Sometimes it feels like The Handmaid’s Tale brings us back in a circle, and that’s certainly the case with the latest episode. How exactly does June end up with the one person she hates the most in The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, episode 6?
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, episode 6.
We left the previous episode with June and Moira having to trust Commander Lawrence. They had no idea what Lawrence had learned at first, but June knows Lawrence well enough to know that he doesn’t necessarily believe in everything that Gilead stands for.
This all leads to the next push in the rebellion, but first, we have a situation that involves June and Serena. The two just can’t seem to stop being drawn together.
Commander Lawrence opens up to June in The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, episode 6
June did the right thing in trusting Lawrence. While he does hold grudges, he also doesn’t believe in Gilead. Not the way Gilead was, and we finally get to see him open up about his grief. Sure, he’s hated June a little because she sat and watched Eleanor die that night, but he hates himself more. He’s the one who created the hell that Eleanor couldn’t escape from.
Hearing the other commanders talk about putting him on the wall has made it clear that everything Lawrence has tried to do is for nothing. The only way out is rebellion, and he is willing to get June and Moira out. There’s just one problem: they need the items from the safe back at Jezebels.
So, who can June call who can help with that? Of course, it’s Nick, who immediately jumps at the chance to help the love of his life. The two get a moment together, with the two of them dreaming about the life that they could have had if Gilead wasn’t a thing. This is important as it connects to a later moment, when Nick learns that his father-in-law didn’t leave for DC.
Nick now has to make a choice. With the plans for May Day to kill all the commanders, Nick chooses to save his own life instead of taking down Gilead. I can’t blame him; he’s caught between a rock and a hard place. He doesn’t fully believe in Gilead, but this is the life he has grown up in and he knows what can happen if he fails in his current position.
When Nick rushes to June and asks her to go to Paris with him, we know that he wants to get June away from everything before she can learn about him betraying her and May Day. It doesn’t work, though, and you can feel the hurt from June as she realizes what Nick has done.
Moira always worried about June trusting Lawrence, but it’s been Nick all along that has been the one not to trust. We’ve seen it time and time again, but June couldn’t — partly due to love and partly because she wasn’t there when Nick had to make some horrible choices. While in a way it’s a good thing that Jezebels has been shut down, it ruins all the plans for May Day, and now there is no way of killing all the commanders. Maybe Lawrence will be able to find a way to help May Day go through with the plan.
Serena and June end up back in the same space in The Handmaid’s Tale
Before finding out about Nick’s betrayal, June has to turn to Serena for help. With Nick learning that his father-in-law didn’t go to DC, he tells June to trust Serena.
I continue to be torn with Serena. She is only looking out for herself, but she can see that there has to be a reason June keeps coming back into her life. At the same time, she wants June to forgive her. She’s stuck on this, and it continues to lead to her helping June out even when she really shouldn’t. One thing is clear in The Handmaid’s Tale: the two are trauma bonded.
Serena knows how to do nice things every now and then. One of those is inviting Rita over the morning after June comes to Serena for help. I love that we get this short-lived reunion, but it does nothing to really further the plot. All it does is tell us that Rita won’t be part of the May Day plot. At least, not for now.
Look, with how Nick is acting, it’s going to affect Rita. She is trusting Nick to find her family and get them to New Bethlehem, but we know Nick will only do something that serves him. He has now betrayed June, so what’s to say that he will stick to his word and get Rita’s family to her? This could be just what is needed to make Rita more vital to the ending of The Handmaid’s Tale, because right now, she appears to be a forgotten character.
I just often feel like The Handmaid’s Tale doesn’t know how to write a season without June and Serena ending up back needing each other in some sort of way. I understand them protecting and helping each other on the train, but now just five episodes later they’re back together with June needing Serena’s help. The only way this scene will be worth it is if this somehow leads to Serena finding out that Lawrence’s plan is going to be destroyed and she needs to take down Gilead, too.
Overall, the strongest part of The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, episode 6 was the end and seeing how June reacts to realizing that Nick betrayed her. Of course, everyone is going to blame her for this plan no longer working, even though this could have easily happened had Moira gone in alone. With just four episodes to go, a lot feels wasted on more June and Serena time that goes nowhere and the May Day plot being stopped again. I know there's a huge rebellion scene to come based on what I saw filming in Cambridge, though, so I remain optimistic for the final two episodes.
The Handmaid’s Tale airs on Tuesdays on Hulu.