Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 premiere.
The final season ofThe Handmaid’s Taleis already pulling emotional punches — and one of its most powerful surprises is the return of Emmy-winning actressCherry Jonesas Holly Maddox. In the Season 6 premiere, June (Elisabeth Moss) arrives at a refugee camp in Alaska and finds her mother alive — years after believing she’d died in the Colonies.It’s a reunion that’s been long in the making, and it couldn’t come at a more pivotal moment.
June didn’t want to be alone after being forced to leave Luke (O-T Fagbenle) behind in Toronto, but never in her wildest dreams did she imagine it would be her mother who would help her care for Nichole. As June confronts questions of motherhood, resistance, andwhat it means to rebuild after survival,Holly’s return sets the stage for something far more complex than reconciliation. It’s a reckoning between two womenshaped by different battles, and a rare opportunity to heal old wounds before it’s too late.
June Finally Reunites With Her Mother in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 6
Holly Maddox may not have had much screen time inThe Handmaid’s Taleuntil now, buther influence has always been felt through her daughter. Introduced in Season 2 through flashbacks,Holly was a fierce advocate for women’s rightslong before Gilead seized control. She was an outspoken doctor, unapologetic in her political beliefs, who marched, protested, and tried to warn June about the dangers of apathy.
But June —still June Osborne then, not yet Offred— often dismissed her mother’s intensity, rolling her eyes at her “doom and gloom” worldview. All of that changed after Gilead. In one of the show’s most heartbreaking moments,June learned through propaganda that Holly had been sent to the Colonies— effectively a death sentence. Later, when she gave birth to her daughter with Nick (Max Minghella), she named her Holly as a tribute, though Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) insisted on calling her Nicole.
Now, with Holly’s sudden return in Season 6, that long-closed door reopens. At first, their reunion is a much-needed moment of tenderness. Holly shares a bit about her time in the Colonies, explaining how she escaped by offering medical care to the Eyes. But by Episode 2, following a month-long time jump, tensions rise. After a call from Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger), June decides to return to Canada to help rescue Luke and Moira (Samira Wiley), which, of course, Holly does not support.What began as a heartfelt reunion quickly turns into something far more fraught.
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 6 Rises in Revolt with Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ stars Elisabeth Moss in a career-defining role.
What Does Holly’s Return Mean for June in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 6?
June and Holly get into a raw and explosive argument, withboth women saying things they can’t take back(Holly called Nick awhat?!). Moss and Jones deliver powerhouse performances in a scene that digs deep into regret, sacrifice, andthe pain of choosing between family and cause. Holly admits she wishes she’d spent more time with June when she was growing up, while June — now a battle-hardened revolutionary — makes it clear she’s not done fighting, especially with Hannah (Jordana Blake) still trapped in Gilead.
Eventually, they’re able to reconcile and share a genuine heart-to-heart. Holly accepts that June isn’t going to change her mind and offers to care for Nicole while she’s gone —a second chance to do right by her granddaughter. June agrees and, in a tender moment, tells her mother about Nicole’s real name. It’s a beat that feels well-earned in a show often defined by chaos — a rare, quiet moment of healing between two women who have long needed it. And it sets the stage beautifullyfor the emotional depth this final seasonhas delivered so far.
Now that they’re reunited, the contrast between their paths may still lead to friction, but it also has the potential to create something powerful:a unified front that bridges old-world idealism and post-Gilead realism. And then, of course, there’s the reunion we’ve all been hoping for: Cherry Jones and Elisabeth Moss,face-to-face once again. Both actors haveonly grown more formidablesince their last scenes together. Watching them share the screen now is exactly what we were all hoping for.
As the final season unfolds, Holly’s return feels like more than fan service —it’s a narrative homecoming.Cherry Jones brings gravitas and grace to every line,grounding the emotional chaos with quiet strength. Her performance as Holly is subtle and powerful in all the right moments, even with limited screen time. She’s been nominated twice for Emmys for this role and won once — atestament to the impact she’s had. It’s a gift to have Holly back, just in time to help lead her daughter throughthe biggest battles yet to come.
New episodes ofThe Handmaid’s Tale’s final season drop Tuesdays on Hulu. The first three episodes of Season 6 are available to stream.
The Handmaid’s Tale
