The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 is just around the corner, but before the Hulu series kicks off its final batch of episodes, we’re taking a look back at some of the most chilling moments throughout the first five seasons.
An adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel of the same name, The Handmaid’s Tale originally premiered on Hulu in 2017. The series is set in a future world plagued with infertility where women are assigned as handmaids and forced to have children for the ruling class. The show largely centers around June Osbourne, a handmaid who leads a rebellion against Gilead.
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The Handmaid’s Tale‘s ensemble cast features Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, Max Minghella, O.T. Fagbenle, Samira Wiley, Amanda Brugel, Bradley Whitford, and Sam Jaeger.
Keep scrolling to see some of the most haunting moments in The Handmaid’s Tale so far, and don’t forget to tune in when The Handmaid’s Tale kicks off its sixth and final season with a two-episode premiere on Hulu on April 8.
Emily Is Forced To Undergo Female Genital Mutilation
The Handmaid’s Tale’s debut season was packed with plenty of harrowing moments as the Hulu series introduced viewers to the dystopian society of Gilead, but perhaps no scenes were more haunting than the one’s depicting Emily’s fate.
After Emily, then referred to in Gilead as Ofglen, is discovered to be involved in a same-sex relationship with a Martha, who is hung in front of her, she is spared the death sentence and instead subjected to state-sanctioned female genital mutilation.
After Emily wakes up from the procedure, Aunt Lydia enters the room and tells her, “The stitches will come out in a few days. I know this is a shock for you, Emily. You can still have children, of course, but things will be so much easier for you now. You won’t want what you cannot have.” The scene, and the episode, ends with Emily letting out a heartbreaking scream as she realizes what’s happened.
Janine’s Execution
Gilead’s treatment of handmaid’s is brutal, but perhaps no moment exemplified that more than those in “Night.” In the 10th episode of the show’s debut season, Janine, whose mental health has struggled after she gave birth to a daughter now being raised by her commander and his wife, nearly jumps off a bridge with her baby, but is convinced against doing so by June.
Rather than show a struggling woman compassion, Janine is sentenced to death by stoning, and those meant to carry out the punishment are the handmaids, the very women Janine has befriended and who would suffer the same fate if they also endangered a child.
After the handmaids refuse to participate in Janine’s execution, they are rounded up and brought to an old stadium, where they are taken onto a platform and have ropes placed around their necks. The heightened emotion was palpable as the handmaids faced their own deaths, though it was all revealed to be a plot by Aunt Lydia to teach the handmaids a lesson.
The Handmaid’s Attempt To Run
By the time Season 4 rolled around, the handmaids at the center of the story had endured countless acts of abuse, and fans were rooting for their freedom. A small group of them got that chance in Season 4, Episode 3, “The Crossing.”
After being brought back to Gilead following a failed escape, June, Janine, Alma, Briana, and several other handmaids are given a harsh punishment: rather than return to their commanders’ homes, they are ordered to serve at a Magdalene colony, a breeding colony where they would labor in the fields and commanders and their wives would visit monthly for the ritual.
In an effort to avoid being taken to the Magdalene colony, the group overpowers Aunt Lydia and escapes the vehicle transporting them, making a run for freedom across train tracks. Two handmaids are shot in the process, and while June and Janine manage to cross the tracks safely, Alma and Brianna don’t make it in time and are killed.
Making the moment even more devastating is that the scene unfolds as flashbacks of the women at the Red Center, bonding and sharing their names as an act of rebellion, plays.
Serena’s Finger
In the Season 2 finale, Serena, inspired by June’s own acts of rebellion, Eden’s execution, and ensuring a better future for her daughter Nicole, pleads with the commanders of Gilead to allow women to read and study the Bible. However, after reading a Bible verse aloud, and seeing many of the women who supported her abandon her, Serena is punished by having her pinky finger amputated, a punishment that was in part enforced by Fred.
The scene served as a chilling reminder of Gilead’s power and the lengths at which Gilead’s leaders will go to suppress women, so much so that even high-ranking women in Gilead aren’t safe.
Opening up about the scene with The Hollywood Reporter, Yvonne Strahovski called it a “beautiful” and “pathetic” moment, explaining, “Even though she still holds out hope that maybe someone on that male panel of commanders will hear her, they ultimately don’t, but also maybe it’s not so much about anyone on that panel hearing her words, but more about her actually standing up and making that sacrifice and knowing that she can live with herself because she actually truly tried to do something that was really the right thing for her daughter. And she obviously paid the price, but she was willing to pay the price and that is something noble and honest that she can live with now.”
