A Couple Warnings Before We Continue:
- This post contains spoilers from The Handmaid’s Tale season four finale episode.
- The Handmaid’s Tale deals with very serious subject matter, and this post will mention things like rape, abuse, and murder. If you might feel triggered by any of these topics, please feel free to skip this one.
A Little Recap of Season Four:
For this post I won’t be giving a synopsis of The Handmaid’s Tale because I have already done that in a separate post (if you’d like to know what the show is about, check out the post I did on episode 8). Instead, I’ll be giving a small recap of this season since the episode I want to talk about is the season finale.
This season of The Handmaid’s Tale has been a wild ride. The season began where it left off last season—with June and fellow handmaids trying to escape Gilead. Unfortunately, that did not go as planned as they were found, and ultimately brought back to Gilead. Things were looking up for a solid three minutes when June, Janine, and the other handmaids managed to escape again, but that went downhill when several handmaids were killed in the escape. However, Juna and Janine survived and made it all the way to Chicago where they looked for a way to make it to Canada. After a few days in Chicago, there was a huge bombing (brought on by Gilead), and June and Janine got separated. I know, literally every time you think things might get better, they get worse. Thankfully, things actually started to look up from here. Moira (June’s best friend) found her in Chicago and brought her to Canada where she reunited with her husband Luke, her youngest daughter, and her friends who had also escaped Gilead. Though June was happy to be safe in Canada, she became obsessed with getting revenge on the Waterford’s (rightfully so—they were the main perpetrators of the systemic rape and abuse she experienced in Gilead). The Waterford’s were captured in Canada and have been in custody but have not been brought to justice for their heinous crimes. This brings us to the season finale.
A Bit About Season 4, Episode 10: “The Wilderness”
When it seemed like Fred Waterford might be granted a deal—giving intel on Gilead in exchange for his freedom, June completely unraveled. In the season finale she decided to take matters into her own hands. At first, she made another statement to Canadian officials in hopes that they would change their mind. When that failed, she decided to go and see Fred, thinking that if she finally confronted him, she would be able to let her rage go. When that also fails, she came up with a new plan and things spiraled from there. With the help of Mark, Commander Lawrence, and Nick, June and fellow refugee handmaids beat Fred to death and hung him on the wall in Gilead. The episode ended with two scenes: June bloody, holding her daughter, telling Luke she is sorry, and Fred’s headless body hanging on the wall. WILD.
My Favorite Scene:
June confronting Fred was such a powerful scene and definitely my favorite of the episode. In the scene, Fred apologized to June and that is what completely set her off. In that moment, she realized that he isn’t ignorant of his own evil. He knew exactly what he did to her and how wrong it was, yet he made peace with it and felt that he deserved freedom. I think that was the point that June realized she would never feel that justice was served until he was dead.
This season did NOT disappoint and left a ton of lingering question. Here are a few of mine:
- What will happen with June and Luke?
- What will happen with June and Nick?
- Will June finally be able to let go of the Waterford’s?
- Will June experience any regret over the murder?
- What will happen to Serena? (Mrs. Waterford)
- What will happen to Janine?
Season five CANNOT come soon enough.
Alayna Elyse Media 