The Handmaid's Tale, based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, is a dystopian fiction show starring Elisabeth Moss as June. The Handmaid's Tale explores the terrifying reality for fertile women, known as handmaids, in a world facing humanity's extinction with an infertility crisis. To battle their declining population, Gilead forces every fertile woman they can find to reproduce against their will. The handmaids were torn away from their families and stripped of their autonomy. They were trained and forced to become meek handmaids obeying the will of their male Commanders. The Handmaid's Tale is no stranger to brutality and sometimes can be difficult to watch.
The final season of The Handmaid's Tale, which has recently been announced, and Season 5, which commences on Hulu on September 14, is definitely set to be action-packed! Season 5 will explore the consequences of Fred's murder and how Serena will cope with this alongside her pregnancy. It will also see June's efforts to rescue her daughter, Hannah, from Gilead's clutches, with the help of her husband, Luke. Let's look at the best episodes throughout the first four seasons.
8 Night (Season 1, Episode 10)
Night is the finale episode of the first season of The Handmaid's Tale, and it is a powerful one. June's worst fears are confirmed as she discovers that she is pregnant. Serena tells Fred that the child cannot be his, as she believes he is impotent, as Nick is notified that he is the biological father.
Later, the handmaids in the district are summoned to partake in stoning a citizen charged with endangering a child - the worst crime in Gilead. They are shocked to discover that the perpetrator is Janine. June refuses to partake in this brutality, offering an apology to Aunt Lydia and ceremoniously drops her stone. The other handmaids follow suit, all disobeying Gilead's rules in a brave act of defiance. The episode ends with the Eyes collecting June, ending at the same point as the book, with no clue of June's fate.
7 Unknown Caller (Season 3, Episode 5)
'Unknown Caller' explores Gilead's attempts to retrieve Nichole to her "rightful home." The Waterfords request that June calls Luke in Canada to request a meeting to see baby Nichole. Luke allows only Serena to visit the baby, creating a rift between the already-estranged pair.
Commander Waterford and Serena commission some televised call-for-action advertisements as a petition for Nicole to be brought home. This episode has strong imagery, as June is considered the focal point of their political campaign, despite June wanting a better life for Nichole in Canada.
6 The Crossing (Season 4, Episode 7)
This episode follows June as she is captured and tortured by Aunt Lydia, for allowing the children to escape to Canada and for not disclosing the location of her fellow handmaids. Her daughter, Hannah, is brought in and caged as a reminder of what is a stake and a subtle threat to June.
June crumbles at Hannah's sight and releases the handmaids' location. They are sent on their way to a breeding colony when June attacks Aunt Lydia with an electric prod, and they all escape from the van. Two of the handmaids are shot. Alma and Brianna also sadly do not make it as they are hit by a train at the crossing, leaving Janine and June as the sole survivors as they make their way to freedom.
5 A Woman's Place (Season 1, Episode 6)
This episode focuses on the creation of Gilead and Serena's part in this. The irony is that she previously wrote a book about the strength of women. At the same time, she and Fred both advocated for female fights to be stripped away and become secondary citizens to men.
This episode also features Gilead's attempts at political relations, as there is a visit from a Mexican delegate, Ambassador Castillo, who is interested in the handmaid ideology to solve Mexico's infertility crisis. June is questioned on her role as a handmaid, to which she initially lies before later telling the Ambassador the truth of the horrors she is subjected to. Fertile women were now considered objects to be bartered and traded. The handmaids are invited to a dinner party with their birth children to showcase Gilead's prosperity.
4 The Last Ceremony (Season 2, Episode 10)
The Handmaid's Tale is no stranger to graphic or violent scenes, and this episode depicts some of the most uncomfortable scenes in the series. It shows an impatient Serena awaiting the birth of June's baby. June goes into false labor, which angers Serena as she invites all the Commander's wives over for the occasion. She sees it as June being impertinent and thinks she did it on purpose to embarrass her.
As revenge for the false alarm, Serena and Fred organize a final Ceremony, in which Fred rapes June to induce the birth, supposedly justified with biblical quotes. June heartbreakingly pleads and begs them to stop as Serena holds her down, but by the end of the act, she is void of all emotion. As repentance, Fred later summons June into the car and reunites her with Hannah. This is short-lived, however, and Nick is taken away by some sworn Eyes, leaving a heavily pregnant June alone in an abandoned mansion.
3 June (Season 2, Episode 1)
Season 2 gets off to a terrifying start. In this episode, June and the other handmaids are taken to an abandoned sports stadium where they have nooses tied around their necks and are almost hung for disobeying orders. Luckily (or unluckily) for them, it is a scare tactic conducted by Aunt Lydia as punishment.
As June is pregnant, she is saved from further punishment, but she is forced to watch as the rest of the handmaids each have one of their hands burnt. Seemingly salvation is at hand, though, as after a pregnancy scan, June was able to make her escape out of the hospital. She is led into a truck, which takes her to an empty publishing building, where Nick is waiting.
2 The Wilderness (Season 4, Episode 10)
The Handmaid's Tale executes season finale episodes brilliantly, always leaving viewers hanging in suspense. The season 4 finale, The Wilderness, is no different, leaving audiences with many questions and cliffhangers in preparation for season 5.
June later meets with Tuello and Commander Lawrence to discuss a potential trade deal: 22 Marthas, in exchange for Fred being returned to Gilead. Tuello agrees, and Fred is handcuffed and dragged to "no man's land," where several handmaids viciously chase and brutally attack him. June returns home covered in blood and says goodbye to Nichole and Luke. The ending scene shows Fred's beaten body. The phrase recurring in the series: 'nolite te bastardes caborundorum' (translation: Don't let the b******* grind you down) written in blood under his body.
1 Mayday (Season 3, Episode 13)
By far, the best episode of The Handmaid's Tale is Mayday, the Season 3 finale. June is fixated on Mayday's, the Gilead resistance group, most daring and risky escape yet. June plans to transport over 50 children out of Gilead and across the border into Canada. Her plan is almost foiled as the Eyes become alerted to the missing children and Marthas and attempt to stop them. This episode truly shows how strong-willed June is.
June and several handmaids distract the guards long enough to allow the children and Marthas to board the plane. They later arrive at the Refugee Aid Foundation of Canada, where Luke and Moira volunteer. Luke is disappointed to find that neither Hannah nor June made it onto the plane. However, he does meet Rita, the Martha from the Waterford household, who tells him that June executed this grand escape. In Gilead, June is near death, but her handmaids rally around her and come to her rescue, paving the way for Season 4.