A Handmaid's Tale Casualty Breaks Down the ‘Slightly Telepathic' Moment Right Before [Spoiler]'s Death
The Handmaid's Tale
One of the most enigmatic — and frustrating — characters in The Handmaid's Tale met his end in this week's episode.
More from TVLine
Save the Dates: Sterling K. Brown's Washington Black Premiere, New Dora Movie and More
The Handmaid's Tale Kills Three Major Characters in Last Episode Before Series Finale - Read Recap
The Bear Season 4 Trailer Reveals Fallout After Carmy and Syd Receive Damning Restaurant Review
Nick Blaine was killed when his plane blew up, courtesy of a bomb that High Commander Lawrence placed in order to kill a bunch of Gilead leaders. A shocked June watched as the explosion, which also ended the lives of Lawrence and High Commander Wharton, lit up the skies over Boston. (Read a full episode recap here.)
Nick, played by Max Minghella, started the series as the Waterfords' driver but ascended to commander over the course of six seasons. His relationship with Elisabeth Moss' June was a complicated matter that involved fathering one of her children, assisting her efforts to escape from/bring down Gilead and then betraying her at a crucial point in the rebellion. When I spoke with Minghella about that relationship-ending duplicity earlier this season, we also discussed Nick's final moments. And now that his alter ego has been killed on-screen, I'm able to share. Read on for Minghella's thoughts on his last scenes in the series, which will come to its conclusion next week.
TVLINE | In Episode 9, Nick is getting on the plane, and he pauses, but he does not see June hiding in the hangar. Did you guys shoot a version where they make eye contact?MAX MINGHELLA | No, we we didn't. But it's definitely supposed to be a moment of, like sort of a slightly telepathic moment. There's a word — I'm not smart enough to know what the word is. [Laughs] But human beings can actually sense when they're being watched, like we actually do sort of have eyes in the back of our heads. So I think that's all it is. It's a sense, a presence. I thought it was a really interesting idea from Lizzie (Moss, who directed the episode) to do that.
TVLINE | When did you know that Nick wasn't going to make it out of the series alive?Well, you know what? Normally on The Handmaid's Tale, I don't have any idea what's going to happen episode to episode. I've always been quite happy to be blind to it and go with the flow. This year, I happened to work on a project with Lizzie in between seasons. [Editor's note: The project was Shell, a comedic horror film that Minghella directed and in which Moss starred.] So we were together a lot, and just from hanging out, I ended up hearing a lot of it. So this year, I did sort of know quite a lot of the arc of the character. But it was just circumstantial — it wasn't for any other reason.
TVLINE | No spoilers here, but before the series ends, a character tells June that Nick would've chosen her if he ever had a choice. I'm interested in what you think of that.His relationship to June is the only sunshine in his life, and it's his motive for everything. And so, I think that's absolutely right.
Got thoughts on Nick's death? Hit the comments!
Best of TVLine
Yellowjackets' Tawny Cypress Talks Episode 4's Tai/Van Reunion: 'We're All Worried About Taissa'
Vampire Diaries Turns 10: How Real-Life Plot Twists Shaped Everything From the Love Triangle to the Final Death
Vampire Diaries' Biggest Twists Revisited (and Explained)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
What ‘The Handmaid's Tale' star Elisabeth Moss ‘stressed about' for a year and a half while filming the final season
Fresh off the series finale, The Handmaid's Tale cast and creatives gathered Wednesday at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles to reflect on the Emmy-winning show's full-circle moments — and to reveal a surprise guest. Calling the final scenes of the six-season series 'a very meta experience to film,' star, director, and executive producer Elisabeth Moss described the moment her character, June Osborne, walks through the ruins of the Waterfords' home and reflects on her past as a handmaid, known as Offred, in the Boston household. More from GoldDerby The nontraditional methods 'Deli Boys' casting director used to find an 'authentic' ensemble Guest acting Emmy odds: See how Kaitlyn Dever, Jeffrey Wright, Martin Scorsese, Bryan Cranston, and other hopefuls stack up TV directors roundtable: 'American Primeval,' 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,' 'Paradise' 'It was a really beautiful experience, because we had a closed set just to keep it really nice and calm,' said Moss, who directed four episodes this season, including the finale, during the FYC event. 'Every single member of this crew took it upon themselves that this was going to be the best scene they had ever done, and everything had to be perfect.' Based on the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale imagines an alternate America overtaken by Gilead, a theocratic totalitarian regime where women are forced into reproductive servitude. The dystopian series premiered on Hulu in 2017, as a new political administration took power in the United States — coincidentally led by the same official who entered office as Season 6 debuted earlier this year. 'When I read [creator] Bruce Miller's words, I felt that it was such a powerful message of rebellion, of fighting — a very feminist story,' said executive producer Warren Littlefield during the panel. 'This was developed in the Obama years. We could see the far right on the horizon throughout the world. But we loved the message, echoed so much in this final season: Don't give up the fight.' In the finale, Boston is liberated from Gilead's control by American forces. June, now a free woman, walks the city and reconnects with a familiar face — Emily Malek, the first resistance fighter she encountered in the series, played by Alexis Bledel. Bledel joined the panel onstage as a surprise guest and reflected on what it meant to reunite the two characters. 'The fact that the finale brings us full circle and has June and Emily walking together in freedom felt so meaningful and seemed to inform so much about each of their journeys, as well as the way they were intertwined from the beginning,' Bledel said. 'Being back on set in the context of freedom felt very different. I almost expected to have the bonnet on again.' Moss admitted she had heard early on that Emily's character might return for the finale — but making it happen was the challenge. 'Our first official day one was with Alexis. And she's why June became who she is,' Moss said. 'Once I heard that, I was just basically stressed about it for the next year and a half — whether or not we were actually going to be able to get her to come back and then keep it a secret for so long.' The two-part panel also featured co-showrunners Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang, as well as cast members Yvonne Strahovski, Ann Dowd, O-T Fagbenle, Madeline Brewer, Amanda Brugel, Sam Jaeger, Ever Carradine, and Josh Charles, who shared pivotal turning points for their characters. Strahovski said getting Serena to a point of apology by the series' end had everything to do with June. 'I think so much of her journey has to do with June's belief in Serena — that she can ultimately change — and that never wavered,' Strahovski said. 'That's what allows her to evolve. If she didn't have someone in her life forcing her to see what she has done, I don't think she would have gotten there.' While The Handmaid's Tale is concluding, the story will continue in The Testaments, a sequel that will center on Dowd's character, Aunt Lydia. Littlefield gave a preview of the upcoming Hulu series, which Moss is also executive producing. It's based on Atwood's 2019 novel of the same name. 'Four years after the end of Handmaid's Tale, and we're in a world that is Virginia, Maryland,' Littlefield said. 'We're away from the Boston area, and this is from the point of view of the young women coming of age in Lydia's school.' He continued, 'These young women have never known a world other than Gilead, and that world is bright and beautiful and seductive — and yet it's still Gilead. And so that's the realization. Lydia has started the school to try and reform from within, rather than blow up Gilead.' Moss herself has grown significantly since the show's first season, a transformation she credits to Miller and Littlefield. 'They were the original executive producers that I worked with the most, and they recognized that the female voice was really necessary in that position to the show, and they gave me a seat at the table when they honestly didn't have to,' Moss said. 'I'll always be forever grateful to the both of them for that.' Best of GoldDerby TV directors roundtable: 'American Primeval,' 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,' 'Paradise' 'Paradise' directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra on the 'chaos' of crafting 'the world coming to an end' 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' director Charlotte Brändström on Gandalf's 'big reveal' and which scene required 'the most prep' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Alexis Bledel withdraws from Emmy consideration for ‘The Handmaid's Tale' due to rule change
The new Emmy rule for guest eligibility has claimed its first victim. Alexis Bledel, who returned to The Handmaid's Tale for last week's series finale, only had a few minutes of screen time, so she understandably submitted in the Best Drama Guest Actress category for the upcoming Emmys. However, a 2025 addendum to the Emmys rulebook stipulates that if a performer was previously nominated in supporting or lead, they cannot switch to guest for that same show at any future date, regardless of how much screen time they have — or, in Bledel's case, don't have. More from GoldDerby That shocking 'The Last of Us' death, final seasons for 'The Boys' and 'Cobra Kai,' and more from Sony TV actors and showrunners 'I know this dude!': David Alan Grier explains why he leapt at the chance to play a 'burned-out' doctor on 'St. Denis Medical' 'I Am: Celine Dion' will now compete for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking at Emmys - so what's the difference? As originally reported by Variety and confirmed by Gold Derby, the Television Academy notified Bledel that she would be moved from Best Drama Guest Actress to Best Drama Supporting Actress, the same category where she was nominated in 2018 (losing to Thandiwe Newton for Westworld). As a result, Bledel opted to withdraw her name from consideration completely, which means she won't be on the ballot alongside her fellow The Handmaid's Tale supporting actresses, Yvonne Strahovski, Ann Dowd, Samira Wiley, Madeline Brewer, Amanda Brugel, and Ever Carradine, all of whom had considerably larger roles. The fact that Bledel was previously nominated as a guest star for playing Emily in 2017, 2020, and 2021 (winning in 2017) had no bearing on this decision. It was that sole 2018 supporting nomination and loss that determined she could no longer compete as a guest star for The Handmaid's Tale. Here is the specific Emmy rule that's causing so much confusion: If a performer has been nominated or has won in a Lead or Supporting Performer category, the performer will not be eligible to submit in a Guest Performer category in a subsequent Emmy year for playing the same role in the same series. They may, however, continue to enter in a Lead or Supporting category. Note that the "50 percent" rule is still in effect, so guest stars can only campaign in that category if they appear in fewer than half of the eligible episodes. Bledel appeared in just one of the 10 episodes from Season 6, so she could have entered the guest race had the rule not been changed in January. SEEWhat 'The Handmaid's Tale' star Elisabeth Moss 'stressed about' for a year and a half while filming the final season SEEWhat 'The Handmaid's Tale' star Elisabeth Moss 'stressed about' for a year and a half while filming the final season Prior to The Handmaid's Tale series finale, Bledel's last appearance as Emily was in the Season 4 finale, which aired in June 2021. Emily was seen racing after Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) with the other escaped handmaids, which resulted in his brutal murder. When Season 5 started, Emily was reported as "missing," and not much was mentioned about her again, until the Season 6 finale, when she showed up alongside June (Elisabeth Moss) to reflect on their past decade together. Another high-profile performer affected by the new guest star rule is Meryl Streep for Only Murders in the Building. She was nominated in Best Comedy Supporting Actress in 2024, and now must campaign in that category again at the 2025 Emmys, despite having a smaller presence in Season 4 and only appearing in four of the 10 episodes. This isn't the first time the guest star rules have resulted in unexpected drama. In 2016, Peter MacNicol's Emmy nomination for Veep was rescinded when it was determined he had appeared in too many episodes to compete in guest. Peter Scolari for Girls replaced him on the list of nominees, and he ended up winning. SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby Jacob Elordi reveals personal reason for joining 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North': 'It was something important to me' Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez on how the 'Agatha All Along' cast 'became a coven' when recording 'The Ballad of the Witches' Road' Jason Schwartzman on the breakneck 'Mountainhead' production: 'I've never done anything like it in my life' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Save the Dates: Mormon Wives Reunion Special, Stephen King's The Institute Premiere and More
Can #MomTok survive a Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reunion? We're going to find out later this summer. Hulu announced Thursday that the first-ever Mormon Wives reunion special will drop on the streamer Tuesday, July 1. Bachelor-verse veteran Nick Viall will host the post-Season 2 event, which will 'uncover secrets and scandals, never-before-seen footage and a surprise announcement,' according to the official logline. More from TVLine Project Runway Sets July Premiere Date for New Season on Freeform - Watch Teaser Big Brother to Return in July for 'Biggest Season Ever' (With Friday Episodes!) - Get Premiere Date The Office Spinoff Gets Official Title and Premiere Month at Peacock - Plus, Oscar Returns in First Photo! The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was previously renewed, back in October 2024, for 20 additional episodes; the 10-episode second season dropped in full on May 15, leaving 10 episodes still to air on a yet-to-be-announced date. In other recent scheduling news… * MGM+'s series adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Institute — starring Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds), Ben Barnes (Shadow and Bone) and newcomer Joe Freeman — premieres Sunday, July 13, at 9/8c. The thriller follows teen genius Luke Ellis (Freeman), who is kidnapped and awakens at The Institute, a facility full of children who all possess unusual abilities. * The Real Housewives of Orange County returns for Season 19 with a super-sized premiere on Thursday, July 10, at 9/8c on Bravo. Shannon Storms Beador, Heather Dubrow, Tamra Judge, Gina Kirschenheiter, Emily Simpson, Jennifer Pedranti and Katie Ginella all will be back for the new episodes. * Comedian Conan O'Brien will make his first appearance as a guest on NBC's Late Night With Seth Meyers on Wednesday, June 11. * Season 1 of The Gold — which is inspired by the true story of the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery that took place in London, and which already aired on BBC and streamed on Paramount+ — will air on PBS starting Sunday, Oct. 5, at 10/9c. Best of TVLine 'Missing' Shows, Found! Get the Latest on Ahsoka, Monarch, P-Valley, Sugar, Anansi Boys and 25+ Others Yellowjackets Mysteries: An Up-to-Date List of the Series' Biggest Questions (and Answers?) The Emmys' Most Memorable Moments: Laughter, Tears, Historical Wins, 'The Big One' and More
