Latest news with #Handmaid's

Madeline Brewer Is ‘Very Happy' With Janine's Ending in 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Elle

6 days ago

Entertainment
Elle

Madeline Brewer Is ‘Very Happy' With Janine's Ending in 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Major spoilers below. If there was any character that The Handmaid's Tale fans were praying would get a happy ending in the series finale, it was Janine, the feisty, and at times delusional, handmaid played by Madeline Brewer. Like all those forced to don red in Gilead, Janine has been through hell and back, but season 6 was particularly brutal: Throughout the show's last 10 episodes, viewers find out that Janine has been forced into a life of sex work at Jezebel's. When Commander Wharton (Josh Charles) then shuts down the brothel, Janine watches as her friends get violently murdered, and she gets reassigned to be a handmaid for the abusive and obsessive Commander Bell (Timothy Simons). Even after Mayday retakes the city of Boston, and Bell is murdered, Janine is still trapped in Gilead—until one night when she's delivered across the border and into June's (Elisabeth Moss) arms. Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) and Naomi Lawrence née Putnam (Ever Carradine) appear soon after, finally ready to give Janine her daughter, Charlotte, back. 'I know [fans] are [getting] what they've been asking for, and insisting upon, for seasons and seasons now,' Brewer tells ELLE of the emotional reunion. 'Every time I post anything about Handmaid's, [the comments are] like, 'I just need her to get into Canada with Charlotte.'' Below, the actress gives her full thoughts on Janine's resolution, filming the episode's dream karaoke sequence (featuring a few deceased characters), and the parallels between Handmaid's Tale and Brewer's other talked-about series, You. I was just saying earlier today that I was like, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready. And now that the final episode is [airing], I'm like, No, I'm not ready for it to be over. It is just always a little bit anxiety-inducing to meet the end of a very major chapter of your life. I've been really proud since season been allowed to evolve. They didn't try to keep her as the crazy, screw-loose [handmaid], a little bit of almost comic relief at times. They allowed her to become more fully grounded between season 4 and season 6. So, season 6 has been especially gratifying to me as an actor. Janine is grounded. She has a purpose, but she's willing at the drop of a hat to help her friends. No, I don't have any say in anything. But one of our writers told me in season 4, 'We're not killing you. It's just not going to happen. I think that's something we've pretty firmly decided will not happen.' So, I was like, I wonder how this will end then. I found out reading the script. Lizzie [Moss] had said something to me during season 6, something like, 'I think you'll be very happy with where you end up.' And I am. I'm very happy with where Janine lands and with whom she lands. It's just such a beautiful moment of these four women—Naomi, Lydia, Janine, and June—and the sacrifices that they've all made. I've called it a quiet ending, because it's so peaceful for me. It's not chaotic and bombs going off and a plane blowing up. It's such a beautifully peaceful, quiet, earned ending for a character who has been through so much. And she's the one that you'd think is going to go out with a real bang and a real fight. I'm so glad that she just gets to quietly go into the next phase of her life. I never really allowed myself to do that, because I think part of me, despite what they told me, thought Janine would die in Gilead, maybe in the fight or something...I'm glad that I just let it be. And I trust our writers. I think with all of the chaos of what happens in the days prior, and some of the things Serena has been saying to Naomi, it really cuts to the core that Naomi is a mother. She's been a mother to this girl. Especially seeing [Commander] Lawrence with Charlotte, I think it just changes something for her. Because when we think about the timeline, Naomi would've been raised to read books and to form her own opinions. And regardless of what she believes in this patriarchal structure, I think she wants her daughter to know how to read. I think she wants her to know how to form her own opinions and experience the most out of life, and she knows it's not going to happen in Gilead. It's a really beautiful sacrifice that Naomi makes where she, for the first time it seems, casts aside her own ego and her own hatred of these handmaids, and puts the life and happiness of her daughter [first]. Oh, it was beautiful. Nina [Kiri, who plays Alma, who died in season 4] and Bahia [Watson, who plays Brianna, who also died in season 4] are two of my closest friends, so to have them back, to see Alexis [Bledel, who plays Emily] after so many was a beautiful moment. It was bittersweet, which is how I think we've all described the ending. But that is a callback to season 1 where I'm on the bridge, and June is trying to get Janine to come down, and she's like, 'We could drink margaritas and do karaoke.' It's such a beautiful callback to their friendship and the way these women have saved each other, repeatedly, and in a different world, in a different time, they could have been was really nice to just think about what could have been. It was also a beautiful goodbye for all of us. I think that's really what they wanted. To say: Our final image of these women together is not going to be in strife. Let's remember them as what they could have been together. There's too much history and too much guilt, and resentment, and love, and fear that they could only just part ways. Janine recognizes what Lydia did for her. And I think Lydia cannot move forward without doing this. But I don't think that absolves anyone of their participation, speaking only for Janine and Lydia. I think that guilt will haunt Lydia for a very long time. What she learns in episodes 9 and 10 of this series sets up The Testaments. But I don't think their relationship could ever meet peace. There's just too much history. Let's say they both ended up in Canada and were living normal lives. I don't think they'd go out for coffee. It's like, this is over now, because this is all we can be to each other, is this relationship. This can't take on another life in another place and time. She just texted me this morning! I've worked with so many brilliant actors on The Handmaid's Tale that it would be impossible not to take with me some of the technical things I've learned as an actor. But what I'll take with me, from Ann specifically, is that is the warmest and most generous human being you will ever meet in your life. As archaic as it is, and icky as it is sometimes, it's a caste system on a set. It's hierarchical, and you don't really step out of your rank, which is insane. Ann has a way of being at the top of the totem pole and making every single person feel like her closest friend. She has a way of touching every person and making them feel heard, and wanted, and valued in just a quick interaction. She makes sure to thank everyone, all of our crew, all of our background [actors], our crafty, everybody. I've seen the warmth that she brings to people. And I will take that with me because it changes your life. She's magic. Lizzie doesn't blink. She blinks, of course, but she has a way of maintaining eye contact and connection where I think most people might shy away. I have trouble with eye contact—I'm looking anywhere but in someone's eyes. And watching her, that connection is so powerful and engaging. That was when all of the Jezebels get shot. It was like my body was ignited. It was so hard, but necessary. She's lost so much, Janine. That was one of the only things she was really living for. She was living for Charlotte, but her purpose was with these women, her friends, her sisters, and she can't save them. There's nothing she can do. It's just so utterly devastating. Janine has just made me a better person. She's smarter, and funnier, and more compassionate, and stronger. She's so many things I'm not and that I aspire to be. She is smart! That's the thing about Janine that I've always loved and admired is that she knows how to survive. When we meet her in seasons 1 and 2, and she's checked out, it's because that's how she's going to get through. Because, otherwise, what? Is she supposed to meet despair and torture every day? And in the meantime, that sisterhood—with Alma, Brianna, and June—uplifts her and holds her, as she does them. It really drives home for me the truth that we are nothing without our sisterhoods, whatever they may look like. Our sisterhoods, our brotherhoods, our everythings. Our communities are how we get through. Not between the characters, but definitely thematically. I guess that's part of the zeitgeist right now. That's a reflection of a bit of our world. Handmaid's Tale, You, Adolescence—these are conversations that are being had on large and small screens because they are part of our lives. Patriarchy hurts everyone. And in our own way, in Handmaid's Tale and You, we're trying to help people understand that fact and that it's not an admonishment of maleness, it's not an indictment of masculinity, but it is worthy of conversation. Especially with You coming out, I naively assumed most of the fans were young women and girls like me. And it's a lot of men, really boys, like 18- to 23-year-olds. They idolize this man [Joe]. They want to model themselves after him because, to them, he is the perfect picture of masculinity. He's strong, powerful, clever, charming, good looking, he's rich at the end, and he gets the girl nine times out of 10. I can see on the surface why they admire him, but they're doing mental acrobatics, or it's not bothering them, the cognitive dissonance of the man they admire is also a murderer. I think for some of them, unfortunately, the murder makes him even better—the fact that he's willing to go the distance to punish a woman for what she has done to him. The conversations around the two shows... I want to be in a Netflix Christmas movie. [Laughs] I'm so tired. No, I do love it. And this is the greater picture around getting to be an actor. I get to be on shows where the conversations are important and interesting. And I feel sorry that the boys who are mad at me for playing Bronte [in You], I'm sorry that they don't have better role models. I was at a meeting at Netflix, and they were like, 'What do you want to do?' And I was like, 'I would love to do a Christmas movie.' And they were like, 'Really? That's not really your thing.' And I'm like, 'It could be.' I love a musical. I'm a musical theater girl. It would take several years, but I would want to be Mama Rose in Gypsy. Then, of course, after seeing Sunset Blvd., I simply must play Norma Desmond, who I'm obsessed with from the film. But there are so many great shows out there and great roles for women in musical theater and more being written. I think theater is having a really great time right now, and I'm excited to join. I have a few irons in the fire and things I'm cooking up. I want to go back to theater. I live in New York, so that's where my heart is. I'm getting married in less than two months. So I'm like, Nothing can hurt me right now. I get to get married to the love of my life. I feel a lot of possibility. I feel like the world is my oyster. I just finished two extraordinary shows. I'm very proud of them. And I can't wait to see what's next in store for me. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

'The Handmaid's Tale' Finally Brings Back [Spoiler] in the Series Finale

Elle

6 days ago

Entertainment
Elle

'The Handmaid's Tale' Finally Brings Back [Spoiler] in the Series Finale

Spoilers below. The Handmaid's Tale has put us through the wringer throughout its final season (and the whole series, really), but luckily, not all of the surprises have been brutal. In this week's season 6 finale—the show's final episode—June (Elisabeth Moss) and viewers at home were treated to Emily's (Alexis Bledel) shocking but welcome return. The character, who was introduced in the show's first season, was written off after season 4 when Bledel stepped away from the series. In season 5, Emily's wife, Sylvia (Clea DuVall), tells June that Emily returned to Gilead on a personal mission to seek revenge and find Aunt Lydia. Since then, she's been missing in action, until this week's finale scene, where Emily and June reunite and take a walk together in a freed Boston. 'It was an immediate yes,' Bledel told The Hollywood Reporter of returning to Handmaid's for the finale. 'It felt right to bring closure to Emily's journey and offer the audience a sense of completion. Bruce put together such a kind and talented group, and so many of the original crew were still there in season six. The production runs like a well-oiled machine — everyone brings their best. I'm excited to see what they create in [sequel series] The Testaments.' Bledel added, 'I hope viewers take away to keep hope alive when things seem impossible. Even if it seems like seeds you plant couldn't possibly grow, plant seeds of hope anyway. You never know; they might find a way.' The actress announced her departure from The Handmaid's Tale in May 2022, ahead of the season 5 premiere. 'After much thought, I felt I had to step away from 'The Handmaid's Tale' at this time,' she told Variety in a statement. 'I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, the cast and crew for their support.' At the time, Moss told Entertainment Tonight that Bledel's exit 'wasn't the easiest thing in the world to handle, I'll be honest with you, because she's such a great, fantastic part of the show. But I do think that it was handled in a really good way.' Years later, the star, director, and executive producer opened up about bringing Bledel—and Emily—back to Handmaid's for its emotional conclusion. 'Bruce talked to me about bringing her back a while ago, before there was even an outline or script,' Moss told THR. 'I think I said to him at the time, 'You realize now that you've told me that, we have to do it.' It's not the easiest thing in the world to call an actor and be like, 'Can you come back for this one episode?' They're busy. But I was like, 'She has to do it.' I get very passionate about these things! And she wanted to do it from the beginning. She didn't need convincing at all. My first official scene on day one [on set] was with Alexis. So it meant a lot to get to work with her again.' That surprise cameo meant a lot to fans, too.

How 'The Handmaid's Tale' ends after 6 years in Gilead: Does June live?

USA Today

7 days ago

Entertainment
USA Today

How 'The Handmaid's Tale' ends after 6 years in Gilead: Does June live?

How 'The Handmaid's Tale' ends after 6 years in Gilead: Does June live? Show Caption Hide Caption Need a show to binge? These are the must watch shows this spring. USA TODAY's TV critic Kelly Lawler breaks down the best TV shows you don't to want to miss this spring. Spoiler alert! This story contains details from the series finale of "The Handmaid's Tale." Gilead hasn't fallen quite yet, but June Osborne will keep fighting however she can. The quiet, introspective finale of Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale" did not solve all the problems of the dystopian hellscape its protagonist (Elisabeth Moss) has been suffering through since the series' 2017 premiere. Fascist commanders are still subjugating and torturing women and children. There are still so many mothers separated from their children. June's eldest daughter Hannah is still trapped in Gilead's claws. But amid the streets of the newly freed Boston, surrounded by the friends and loved ones she's been able to save, June finds something to hold onto: a purpose, if not peace. She's going to tell her story, her tale, if you will. She's going to keep fighting for her daughter, and all the daughters lost to the hell of Gilead. She's not going to give up. "Fighting may not get us everything, but we don't have a choice, because not fighting is what got us Gilead in the first place," June tells her mother, Holly (Cherry Jones), explaining her decision to stay in the rebellion. "And Gilead doesn't need to be beaten, it needs to be broken." Here's how "The Handmaid's Tale" wrapped up June's fight in its series finale. "Handmaid's," based on the 1985 Margaret Atwood novel, is certainly a story about sticking with the fight for freedom, justice and what you believe in, no matter what, even if the show can't quite decide what it wants to say about motherhood: Is June's declaration that Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) "just be a mom" really the life for women June has been fighting for this whole time? Reducing women to their fertility is pretty much what Gilead was all about. But "Handmaid's" is a distinctly imperfect show. It has been messy in its messaging and plotting for a number of seasons now, and the finale isn't any different. If its themes aren't perfect, at least "Handmaid's" goes out with the haunting aesthetics and depth of feeling for which it's known. The stark colors, the grim lighting, the determined face of Moss − these are images that the series ends on. And that feels fitting. Boston is liberated from Gilead, and the Mayday fight moves on June's narration tells the audience that it only took 19 days for Boston to fall (or rise again) after the bomb she and Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) planted on a plane killed most of the eastern leadership of the totalitarian state. June's sometime lover Nick (Max Minghella) was among the casualties, a man who could never commit to any side of the cause finally fell victim to his own sense of survivalism. As the Gilead flag burns, June is stoic amid the celebrating Mayday forces. Mark (Sam Jaeger) finds out June's daughter Hannah has been moved to Washington, D.C., still under Gilead control. She runs into her old friend Emily (Alexis Bledel), inexplicably hanging out in the Boston ruins after an undercover stint in Connecticut, just in time to speak philosophically with June just like when they were Offred and Ofglen. Janine gets the happy ending she deserves Mark didn't get Hannah back for June, but he makes some kind of deal to rescue Janine (Madeline Brewer), the most tortured and tormented of Gilead's victims. She's brought across the border into the reconstituted America, along with her daughter Charlotte, who is willingly given up by her Gileadean "mother" Naomi (Ever Carradine) with help from Janine's protector Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd). It doesn't make a lot of sense, but it is the happiest, most emotional moment in the finale. June and Luke say goodbye, for now Refugees are reunited with their loved ones as a plane from Alaska arrives in Boston, which brings June back together with her mother Holly and younger daughter Holly. She asks her mother to keep caring for the toddler for a while longer while June keeps up her place in the rebellion. But June won't be fighting alongside her husband Luke (O-T Fagbenle) anymore. The couple, who have aged into totally different people after their respective traumas, part in the most amicable split you've ever seen. They go their separate ways, and agree they will never stop looking for their shared daughter Hannah. Serena's future is uncertain, but June forgives her No one much cares what happens to Serena Joy and her son Noah in the brave new world. She has no passport or country and is moving from refugee camp to refugee camp at the grace of Mark. Before she gets on a bus to her next destination, she begs forgiveness from June for all the things she's done and allowed to happen. June forgives her, which is the greatest evidence yet that our weary protagonist is healing. She has, perhaps, finally learned that vengeance does not get her what she wants or needs. June is ready to write her 'Tale' In a clunky bit of full-circle plotting, Luke and the elder Holly strongly suggest that she should write down her story, for her daughters and for everyone else. In the final moments of the series, June walks through the ruined streets of Boston until she finds the house she lived in with the Waterfords; where she was raped and abused and where this story began. She climbs the stairs to her old room, and sits in that same windowsill we first saw her in six seasons ago. She pulls out a tape recorder and recounts the same items of furniture we heard in the voiceover in the season premiere: a chair, a bed, a table. White curtains, shatterproof glass. This is the handmaid's tale.

Taylor Swift Fans Think She Had Handmaid's Tale Cameo

Buzz Feed

7 days ago

Entertainment
Buzz Feed

Taylor Swift Fans Think She Had Handmaid's Tale Cameo

Earlier this month, Taylor Swift fans were left delighted when the star debuted her version of 'Look What You Made Me Do' during the penultimate episode of The Handmaid's Tale, with many hoping that this meant her re-recorded Reputation album isn't too far off. In case you missed it, Taylor's iconic song featured in the episode's opening sequence, where the main character, June, and her fellow handmaids put their plan to destroy Gilead into action. The scene saw members of the Mayday rebellion climb out of trucks as the handmaids made their way to be driven to safety, and some Swiftie viewers thought there was something suspicious about the final Mayday operative to walk away. Dressed in all black, this person's face is never seen as they have their back to the camera for the entirety of their short appearance in the shot. But the fact that they are taller than the other characters, coupled with their distinctive walk, got tongues wagging that this was a secret cameo from Taylor herself. Commenting on a TikTok about the song being used in the show, one person confidently wrote: 'Last person out of the truck that goes to the left was 100% Taylor Swift.' Fans became even more convinced of the theory once they realized that Taylor was actually in Toronto for her Eras tour between Nov. 14 and 23, 2024, which is around the same time that The Handmaid's Tale filmed its final two episodes. In addition, Handmaid's stars Bradley Whitford and Elisabeth attended one of these shows. Unfortunately, despite all of the evidence seemingly aligning, Elisabeth shot down the speculation when asked about it by TV Line. In fact, the actor was notably stunned when the publication asked her if Taylor had been in the scene, saying: 'No, wait. What do you mean? I literally don't know about this.' After the theory was explained to her, the star said: 'That's amazing! Of course it's not. Of course it's not her. Oh my God, that's hilarious. I love that idea, though.''This is why, one of the reasons we were so excited about this moment, just the fan engagement on Handmaid's is so intense, and then marrying that with the Swifties is like, Jesus Christ. It's so fun!' Elisabeth went on. 'So no, I'm afraid that's not Taylor. She's pretty busy. I feel like if she was going to come do our show, we would've made sure we saw her face.' Welp, there goes that dream! Did you think that the character in question walked like Taylor? Let me know in the comments below!

Did Taylor Swift Have a Secret Handmaid's Tale Cameo?! Elisabeth Moss Gives Us the Scoop (Exclusive)

Yahoo

23-05-2025

Entertainment
Yahoo

Did Taylor Swift Have a Secret Handmaid's Tale Cameo?! Elisabeth Moss Gives Us the Scoop (Exclusive)

When The Handmaid's Tale's penultimate episode dropped Tuesday, Taylor Swift fans rejoiced: The hour's opening moments were backed by 'Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor's Version),' an inclusion they hoped was a hint that Swift's re-recorded Reputation album was on its way. But a few sharp-eyed fans watching the sequence, which featured Elisabeth Moss' June and her fellow handmaids on the warpath to destroy Gilead, thought Swift had even more influence on the scene. As in: They were fairly certain she was in the scene as an background actor, albeit with her back to the camera. More from TVLine Adam Levine Teases Blake Shelton's Return to The Voice's Coaching Panel A Handmaid's Tale Casualty Breaks Down the 'Slightly Telepathic' Moment Right Before [Spoiler]'s Death Save the Dates: Sterling K. Brown's Washington Black Premiere, New Dora Movie and More The supposed Swift can be seen in the video above. As June and the others walk toward the trucks that will carry them to safety, members of the Mayday rebellion climb out of the vehicles to let the women in. The final Mayday operative, who is dressed all in black, appears taller than his or her compatriots and whose face we never see? That's Swift, some of her devoted fans theorize. The more we thought about a secret Swift cameo, the more plausible it seemed. Fact 1: For years, there's been a mutual love affair between the Hulu series and the singer/songwriter. (See video evidence here.) In a statement released after the episode started streaming, Moss said, 'I've been wanting to use a Taylor song for many years on the show and we finally found the perfect spot for a track from her, and I'm so glad we waited because there could not be a more perfect song for a more perfect moment,' says Moss. 'Taylor has been such an inspiration to me personally. As a Swiftie myself, and I think I can speak for [co-star] Yvonne [Strahovski] and our entire cast as well, who are all Swifties, it's such an honor to be able to use her music in the final episodes of our show.' Fact 2: Swift's Eras Tour stopped in Toronto, which is where Handmaid's Tale filmed, from Nov. 14-23, 2024. Thanks to Transparent's Amy Landecker, wife of Handmaid's star Bradley Whitford, we have photographic evidence that Moss and Whitford attended the record-breaking tour during that time… which was not far off from when the drama filmed its final two episodes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amy Landecker (@amylandecker) But as hardcore Swift fans know, popular theories don't always play out in real life. (Remember when she allegedly was going to pop up in Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl Halftime Show?) So we decided to settle things by going straight to the source: Handmaid's star/executive producer/director Moss. We've included a delighted Moss' comments below, but bottom line? Sorry, Swifties. TVLINE | I have to ask you something that's been on my mind for the past 24 hours: That is not Taylor Swift in Episode 9, getting out of the truck, is it? Some Swifties think it MOSS | No, wait. What do you mean? I literally don't know about this. Yes, I'm listening. God, I love them. TVLINE | [.] There's a tall extra that gets out of the truck. The fans think it's her, from behind.[Surprised gasp] That's amazing! [Laughs] Of course it's not. Of course it's not her. Oh my God, that's hilarious. I love that idea, though. But this is why, one of the reasons we were so excited about this moment, just the fan engagement on Handmaid's is so intense, and then marrying that with the Swifties is like, Jesus Christ. It's so fun! So no, I'm afraid that's not Taylor. She's pretty busy. I feel like if she was going to come do our show, we would've made sure we saw her face. [Laughs] TVLINE | She was in Toronto at the end of last year with the Eras Tour, so there's rabbit hole to go I'll clear up that incredibly astute observation. A lot of us went to the Eras Tour in November in Toronto, which is partially why Taylor was very top of mind for me. But also Reputation came out at a really, I think it was Season 4, and we were obsessed with that album on set, as a cast. It's been a long mutual love affair between her and a lot of our cast. I mean, Josh Charles was in her music video… [Using her music] was something that, as you probably know, I've wanted to do, well, from the beginning. [Laughs] I was going to say, 'Since I've been a director,' but from the beginning! I'm so glad that we didn't do it before and waited until now. Now that we have it, I'm so glad it happened the way that it did. Were you psyched to hear Swift in Episode 9? Are you bummed she wasn't actually the episode? And are you ready for the series finale on Tuesday? Hit the comments and let us know! Best of TVLine 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 'Missing' Shows, Found! The Latest on Severance, Holey Moley, Poker Face, YOU, Primo, Transplant and 25+ Others