Based on the novel of the same name byMargaret Atwood, the Hulu seriesThe Handmaid’s Talepresents a bleak dystopia in which women are forced to live as concubines and bear children for the upper class and follows one in particular, June (Elisabeth Moss),as she fights to escape. The show premiered in 2017 and will endwith its upcoming sixth season,expected to premiere in 2025. A sequel series,The Testaments, also based on an Atwood novel, is also in the works.
With five seasons behind it, new viewers have a lot to catch up on, from how June came to be in Gilead to where she is as Season 5 comes to a close and Season 6 begins. The series' must-watch episodes paint a clear picture of life in Gilead and depict not only June’s biggest moments in Gilead, but those of her fellow handmaids, her loved ones and even her captors, as well as offer added insight into who they were before Gilead and the ways the regime has changed them.
The Handmaid’s Tale
10"Offred"
Season 1, Episode 1
The very first episode ofThe Handmaid’s Tale, titled “Offred,” introduced viewers to the world of the totalitarian Gilead and one of its handmaids, Offred, whose real name is later revealed to be June. She was a handmaid for the powerful Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes)and his wife, Serena (Yvonne Strahovski). Flashbacks revealed how June ended up in Gilead—while trying to escape into Canada, she was arrested, her husband was seemingly shot and killed and their daughter, Hannah (Jordana Blake), was abducted.
“Offred” was a harrowing episode which lays the groundwork for the rest of the series in its depiction of Gilead and characterization of June and those around her. The episode showedhow June was separated from her familyand why they were so desperate to escape, as well aswhat life was like in Gileadfor not only June but other women and anyone whose views didn’t align with Gilead’s values.
9"A Woman’s Place"
Season 1, Episode 6
The ambassador to Mexico visited Gilead to arrange trade agreements in “A Woman’s Place” and questioned June about her experiences, who initially lied to avoid punishment. Meanwhile, Serena reflected on her role in the creation of Gilead, in particular its attitudes towards fertility and reproduction, and flashbacks showed her past as a prominent conservative figure who wrote a book about “domestic feminism” calledA Woman’s Place, which gave the episode its title.
“A Woman’s Place” was notable for addressing Gilead’s standing in the larger political world, and presenting how it was viewed and the actions they took to make it seem better than it really was.The ambassador herself was also a reminder of how much the woman of Gilead had lost,even women like Serena, who went from being a notable conservative activist and writer to a housewife who, as the episode noted, was no longer allowed to even read the book she wrote.
Season 1, Episode 10
In the Season 1 finale, “Night,” Serena confronted June and Fred about their relationship after they went on a trip to nightclub Jezebel’s together, and Serena forced June to take a pregnancy test, which was positive. June shared the news with Nick (Max Minghella), who was likely the baby’s father, and expressed her concerns about bringing a baby into the world of Gilead, and Serena ensured June would keep her unborn baby safe by threatening to harm her daughter, Hannah, if she didn’t.
“Night” brought the first season ofThe Handmaid’s Taleto a thrilling conclusion, with a great cliffhanger and plenty left to explore in the following season. It was a crucial episode in the series because of June’s pregnancy, as well as the brief glimpse June gets of Hannah. It was a brutal, heartbreaking moment, and perhapsone of the cruelest yet from Serena. But the episode also featured moments of hope, particularly for the handmaids, as they protested Gilead’s regime in their own way.
7"Women’s Work"
Season 2, Episode 8
Janine (Madeline Brewer) confronted Naomi (Ever Carradine) in “Women’s Work” after baby Angela suffered a health crisis, while June and Serena worked to find a way to help the baby by bending the laws of Gilead. Meanwhile, as Fred was still recovering in the hospital after being injured by a suicide bomber, June and Serena teamed up to complete his work, only for their lives to return to normal when Fred came home. Flashbacks explored Serena’s past as a prominent conservative figure.
“Women’s Work” showed a softer side to Serena and a calmer, more allied dynamic between her and June,offering a glimpse at what Serena might be like under more normal circumstances, as well as what she lost as a result of the creation of Gilead. The episode was a fascinating lookinto her character in particular, and it helped audiences understand her more. By extension, it also examined how Gilead functioned, and while its flaws were glaring to the audience, they became more obvious to characters like Serena.
6"The Word"
Season 2, Episode 13
In “The Word,” Serena, concerned about baby Nichole’s future, tried to enact change in Gilead, for women in particular, and advocated for girls being allowed to read the Bible, reading from it herself in the process, and she was punished for it by having a finger amputated. Despite having an opportunity to escape Gilead, June opted to stay so she could continue to try to rescue Hannah.
“The Word” offered a glimpse at the old, pre-Gilead Serena seen previously in “Women’s Work,”and in the process ended up serving as an example of Gilead’s brutality,even towards its esteemed upper class. June became even more determined for Nichole not to grow up there, while Serena, despite also being a victim of Gilead herself, finally realized what a future in Gilead would mean for Nichole and sided with June.
5"The Crossing"
Season 4, Episode 3
June was captured and taken to Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), who brutally interrogated her in an attempt to get her to reveal the location of the escaped handmaids in “The Crossing.” Hannah’s safety and well-being was also threatened to get June to cooperate. Meanwhile, Nick and Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) work together to try to protect June, and in the end, on the way to the Magdalene Colony for defiant handmaids, June successfully escapes with Janine.
“The Crossing” was yet another example of June getting close to freedom, only to have it ripped away, as well as the numerous horrors of Gilead and the cruelty of its rulers. Above all,it illustrated the impact Gilead’s policies had on families, with June’s love for her daughter and desperation to even see her being exploited in return for information. It also hinted at locations previously unseen in the series.
4"The Wilderness"
Season 4, Episode 10
After making a deal to secure his freedom in exchange for providing information about Gilead, Fred was about to secure a plea agreement in Season 4 finale “The Wilderness” when June took matters into her own hands. She contacted as many people as possible and used all the resources available to her to orchestrate his death, ultimately leading to his body hanging on the infamous wall along with the phrase, “Nolite te bastardes carburondorum.”
“The Wilderness” was a crucial episode for both June and Fred. For him, it was his final appearance in the show, and he was forced to face the wrath of the handmaids, who were eager to get their revenge, and for June, she finally got some kind of justice,although whether it was worth it remained to be seen. The episode was a thrilling finale with huge implications for June and Serena, both for extremely different reasons.
3"Morning"
Season 5, Episode 1
In the Season 5 premiere, “Morning,” set just hours after Fred’s death, June faced the consequences of arranging it, she confessed to Canadian authorities, who, to her surprise, let her go with just an $88 fine, largely because the killing took place in No Man’s Land. Meanwhile, the handmaids who participated were ready for more retaliatory violence, while June was not. After Serena was informed Fred’s body was found, she immediately suspected June was responsible.
“Morning” was an important episode,for June and Serena especially, which dealt with the aftermath of Fred’s death. For June, it was euphoria, and rather than wait to get caught, she opted to confess, only to face no consequences. For Serena, it marked the beginning of a life without Fred, while she also realized the ways she could use his death to her advantage. The episode also served to make the two women’s relationship with each other even more tense.
2"No Man’s Land"
Season 5, Episode 7
“No Man’s Land” put June and Serena together again—Serena held June at gunpoint and ordered her to drive, and after briefly getting away, June realized Serena was in labor and stayed behind to help her, which Serena at first refused, as she was convinced June would kill her and her baby. She eventually relented, and June helped her give birth in a barn nearby, then took her and the baby, Noah, to a hospital in Canada.
“No Man’s Land” was an intense episode which highlighted the numerous ways Serena’s situation mirrored June’s in the past.The episode also showed June’s compassion, even for someone like Serena. June was reminded of when she gave birth to Nichole alone, leading her to help rather than leave Serena in the same situation. The episode’s flashbacks were also a reminder of the waysGilead prioritized its children at the expense of the handmaidsandhow the handmaids were treatedas expendable incubators, not human beings.
Season 5, Episode 10
June continued her search for Hannah in Season 5 finale “Safe” as anti-refugee sentiment in Canada increased—after a man attacked June with his car, Luke killed him in self-defense. They ultimately decided to leave the country on a train with Nichole, but Luke opted to turn himself in and stay behind. In the episode’s final moments, June spots Serena on the train, fleeing with baby Noah. Meanwhile, to help protect June, Nick made a deal to report on Gilead’s activities in Canada.
“Safe” was a thrilling conclusion to the season which perfectly set up the show’s sixth and final season, with major decisions from multiple characters and uncertain futures for all of them. And while The Handmaid’s Tale never shied away from political commentary, its commentary on refugees became especially pointed and timely here, and for June, it was a stark reminder of how quickly things changed in Gilead, and she was unwilling to risk ending up in the same situation.
