28-05-2025
After six seasons, the Handmaid's Tale is over. What do fans think of the finale?
This article contains spoilers of season 6 of The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale has wrapped up after six seasons and fans are busy reacting on social media to the series finale.
Over on Reddit, a user who calls themselves "the icecream assassin" posted: "Blessed be the work of every single person whose hands touched this show. It's been a trip."
Many were satisfied with the finale's key moments.
But the series came to a disappointing conclusion for others.
"Thanks for nothing in that final episode," Instagram user "corianneee" commented on an official post from the show's distributors.
"What a wasted opportunity."
From unhappy "Team Nick" fans to frustration over June's lack of reunion with daughter Hannah, Fiona Williams, head of curation at SBS On Demand and host and producer of SBS's award-winning companion podcast Eyes On Gilead, joined ABC News to break down the social media reaction.
One of the biggest sticking points for viewers of the show is June never got her eldest daughter Hannah back.
Many fans pointed out that this had been June's mission from day one and the fact she wasn't reunited with her daughter after six seasons left them flabbergasted.
"I think the worst part of it all is that we never got an ending that included Hannah," said one social media user.
"Hannah was the entire mission from day one."
Williams says she understands the frustration, but a happy ending would have been inconsistent with the show.
"There are people who are upset that June didn't get her daughter Hannah [back] because that has been her North Star throughout," Williams said.
"She's the reason that she stayed in Gilead, she's the reason she went back to Gilead, so for some fans they're very upset that she didn't get Hannah, but I think that's also the point of the show.
"The fight does continue, and it ends with Hannah a little bit closer to June but June's continuing the fight, and I think that's the underlying message of The Handmaid's.
"I never expected it to wrap up in a neat bow. It's drawn from historical records.
"[Author] Margaret Atwood was very clever in drawing all of the horrors from history so that it always stays true to the times, and I think for the series adaptation to have gone for the ultimate happy ending just would not be right and I think we'd be up in arms about that.
"And also, there is the sequel. So, I do think The Testaments has ensured that there wasn't going to be a Hannah reunion."
On the flip side, Williams says viewers are relieved that Janine (Madeline Brewer) did get her happy ending.
"I do think the Janine moment, because everyone wanted it for so long, the pay-off on that was enough for a lot of people," Williams said.
"I might have liked one more scene but certainly on the podcast, I'm in the minority.
"The three others absolutely loved the Janine emancipation and to have her daughter Charlotte, who is her Gilead child, handed back to her was all she ever wanted."
Williams says the response to Serena's storyline has been mixed.
Serena is played by Yvonne Strahovski, who grew up in Werrington Downs in western Sydney and then Croydon in the inner west as the daughter of Polish immigrants.
"I think the June and Serena storyline throughout, they've always been sort of two sides of the same coin in that they're both these mighty women who when they're on the same team, they're really formidable," Williams said.
"[Serena] understood the brutality [of the regime], but she has never until the finale taken actual responsibility for what she did and her role in bringing Gilead into being and for the rape and torture of June throughout.
"So, they have a beautiful moment in the finale, actually, in that that was really touching … where she takes full responsibility and a genuine apology is offered up to June. It's not transactional.
"And June shows grace to Serena … so fans appreciate June's side of it. [But] I think there is still of course the 'Serena got away with it' side of social media reactions."
Many fans of the series, who were also fans of Nick (Max Minghella), were not happy about his character arc or demise.
"Whoever was in charge of season 6 'The handmaid's Tale' I am so very angry with you," one person posted.
"Nick died! Y'all are so wrong for that! Why? Like just why? I literally cried! How disappointing!"
Williams says there are a lot of unhappy fans in the Nick camp.
"Team Nick is not happy," Williams said.
"Nick Blaine, June's love in Gilead, through the years he was always a bit of a brooding, kind of quiet type, which I think was part of the attraction for a lot of people but there was an overriding assumption that he was working for good within Gilead.
"He was kind of like the archetype of the good German.
"Turns out, not so much.
"There was an episode this season where it was revealed that he was working in Gilead and not actually doing anything for the resistance.
"He revealed a big plan that ultimately led to the massacre of loads of innocent women … he betrayed June in terms of giving up a secret plan for Mayday and that exposed that, ultimately, he was a Gilead man and June couldn't forgive him.
"She was shocked to the core as were 'Team Nick' and they felt it was not true to the character.
"And then they killed them off.
"He went down in a plane crash, not a hero's death, and I do think 'Team Nick' are really going through it."
Season 6 of the Handmaid's Tale is on SBS On Demand while seasons 1-5 can be found on Stan. Eyes On Gilead will host a live episode and finale watch party on Saturday.
