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Elle
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
'The Handmaid's Tale' Season 6, Episode 5 Recap: June And Moria's Undercover Mission Hits Some Snags
Spoilers below. If there is one thing June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) knows on The Handmaid's Tale, it's that nothing ever goes according to plan in the fight against Gilead. But this uncertainty has made June an expert at adapting to tricky situations, which she puts into practice when the undercover mission to Jezebel's with Moira (Samira Wiley) hits major snags that require quick thinking from the pair. Given how tense it was between the best friends last week, it isn't surprising that this tension boils over in these fraught circumstances. FIND OUT MORE ON ELLE COLLECTIVE June and Moira aren't the only ones finding themselves in a tricky predicament; Nick (Max Minghella) has to clean up a mess of his own making, and Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) isn't as popular as he thought he was. Plus, Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) receives a surprise offer that could change her entire trajectory in the final season. Getting into Jezebel's is easy. There is nothing unusual about two Marthas arriving in a delivery van (Luke is the driver), and it helps that Moira and June's faces are partially covered, which are now part of the uniform. The plan is to find Janine (Madeline Brewer), tell her about the Mayday plan to assassinate commanders in the penthouse, and then get out unnoticed. Sounds simple enough, but when they try to locate Janine, they learn that the commanders are making an unscheduled visit to Jezebel's. Rather than bail, June talks their way upstairs under the guise of making final preparations for the commanders. Time and circumstances lead to a more muted reunion, but Janine's face still lights up when she finds out a rescue and assassination plan is in motion. Janine gives June a keycard to one of the bedrooms, telling them to wait until she can slip away. Upon arriving, Commander Bell (Timothy Simons) tells the Martha pair to 'get your ugly butts out'. He also uses the spilled champagne to humiliate one of the Marthas, telling June to kneel and clean his pants. Lawrence stops this, and June purposefully turns her face away so he can't see her eyes. Yet, Lawrence has the look of recognition (but can't put his finger on why) as she walks away. June tells Moria that Lawrence's attendance is a surprise, as he 'was never a Jezebel's guy'. Maybe she doesn't know him as well as she thinks she does? Later, emotions run high when June tells Janine the plan details. Janine has letters the other women have written to their families for June to deliver. To aid their operation, Janine gives an updated map of the private elevator and the pass code. In the heat of the moment, June tells Janine to leave with them today, and someone else can coordinate with the other women. Janine says she can't 'leave without my girls' and will wait a week until Mayday comes in, guns blazing. After Janine leaves, Moira lets June know how irresponsible that was. June admits that the impulsive offer was her way of making up for her leaving Janine in Chicago. But if Janine had gone with them, security at Jezebel's would be impossible to penetrate, and the main plan would fail. June mentions how guilty she feels, leading Moira to vent her pent-up frustrations against her BFF. 'Your guilt. Your feelings. Your friends. Your trauma. You, you, you, you. Do you have any idea how fucking sick of you I am?!' This confrontation has been a long time coming, as June is always the center of everything. Moira raises multiple valid points. 'Do I get to have PTSD? Do I get to have guilt? Friends? Trauma?' Moira continues. Moira is living in a nightmare too, yet it is always about June. As they compare their horrifying experiences, the conversation starts with anger, followed by laughter, and then understanding. The mood quickly shifts once more because as Moira and June are making up, a guardian comes into the room and finds the materials Janine left behind. He locks the letters and map in a safe and will only give them back after he has raped both women. The Handmaid's Tale is at its most horrifying when it goes from memories of abuse and rape to it happening in real time. Moira fights back with June quickly joining in, and with two against one, they overpower the guardian. Moira wraps a phone cord around his neck, killing the man. But they can't get the letters and map out of the safe, and the dead body will definitely put an end to the plan. Moira quickly thinks of an alternative solution to buy them time. They wheel his body to the incinerator in the basement in the laundry, and are disposing of the remains when the guardian check-in call comes over the radio. The pair doesn't have long to get out before a complete lockdown. Unfortunately, security stops Luke (O-T Fagbenle) from making a pickup, and they have to find an alternative escape. Luckily, Lawrence is leaving in his car, and June uses her gut that he is the man she thought he was. 'Ah, hell no,' says Lawrence when she steps out in front of his car. June begs him to take her and Moira, and he relents. They get in the trunk, but don't know if he can get them out of Gilead. Are they stuck here? Perhaps Lawrence should've listened to his wife, Naomi (Ever Carradine), who said that the high commanders associate virility with power. At Jezebel's, Lawrence keeps up appearances, but still thinks his reforms are the key to power. First, he overrules Bell when it comes to Janine telling the high commander he is 'a pig' and 'no one here likes you, no one, and no one respects you.' Bell might be vile, yet he still has the ear of the other men. When Janine takes Lawrence into the adjoining bedroom, she reveals a peephole that the girls of Jezebel's use to get an idea of the men they are dealing with. Janine also tells Lawrence, 'You're not a good guy,' but he is in comparison to the other high commanders. She then makes her excuses before heading to see June and Moira. Lawrence's eyes are opened when he learns he is part of a long con to get as many people back to Gilead before they close New Bethlehem and the borders, and the country returns to its harshest practices. Lawrence will be blamed, and then Bell will want to see him on the wall. The others are hesitant about the latter, but Bell convinces them it is the way forward. Lawrence takes his glasses off in disbelief. Mayday might just have a new ally in the making. Commander Wharton (Josh Charles) checks in with Nick about the busy day in New Bethlehem, as 26 more families reunite?. The question of security comes up, and Nick says it is his highest priority, so Wharton wants to know what he is doing about the two guardians who were shot in no man's land by rebels, as it was an 'alarming breach' on Nick's watch. Nick is surprised to learn that one of the men is recovering from being shot point-blank, and tries to sound happy about it. Nick was the man who pulled the trigger (to aid June, Luke, and Moira's escape), and must keep this involvement from his father-in-law (and everyone else in Gilead). Nick visits Toby, the surviving guardian, in hospital, and is warmly greeted by Toby's mother. Though Toby has been mumbling so far, the chances of a full recovery are slim. Nick tells his mother to take a break, offering to stay with Toby. She calls Nick an angel, but little does she know the commander is the culprit. After she has gone, Toby's heart rate goes up when he sees Nick, suggesting recognition. However, he says something unrelated about his dog. Nick briefly leaves, but returns to the room as it is far too dangerous for him to leave a loose end. We don't see Nick killing Toby, but the locked door and ominous music suggest Toby will not be identifying the person who shot him. What is doing the right thing in Gilead? How can someone make up for all their wrongs? Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) continues to make a case for saving Janine and the other former handmaids from Jezebel's, turning to Serena for help. Lydia says that her girls suffered greatly in Serena's house, and Serena replies that they also suffered greatly in Lydia's house. Neither is wrong—the unifying factor in Gilead is hypocrisy. Serena thinks opening a fertility clinic in New Bethlehem could be a suitable place for former handmaids to be assigned, as fertility is a handmaid's brand (Lydia bristles at this wording, calling it a 'divine calling'). During Lydia's visit, Serena receives a giant bouquet, and Lydia wants to know if Serena is going dancing with Commander Wharton again. Serena tries to play it down, but the commander wants to see her before he goes back to Washington for work. Wharton has a big gesture planned under the guise of picking a new name for the library. A mock-up reveals his preferred choice is the 'Serena Joy & Gabriel Wharton Library'. Yep, this is a proposal, and it catches Serena off guard. She didn't come back to be a wife. Wharton reassures her he will be everything Fred was not, and she doesn't have to move or stop working. The influential high commanders want to change the world together, convincing Serena that this will be a true partnership. Wharton gets down on one knee, and Serena says yes. Like June, Lawrence, and Nick, she makes a gut decision. Will she regret returning to this path? Only time will tell. ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE. Emma Fraser is a freelance culture writer with a focus on TV, movies, and costume design. You can find her talking about all of these things on Twitter.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How ‘The Handmaid's Tale' series finale sets up ‘The Testaments'
With the Emmy-winning adaptation of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale wrapping up the six-season arc of the revolutionary June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss), fans can finally celebrate Boston's liberation from the authoritarian clutches of Gilead. It's been a harrowing journey for June since the show's 2017 premiere, and she can't entirely celebrate with her daughter Hannah still behind Gilead's borders. With Hulu hard at work on The Testaments, an adaptation of Atwood's 2019 sequel novel set years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale, audiences will get a greater degree of resolution over the future of Hannah and the rest of the women under Gilead's thumb. Here's how The Handmaid's Tale's Season 6 resolution sets up for that highly anticipated follow-up. At the conclusion of The Handmaid's Tale, the resistance group Mayday (in collaboration with the U.S. military) successfully killed remaining Gilead leaders in Boston, thanks to the sacrifice of Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford). Janine (Madeline Brewer) was reunited with her daughter Charlotte after being brought to a now-freed Boston by a fully reformed Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) and her former mistress, Naomi Lawrence (Ever Carradine). June was shepherded to the reunion by the U.S. military, and witnessing it solidified her choice to continue the fight against Gilead. She hopes to make her way towards Colorado to free her oldest daughter, Hannah. The very final scenes see June return to the old Waterford home to write a book about her experiences in Gilead (the beginning page of Atwood's original novel). More from GoldDerby 'Death Becomes Her' costume designer Paul Tazewell on creating show's spectacular outfits: 'Theater-making is about the impossible' (exclusive images) Jamie Lee Curtis eyes historic back-to-back Emmy win as Comedy Guest Actress race heats up 'Étoile' creators on writing a show for 'genius' Luke Kirby Atwood's The Testaments novel takes place 15 years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale, though the Hulu adaptation will take place a mere four years later. It follows a new generation of young women raised within a Gilead that's been rocked, but not yet toppled, by that ending we saw in Season 6. In the novel, main character Aunt Lydia has remained an Aunt under Gilead's rule. Her hero turn still stands, and in the novel she feeds information to the United States while secretly completing a memoir that opposed Gilead's beliefs. Dowd will return as Aunt Lydia in The Testaments. An older Hannah (Chase Infiniti), living as Agnes, moves to become an Aunt (named Victoria) in order to escape an arranged marriage. Having forgotten her origins, she discovers her heritage as a revolutionary handmaid's daughter, and also discovers her secret half-sister, Nicole (also known as Daisy, played by Lucy Halliday). Lydia and the pair of sisters work to expose Gilead's darkest secrets. SEE The Handmaid's Tale star Elisabeth Moss on directing the series finale and June's new mission: 'She has to fight a different battle now' Besides Dowd and Infiniti, the cast also includes Amy Seimetz, Brad Alexander, Mabel Li, Zarrin Darnell-Martin, Isolde Ardies, Eva Foote, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Birva Pandya, and Kira Guloien. Moss will serve as an executive producer on The Testaments alongside Bruce Miller and Warren Littlefield, Mike Barker, who will direct its first three episodes, but she is not yet confirmed to return. June does appear in the novel, and the series could also take liberties to include her more or showcase her actions within the four years between the two series. Regarding expectations for June to pop up and take the fight to Colorado, Miller told Gold Derby, "The Testaments is so much about another group of characters in general. And although June has a big stake in it, part of the story is her impotence to do anything about it." He promises that "some of these people [from The Handmaid's Tale] will pop up again because, in addition to Lydia, there's a lot of people who play roles in this world that would brush up against the story of The Testaments." Hulu has yet to announce a premiere date. The show is currently in production. Best of GoldDerby 'Étoile' creators on writing a show for 'genius' Luke Kirby TV Visual Effects supervisor roundtable: 'Black Mirror,' 'The Boys,' 'The Wheel of Time' 'The Wheel of Time' VFX supervisor Andy Scrase: 'I always think of visual effects as the magic of filmmaking' Click here to read the full article.
Cosmopolitan
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
The Handmaid's Tale season 6: Ending explained and what happened to every major character in the finale
The sixth and final season of The Handmaid's Tale has come to an end and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how to feel. It was a great ending that, for the most part, wrapped things up nicely, but I'm still left wanting more (which I guess is a good thing considering the sequel they're working on). Well, a lot happened in that last episode, so let's get into it. After the fighting that ensued at the end of the last episode, the Americans have officially retaken Boston! People are celebrating in the streets, hanging up the American flag, but June is already looking to future cities and states they can liberate, eventually making her way to Colorado where Hannah is. She asks Moira if anyone's heard anything about Janine, but sadly there's nothing to report yet. June then starts having flashbacks to her time with Nick - all their little moments of joy together - knowing that they won't have more moments again. She walks over to Luke who is hard at work making plans to get power and heat back on for the city. He says New York might be the next city Mayday hits, but they have to see. He reassures June that the way they get Hannah back is by taking Gilead down one place at a time. Mark lets June know that with the top commanders now dead, most of the western commanders have been promoted. And just who happens to be one of those commanders? Hannah's adoptive father, Commander McKenzie. He's going to be moving to D.C. with his wife and Hannah, which is a hell of a lot closer than Colorado. Mark says they still don't know what happened to Janine, but they're looking for her and he may know more soon. Aunt Lydia, somehow, has finagled her way back into good standing and was released by the eyes. "F*cking nine lives," as June puts it. While looking at a memorial, June sees a stuffed animal and has a flashback to her and a young Hannah at a carnival. She loses Hannah in the crowd and starts to panic, but once she finds her, she tells Hannah that "Mummies always come back." June goes and finds Serena, who's looking through piles of clothes trying to find something for Noah to wear. June tells Serena that none of this would have been possible if she hadn't given them the key information they needed to find the commanders. Serena, in turn, notes she's helped Boston fall twice now. She also tells June she's very sorry about Nick, but June says he reaped what he sowed. Serena says that if Nick ever thought he had a real choice, he would have chosen June. Having enemies everywhere, Serena is now stuck - people in Gilead want her dead, Canada won't give her a passport and neither will the European Union. Mark comes and takes Serena to a bus to go to a refugee camp. He says he's working on getting her ID and that he'll come find her there. Outside the bus, Serena says she's ashamed of what she did to June in the past and that, if words mean anything at all, she's sorry. And after alllll they've been through, June forgives her. June gets let back into her old neighborhood in Boston and as she's strolling the streets looking in the former shop windows, a familiar voice comes from her left saying, "This used to be an ice cream place." She turns and it's freaking Emily!! Back after having disappeared for years. She says she's been acting as a Martha in Bridgeport, which has been a hotspot of rebellion for some reason, and that she had some help from a friendly commander who helped her stay in touch with her wife and son back in Canada. So she did not, in fact, just abandon her family. June says she wants her life back the way it's supposed to be, but that's impossible. Emily points out that the fact that they're both alive to see this *points to dead Gilead troops hanging from the wall* is making her rethink her idea of the impossible. June finally falls asleep for some much-needed rest but it doesn't last long. She gets woken up by someone telling her she needs to get up for an urgent matter. She's driven out to a road in the woods where Mark is waiting. He says they're on the new border of Gilead and that they needed a familiar face. Two vans drive up on the Gilead side and two men carry Janine out and drop her on the road. She's looking worse for wear, but she's alive!! But she's not the only one in the van. Aunt Lydia and Naomi, who's carrying Janine's daughter, Charlotte, get out as well. Naomi seems to have somehow grown a heart and with teary eyes, gives Charlotte to Janine, who is overjoyed to be reunited with her daughter. Naomi then walks back towards Gilead. June thanks Lydia, and tells her, "Blessed is the woman who does not walk in stride with the wicked." Flights of Americans living in Alaska start to arrive in Boston, and June and Luke are there waiting for their daughter (well, technically Nick's daughter, but ya know) and June's mother, Holly, to arrive. Once reunited and back home, June is rocking her daughter and tells her that she needs to keep fighting to keep all the little girls in Gilead safe too, and that she's going to have to leave her for a little while longer. Holly is worried about June and who will keep her safe, but June quickly reminds Holly that she's the one who taught her how to fight. Holly promises to make sure June's daughter knows what a warrior her mum is, and then she suggests one of the things we've kinda been waiting the entire series for: she tells June she should write a book. June argues it's not a very good story, it has too much loss and fear. But her mum says it's a story about never giving up and it's a way for her daughters to know who their mother was. June congratulates Luke on getting the city's electricity running and admits that she underestimated him, and she's sorry for that. They're both such different people than they were before Gilead and they don't really know each other like they used to. Luke is planning to move out with Mayday to the New York border while June is going to see what Mark's planning and make her way toward Hannah in D.C. They agree they'll meet each other there to get their daughter back. Before leaving, Luke also encourages June to write down her story. All the people who helped and loved her, and who she helped and loved, are worth remembering, he says. Serena isn't having the best time at the refugee camp. They're not thrilled that she has a baby there and she doesn't have many supplies for him. But she turns her mind to focus on how important Noah is and how much she prayed for him, and realizes he's all she needs in life. June makes her way back to where it all really started for her: the Waterford's house. Now partially burned down, she goes inside and heads up to her old room. She sits on the window ledge and pulls out a tape recorder and records some slightly modified lines taken from the book version of The Handmaid's Tale which, in the fictional world, is meant to be based on audio recordings made by a former handmaid. And that's where it ends! A pretty satisfying wrap-up that sets us up for the sequel series, The Testaments, which will hopefully be out sometime next year. The Handmaid's Tale is available to stream on
Elle
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
Beloved 'Handmaid's Tale' Characters Return in the Emotional Series Finale
Spoilers below. It might be the last episode of The Handmaid's Tale, but June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) and the Mayday resistance's war against Gilead is far from over. The penultimate episode ended with the deaths of Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitfield), Nick Blaine (Max Minghella), Commander Wharton (Josh Charles), and the rest of Boston's influential leaders, whose plane blew up after taking off. Now, Boston is free. 'Praise fucking be,' says June. However, Gilead still stands, and America needs to be taken back state by state. Not to mention that June's daughter, Hannah, is still living under the control of Commander MacKenzie. There is the forthcoming adaptation of Margaret Atwood's 2019 follow-up novel, The Testaments, to consider, as it is currently in production with Ann Dowd reprising her role as Aunt Lydia. I won't spoil other details from the novel, but knowing that a sequel is in the works ensures that book readers are more than prepared for developments that won't happen. But there are plenty of other threads to tie up, including the fate of Serena (Yvonne Strahovski), Janine (Madeline Brewer), and the surprising return of Alexis Bledel as Emily. Now, June must decide what to do next as The Handmaid's Tale takes one last ride. Moss directs this concluding episode, proving once again that she has a strong creative eye while delivering an equally strong lead performance. After Lawrence's final explosive act, Gilead held onto Boston for 19 days of fighting before pulling out altogether. If, like me, you kept thinking (or hoping) that maybe Nick pulled a Rachel Green in the Friends series finale and somehow got off the plane, then June's memories of Nick followed by the image of him boarding the death flight confirm that he is gone. All of Boston's commanders are dead, and June's voiceover notes that 'God always requires a sacrifice.' Boston needs a lot of work to get it back to where it was, including turning the power back on and opening Logan airport so people like June's mother, Holly (Cherry Jones), can reunite with their families. Luke (O-T Fagbenle) is an integral part of this crew, focusing on getting the city up and running before moving on to the next target. The Boston Globe building (where June hid in season 2) is now a base of operations for the Americans, with Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger) continuing his leadership role. He tells June that Hannah's commander is getting reassigned from Colorado to Washington, DC, meaning she will be 2,000 miles closer. They are still trying to find out where Janine is, but they know she is still trapped in Gilead, and Aunt Lydia is assisting with this search. Serena congratulates June on her victory, which is only possible thanks to Serena providing the flight details. Serena quotes J. Robert Oppenheimer ('I am become Death, destroyer of worlds'), reflecting that she has helped Boston fall twice now. Serena hits a nerve when she gives her condolences about Nick. June is still raw about what happened at Jezebel's and says that her former lover 'reaped what he sowed. He led a violent and dishonest life.' Serena counters this, remarking that if Nick ever thought he had a real choice, then he would've chosen June. Serena also mentions her lack of options (again, because of her own making) and can't get a passport for Canada or the EU, so she is stuck in citizenship purgatory. Serena says she is 'nobody,' but June reminds her that she is Noah's mother. The future is uncertain as Serena and Noah must journey to a refugee camp. Given how many times Serena and June have parted over the seasons, it might be hard to imagine how this farewell will differ. But for once, Serena admits to the horrors she enacted without adding the caveat that June treated her poorly too. June doesn't let her off easy because Serena should be ashamed of everything she has contributed to Gilead. However, June can finally offer the unimaginable: her forgiveness. Moss and Strahovski have gone toe-to-toe throughout these past six seasons, and both women have deftly portrayed each brushstroke of this complex relationship. This emotional conclusion is no different. Perhaps the finale's biggest surprise is Bledel's return, as her departure before the start of season 5 was unexpected. Her character, Emily, was full of rage as she tried to deal with the trauma of the mental and physical torture she suffered in Gilead. Unable to return to civilian life, Emily went back to Gilead to help bring it down from the inside. June is astonished at seeing her friend ('My fucking God' is the appropriate response) in this incredibly welcome twist. It is a full circle moment as the pair takes a walk to catch up by the wall that was a looming sight of death. The bodies of Gilead Guardians now hang from this symbolic landmark. June tells Emily that Hannah is still inside Gilead, and it feels impossible to get her back. Emily reminds June of everything they have achieved and survived against the odds, and that she is considering adjusting her concept of impossible. The reunion is a lovely reminder of their bond, which is followed by a dream sequence of a world where the handmaids and Rita (Amanda Brugel) had crossed paths if Gilead had never existed. June pictures hanging out with Moira (Samira Wiley), Emily, Rita, Janine, Alma (Nina Kiri), and Brianna (Bahia Watson). It is a bittersweet and beautiful moment that makes me a little teary at seeing characters who died in season 4 (Alma and Brianna), Janine with both her eyes, and the kind of merriment that shouldn't seem out of the ordinary for these women. This glimpse of a life they never had is followed by June burning the red handmaid cloak. As the symbol of their oppression is set aflame, the lights in the city are turned back on. Power is restored in more ways than one. Throughout the finale, June has memories of Hannah before Gilead snatched her away, mirroring the pilot. June doesn't get reunited with her daughter, but she witnesses a similar miracle firsthand. June is awoken in the night to see a familiar face—Gilead has agreed to return Janine. But there's more: The recently widowed Naomi (Ever Carradine) relents and gives Charlotte (the name Janine chose) back to her birth mother. I am unsure what caused this dramatic change of heart other than Lawrence's impact on her. Janine has been through physical and psychological torture; her path to recovery will be a long one. Like Serena, Lydia doesn't get a free pass for making a good choice amid the innumerable terrible ones, but June thanks Lydia for doing the right thing. 'Blessed is the woman who does not walk in stride with the wicked,' says June. It reminds Aunt Lydia to continue to fight for 'her girls' and not for the men who hold them prisoner. The airport is open, meaning June is reunited with her mother and youngest daughter, Holly. It is an emotional yet heavy moment, as June will have to leave soon to carry on the fight to get Hannah back and bring Gilead down. June assures her young daughter that her love will always find her. While everyone is sleeping, June asks her mother for a considerable favor: to look after Holly a little longer. Holly Sr. worries about June's safety, to which June counters that they are unsafe in a world with Gilead. The totalitarian country needs to be broken, not beaten. Holly thinks June should write her experiences down in a book that will spread the anti-Gilead message and tell Holly Jr. what her mother has been doing. June worries that it will make a bleak tale of violence and fear; Holly counters that it is a story about not giving up. Some people might never find their babies, and this book will be for them (as well as June's two daughters). Later, Luke makes a similar suggestion about June writing down her escape story. It wasn't all horrors along the way as she had people who helped and loved her, like Janine, Emily, Lawrence, and even Nick. Yes, Luke mentions Nick because they are all worth remembering. June apologizes for underestimating Luke, who is demonstrating independence as he forges a Mayday leadership role. The people they were before no longer exist; and while their marriage is over in a traditional sense, they will continue to look for Hannah and meet each other wherever this journey takes them. Serena is making the best of her situation in the refugee center by shifting her focus to motherhood. It was the one thing she hoped for, and that is enough. Or at least, it is enough for now. Will we see Serena in The Testaments? It is unclear, but the door is left open for her return. Meanwhile, June returns to where this story began. Tuello gave June a pass to enter her old neighborhood, where the old Waterford house is. The main building is derelict after the fire in the season 3 premiere, and Nick's apartment above the garage is untouched. June slowly makes her way up the burned staircase to her former bedroom, and it is eerie being back in this familiar space. This sequence is a full circle moment back to the pilot, with June pulling out a dictaphone to recall her experience. The lines match June's narration from the pilot episode, suggesting that everything we have watched and the thoughts we have heard are from June's book. We know this tale is coming to a close, but with the forthcoming Testaments adaptation, this compelling story has not reached its conclusion. Nevertheless, Moss makes her mark on this definitive role, staring down the barrel of the camera as she holds a defiant gaze that offers hope in the darkness.
Time Magazine
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Where All the Key Players on The Handmaid's Tale Wind Up in the Series Finale
W arning: Spoilers ahead for the series finale of The Handmaid's Tale It's hard to believe it, but one of television's most eerily prescient and challenging series has come to an end. Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, based on the novel by Margaret Atwood, stars Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne, a woman enslaved as a Handmaid in an alternative America taken over by Gilead, a totalitarian theocracy. The show's themes around women's rights and bodily autonomy became distressingly more timely with each passing season, and while anecdotally it felt so bleak as to become unwatchable for many, it continued to set viewership records throughout its eight-year run. But for those who found the show too painful to continue, rest assured that the sixth and final season was markedly less tragic—though not without some heart-shattering moments. The final season focuses largely on the rebellion movement, and June and company's efforts in taking Gilead down for good. Admittedly, the most explosive moments of The Handmaid's Tale come in the two episodes before the finale. In Episode 8, 'Exodus,' the Handmaids lead a massive rebellion during the wedding of Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) and Commander Wharton (Josh Charles), killing dozens of Commanders and creating a massive vulnerability in Gilead. And Serena's marriage ends as soon as it begins, when she gets home and discovers Wharton has enlisted the services of a Handmaid, despite Serena's fertility. In Episode 9, 'Execution,' Gilead retaliates, capturing June and dozens of other Handmaids, attempting to hang them in the gallows in a public execution. But the rebellion emerges again, led by the rebel group Mayday, as they free the Handmaids and kill more commanders and many members of Gilead's army in the process. After she's freed, June works with Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) to kill the most powerful remaining commanders with a bomb that blows up their plane. June and the Handmaids have finally won. Still, the finale of The Handmaid's Tale has plenty of revelations and reveals as it wraps the series on a surprisingly hopeful note. Here's where each of the series' key characters stands after the series finale. Commander Joseph Lawrence Commander Joseph played a vital part in establishing Gilead as a major force, becoming the prime architect of the economy. But throughout the series, he became increasingly repulsed by these actions, which included enslaving thousands of women. In Season 6, he works with Mayday to take down Gilead from the inside. He's tasked with planting a bomb on a plane full of high-level commanders, and leaving before they get on the plane. It winds up being a suicide mission; the other commanders see Joseph before he can leave. Joseph sacrifices himself in an effort to undo the horror he helped bring onto the world. Commander Nick Walker Nick (Max Minghella) had quite the journey in the final season of The Handmaid's Tale, balancing his love for June with his life as a father and high-level commander in Gilead. He sells out June's plan to take out a group of commanders at Jezebel's, which shatters her trust in him. Nick's dedication to the commanders proves to be his undoing. At the encouragement of his wife Rose (Carey Cox), he gets on the plane with the other commanders—the same one Lawrence has planted a bomb on. He dies alongside Joseph and the other commanders. Rita A Martha (an infertile woman who works as a domestic servant) who befriended the Handmaids, Rita (Amanda Brugel) played a significant role in the Mayday rebellion. Despite escaping to Canada, Rita returned to New Bethlehem for the chance to reunite with her sister. Mercifully, the two are brought back together after years apart. In New Bethlehem, Rita bakes the cake for Serena's wedding to Commander Wharton. She laces the cake with a sedative, which leads to the Handmaids killing 37 commanders in one evening, turning the tide against Gilead. She saves June from the gallows, shooting the crane operator who attempted to hang her. Rita was a symbol of quiet valor throughout The Handmaid's Tale, and without her, the liberation of Boston would have never happened. Emily The most shocking appearance in this season of The Handmaid's Tale goes to Emily (Alexis Bledel), a former series regular who left the show after Season 4. We last heard of Emily in Season 5, when her wife Sylvia (Clea DuVall) told June that she'd returned to Gilead (after escaping to Canada) to fight with Mayday. Emily finds June in a now-liberated Boston, where the former reveals that she was in Bridgeport, Conn., working as a Martha for a Commander for seven months. But he was a friend, allowing Emily to keep in touch with Sylvia and her son Oliver. 'So you weren't just gone?' June asks her. 'Of course not, they're the reason I'm fighting,' Emily responds. Moira Moira (Samira Wiley) was one of June's best friends before the Gilead takeover, and remained a close ally through their time in Gilead. Moira escaped to Canada in Season 4 and has worked with June's husband, Luke (O-T Fagbenle), to help secure homes for Gilead refugees. In Season 6, she fights against Gilead as part of Mayday with June and Luke. Though she's absent from the finale (flashbacks excluded), she continues to work for Mayday in the quest for liberation of America under Gilead. Janine One of the biggest question marks in the final season of The Handmaid's Tale was the fate of Janine (Madeline Brewer). Few endured more than Janine, who remained in Gilead through the entire series, while seeing many of her friends escape for a better life. Janine has been separated from her daughter Charlotte, and forced into sex work as a Jezebel. She then becomes a handmaid again under Commander Bell (Timothy Simons), who is extremely abusive and controlling. She plays a role in the rebellion, and she luckily escapes death by hanging, but unfortunately, in the ensuing firefight, she is taken by Gilead once again, and her status is unknown. But in the finale, her extreme suffering finally comes to an end. Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), who has been determined to save Janine, finally comes to her senses about Gilead. Alongside Naomi (Ever Carradine), who was raising Janine's daughter, Lydia frees Janine, handing her off to June. In an extremely welcome surprise, Naomi gives Charlotte back to Janine, finally giving Janine the long-awaited happy ending she so richly deserves. Serena Serena's (Yvonne Strahovski) life is left in flux after the liberation of Massachusetts. After being a key member of New Bethlehem, she's been stripped of her passport and has been refused entry by Canada and the European Union. Now a refugee, Mark (Sam Jaeger) gets her a temporary place in a UN settlement. She's last seen with her son in the refugee camp, holding him close and telling him he's all she's ever wanted. But it's hard to shake the feeling that it's just something Serena is telling herself to make peace with her new, uncertain life. Before she leaves for the refugee camp, she does get the opportunity to properly apologize to June for everything she's put her through. June sincerely forgives her, which comes as a relief to a woman who's gone through a significant evolution throughout The Handmaid's Tale. They were forced to work together numerous times this season, and you get the sense that if circumstances were different, the two may have been friends. June After leading the Mayday rebellion in Boston, June has successfully liberated the city of Boston and the state of Massachusetts. The Handmaid's Tale truly puts June through the wringer at every opportunity, yet she comes out victorious, obliterating the Gilead that once controlled her and so many other women. She's reunited with her mother and daughter, Holly, and she's fought alongside Luke with Mayday throughout the season. While they may not be together anymore, they still care deeply for one another, and they're united by their shared goal: to get their daughter Hannah back. Though audiences wanted nothing more than to see June find Hannah, the mission to get her back is still ongoing. She leaves her family behind and continues to fight to get Hannah. Both her mother and Luke suggest that June write a book about her experiences. She's hesitant at first, but at the end of the finale, she takes a long walk through what was once Gilead. She returns to the Waterfords' home, where she once served as Handmaid Offred, the beginning of her horrific, life-altering experience. She begins to record, making note of her experiences. It's the same dialogue from the very first episode. In close-up, she looks at the camera and smiles, cutting to black and ending the series. While the finale of The Handmaid's Tale is largely a celebration of the rebellion's success, the fact that June and Hannah are yet to reunite is a reminder of how far they have to go. Massachusetts may be free, but most of America still lies under Gilead's rule. For now. With the show's sequel series, The Testaments, now in production, and set 15 years in the future, we know there's more to Gilead's story to unfold on-screen in the years to come.
