I truly can't believe that we're already past the halfway point of The Handmaid's Tale season 6. This final season is going by so quickly, and it's going to be over before we know it. But let's hold the tissues for now, there's still plenty of story to get through. Especially with the cliffhanger we were left with in the previous episode!
Last week in season 6 episode 5, "Janine," we check back in with one of our fan-favorite characters who we've only briefly seen so far this season before this episode. June and Moira are officially back in Gilead, and they secretly make their way into Jezebels. They go in to help their friend, as well as give her a heads up that Mayday is planning to kill high-level Commanders next week. Janine is excited that she may have a way out of Jezebels for her and her friends.
However of course not everything goes smoothly, unfortunately. A Guardian shows up and attempts to sexually assault Moira and June, but together they're able to overpower him and kill him. This triggers an alarm and lockdown, but lucky for them Commander Lawrence is leaving at the perfect time and hides them in his trunk. So where do we go next?
Well, we'll find out with the new episode this week! The Handmaid's Tale season 6 episode 6, "Surprise," premieres Tuesday, April 29, 2025 on Hulu. The streamer releases new episodes of the dystopian series at 12 a.m. ET. So because of that, some of us can actually start streaming tonight thanks to the time zone differences. We shared a breakdown of the release times below:
- East Coast: 12 a.m. ET on Tuesday, April 29
- West Coast: 9 p.m. PT on Monday, April 28
- Midwest: 11 p.m. CT on Monday, April 28
- Mountain: 10 p.m. MT on Monday, April 28
What is the next The Handmaid's Tale episode about?
There's no promo for the new episode, but there's a few first-look images as well as a short synopsis to give us an idea of what's coming up next. As mentioned above, the biggest cliffhanger is that Lawrnence now knows June and Moira are in Gilead. And seemingly, he's helping them. Or is he going to turn them in? June has taken a chance trusting him, even though he's always helped her in the past. Check out the official synopsis below:
"June hides in an unexpected place."
Like I said, short and sweet. I do think that Lawrence is going to hide the two friends. Probably at his home or a safe house of sorts. Especially after he overheard the other commanders talking about using New Bethlehem as an excuse to bring people back for now, and then changing Gilead back to its conservative state. Plus at the end of it all, they plan to overthrow Lawrence and put him on the wall. Yeah, that's not really something you want to hear.
I'm assuming this is going to motivate Lawrence to turn on the commanders himself as well, and perhaps join the Mayday efforts. These people are far from reform and help. And it may be time to admit defeat in terms of solving this with reform and peace. It's time they get put on the wall, and hopefully that happens soon. Check out some more first-look images from the episode below!
The Handmaid's Tale season 6 releases new episodes Tuesdays on Hulu.