Fellow The Handmaid's Tale, fans! How are you all feeling? Because I can tell you right now that my heart is as broken as June's after that shocking betrayal that came from one of the closest people to her. Season 6 episode 6 is titled "Surprise," and that's definitely one of the feelings we're feeling over here. SPOILERS BELOW.
If your'e reading this, then you're probably also basking in all your feels and trying to process what just happened between June and Nick in the latest episode of the Hulu series. As many times before, she gets stuck and needs his help to get the letters and map left at Jezebel's, and Nick asks her to stay the night since his wife and father-in-law are back in Washington D.C. At least, that was the plan.
The ever disgusting and annoying Commander Bell and Janine run into Nick as he's leaving Jezebel's with the papers. Of course the only thing the commander assumes is that Nick has become a client there. This brings his father-in-law back to understand why exactly Nick is cheating on his daughter. And this is where things get tricky for him.
Instead of lying and just saying he made a mistake and spent the night with someone, Nick uses something else that he's not supposed to, to save himself. This has heartbreaking consequences because he tells Commander Wharton all about Mayday's plan, and the girls at Jezebel's are executed in a horrendous way because of it. I mean, Nick you felt bad about killing that 19-year-old Guardian kid. But this was ok for you?
As June and Nick are hiding in the closet when Commander Wharton visits Serena - June spent the night at Serena's instead of with Nick since Commander Wharton unexpectedly returned - she overhears everything that Nick did. Ugh, the look on both of their faces. This was the ultimate betrayal as June (and us viewers!) trusted Nick wholeheartedly when it came to everything, including Mayday's plans.
Now, look. Nick was put in a really tough spot and he's been in danger and under suspicion multiple times already just in The Handmaid's Tale season 6 because he was helping and protecting June. Clearly he doesn't care about Rose or even his unborn son enough to stay. Before this moment, he'd asked June to get Nicole and run away to Paris like they'd talked about. But when it came down to it, he saved his own skin instead of making up an acceptable lie of having spent the night at Jezebel's or something else.
Commander Wharton is a quiet sort of scary, and he may not have reacted well to that either. Though being a GIlead man, I'm sure he would have understood the lie as a moment of weakness or whatever else some men tell themselves to make themselves feel better. But nope. He took the easy way out. All of this of course still has us crying because we NEVER expected Nick to do that to June.
She put her whole trust in him, and he let her down. Was Nick always this selfish, or has he just given up all hope that he and June will be together again? So, maybe that's what leads him to just not caring what happens anymore because their efforts are fruitless. At least that's what it seems to be from his perspective right now? I don't know. Though he also didn't have to marry Rose in the first place so a lot of this is his own fault and doing.
I don't know where our favorite couple can go from here. Is there hope for June and Nick to be together in the future? Even if they're able to successfully revolt against Gilead? I don't know. Nick has broken June's trust in a huge way, and ours as well. Gah!
The Handmaid's Tale season 6 releases new episodes Tuesdays on Hulu.