How Did ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Series Finale End?

After six seasons, The Handmaid’s Tale has officially wrapped at Hulu.

The Elisabeth Moss-led adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, set in Gilead, a totalitarian society in what used to be part of the United States, originally premiered in 2017, with The Handmaid’s Tale series finale dropping Tuesday.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6.

The final episode of the series, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” picks up in the aftermath of the events of last week’s episode. After resistance sympathizer Commander Joseph Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) sacrificed himself in order to bring down several High Commanders, including Commander Nick Blaine (Max Minghella) and Commander Gabriel Wharton (Josh Charles), Gilead’s strength has been weakened, and Boston is liberated. But the fight doesn’t stop in Boston, June (Moss) revealing that they plan to go city by city, state by state, until they eventually reach Hannah.

Following Boston’s liberation, June reconnects with Serena (Yvonne Strahovski), who played a crucial role in the rise, and eventual fall, of Gilead. No longer welcome in Gilead, and struggling with weight of all that she’s done, Serena finds herself in a bit of an identity crisis, though June suggests that she simply be Noah’s mother. Before Serena is sent by Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger) to a refugee camp, she and June share a solemn moment together.

“June, when I recall some of the things that were done to you, the things that I did, and that I forced you to do, I’m ashamed,” a tearful Serena says, before later adding, “I’m sorry. If words mean anything at all, I am sorry.” Before parting ways for a final time, June forgives her.

Meanwhile, and seemingly despite all odds, Janine (Madeline Brewer), finally got a happy ending. Following the handmaids’ massacre of the commanders, Janine was taken into custody by The Eyes, and seemingly lost in the shuffle of things as Boston fell. However, in a surprising moment, Janine is freed from Gilead once and for all, in part thanks to Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) and Mrs. Putnam (Ever Carradine), the latter of whom tearfully returns Charlotte/Angela to Janine, wanting a better life for her. Following the tearful reunion, June leaves some parting words for Aunt Lydia, paraphrasing Psalm 1.1, “Blessed is the woman who does not walk in stride with the weak.”

The episode also brought back a few characters fans hadn’t expected to see, including Emily (Alexis Bledel), who reunites with June in Boston. It turns out that after leaving Canada and returning to Gilead to fight, Emily was in Bridgeport, a “hot spot for the rebellion,” where she “was a Martha, the Commander was a friend.” In an emotional moment, the episode also brought back Alma (Nina Kiri) and Brianna (Bahia Watson), June’s fellow handmaids who died attempting to escape in Season 4. The pair made their return to the show as June envisioned what Boston would have been life if Gilead had never taken over.

After six seasons, The Handmaid’s Tale ended with June back at the burned shell of the Waterford house, walking through the halls until she reaches her former room, where she allows herself to imagine being reunited with Hannah. In the final moments, June, inspired by her mother, who she reunited with, and Luke (O-T Fagbenle), sits down, pulls out a voice recorder from her pocket, and begins recounting her experiences as a handmaid.

“A chair, a table, a lamp, there’s a window with white curtains. The glass is shatterproof but it isn’t running away they’re afraid of. A handmaid wouldn’t get far,” she says. “My name is Offred.”

All six seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale are available to stream on Hulu. The Testaments, a sequel set 15 years after the flagship show, is currently in the works.