Read this review to see if The Handmaid’s Tale episode “The Handmaid’s Tale” is worth watching.
About The Handmaid’s Tale
- Season 6, Episode 10: “The Handmaid’s Tale”
- Directed by Elisabeth Moss
- Written by Bruce Miller
- Synopsis: June reflects on her experiences in Gilead and decides what to do next.
- Airdate: May 27, 2025
- Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Madeline Brewer, Amanda Brugel, Ever Carradine, Ann Dowd, O-T Fagbenle, Sam Jaeger, Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel, and Nina Kiri
Overall: Skip The Handmaid’s Tale (2025): “The Handmaid’s Tale”
A series that could have easily become overloaded with combative political criticism, weighed down by exploitative sex scenes, or mismanaged by cowardly studio intervention found a grounded and powerful ending in The Handmaid’s Tale. It didn’t.
The show’s portrayal of the fascist ambition to dominate and rule, the cunning toadies that allow them to do whatever suits them best, and the will of the people who are determined to oppose it remained flawless throughout.
The only reason to watch the last episode of the show is in connection with the series. “The Handmaid’s Tale” feels like an ellipsis even though it is the “finale” of the series. Because life continues after tales of intrigue and sorrow, it is not unusual for major television programs to conclude with their characters still alive. But there are too many unanswered plotlines and a phantom lingering at the end of the episode. The spin-off show The Testaments has already received a green light, and it is reasonable to assume that several beloved characters will have prominent guest-starring parts in the new series.
But after six seasons and the high caliber of work we anticipated from The Handmaid’s Tale at its height, the show’s conclusion is comparatively subpar. It feels like we’re just temporarily ending the book so Hulu can go forward with a new series, in addition to leaving too many things unanswered. The story of Lydia is told in The Testaments, which was approved in 2022 (after the book and performance). Additionally, it chronicles the efforts of Agnes, a small child who was formerly known as Hannah, to get back to her mother.
The Handmaid’s Tale series finale is nothing to write home about. It’s a very dull final hour and does not offer the emotional closure one might hope for. With only a couple of scenes with the characters that mattered most to June, including an Alexis Bledel extended cameo, and essentially the same for Samira Wiley, we needed more from this episode. Instead, we’re left with a dour ending that is neither emotionally nor narratively satisfying for this journey. I guess we’re left waiting for closure with The Testaments, but who knows if we’ll want to return to Gilead by the time it rolls around.
The last lesson is that while winning is wonderful, the battle is not done until the machine breaks. Let’s hope that Atwood’s lessons—and those of everyone associated with this important contribution to the zeitgeist—reverberate where they are most needed.
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