‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Leaves Fans in Tears With Latest Episode

The Handmaid’s Tale left fans in a puddle of tears when the series returned to Hulu Wednesday with an all-new episode, “Vows.” Picking up following the events in “Chicago” and that episode’s already extremely emotional end scene, “Vows” proved to be more than just a little emotionally charged, with viewers flocking to social media to react. Warning: This story contains major spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4, Episode 6, “Vows.”

Spanning just under 40 minutes in length, “Vows” tracked the emotional journey that has been more than three seasons in the making as June finally escaped Gilead to Canada. The journey there was not easy, though, and the episode opened with Moira having to convince June to leave not only Janine behind, but also her daughter, Hannah, whom she has been fighting to save since Season 1. One person on Reddit said their tears started flowing during those early scenes, writing, “when they were in the back of the truck at the start and Moira said ‘I got you, I got you’ I just bawled.”

After sneaking June on a boat headed back to Canada, the episode only proved to get more emotional as the charity workers managed to pass June off as one of their one, fooling Gilead soldiers patrolling the waters, before docking. The episode ended with an emotionally charged and long-awaited reunion between June and her husband, Luke, with June leaving just about every viewer in tears when she uttered, “I’m sorry I don’t have her, OK. I’m sorry. I’m sorry it’s just me. I’m sorry it’s just me. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.” Reacting to the scene, one viewer said, “‘I’m sorry it’s just me’ HAD ME SOBBING,” with another adding that “that whole scene (and a few others) had me like ‘I’m not crying, you’re crying!’” Another viewer said June and Luke’s reunion was “when I started crying the hardest,” quipping that they felt as though they were “wiping away tears for half the episode.”

Reacting on Twitter, one person wrote, “the way i was holding it together the whole episode but burst into tears during that last scene was like no other. this is one of the moments the show has been leading up to, & it did not disappoint.” Somebody else tweeted that they “genuinely think i had tears in my eyes for that entire 40 minutes.”

As emotional as the episode was, given the events of past episodes and the fact that three episodes remain this season, it’s almost guaranteed that more tears will be shed by the time Season 4 concludes on June 16. News episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale arrive on Hulu, which you can sign up for here, on Wednesdays. Stay tuned to PopCulture for all the latest updates!

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