‘The Testaments’ stars Chase Infiniti and Lucy Halliday on navigating adolescence within the sinister realities of Gilead

In The Testaments, we return to the world of Gilead on a slightly more upbeat note, though not without foreboding undertones. The choice of background music is intentional–songs like Dreams by The Cranberries, Dreaming by Blondie, and Far Away by Sharon Van Etten–foreshadow the dark realities of Gilead we have come to know through the six-season Handmaid’s Tale series.

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The story shifts focus to two younger main characters–Agnes MacKenzie and Daisy (played by Chase Infiniti and Lucy Halliday, respectively)–as we follow their day-to-day lives at the Rubies Premarital Preparatory, a prestigious, secluded boarding school for young women from elite Gilead families, trained to become future wives of Commanders.

While forbidden from reading or writing, the students–known primarily as Plums–are taught domestic skills like embroidery and gardening, with an emphasis on strict obedience and purity, until they “blossom” and become eligible to be paired for the season.

In this aspect, the series reads like any other young-adult drama set in a single-gender boarding school: from tensions between friends to the insecurities that come with climbing to the top; from the fears that grip adolescent hearts to the muted silence imposed when speaking out is discouraged–challenges familiar to girls navigating adolescence, even outside fiction.

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“That’s one of the reasons why it’s so exciting to bring [our characters] to life, because those themes resonate with so many people globally,” shares Halliday during the press interview with Tatler Malaysia. “Experiencing your period, your first crush–all these milestones are definitely relatable for both of us, and for a lot of the girls in the show.”

“The essence of adolescence is universal,” she continues. “They’re transcendent of where you’re from and the experience you’ve had growing up.”

Beyond the rituals and rigid expectations, what grounds both Agnes and Daisy are emotions that feel strikingly familiar to the actors: friendship, belonging, and the search for identity.

“Even though Agnes goes through so much, she still finds a way to see the light at the end of the tunnel, to push through and be an advocate for not only herself, but also her friends,” mentions Infiniti, reflecting on her own adolescence through her character.

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“That’s something I really took away: her love for her friends is truly beautiful and pure,” she adds. “Those are the people she loves most in the world, and she will do anything to protect them.”

“One of [Daisy’s] great struggles is having to assimilate into an environment very different from what she’s used to,” Halliday chips in. “That resonated with me because I know I’ve been in places where I didn’t feel like I fit in, or felt I had to change myself to befriend others around me.”

For a while, Gilead in The Testaments depicts a world that feels almost aspirational–a place where women are celebrated, even elevated to be worshipped and protected at all costs.

For example, the “first step” for the Plums into adulthood–upgraded to a Green with a lauded brooch on their uniform–is celebrated openly and ceremoniously, with the ringing of a bell and the taking of a pledge in front of the Aunts and their schoolmates, while the Pinks– the younger students–look on with reverence.

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But as The Testaments progresses, the lens widens, revealing a darker, far more sinister reality beyond this pocket world–not unlike the propaganda-fuelled communities Nazi Germany built to privilege the Aryan race while systematically oppressing those deemed ‘lesser.’

Viewers are also offered insight into Day Zero, as Ann Dowd returns to reprise her role as the venerable Aunt Lydia in the early days of the coup and Gilead’s subjugation of the city.

Women holed up in stadiums without knowing their fate, their personal belongings arranged neatly on trays; individuals smuggled off in the dead of night only to face public execution the next morning–these scenes echo historical events over a century old, as well as contemporary instances, such as the high-profile ICE raids under the Trump administration, which critics have argued reflect heavy-handed enforcement tactics.

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While both young actors admitted they might not fare well if suddenly thrust into Gilead, they also see unsettling parallels to the real world.

“It would be abhorrent to have to live in Gilead, but unfortunately, it’s very similar to a lot of places in the world today, and throughout history,” shares Halliday. “There’s already a lot of crossover between [our] society and Gilead, and a lot of people having experienced that.”

Following the three-episode premiere, viewers of The Testaments are in for a ride. For those who haven’t read the novel, much suspense and many secrets unfold as the season progresses–another reason why Atwood returned to Gilead: to address unsettled scores from the previous story.

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Even the actors, whose characters carry significant weight as the series progresses, were on edge with each script, presented episodically.

“We would get [the script for] episode four and finish it during lunch, already begging for [the script for] episode five!” Infiniti quips. “We were eager to see what happens next–not only because we love the story, but because we were genuinely curious.”

“It’s something that Bruce Miller, our show runner, said to me quite early on: in life, you don’t know what’s going to happen, and as you are presented with events in your life, you’re responding accordingly in the moment,” shares Halliday, in her first series role following her 2023 BAFTA Scotland win for her debut in Blue Jean.

“When you don’t know what’s coming, and you don’t have that same retrospect, it actually becomes quite exciting and liberating to not have to be as prescriptive or looking at things from such a whole level,” she says. “You’re just focusing on the scene in front of you, and I certainly enjoyed that.”

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While the series thrives on secrecy and slow reveals, both actors admit they would much rather have the full picture.

“I’m just nosy!” Halliday laughs. “I feel like I want to be as prepared all the time as I can be, and the more information that you have, the more prepared that you are.”

“I’m like that in life,” she continues. “It’s not always beneficial and it’s not always possible, but I definitely would pick to have the information rather than not.”

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“There’s a nice groundedness that you can feel as an artist to that,” concurs Infiniti, nominated earlier this year during the awards season for her breakout role in One Battle After Another.

“It’s also nice when you don’t know the full story and things still surprise you,” she concludes.

The Testaments premieres on April 8, available for streaming on Hulu via Disney+

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