This New 'Handmaid's Tale' Promo Teases A HUGE Change For June & The Show
Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale has gone to some surprising places since running out of material from the book at the end of Season 1. June has traveled to abandoned houses, the old offices of The Boston Globe, and even down to Washington D.C. The series has also taken viewers up to Canada's Little America and out to the Colonies. But the latest trip to Chicago may be a turning point, as The Handmaid's Tale Season 4, Episode 6 promo hints June is once again being given a chance at freedom.
Warning: Spoilers for The Handmaid's Tale Season 4, Episode 5 follow. At the very end of Episode 5, "Chicago," June and Janine are caught in a bombing run by Gilead to snuff out the American rebellion. When June regains consciousness, Janine has disappeared. Instead, a new figure emerges from the smoke and dust: Moira.
The episode ended right there, before either character could speak. It left viewers wondering whether Moira was even present or just a vision June was having. But the new promo all but confirms Moira is real, and that she's there with a group of aid workers, including her new girlfriend, Oona. Moreover, having left June behind once, Moira is determined not to do it again.
Episode 6 is titled "Vows":
A key complaint critics cite when talking about The Handmaid's Tale has been June's insistence on staying in Gilead against logic and reason. That's partly due to the showrunner Bruce Miller, who told reporters after the Season 2 finale that he saw June's escape as the show's "happy ending." Once she left, the series would be over. Moreover, he didn't believe she would go without Hannah.
But things have changed since then. During the show's hiatus between Seasons 3 and 4, author Margaret Atwood released a sequel, The Testaments, in which it is confirms June escaped Gilead without taking Hannah with her.
That doesn't necessarily mean this episode will feature June's big exit. As fans can see, she's not exactly in her right mind when Moira finds her. She's just been through an attack; she may very well be concussed. June is also obviously in frantic denial that the bombing may have killed Janine.
Moreover, Oona's insistence that they can't take June out of Gilead hints she may not be able to leave with Moira. Groups like CERA are dependent on playing by the rules in order to operate. It's a "good of the many outweigh the needs of the few" type gig by its very nature. If Moira does manage to smuggle June out, she may be doing it alone.
The Handmaid's Tale continues Wednesdays on Hulu.
