The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6’s Actor Change Is A Big Step Forward For Gilead’s Replacement
In The Handmaid’s Tale season 5, Naomi Putnam, the wife of Commander Putnam, played her most significant role yet. Now, Ever Carradine — the actor who portrays Naomi — is getting a similar boost in visibility in The Handmaid’s Tale’s final outing. Based on Margaret Atwood’s classic dystopian novel of the same name, The Handmaid’s Tale is one of Hulu’s flagship franchises, but, after nearly eight years, June Osborne’s (Elisabeth Olsen) saga is finally coming to an end. Enslaved by high-ranking families like Naomi’s, handmaids, including June, are tasked with solving the Republic of Gilead’s infertility problem.
After giving birth, the handmaids are torn from their infants and reassigned to another Gilead elite. Once a handmaid can no longer “serve” Gilead by carrying children, she’s disposed of. Like all other women in Gilead, including upper-class women like Naomi, are forbidden from reading and holding any position outside the home. An ultra-conservative patriarchal society that’s tethered to religious ideology, Gilead strips women of their rights — and personhood — no matter where they stand. Naomi’s recent marriage to Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford), Gilead’s architect, makes her a more substantial force.
Ever Carradine Becoming A Series Regular On The Handmaid’s Tale Is Important For New Bethlehem
Recently, it was announced that Ever Carradine would be bumped up to a series regular for The Handmaid’s Tale season 6. Since Naomi is now Commander Lawrence’s wife, and since Carradine is getting more screen time, it seems that Naomi’s part in the final season is pretty big. In previous seasons, Naomi was married to Commander Warren Putnam, and the couple’s handmaid, Janine (Ofwarren), gave birth to a healthy baby, Angela. A seemingly model Gileadan couple, the Putnams raise Angela as their own, and are often the first to boast about their republic’s supposed merits.
Naomi begins to show some sympathy for Janine’s position, and even allows the handmaid to interact with Angela.
Throughout season 5, Naomi begins to show some sympathy for Janine’s position, and even allows the handmaid to interact with Angela. After Putnam is executed for his crimes, Naomi finds herself widowed. Wanting to appear more loyal to Gilead, Lawrence proposes to Naomi, who reluctantly accepts. Previously, Lawrence was shown to be supportive of June’s cause and even aided anti-Gilead rebels, but he’s one of the republic’s architects. Given Naomi’s new husband and elevated role, The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 viewers will likely see a lot more of New Bethlehem — Commander Lawrence’s bigger and “better” version of Gilead.
Will New Bethlehem Succeed In The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6?
A modernized and “strategically liberalized island” within Gilead, New Bethlehem was referenced by Commander Lawrence in season 5 of the show as a society that had “No handmaids or hangings.” Of course, that doesn’t mean New Bethlehem is good news, especially since Lawrence has always been difficult to predict. His new project could merely prove that there’s always a bigger fish — and, in June’s case, always something to resist. Regardless, since the series also needs to set up The Testaments, New Bethlehem, and Naomi’s place in it, will likely play a key role in The Handmaid’s Tale’s final outing.
