Ann Dowd on Saying Goodbye to Aunt Lydia on Handmaid’s Tale & If She’ll Be Held Accountable (Exclusive)

While walking the red carpet at PaleyFest LA for a farewell salute to The Handmaid’s Tale, the 69-year-old actress opened up to TooFab exclusively about hanging up her cloak.

“Goodbye … goodbyes are very hard, aren’t they? You’re not just saying goodbye to a character that you’ve known for six years. You’re saying goodbye to cast members whom you’ve come to love so deeply,” she began.

“So, it’s a time for grieving, but an important time as well. I think the story has come to its rightful place, and the timing of it is right, and the writing of it is beautiful, and so it’s time,” she said of Season 6.

Dowd’s Aunt Lydia is savagely ferocious and feared by the handmaids, a stark contrast to Dowd herself, who referred to the character as a gift in her career.

“Can you imagine the privilege of knowing a character for six years and a character so beautifully written with such an extraordinary cast. Can you imagine the good fortune?” she told TooFab.

As for if Aunt Lydia will be held accountable for her actions towards the handmaids and her role in Gilead in the finale season … well, here’s what Dowd told us.

“I don’t know that I would put it that way,” she explained. “I think she has come to see her behavior and what she does with it. I can’t tell you, because that would spoil it, but I think the audience will gain a lot of information, and they will be satisfied for her story and where her arc goes.”

While Dowd may be saying goodbye to Aunt Lydia, we know author Margaret Atwood’s sequel — The Testaments — is nearing being a series pickup at Hulu. The sequel will take place 15 years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale, led by Aunt Lydia as viewers are thrust back into the dystopian future.

It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the role of Aunt Lydia — with TV Line reporting Dowd is expected to reprise her role — however, the actress played coy about the upcoming series.

“I don’t know anything about it. That’s the thing I’m waiting to hear. So you’ll know, when I know,” Dowd shared.

After working on the series for eight years, TooFab asked whether Dowd took any mementos home to remember her Emmy-Award winning role.

“No, not one thing,” Dowd said before adding, “I took memory and love, and I wanted to say goodbye, and I said goodbye.”

Watch the rest of TooFab‘s interview with Dowd above, as she reveals how she gets into the character of Aunt Lydia.

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 begins on Hulu on April 8, 2025, with the first three episodes premiering that day.