‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Star Shares Major Spoiler About Character’s Future

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4 has already been a whirlwind of a season. Five episodes into the season, the series has already said goodbye to several characters, and Episode 5, “Chicago,” left another character’s fate hanging in the balance following a heart-wrenching final scene, but fans are finally getting some answers ahead of Wednesday’s upcoming new episode. Warning: This story contains major spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4, Episode 5, “Chicago.”

“Chicago” ended with a major midseason cliffhanger after June and Janine, now on the frontlines of the rebellion against Gilead in Chicago, found themselves caught up in the middle of a bombing on the city ahead of a planned ceasefire. While the episode ended with a June and Moira reunion amid the smoke and rubble, Janine could not be found and the episode ended by leaving fans wondering if she survived. After teasing to The Hollywood Reporter that her character “has had nine lives up until this point and maybe she’s got one left. Maybe not,” actress Madeline Brewer dropped a major hint about Janine’s fate during a recent interview with Good Housekeeping.

Speaking with the outlet, Brewer revealed that “we see Janine by the end of the season,” though “it’s not at a place that we want her to be, but such is life.” What Brewer did not disclose, however, is in what state we see Janine. While it seems likely Janine will survive the bombing, it is possible she did not, and Janine’s next appearance will be via a flashback. After several Handmaids died in “The Crossing,” showrunner Bruce Miller teased the possibility of characters returning in the way of flashbacks in future episodes and seasons, quipping that “nobody is gone in Handmaid’s.” While some fans have suggested this as a possible outcome, others have theorized another possibility for Janine’s fate: she is captured.

In a predictions thread on Reddit, stills captured from promos for the season, including the official Season 4 trailer, appear to show Janine back in her Handmaid’s uniform with Aunt Lydia, suggesting that she is captured a second time and brought back to Gilead. Amid speculation that the Hulu original is beginning to bring in aspects of Aunt Lydia’s The Testaments counterpart, some viewers have theorized that Aunt Lydia “is going to start using the handmaids to attack Gilead and the commanders from the inside.”

Fans will ultimately have to tune into new episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale to find out what happens next. Season 4 has five episodes left before it concludes on June 16, with new episodes dropping Wednesdays on Hulu, which you can subscribe to by clicking here.

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