Chilling scene from The Handmaid’s Tale spinoff sparks eerie reaction online

Warning: this article contains spoilers for The Testaments

The long-awaited sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, called The Testaments, has finally hit screens - and everyone is saying the same thing.

For those who are unfamiliar, the original TV show follows a woman called June (Elisabeth Moss) who is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship.

It's no secret that viewers have long had fears that America could turn into this terrifying fictional world in real life, where women are stripped of all of their rights, especially following the 2022 Supreme Court reversal of Roe v. Wade, meaning the legality of abortion is determined by individual states.

Based on the bestselling dystopian book by Margaret Atwood, The Testaments picks up where The Handmaid's Tale left off, as a new generation of young women in Gilead grapple with the bleak future that awaits them.

It kicked off with a three-episode debut on Wednesday (8 April) with seven more instalments on the way.

And one scene in particular from the new Hulu and Disney+ spin-off has resonated with viewers, who said it gave them 'chills of reality'.

Like The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments is based on a best-selling book by Margaret Atwood (Hulu)

The scene in question, shared widely on TikTok, sees narrator Daisy (Lucy Halluday) give a monologue about how Gilead came to be.

In a voiceover, she said: "Back in Toronto, we'd studied Gilead in school. Our teacher said that even though it seemed like Gilead happened overnight, there were signs of what was coming.

"Candidates running for office had said things openly about women, about gays, but they still were elected.

"People thought they were speaking in hyperbole. Now women can't have jobs, or phones, or read books. And gay people? Well, you know what happened to them."

Later, text flashes up on the screen, which reads: "This story takes place in Gilead, a totalitarian regime that controlled most of the United States for a time. Plummeting worldwide birth rates caused panic, setting the stage for Gilead's violent uprising.

"Despite a small but dedicated resistance movement, Gilead maintained a strong grip on its population - especially the women. Ruled by a rigid faith, women were stripped of all property and rights.

"Even the most privileged young women, the daughters of powerful Commanders, were subject to the violence of the state. These women would change history."

For some people in the US, the scene hit a little close to home.

One social media user wrote: "I had to pause it during the bee scene because I needed a minute to process. So proud of the awareness this show brings to the current state of things."

While a second added, "I hella felt this part. It gave me chills of reality and us just not doing anything."

And a third and fourth agreed: "YUUUUUP this came out at the perfect time tbh" and "This reminds me of something".

"Sounds very familiar," mused a fifth,' while a sixth chmed in with: "WAKE UP AMERICA!!! It’s happening now!"

Meanwhile, someone else declared, "This was FOR SURE done on purpose."

And another viewer wrote: "I showed my husband this show and he’s like that sounds a lot like ….. and I was like YUP!!!"