'The Handmaid's Tale' Kills off Major Character, Shocking Fans

The Handmaid's Tale is no stranger to death. In a society where people can be executed for the slightest crime, multiple characters have ended up on The Wall, and Season 4 saw viewers say goodbye to one major character when Commander Fred Waterford was killed by former handmaids. Now, Season 5 has marked the first major death of the season when one character was killed in the newest episode. Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Handmaid's Tale Season 5, Episode 6, "Together."

"Together" proved to be a major episode, and one that could potentially change the course of the hit Hulu original series and life in Gilead forever. In the final minutes of the episode, Commander Warren Putnam, one of the higher-ranking commanders in Gilead, was killed. It was revealed earlier in the episode that Esther, the handmaiden that was to be assigned to his household before she poisoned herself and Janine with chocolates, is pregnant after having been raped by Putnam during their first meeting, during which he requested a private audience with her. Although Aunt Lydia had pleaded with Commander Lawrence to prosecute Putnam for his crime, it seemed he would get away with it, as so many others have before him, until the final minutes of the episode, when Lawrence and Nick Blaine arrived to the restaurant where he was dining with his wife, Naomi Putnam. After arresting Putnam for his crimes, he was executed just in front of the restaurant and in front of the other commanders and their wives.

Putnam's death shocked viewers, who, up until this point, had not seen men in Gilead punished for their wrongdoings against women. Coming just after the devastating reveal that Esther was prompted to attempt suicide after being raped by Putnam, Putnam's execution felt like justice for many viewers, who immediately took to social media to react. Keep scrolling to see what viewers had to say about Putnam's death.