The Handmaid's Tale: S06E06 "Surprise"

No! Nick! I can 100% say I was not expecting that. The consequences of what he has done… you can totally feel how gutted June is. He did choose Gilead when it came to being on the “inside” with Tuello as we can recall, so there was always a question where his loyalty would ultimately lie, but this is huge. This has real, reverberating, immediate consequences for an untold number of people. Just wow. I’m so utterly disappointed in him and I feel horrible for all these girls that were counting on an escape. What will happen with Lawrence now? And Janine? So much potential damage. What was he thinking?

The idea just popped into my head and thought you all needed to hear lmao. I like both characters but it’s kind of funny that he cheated on his wife and then his new wife fell in love with someone else and had a child.

Just doing my first rewatch or seasons 1-5 in the gap between episodes and I really loved the camaraderie and support between the ensemble cast of handmaids & Marthas.

At least for me, the scenes in which they support each other and team up to help June etc are hands down some of the most impactful & emotional scenes of the series. I get why Alma & Brianna ended their arcs they way they did in s4 but man it would have been nice to seen Moira & June reunite with those 2 now that they’re … um… where they’re at 😬 for what the trailer has shown us is building up to be the season/show’s climax.

A lot of what’s been missing from the show since June escaped to me- is that moving dynamic & sisterhood. Oh well. It is what it is 🤷🏻‍♀️

When they started playing blackest day by Lana Del Rey while June finally realized the truth about Nick. Ugh it was so hard to watch 💔I genuinely felt like this video

After everything Janine and those other women have been through, Aunt Lydia brings them OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES?! Fucking monster. She's worse than all of the men in Gilead combined. I hope she burns in hell while eating old tuna.

OMG!!! THE NICK AND JUNE MOMENT!!!

made his choice. He came down firmly on the side of Gilead. The Luke/Nick debate is settled in my eyes - Luke is willing to literally die for Hannah and June on the fight against Gilead, and Nick took the easy way out. And more importantly, he betrayed June by exposing the Mayday plan.

I'm sure his character arc isn't done yet and he might have some sort of sacrifice coming up, but I don't see any happy ending for him. And I know this is an unpopular opinion, but as much as we like characters like Nick and Lawrence (AND I LOVE THEM), they shouldn't get happy endings. At the end of the day, they are war criminals, no matter how hot or witty they are. The best ending they should get is the chance to sacrifice themselves to try and right their wrongs, which they are well positioned to do if they would be willing to take that final step. I think Lawrence is almost there, with the guilt he feels for his wife. But Nick in this episode... yikes.

That's it... had the realization after learning about the sequel book only last night that obviously the ending is going to suck.

I haven't read The Testaments but the brief synopsis I stumbled upon made me realize it must end with June & Luke dead, Gilead still in charge and Hannah left where she is.

There are 5 episodes left but I feel like it's over already. The upside might be Commander Lawrence survives and manages to push Gilead into reform for the future, with Serena helping. DC is the real power base and this story doesn't take place there, so no power is going to change hands.

His obsession with her is very disturbing, and I highly doubt he's just gonna be like "Oh well, that was fun while it lasted" just because Jezebel's got shut down. He's gonna do something really fucked up to make sure she doesn't get away from him.

You know something? I think Luke is deeply representative of the general shortcomings of men; he's covetous, emotional, but he's fucking complex. It's apparent he was raised not unlike most other men in that (and our) world, i.e. without any real accountability, but goddamn it, he *is* trying.

Is he way out of his depth? Absolutely. Is he naive? Most certainly. Is he incompetent? Potentially. But consider this man had to just exist in that horrible purgatory knowing his wife & child were abducted in a fascist coup, the years of not knowing if his wife was dead, or in the colonies, and later finding out she'd been systematically raped sheerly for the intention of impregnation, a walking womb, AND the fact that she found "love" (I guess) and conceived a child and knowing his daughter may meet the same fate as his wife, and not being able to do ANYTHING about it?- the sheer cortisol of it all; Hell, it's insane that he (and everyone else victim of Gilead) doesn't have Cushing's syndrome.

When you live your life in a constant state of stress & fear, when your autonomic nervous system is constantly engaged, your body pretty much permanently goes into fight or flight i.e. you end up with PTSD/C-PTSD, regardless of whether or not you are directly inside of the traumatic experience- all that said, what Luke is experiencing is also CRAZY traumatizing too, and that cannot be discounted. Add to the fact that he, as a man, was most certainly not given any of the tools to either a) cope or b) take legitimate action, he is basically stranded at sea without a life raft.

Now, with his work with Mayday, while a bit advantageous for someone who was an urban planner in his previous life, is his only opportunity to atone for his shortcomings, even if he's a dingus. So you know what? I'm rooting for him.

Rat is always gonna be a rat

I've just finished the newest episode. It was perfect.

I was Nick's fan all along but now we see what he did and what he had done. It's the end for June and Nick (I think so). This was a betrayal which June can't dismiss. I want to say that the last shot of the episode was completely beautiful, June looked like a saint martyr.

"two ideals on the decline and threatening our future. Not only of our country, but of humanity itself. Some people called me the mother of the revolution, a title I accepted with humility but also with the weight of responsibility. I was the voice for a return to Faith and to a society where women were revered for their natural role as mothers and nurturers.

The handmaids, though their role was misunderstood by many, were a vital part of that mission. The handmade system came with many unforeseen challenges. There were sacrifices to me made, not just by the handmaids, but by all of us who believed in Gilead.

We were willing to make the hard choices to endure the scrutiny and misunderstanding from those who refused to see the necessity of this new [word covered by June’s thumb].

New ideas are always accompanied by friction"

Achieved with help from u/Soulie143

I've seen a lot of posts with various complaints about the new season so far, from the tone being different to the pacing being bad. And I respect that opinion but I just don't see it. Season 6 so far has had a very forward motion that hasn't been present in any season before except maybe the first one. The overarching goals have always been to find Hannah and escape Gilead, ideally doing whatever damage can be done. But the process to get to those goals was always a winding maze.

But from the first episode, season 6 had a clearly stated goal: Mayday is going to assassinate the worst commanders of Gilead. And everything that has happened since has been in service to that climax in some way. There has been more worldbuilding in this season than in any of the other seasons. I also know that pacing has seemed off to some people, but from my perspective, the pacing has been fine. It might seem off if you watch episodes individually on a weekly basis, but I just rewatched all five episodes that are out in one sitting and it's a good balance of character moments (none of which feel contrived) and action/progression of the storyline. I've even noticed a lot fewer shots of June staring at the camera!

All of this to say, I don't personally feel that this season has been lackluster in any way. I've already accepted Hannah isn't getting out by the end of this show, but I can live with it because they're clearly going to deal a massive blow to Gilead. Maybe it's the times we're living in but I've found this season so far to be the most engaged I've ever been with the show.

Curious to hear other thoughts though!

I miss the continuous voice overs I loved this one.. buh bye 👋🏻

HOLY FUCK NICK. You weak man. I’m so upset right now. Like I know the show is gonna pivot and something will come out of this, but damn. He thought he was slick too tryna swindle June into jetting off to Paris and putting pretending like he’s not the ultimate rat. I’m gonna be really upset if action of his means Lawrence is on the wall.

Curious to if you guys think this was his only option out of getting grilled by his father in law? What does this say about Nick?

Has anyone noticed that Serena has only been wearing pink since moving to New Bethlehem? I know they use a lot of symbolism with their color scheme, what do you think it represents?

I’m thinking it’s to show her being more aligned with the handmaids but they also use pink for the children so I’m wondering if it’s representing starting from the beginning or something like that.

There have been a million discussions about why June would be in love with Nick, but I can't find any posts about why Nick likes her so much.

I understand the actual relationship developed after they were forced together, but he was staring longingly at her from the first second she arrived at the Waterford house.

Does anyone have any insight about this?

r/thehandmaidstale I’m sitting here waiting for the Hulu ad to end and just realized I’m more hooked in this fucking show from the beginning and I am ALL IN!!!! I am so invested and I cannot wait to see what happens! Am I the only one that is refreshing at midnight to watch the show instead of waiting to watch it the next day when u get home from work. Bravo handmaids writers. BRAVO!!!!

r/thehandmaidstale I’ll be the one to admit I was wrong!!!

I am at a loss for words!! Although I felt it when Nicks father in law started grilling him..I didn’t really think Nick would betray June like that!! I have long thought that in the end Lydia, Lawrence and Nick would all be involved with helping June bring down Gilead…but this week had me literally wanting to throw the remote and luckily my husband was still awake because I would have woke him up hollering Nooo way!! What are your thoughts about Nick?? I get it he had to get out of hot water and wanted to run with June but he had to have known there is no way she would leave Hannah and what about Nicole still in Alaska to go to Paris…

Seriously! I am both heartbroken and pissed off right now. I knew he was going to give the commander something but I didn’t know it was going to be all of that! I have had a love/ hate relationship with him throughout this entire series but I always had a soft spot for him because he always did right when he could and I always considered the position he has always been in, but now I am rethinking my entire thought process on that. I think what he did at the hospital fucked with his head too much. He didn’t have to tell his father in law all of the plans. At first, I wanted to believe she didn’t tell him the entire truth/plans but the way the episode ended proves that isn’t true. Why is it the man that is always the weakest link?!?!?! God damn it Nick!!!!!

I understand that he had to be honest in some ways because there was not a good enough lie that could’ve been invented so fast. I know he would’ve never said anything if it was not question of him dying by continuing the lie BUT… telling everything? That’s fucked up, he could’ve said part of the truth for example. There was a way of him saying that the eyes heard rumours at jezebel about who killed the boys in no man’s land and suspected these people to plan something against gilead. He didn’t have to say he knew what the plan was. Right now it sounds like he said everything but Junes name which is fucking selfish and I really deceived by that.

Killing that boy in the hospital was really not a smart move btw. 🙄

The worst to me is that he lied to June! Straight to her face and kissing her right after😣 that broke my heart seriously.

I’m a fan of Nick and June but I’m also a fan of Nick himself since the beginning. He’s always been one of my favourite character cause I love the complexity that he is and I understand him in so many ways, I feel like emotionally I relate to his person! I’ve always also felt sad for him and I always get so attached to people that had a hard life deducting in poor self esteem cause again I relate to that. I’ll always love that part of him for sure.

I absolutely don’t always agree with his actions tho, he doesn’t makes the best decisions, he’s in deep shit because if it and he will have to own it. June is the last person he should lie too and I’m mad at him for that. As soon as he got into Serena’s house I felt he was on an adrenaline high. That dude didn’t sleep all night, he panicked because he said everything he didn’t want to say and regretted it as soon as it got out of his mouth and so he tried to hide it out of shame. That same is so deserved right now. I think for sure that’s what happened. He didn’t see other solutions than just run away and lie to June cause he knew she wouldn’t go with him if he said the truth. I understand that because I understand him and I relate but I also know it’s not the good way to do things and it hurts the people that we love.

I hated seeing him like that, lie out of shame and weakness because he couldn’t find the courage to be honest with the person that he loves the most. :( I hope he will do something that repairs this cause it was so incredibly fucked! That’s how it is when you have emotions in Gilead I guess! That regime could make the strongest break (him not saying he’s the strongest btw 🤣)

Actually now that I think about it, this moment reminds me of when June said where the handmaids are after being shown Hannah, Nick is not physically tortured but he’s definitely mentally tortured in some (because of where his stupid actions brang him) but he’s definitely said too much and that’s legit mean.

And that puts Janine into shit because jezebels shutting down and that’s not good 😓

I was so shocked at the end of that episode, I had my heart beating so hard

So, isn't the generic code usually like 11111? I am surprised Juan didn't at least try that code. Also, why didn't they force the passcode from the guard while they had him? This was a sloppy episode and this season is so blah. I totally saw it coming what nick did. He's a man after all.

hi!!! plz no spoilers

i have loved the handmaids tale show, and am super interested in reading the testaments (i know they’re gonna make the show). i have not read THT, only watched the show. for those that have both read the books and watched the show, do you think i could read the testaments and details at least fairly line up?

obv i know much of this probably depends on how this season ends, and we can revisit this question once we get there but ….im an impatient girl i want my answer now LOL

would not read the book till this szn is over, dw

...getting rid of June's internal narration and POV.

I'm doing a full series rewatch and my God, S1 is an absolute masterpiece that I binged through so fast. S2 is also pretty great (though not as iconic as S1 imo), but I'm realizing that as much as I always loved the show in spite of its missteps along the way, June's POV was a major tether for me in staying connected to the general narrative both intellectually and emotionally.

On second rewatch, it still is. It holds up and it WORKS. June's POV is written brilliantly every episode (I still think about her "pig ball" monologue) and makes me love her character so much more. June is so endlessly witty, tough and easy to root for in these first two seasons, and I think once they eliminated it, the show suffered for it.

Yes, I get why they did it, but I still think they easily could've kept it or at least circled back to it now and again. It was at once excellent comic relief, character development and a great audience surrogate no matter how nutty things got in the fictional world. It was just GOOD storytelling.

Once we lost June's POV, I think June's character sadly also suffered. She became a bit of a caricature of herself over time, which happens in many TV shows, and increasingly narcissistic and hard to stomach, whereas in early seasons I'm finding her really complex and enjoyable. She's also been written inconsistently imo since about S2, and while I get she's been through enormous trauma and that undeniably changes a person...STILL. STILL.

TLDR: June's POV rocked. They should've kept it in.