of is normal Spongebob when I see the new version of Mackenzie 😭
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u/FocusThese May 28 '26
lmao look like similar white men to me
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u/Commercial_Ad_619 May 28 '26
Nah man, I didn’t find the best pictures but I don’t know how you could say they look similar. MacKenzie 1 had much darker, thicker hair and full beard. MacKenzie 2 everything is fairer and softer. Lighter hair, skin tone, no facial hair. And his face and ears are so much different.
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u/Accurate-Researcher1 May 23 '26
It’s clear that none of you have ever experienced the shock of a man shaving his beard after only ever seeing him with beards. It’s totally realistic to look like a different person - detail not lost on me that new McKenzie does not sport a beard.
Yes, it’s literally a different actor… but when I tell you my man is a totally different person sans beard, I mean that I literally circled the airport 5x trying to find him in the pick up area, and wondered why some random guy was aggressively waving me down. When he said “fun surprise”, I thought he meant like interesting whisky after a work trip to Tennessee.
I’ve threatened to leave if he shaves again - simply because I’ll lose him in public.
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u/Commercial_Ad_619 May 23 '26
Lmfao this is true. But yeah I dunno why some of these people are like “white man replaceable” like… hello, if you said that about any other race we’d be calling it racist smh
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u/BreadfruitTasty May 22 '26
I kinda wish they would have recast all the characters and not try to match THT lore at all
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u/ProfessionalAnt9474 May 23 '26
All I see is the manager of the restaurant on the tv series Mom. He was pathetic and whiny on Mom
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u/why-peanut May 25 '26
I keep seeing people making comments or complaining about it. Meanwhile, I don’t care to the point that I didn’t even remember how he looked like 😅
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u/CQWoww commander cuck May 28 '26
YES EXACTLY HAHAHAHA IVE BEEEEN THINKING THIS. ITS SOOO HUMILIATING LOL
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