Fans of the series have been waiting for these events since the first season - and now, finally, revolution has come to Gilead! How successful it was and what it cost the main characters, we will learn from the recaps of the final episodes of the six...
Reviews of the released episodes of the final season:
EPISODE VII
A meaningful silent scene between June (Elisabeth Moss) and Nick (Max Minghella) is tensely mixed with another bloody blow from Gilead – for aiding the conspirators, all the brothel workers are shot without mercy or discrimination. The stakes rise sharply to unprecedented heights.
Then, Nick lays all his cards on the table, tells June about saving her friend Janine (Madeline Brewer), matter-of-factly repents of his betrayal, and still seems not to believe what he himself caused. June's taciturnity (obviously shocked) is compensated by Nick's position, who suddenly accuses his beloved of ingratitude and demands that she understand and accept his position. The risks Commander Blaine took almost cost him his life. But for June, that is not too high a price.
June returns to the Mayday headquarters and reports that Nick has revealed the entire conspiracy plan; of course, she has to listen to a quite justified tirade from Luke (O.T. Fagbenle), who is once again convinced of the duplicity of his wife's former lover. June shows no emotion, trying to come to terms with the thought that her story with Nick is now over forever.
Meanwhile, Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) persistently tries to 'fit in' again with the world of Commanders' wives. Strikingly standing out in her pink outfit among the palette of green dresses, she passionately promotes the ideas of New Bethlehem and is surprised not to find female support. It turns out that many wives are quite satisfied with the existing system, and the fate of the Handmaids does not concern them at all. Feeling contempt from the wives, Serena complains to her future husband, and they decide to have a lavish and rich wedding in Boston – to the envy of all Gilead residents.
Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) has faced the cruelty of Commanders before, but it seems that the murder of the girls in the brothel finally brings her to her senses. Learning that her favorite Janine is alive, Aunt Lydia begins searching, but she fails to save Janine from the Commander who took her to his home and began physical abuse (which he had allowed himself more than once in the brothel). Aunt Lydia's rose-colored glasses fall off for good.
Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) arrives at the rebel headquarters, hoping to bring June back into the game. Learning from Lawrence about Serena's plans to have a wedding in Boston, June suggests to the Mayday leaders to use this event to start a revolution and save the Handmaids. By hook or by crook, June and Moira (Samira Wiley) infiltrate the Red Center (the Handmaids' residence) and prepare to integrate into the wedding schedule.
EPISODE VIII
It feels like the series is approaching its final denouement. The main character increasingly reflects on the existence of the Gilead system, the role of Handmaids, and the role of women in all this madness.
Thanks to the help of one of the Aunts (a Mayday member), June and Moira, dressed as Handmaids, become part of the wedding procession of Serena and Commander Wharton. Their plan is simple and extremely complex at the same time: during the ceremony, they must pass neatly folded knives to the Handmaids, with which they are to kill their Commanders that night. Nothing less than a St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. But everything does not go according to plan, and the knife handover is postponed to the wedding dinner. At the dinner, the happy (for now) Serena dances her wedding dance, Nick drinks thoughtfully, and all the guests eat a delicious cake. In it lies the second part of the plan – former Martha Rita (Amanda Brugel) adds sleeping pills to the cake, the Handmaids do not eat the cake and give themselves away to the perceptive Aunt Lydia.
Serena's family idyll with her new husband ends that same night. The pleased Commander 'gives' his wife a Handmaid, which almost drives Serena to hysteria. Disappointed in her choice, Serena wants to leave the house with her child, and she succeeds – the scene of her tense run down the dark street of Gilead makes a disturbing impression.
At this time, the Handmaids return to their homes to finish what they started – kill their Commanders and thereby 'decapitate' the entire top leadership of Gilead. Some succeed, some do not. The task is not easy. June and Moira prepare to lead the remaining Handmaids out of the Red Center, but they are stopped by Aunt Lydia – partly still loyal to her ideals and the demands of Gilead. Surprisingly, by the end of the series, the strong principles of many characters gradually crumble like sandcastles. So Lydia decides to release (!!!) the Handmaids to freedom after a convincing speech by June Osborne. Now they are free, but this is only the beginning.
EPISODE IX
The beginning of the episode is a bomb! To a new version of Taylor Swift's track 'Look What You Made Me Do,' the Handmaids, led by June, load into cars and drive away from cursed Gilead. It seems that the desired freedom is very close, but at the very last moment, the Commanders' soldiers arrest everyone. The plan goes out of control.
Commander Wharton takes matters into his own hands. First, he ironically puts June in a cage like an animal, and this does not impress her at all. They discuss power, control, and religion, and as a result of the conversation, it becomes clear that Wharton is just as crazy a fanatic as many other Commanders. Religion has ceased to be just a tool for maintaining power for him; he has grown into his beliefs with roots and no longer sees the real picture.
In the city center, a scaffold is hastily built. Gallows are prepared for everyone: June, Aunt Lydia, Janine, Moira. The countdown is in minutes, rebels surround the crowd, snipers seek a good view on the rooftops. And everything seems to be waiting for something. The trigger for the uprising is June, who is hanged for a few minutes but is saved from certain death. Yes, the fans' nerves were well rattled. Commander Wharton escapes, Serena is arrested by the rebel leaders, while Nick visits his pregnant wife in the hospital. Invincible Gilead crumbles.
Now all that remains is to eliminate the remaining Commanders. In panic, they plan to fly to Washington to meet with the Commanders of the capital and decide what to do next. Their route is unknown to Mayday, but June guesses in time who might know about it.
Here, in fact, is the foundational episode of the entire season arc. Serena is faced with a choice: betray her new husband or remain on Gilead's side to the end. Serena will choose the former and thereby determine the fate of the city's leaders.
Lawrence is summoned to the new revolutionary headquarters – they suggest he board the plane on which the Commanders are flying to Washington, leave a suitcase with a bomb, and get off. Ironic about the sloppiness of such a plan, Lawrence nevertheless agrees. He and June go to the location together in advance, but unfortunately, they run into Wharton and his entourage. Going in and out without suspicion is no longer possible. Commander Lawrence makes the most important decision of his life – and gets on the plane with the bomb.
Nick is the last to board the flight – and the realization of the impending tragedy overwhelms June. The episode ends with the fragments of the plane and fire disintegrating in the sky – the enemies are defeated, but will this bring anyone happiness?
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