WARNING: Spoilers below for The Handmaid's Tale season 5, episode 4.Since June made it to Canada, she has struggled to reconnect with Luke as she processes her trauma, but The Handmaid's Tale season 5, episode 4 suggests that their newfound bond could ultimately be their downfall. After June escaped from Gilead, she was welcomed to Toronto by Moira, Luke, and her daughter Nichole, but something was holding her back from connecting with them on a deeper level. As she dealt with PTSD and the arrival of the Waterfords in Toronto, it seemed like June and Luke may never be able to recover from their years-long separation while June was in Gilead.
Despite this, Luke has tried to be there for his wife in the best way he can, responding to June's struggles with dedication and support. June's reluctance to accept this, however, made it seem as if full reconciliation was off the table. Part of this is because she blames herself for Hannah still being in Gilead, while another part of her seems hell-bent on revenge. June's murder of Fred Waterford satiated part of that thirst for revenge and it has helped Luke and June reconnect to a certain extent. The fear of losing June to murder charges spurred a renewed dedication to her and now even Luke wants his own form of revenge.
After a run-in with Serena during which June hesitates to kill her, June tells Luke she can't promise that she won't kill Serena next time. Luke replies with the same sentiment, revealing his own desire to murder Serena. Luke and June proceed to have sex after this confession during a montage that also shows Serena arriving in Gilead after the encounter. In June and Luke's relationship, the latter has always been the more pragmatic of the two (partly because he has not faced the same trauma as his wife), but this montage paints a different picture. June is able to be truly intimate with Luke for the first time only after he expresses a desire to kill Serena. Conversely, Luke seems to be influenced by June's own desire for revenge, coupled with Serena's prodding of June and, by extension, him. This psychological complexity suggests that, for all their superficial closeness, the couple will always struggle to be truly happy thanks to the burgeoning impact of outside influences.
The Handmaid's Tale Suggests June & Luke Can't Truly Be "Happy" Together
As Luke and June continue to re-adjust to life together, The Handmaid's Tale suggests that it may not be possible for them to be happy after all. They certainly have the ability to reconnect - their co-parenting of Nichole (June's child with Nick) has shown they still have love for each other that transcends self-interest - but the fact that their most intimate moment since June's return is based on hate implies there's a lot more to work through before they can get to a better place.
"The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac, which plays over June and Luke's sex scene, provides further hints that June and Luke may not be good for each other - they just don't know how to let each other go. They are chained to each other because of their shared trauma: Luke having lost June and Hannah to Gilead and June's time as a Handmaid, as well as her own loss of Hannah and Luke. While this doesn't mean they can't overcome this with the right tools, their bonding over June's hatred for Serena doesn't bode well for their fate in The Handmaid's Tale. Their desire for revenge could eclipse their love for each other, sending them down different (and quite possibly dangerous) paths.
New episodes of The Handmaid's Tale season 5 premiere Wednesdays on Hulu.