The season of story of The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 will lead directly into this sequel.

The Handmaid’s Tale follows a protagonist named Offred who’s forced to bear children for wealthy couples in a dystopian society where women have been stripped of their rights and used almost exclusively for childbirth. It’s a powerfully feminist story that comments on gender inequality and female empowerment in very astute ways, even if the previous seasons have wandered a little too far from the book’s overall narrative. The Handmaid’s Tale will return this April for its final season, with a series of cliffhanger episodes that will reportedly set the stage for an exciting spinoff project.

The Handmaid's Tale Is Still Good, But Has Declined Over Time

The Show's First Season Was Easily Its Best

While it’s unfair to say that The Handmaid’s Tale isn’t good anymore, it’s certainly at a lower quality than it used to be. Most critics seem to be of the opinion that the show peaked in its first season; on Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of The Handmaid’s Tale has a 94% critics’ score, while the most recent episodes have dropped to 80%. The latest The Handsmade Tale season only has an audience score of 21%, proving how many audiences have fallen out of love with the show.

That being said, there are certainly still good things about the Hulu series. The Handmaid’s Tale still knows how to continually raise the stakes and introduce new characters to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, but these new storylines feel much less refined and groundbreaking than the first season. What made those early episodes so innovative was the rawness of the storytelling. Everything felt both incredibly real and jarringly dystopian, which created a very specific atmosphere. The show hasn’t quite captured that originality since then.

The Testaments' Source Material Means It Can Return The Series To Season 1's Level

Atwood's Novel Brings A New Angle To This Worn-Out Story

Another major problem with The Handmaid’s Tale’s latest seasons is that they’ve drifted too far from Margaret Atwood’s original novel, which provided all the storylines that worked so well in the first season. Thankfully, The Testaments can lean on Atwood’s writing in the same way, bringing her vivid storytelling to the screen. While this novel wasn’t quite as critically acclaimed as The Handmaid’s Tale, it’s still a good sign that the show’s writers won’t be in the dark anymore. Whether it reaches the same heights as The Handmaid’s Tale, the story of The Testaments will at least be familiar.