When every character in a series is living under or attempting to escape a brutal, bloothirsty totalitarian regime, it comes as no surprise that many of them wind up having a very close brush with death. So then, it's to be expected that many characters in The Handmaid's Tale have had to face their own mortality at least once throughout the show.
The Handmaid's Tale is arguably Hulu's most successful original series of all time, and the dystopian drama also depicts one of the grimmest and most violent societies ever committed to the small screen. But, which characters on the TV show have come very close to dying, but somehow managed to pull through?
Angela Putnam (Charlotte)
Charlotte's mystery illness is one of the most obvious indications that, despite their utter obsession with children, Gilead isn't exactly the healthiest environment for kids.
After Charlotte (AKA Angela Putnam) was officially kidnapped from Janine and handed over to Warren and Naomi, she becomes gravely ill with some sort of sickness that no doctor can explain. After an entire episode of searching for the answer, it would appear that some contact with her mother that loves her was exactly what the doctor needed all along.
Nichole Osborne
While most fans never had any doubt that Emily and Nichole would survive even if they didn't make it all the way to Canada, their journey across the border was undeniably harrowing.
When Emily had to cross a deep and icy river and take Nichole with her, it was touch and go for a few moments there. Nichole didn't appear to be breathing when they first made it back on land, and the entire journey undoubtedly risked Nichole's life.
Moira Strand
Moira seems like an exceptionally tough woman, so when June reunited with her and it became obvious that Moira hadn't attempted an escape again because she was too afraid, it came as a legitimate surprise. June knocked some sense (or some badass spirit) back into her bestie though, and Moira made a run for it.
When she was on the run it looked like it was during winter, so she was in very serious danger of death during her escape.
Luke Bankole
While every Gilead escapee's journey to freedom is difficult, Luke had a tougher road to Canada than many of the other characters.
Luke was split up from his wife June and his daughter Hannah, shot in the abdomen, and seemingly recaptured, but by a stroke of luck (relatively speaking) his ambulance crashed and offered him another opportunity to escape. He ran into some other survivors who were trying to get out, and after another violent confrontation with Gilead's agents, Luke actually does arrive in Canada.
Emily Malek
In the eyes of the totalitarian regime, Emily is basically a career criminal. However, she must have some guardian angels looking over her shoulder or something, because the amount of times she has nearly died but survived is unbelievable.
Most gay women were killed when the Sons of Jacob took over, but as a fertile woman, Emily was forced to become a handmaid. When she was caught having a relationship, her partner was killed while she was mutilated but allowed to live. She was sent to the colonies, a radioactive death sentence, but then brought back when Boston needed more handmaids. And she would have likely been killed when she tried to kill Aunt Lydia, but Lawrence helped her escape, and she survived the trek across the border too.
Janine Lindo
At some point, Janine's luck has got to improve. While she is certainly better off than the deceased handmaids, she has had a really rough go of things generally speaking. She has already knowingly lost Charlotte, and unknowingly lost her son Caleb too.
Her life was so terrible at one point that, after she took back her daughter Charlotte and tried to escape, she decided that she'd rather die than continue on as forced breeding stock for Gilead. Janine jumped off a bridge into freezing cold water in an attempt to die, but was pulled out and survived.
Aunt Lydia Clements
For all of the talk about what a brilliant mind Emily Malek is, she really botched the job when it came to making sure she finished Aunt Lydia off.
Despite the fact that Emily should theoretically be quite knowledgeable about human anatomy and thus more than capable of killing someone than the average person, when she stabbed Aunt Lydia, everyone's least favorite aunt somehow survived. Despite being wounded and thrown down the stairs, Lydia made what appears to be a full recovery.
June Osborne
To be honest, if The Handmaid's Tale played by its own rules then it would have ended seasons ago. Or at the very least, June would have ceased to be its main character.
Because, while many other characters have had close brushes with death, no one has survived more near-death experiences than June Osborne. Whether it's surviving a fake hanging or being the only person rescued from a literal air raid, June has nearly died and then survived multiple times each season.