The new season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” is here — and the first three episodes that dropped on Hulu at midnight didn’t disappoint with a fresh chaotic plan to take down commanders, a look behind the curtain into New Bethlehem and an angry coup that almost wipes out a main character.
Warning: spoilers for Episodes 1 through 3 of “The Handmaid’s Tale” Season 6 below.
Episode 1: June and Serena reunite, chaos ensues
Season 6 kicks off where Season 5 ended: with June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) locking eyes with Serena Joy Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski) on a train with refugees looking to start a new life after escaping Gilead.
The archenemies/occasional allies play catchup, with June immediately hesitant to share anything with Serena, who has the child in her hands that the former handmaid helped her bring into the world.
June is suspicious of Serena’s behavior, with the latter doing annoying things like repeating Gilead phrases, often saying things like “praise be” that even viewers can’t ignore, and somehow, offensively forgetting that June’s oldest child, Hannah, is still trapped in the patriarchal society.
June’s arm is broken from being hit by the car in Season 5, an “accident” that Serena appears shocked by; however, June’s injury soon provides trouble for Mrs. Waterford.
Overstepping per usual, Serena takes it upon herself to seek out a doctor to look at June’s broken arm, but it backfires when the medical professional recognizes her as late Commander Fred Waterford’s wife. The doctor creates chaos when he reports her to a war criminal officer and outs her identity to the refugee women, who immediately turn on her.
Serena doesn’t make things any better for herself when she starts hurling slurs at the ladies, calling them “whores” and saying that “God took the country and saved your babies,” referring to Gilead in a positive light. June jumps in to protect Serena, begging the war criminal officer to arrest her, but he refuses and leaves the angry mob to determine her fate.
Once again, June saves the day by pulling the emergency brake after the women take Serena’s baby and start attacking her in an attempt to kill her. June then makes the snap decision to push Serena and her child off the moving train.
The train does not end up going to Vancouver as promised but ends up in Alaska, where June and the daughter she shares with Commander Nick Blaine (Max Minghella) reunite with (shocker) her mother, Holly (Cherry Jones).
Nick also makes an appearance during Episode 1 in New Bethlehem, the world created by Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) for Gilead refugees, which promises more leniencies but still has rules in place that uphold the former country’s borders.
Nick arrives at his new home to his pregnant wife, Rose (Carey Cox), who is pissed because he attacked Commander Lawrence after June’s arrest last season.
Episode 2: Mayday in motion
Episode 2 shows that Serena has landed on her feet and in a new village, in which she rebrands herself as a caring woman named Rachel. She seems to be living peacefully under her pseudonym until she’s warned that dangerous people know where she is and will come looking for her. She’s convinced to leave the village and begin a life in New Bethlehem.
Mayday is again introduced as the secret resistance group with a massive plan to take out Gilead’s top commanders, with June’s husband, Luke Bankole (O-T Fagbenle), and her best friend, Moira Strand (Samira Wiley), leading the charge.
By this episode, Luke and Myra are already in New Bethlehem, trying to put the wheels of Mayday in motion. June leaves her daughter Nicole, whom she shares with Nick, with her mother and goes off in an attempt to talk them off the ledge.
While Episode 2 is a bit boring, it’s also telling as it shows the differences between June and Serena. They are both going on new adventures, but Serena is doing so with her baby on a private jet. She gets not only her child but also another sweet life of riches in New Bethlehem with familiar faces like Nick and Commander Lawrence. It’s so easy to hate Serena, as her character is given as many chances to reinvent herself like a cat with nine lives.
Episode 3: action-packed, reunions and returning characters
June goes to New Bethlehem and learns that Serena is there. Married Nick, with a baby on the way, meets his long-lost love, June, in the woods, and she fills him in on Luke and Moira’s whereabouts despite him being a commander. When she tells him she’s going to rescue them, Nick offers to help.
This episode highlights Serena’s investment in New Bethlehem. Despite just getting there, she gives a powerful speech and convinces the leaders of other states to buy into the theory that the new world is different and better than Gilead.
Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) makes her return in Episode 3, as does Janine (Madeline Brewer). Lydia is expecting to be reunited with “her girls” after being promised they’d be living a better life post-Gilead — but what she finds is essentially a sex dungeon full of toys and drugs and her No. 1 girl, Janine.
Janine tells Lydia they are sex slaves for the commanders in the new world, sparking confusion, with Lydia saying she was told they’d be rewarded in the new colonies. Janine responds, “They lied to you,” and refuses Lydia’s help.
Lydia later learns that Serena is “progressive” in New Bethlehem, but she doesn’t seem to buy it.
Eventually, June and Nick arrive at an abandoned waterpark where they believe Luke and Moira are hiding, but security is circling. They have a moment where Nick seems to regret putting his life in danger for June, reflecting, “You chose him [Luke].” She responds that she still loves Nick but confesses she can’t lose her husband and best friend. June convinces Nick to continue with the plan and help her locate them.
After they find Luke and Moira in the empty waterpark, security stops them, not realizing that June is public enemy number one. Nick instructs the trio to get into his car, and he makes a dangerous decision that could blow his cover.
In that moment, he risks everything for June, including outing himself that he’s secretly working with the US government.
Nick brings Luke, Moira and June to Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger), the representative of the U.S. government-in-exile, who warns Nick not to go “dark” on him again or he’ll “expose” him.
The episode ends with the infuriating love triangle. Nick has to go back to his pregnant wife and his pretend life. He says goodbye to June, but she won’t let him. June tells him, “See ya later,” and the look she gives him presents the viewers all they need to know about who she really loves.
While the first three episodes are available now on Hulu, new episodes will be dropping on the streamer every Tuesday.
This marks the sixth and final season of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” The drama, which first aired in 2017, has taken home 15 Academy Awards during its eight-year reign.
The last season premiere for the series took place in Hollywood, California, last week, in which The Post spoke to stars Moss, Wiley and newcomer Timothy Simons, who shared what it was like to film the final installment, as well as the show’s creator and executive producer, who spilled details about the upcoming spinoff, “The Testaments.”
