fter six riveting seasons, The Handmaid’s Tale has finally come to an end. (If you haven’t watched it yet, kindly look away now, there are many spoilers to come.) Based on Margaret Atwood‘s novel of the same name, The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian series told from the lens of June Osbourne, a woman who is forced to serve as a handmaid in the fictional, theocratic Republic of Gilead. As the series finally comes to a close, one writer shares thoughts, feelings and emotions on the show’s epic finale.
I was quite late to the Handmaid’s fandom, largely because the premise of the show completely terrified me. But in 2025, what is perhaps most terrifying about the show is how brutally close it comes to reality. Atwood has famously said that although the novel is a work of fiction, it has been written in response to events that have actually happened in history. But even today, there are some glaring parallels between the totalitarian rule of Gilead and current-day events.
The Hulu series has firmly cemented my belief that Elisabeth Moss (starring as June Osbourne, the heroic handmaid), can do just about anything. The powerhouse actress not only plays the titular character but also directs 4 episodes in the final season, including the series finale and serves as executive producer.
There are some glaring parallels between the totalitarian rule of Gilead and current-day events.
The show may be over, but those intense glares where Moss stares into the camera directly into my soul live rent-free in my head now. On that note, here are our thoughts after watching the finale of The Handmaid’s Tale:
Serena: The ultimate anti-hero
Serena Waterford, played by Yvonne Strahovski, has to have one of the best character arcs on the show. From the cruel wife of Commander Waterford to a Gilead rebel to the face of “New Bethlehem” to essentially being a stateless mother of a toddler, Serena brings a fresh dose of chaos to an already dramatic plot. Serena has some iconic moments in Season 6, where her magnetism and, of course, narcissism are on full display. Her blatant delusion when it comes to the future of Gilead is almost humorous – but the show wouldn’t be what it was without that fierce Serena and June dynamic.
A moment is also necessary for the fashion that Serena brings to the show – she even pulls off losing a finger with a lot more grace than anyone else could have mustered. Those dusty pink dresses and of course that grandiose wedding dress bring a whole lot of glamour to the otherwise bleak fashion of Gilead and Strahovski has mastered this character – it’s not easy to turn an audience around especially when she starts off being so plain evil, but at the end of Season 6 I do think Serena redeems herself. And if June can forgive her, surely, we can. I would love to know if she ends up with our US Government rep, Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger). All those furtive glances and his penchant for rescuing her can’t be for nothing.
That soundtrack…
The rebel Handmaids prowling the streets of Gilead with their commander’s blood on their hands makes for a truly epic moment, and that Taylor Swift soundtrack was spot on. If there was ever a moment to have Look What You Made Me Do play in the background, this was it. It’s not surprising that The Handmaid’s Tale has received several accolades for music, including an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music Composition for a series, and the soundtrack does its job in those pivotal scenes. Whether it’s the intense instrumentals over a Nick and June montage or Fearless Soul‘s rendition of Coldplay‘s Fix You playing when Moira finally sees June after she survives a bombing, I love a show that has me listening to its playlist on Spotify.
An unexpected hero emerges
Aunt Lydia emerging as the queen we never knew she could be is another stark moment, preceded, of course, by one of the many hair-raising, soul-crushing June speeches that Elisabeth Moss delivers so powerfully. Ann Dowd does a phenomenal job in the whole show, and we get hints at her discomfort as it slowly dawns on her that Gilead is not entirely as rooted in good values and faith as it pretends to be. For me, the moment Aunt Lydia turned on Gilead ranks close to the feeling I had when I realised Snape was the good guy all along. It’s a testament to great writing and acting that a woman who used a stream of biblical references to endorse cruel acts of brutality and wasn’t shy to use a cattle prod can turn around so convincingly.
Nick and his poor choices
I feel like I need to make a disclaimer before I go into this one: I’ve been Team Nick from the beginning. What can I say…red flags (or in this case, men in black suits who speak few words, but stare into your soul), don’t scare me. I was rooting for Nick and June to make it, somehow. Sorry, Luke.
Nick, played effortlessly by British actor Max Minghella, is one of the only reasons why June survived Gilead – the man crossed borders and risked his limbs (literally) and was basically at June’s beck and call for most of the series. But I think their relationship served as a reminder that Handmaid’s is not a love story – it’s a tale of survival. (Although yes, he is most definitely Rihanna-level hot. Praise be.)
Towards the end, Nick ultimately chooses to stay loyal to Gilead. So maybe he served his purpose; he kept June alive while he could. He does some unforgivable things in Season 6 – betraying Mayday for one. Saving June from being hanged would have been a great place for him to intervene, but alas, Nick was trying on a new suit at the time (metaphorically) – a suit that he did end up dying in. That plane scene still destroyed me and if I had my way, I wish Nick could have died doing something heroic. Ultimately, I think Serena put it the best way – if Nick had ever thought he had a choice, he would have chosen June. Sigh.
If Nick had ever thought he had a choice, he would have chosen June.
I would love to see a spin-off series with more of Nick’s backstory and what he got up to all the times he wasn’t sneaking into June’s room or venturing into Canada for glimpses of his forbidden lover. Apologies if the next image is triggering for Team Nick. It’s worth noting here that Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) breathes new life into the show with his incredible performance as the guilt-driven founding father of Gilead, and Nick and Lawrence have some serious scene chemistry. If only Nick had ended up more like him, maybe his fate might have been different.
Luke and June talking about co-parenting
Luke, played beautifully by O-T Fagbenle, begins the show by being this sort of passive character who doesn’t quite have the same drive and hunger for revenge that June does. In previous seasons, he’s almost laidback, weighed down by survivor’s guilt. In past episodes, he’s needed June to swoop in and save him more than once, but in Season 6, he’s a hardened Mayday leader, gun in hand, not afraid to fire. It’s also evident that something between them has broken, unsurprisingly, even when June tries to adjust to life in Canada. Well, of course, she’s still in love with Nick, owner of quite a famed smouldering gaze – Commander Lawrence’s choice of words, not mine, I promise.
The writer’s choice to not have her romantically linked to Luke towards the end seems like a difficult but right choice. Luke and June choosing to leave their relationship aside and work towards saving Hannah together completes the loop – amidst all the incomplete loops in the show, this is one ending that seems fitting. (Apologies to Team Luke fans, but at least they seem like they’ll be great co-parents.)
The red wedding
I loved the “let them eat cake” analogy being completely overturned in June’s plan to drug the commanders and wives so that the handmaids could overpower them. I was a tad bit underwhelmed that the entire rebellion depended on the commander’s eating a slice of Rita’s cake – there are already so many things that can go wrong, but I suppose it did work eventually. The cinematography of the handmaids at the wedding passing each other knives discreetly, all in perfect sync, was incredible. Goosebumps.
There are several plotlines left incomplete and plenty of questions still unanswered at the end. The show hints at Hannah (now called Agnes in Gilead) still clinging to possibly fading memories of her birth name and her parents, all while growing up in Gilead, where she is training to be a wife. I wish there had been some kind of moment between Luke, June and Hannah, given that the entire 6 seasons revolve around June trying to rescue her daughter. I did feel like I needed a bit more when it comes to Hannah’s storyline, but I’m assuming this gives plenty of room for the character to be developed in the sequel.
The reunions
One of my favourite moments in the show is when June reunites with her own mother, who we think is dead all this time. The Handmaid’s Tale is the most beautiful representation of the power of maternal love that I have ever seen on TV – and while June’s fight to save her daughters is central to the plot, the show also talks about the strength in realising when you need to let go.
Holly never ultimately gets to keep her own daughter safe like she wants to – but in letting go, she performs the ultimate sacrifice a mother can make. “You taught me how to fight,” June tells her mother in that beautifully crafted final dialogue between them. We don’t know where the road will take June next, but we do know that the fight is far from over.
Talking about reunions, the show doesn’t exactly have a happy ending, but we’ll take the few wins we can get. Janine, Madeline Brewer, who emerges as such a blaze of optimism and courage in the face of a truckload of misfortune, finally gets to be with her beloved daughter, Charlotte, hopefully forever, and that reunion is the slice of hope I needed to see at the end. I had a feeling Emily (Alexis Bledel) would show up at the end, and it’s those little moments of joy in the show that feel so special amidst the gloom. The power of female friendship and sisterhood in this show never fails to amaze me, and it always makes me want to reach out and hold my friends closer.
Clearly, we need more
While Handmaid’s might have ended, there is confirmed news that The Testaments, the sequel to Handmaid’s, set 15 years after the events of the original series, is in the works. While we don’t have confirmed news about a release date so far, we know that The Testaments will feature Ann Dowd reprising her role as Aunt Lydia, with the series focusing on the life of Agnes, a young woman living in Gilead (who I’m assuming is June’s daughter), and Daisy, a young woman living in Canada. Moss is also set to executive produce, and we can hopefully look forward to some appearances from June in the show – but till then, you know the drill – don’t let the b******s grind you down.
