The first season of Hulu's critically acclaimed series The Handmaid's Tale has come to a close, leaving fans with as open an ending as there was in the book, while still setting up threads for a potential season two. True to the rest of the season, the finale was grim and emotionally draining. However, seeds of hope were also planted, seeds that will hopefully come to fruition in the coming seasons.
The Handmaid's Tale was a standalone book and the show has already gone through the canon material, so season two will venture into entirely original territory. Whether that will be a good decision or not remains to be seen, but the first season has been a triumph for Hulu, which has yet to reach the same levels of acclaim as other streaming sites. Whether you need a refresher on the finale for watercooler discussions or if you have questions about what happened in Gilead, here's a complete breakdown of what happened in the finale.
The finale, "Night," is set a few days after Janine's (Madeline Brewer) suicide attempt and Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) realizing the Commander (Joseph Fiennes) was infatuated with June (Elisabeth Moss). Moira (Samira Wiley) had managed to get June the package she needed from the Jezebels, and later on made a second daring escape attempt.
A Look Into the Past
The episode opens with another one of the show's flashbacks, this time to the day that June (long before she was given the mantle Offred) arrived at the Red Center. As she and other captured women file past, Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) tuts over their outfits, calling them sluts. She then tells them to humble themselves by clasping their hands and bowing their heads; when June is distracted by two other Handmaids walking by, Aunt Lydia shocks her and demands an apology, setting up a scene that will occur later in the episode.
This is, notably, the only flashback in the episode save for a brief moment where June remembers being with Luke (O. T. Fagbenle). Most of the episodes have had multiple flashback sequences, but this episode focuses entirely on the present and where the characters are going, rather than where they have been. It also might be that next season, which is promised to have multiple perspectives rather than just June's, will do away with the flashback model and focus on the present. Either way, this is a marked difference from the usual episodes, which also makes sense given how the episode sets up characters who are finally growing and changing.
Moira's Future
In an episode that alternates between darkness and heartbreak, Moira emerges as the one bright spot of hope. When we first see her in this episode, she is stumbling through a snowy field, clearly exhausted. She hides in a garage, and when she checks the plates of a nearby car realizes that she is in Ontario, safely away from Gilead. She sinks to the floor, gasping in relief. Later, we see her with a case worker who treats her with kindness. Moira is clearly taken aback as she is given money, a cell phone, medical insurance, and new clothes - unused to kindness after the cruelty in Gilead.
Perhaps the happiest moment - which is contrasted with June walking home alone - is Moira being reunited with Luke in Canada. Even though the last time we saw them they were fighting, Luke still listed Moira as a member of his family and was alerted to her arrival at the refugee center. The pair share an emotional reunion, and will likely be the protagonists of future episodes set in Canada. Even though they've both lost so much, and June and Hannah are still trapped in Gilead, to see the pair reunited and safe across the border provides a much needed dose of hope for the future.
The Season's Real Villain
A case could be made for the entire nation of Gilead to be the villain of the piece, or the Commander himself. But ultimately the character who is the cruellest is Serena Joy, who proves that while all women suffer under Gilead's rule, there are many complicit in it's sins. Despite attempts at humanizing her, Serena Joy ultimately seems to care very little about the women who are suffering beneath her. She confronts June and strikes her before all but saying if she's not pregnant she will die. Thankfully, June is pregnant, which buys her some time, but that is not enough to stop Serena Joy's rage.
Later, she takes June on a trip that ends with her enjoying a conversation with June's daughter Hannah as June screams and begs to be let out from the car. Afterwards, she tells June that as long as her baby is safe, Hannh will be safe. This leads to June finally snapping and releasing a tirade of hate, which is frankly cathartic. However, by the episode's end, Serena Joy has lost her last, greatest hope, and should she return in season two it will be interesting to see whether or not she turns on her husband or remains complicit in Gilead's crimes.
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Solidarity Among Handmaids
A running theme in the season is the strong bond that exists between the Handmaids. From episode four onwards, the Handmaids have been shown to be quietly rebelling through their friendship and affections for each other. It is June who is brought in to save Janine's baby because of their friendship. And here, in this episode, the running plot of Handmaids coming together finally comes to fruition at two major moments.
The first moment is June opening the packaged smuggled to her from Moira. It contains letters from Handmaids smuggled across state lines. As music swells, June reads about these women who have lost so much and their pleas for help. "Don't forget us," is a key phrase in the letters, which ties into an earlier episode where June tells Nick (Max Minghella) that even if their affair leads to her execution, someone will at least remember and care that she's gone. The Handmaids are all seeking a way out, and these letters, which ultimately end up in the hands of Rita (Amanda Bruguel), might be one way to convince the world to help them.
The second is the Handmaid's refusal to participate in the execution of Janine. When faced with the order to stone her to death, one Handmaid steps forward to say no and is struck by a nearby soldier before being dragged off. Aunt Lydia blows the whistle signaling the execution is to begin but instead June steps forward to say "I'm sorry Aunt Lydia" before dropping her stone. The other Handmaid's follow suit. It's a striking moment of resistance and sisterhood. Janine, granted a reprieve, begins to cry, and June smiles as the Handmaids are ordered to return home and Aunt Lydia promises consequences.
It would have been easy to have the Handmaids all turn against each other, but the show's decision to show them as an army waiting to rise was a powerful one. It is up in the air whether many of these characters will return next season given the changes of settings, but I hope that we see characters such as Alma (Nina Kiri) and maybe even Janine again.
June's Fate
June's act of rebellion will not go unpunished. A black van pulls up outside the Waterford's house, and she knows it is for her. Nick appears and tells her to trust him. Serena Joy hisses "what did you do" at June as her child slips away. June whispers something to Rita, who in turn goes and retrieves the letters, setting up a larger role for her in the coming season. June is serene as she enters the awaiting van, remarking in her voiceover that she is either entering the darkness or stepping into the light.
The ending of the first season is, essentially, the ending of the book. While June's act of rebellion was not in the book and indeed was most likely set up to show how far she has grown and the journey she will still be on, the book ends with her being taken away. An epilogue set at a fictional historical conference years after the events of the novel reveals that the van was a new beginning for her, but is still vague on what happened to her after her escape. With a second season on the horizon, it is likely that June will survive as well in the show. However, it could be that we do not see her for a while and other characters take the stage as protagonist until her fate is revealed. The show now has a whole world to explore, and it will be intriguing to see where these characters go on their journeys, and what end awaits them all.