The Handmaid's Tale season 5, episode 2, "Ballet," features a pretty shocking end for Esther and Janine — so are they dead? What happened to these two significant characters was shocking, creating one of the most visceral moments in the already bleak series. Janine has been around since season 1 of The Handmaid's Tale, with Esther later introduced in season 4, and although "Ballet" looks like it showed the death of these two characters, things may not be as they seem.
Janine Lindo (Madeline Brewer) is one of the Handmaids taken to the Red Center at the same time as June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss), although initially, Janine is a little more rebellious. As punishment for acting out, the Aunts remove Janine's right eye, causing her to undergo a psychological breakdown. Despite this, she has survived throughout the show's five seasons (so far). During Janine's attempted escape to Canada in The Handmaid's Tale season 4, she is captured by Gilead and returned. Janine now works with Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) and other Handmaids, including Esther, a young girl who provided a safe house for June and the other escaped Handmaids in season 4. Although Esther starts out as a wife, the 11-year-old girl is arrested for helping June and is forced into being a Handmaid, with her being given to Commander Putnam (Stephen Kunken) at the beginning of The Handmaid's Tale season 5.
In The Handmaid's Tale season 5, episode 2, Esther, before she is to be posted, shares some of Commander Putnam's chocolates with Janine. Soon, both girls begin choking and coughing up blood, revealing that Esther has poisoned the chocolates. Aunt Lydia finds the two dying girls, with neither Janine nor Esther being seen again before The Handmaid's Tale season 5, episode 2's ending. There are still a lot of questions, such as how Esther got the poison and why she did it, that are left vague. However, the most important mystery is if Janine and Esther are actually dead or not.
Why Esther & Janine Are Probably Still Alive In The Handmaid's Tale
While things don't look good for Esther and Janine following the poisoning scene in The Handmaid's Tale season 5, episode 2, they're probably still alive. They are last seen coughing up blood, but they're never confirmed to be dead — and killing two major characters offscreen doesn't seem like something The Handmaid's Tale would do. On top of that, Esther's time as a Handmaid has barely been explored, meaning a lot of her story is still left to be told.
If Janine and Esther were to die, that would also mean that The Handmaid's Tale doesn't have any main-character Handmaids living in Gilead anymore. June is in Canada, Emily (Alexis Bledel) is missing, and many others died or have escaped. While it may seem like Janine and Esther are dead, the show never confirms this, and with so much of the series still to go, the two are likely still alive and will return later on in The Handmaid's Tale season 5.
New episodes of The Handmaid's Tale season 5 release Wednesdays on Hulu.