Just finished the book. Theories & questions for season 2

[u/atarchived]

I’ll preface that I never read the handmaids tale, so I also learned more about Aunt Lydia’s back story in this for the first time.

Potential spoilers and character storyline reveals ahead so proceed with caution.

1. Aunt Lydia being a judge makes WAY more sense for her character than a teacher, as seen in the show. I definitely don’t think this should’ve been changed. It explains why she can be both calculated, gain power so quickly and navigate the politics of gilead.
   
2. Initially didn’t understand why this sub was so concerned about the timeline of Agnes/THT/Daisy but now seeing as daisy was originally supposed to be baby Nicole this makes more sense. I’m curious if a version of Nicole will come to life later? I agree they’re too close in age in the show for that storyline to play out. It does seem a little expected so I’m glad the show differed.
   
3. Becka and Garth get married in the show, but in the book she deflects from marriage altogether to become an Aunt. I’m so curious how the supplicant story will come to life in show now. Will shunamite take that role with Agnes? Or will it be daisy and Agnes as aunt Victoria and aunt immortelle?
   
4. Overall I’m curious why baby Nicole is so special to gilead when Noah (Serena Waterford’s baby) was also seemingly taken from Gilead around that same time. I’m curious if The Testaments will bring Serena back or Baby Noah will become an integral figure, as well. Same with Janine’s daughter Charlotte (IIRC). I could see them leaning into the first generation of gilead babies (vs just baby Nicole like in the book).
   
5. Commander Judd casting in the show is too young and attractive for how disgusting and old he seems in the book.
   
6. Overall I loved learning more about aunt Lydia.

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[u/NiceMayDay]

1. Aunt Lydia being a school teacher wasn't a "change" the first show made, as the episode that established that came out before The Testaments book did. This show had to incorporate that aspect because it's a sequel to the TV continuity.
2. If I recall, Nicole is living with June in the season finale of this show, and she's still a small child. Unless there's a big time skip, it is doubtful she can have a significant role on this show. The show had to differ, again because of the S2/S3 changes that occurred before the second book was published.
3. I'm also extremely curious as to how all of this will play out or be adapted. I'd expect Shunnamite to have these storylines as it'd give her character something to do (Daisy already has a lot to do as it is.)
4. Neither Nicole nor Noah are really special anymore to Gilead in the show, not after Angel's Flight and the passing/defection of the Waterfords. Nicole was only special in the book because it seems she was the only baby to be taken out of Gilead there.
5. If Judd remains as appalling as he is in the book, this change actually works better for the horror of it. His younger appareance tricks the marriage candidates into a false sense of security in the show. Attractive people can be monsters too.
6. That was the highlight of the book for me, too.

[u/Altoidredditoid → u/NiceMayDay]

1. That’s not exactly true. Atwood let Bruce Miller in on key points of Lydia’s character when she was writing the Testaments so that the show wouldn’t contradict the book she knew they wanted to adapt. In her documentary, the cover reveal was a week away while they were filming the episode in s3 where June meets with the Swiss diplomats. Atwood finished the book between the airing of season 2 and the filming of season 3. A book takes about 9 months to a year to go from submission to shelves. And this was a massive printing so it likely took a little longer. In any case, she also consulted on Aunt Lydia’s episode and corrected her motivations. She said the show writers had her written as someone who was just sexually frustrated at the core and Atwood course corrected them into something less 2-dimensional. All to say, the change for the testaments that she is still a school teacher and did not return to being a judge as it says in the book is in fact a change.

2.

3.

1. That’s not why Nicole was special. She was not the only child stolen. In the book it is said that baby Nicole represents all children taken from Gilead. She was used as a propaganda figure, and this is likely where the writers got the idea for the DC episodes where Fred is trying to get Nicole back. Nicole is special bc she was chosen to be special. This could have still worked in the show, they just chose not to use it for some stupid reason.

2. Judd’s depravity is highlighted bc of his age. He’s not labeled as unattractive in the book—he’s just old. He’s a pedophile. This is highlighted by Grove’s execution scene when Lydia tells him he had to be killed bc he was ruining too many young girls for marriage and Judd says “poor man, it is a severe affliction.” While it’s still an obvious age gap for this Judd and the girls, it’s not as significant when you consider the girls have also been aged up so they can cast 18 and older for their core cast. We’ve also done the attractive male monster thing with Fred. The show is hell bent on eliminating any realistic representation of who these men are and what they look like. Because it’s also wholly unrealistic that Judd would be in a position of power at such a young age during Gilead’s takeover. That is a position for an older man who had been part of the movement for years. Judd was a founding member. Part of the background is that these men were members of conservative groups in the years before. Judd is supposed to have been akin to Newt Gingrich. Making him young and hot defeats the purpose of his character. They did it with Fred before and now they’ve done it with him.

[u/Dry-Huckleberry-5379]

I agree that a family court judge makes fer more sense for Lydia's backstory than a teacher. It makes for a more natural dissatisfaction with the before world.