Bruce Miller Shares Exciting Details About the Upcoming Aunt Lydia Origin Story; Ann Dowd Opens Up About Her Feelings on the Statue
Midseason Update on The Testaments: A New Chapter in Gilead’s Story
The Testaments, the eagerly anticipated spinoff of The Handmaid’s Tale, is currently navigating the midpoint of its inaugural season. Based on Margaret Atwood’s acclaimed novel, the series follows Agnes, played by Chase Infiniti, the daughter of a Captain as she grows up in Gilead. The show features familiar faces for fans, including Elisabeth Moss reprising her role as June Osborne, the original resistance leader. Ann Dowd returns as Aunt Lydia, a central figure who introduces Agnes to Daisy, portrayed by Lucy Halliday, a Canadian plant who helps Agnes confront the harsh realities of indoctrination and oppression.
During the production, Ann Dowd experienced a unique moment when her likeness was immortalized as a statue at Aunt Lydia’s School, the prep school attended by Agnes and Daisy. Reflecting on the experience, Dowd remarked, “When we were preparing they were taking a lot of pictures, very close pictures, lots of them. I thought why are they wasting their time? It’s not going to look like me; it’s a big stone statue. Well, doesn’t it? When I saw it, I was like uh! And the little hump in the back?? Thank you very much,” she humorously noted.
The camaraderie among the cast was evident as Dowd’s playful sarcasm drew laughter from her co-stars Infiniti and Halliday during a recent panel discussion. Infiniti spoke to the relationship dynamics in the series, stating, “That core element of girlhood and of friendship, you have that special bond and really do feel like sisters, even though you may not be related by blood that’s your chosen family, and I think that’s one of my favorite things about the show.” Halliday added, “There’s a lot of friction there at the start definitely between Agnes and Daisy, that was really fun to get to play. I think especially when you like someone in reality getting to pretend you despise them is so much fun! You can really go for it because you know they’re not going to get offended.”
Halliday also shared her challenges in adjusting to the production environment, describing her initial days on set as “a baptism of fire.” She recalled, “Both Chase and I felt a responsibility stepping into this world, to have your first week just be you and Elisabeth Moss was like ok, I’m either going to make it or break it! But once we got to the end of the week it was suddenly, ok I think I can do this maybe. Because I had gotten to share it with her.”
New episodes of The Testaments premiere every Wednesday on Hulu.
