The official trailer for The Handmaid's Tale season 5 teases major consequences for June's actions, promising an oncoming battle that could see her return to Gilead. The Handmaid's Tale, which is adapted from and expands the world of the 1985 Margaret Atwood novel of the same name, premiered on Hulu in 2017. The series takes place in a dystopian world where fertility rates have dropped to dangerous levels and the East Coast of America has become a fundamentalist nation known as Gilead where women who are able to conceive children are imprisoned by the upper class to serve as "handmaids" and bear their children. The lead character, played by Elisabeth Moss, is one of these handmaids, whose real name is June.
June, who has been becoming increasingly prominent in the rebellion against Gilead, made one of her most shocking plays yet in the season 4 finale, which aired on June 16, 2021. She murdered Joseph Fiennes' character Commander Waterford, who is one of the instrumental figures in the creation and maintenance of Gilead and was her Master at the beginning of the series. This leaves behind his wife Serena, played by Yvonne Strahovski, who is currently pregnant against the odds and has no compunctions about seeking bloody revenge against June.
Today, Hulu released the first official trailer for The Handmaid's Tale season 5, which premieres on September 14. The bulk of the trailer is dealing with the fallout of June's consequential decision, as she explains that she loved killing Commander Waterford "so much," a declaration that gives pause to her husband and allies. Although it would behoove her to pretend to be innocent, she insists that she wants Serena to know it was her who killed her husband, with the trailer implying that this season will lead up to June and Serena squaring off in a major confrontation, possibly back in Gilead. Check out the trailer below:
June and Serena's relationship throughout the series has been incredibly complicated. They are both women who are trapped in a system that is not designed to serve them, even though Serena's position in Gilead society is clearly much higher than June's. However, though they have occasionally admitted a certain amount of begrudging respect for one another, killing Serena's husband was likely a bridge too far, and her full wrath will come slamming down onto June and those she loves.
The Handmaid's Tale is known for making surprising twists and turns, so there may be hope yet for Serena to eventually land on June's side in the war against Gilead. However, even if that does eventually happen, things will certainly get worse before they can get better. Considering the fact that the series has already killed off one of its major characters, it is setting the stage for an equally devastating outcome this season. The fact that this could also bring June back to Gilead is interesting - her prolonged stay in the fundamentalist nation has been a point of contention for audiences, so seeing her return to the country (even if it is to save her daughter), could likely prove controversial.
Source: Hulu