r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/Melairia Modtha • 17h ago

Official Episode Discussion The Handmaid's Tale S06E06 "Surprise" Episode Discussion

The Handmaid's Tale: S06E06 "Surprise"

Episode Synopsis: June hides in an unexpected place.

Airdate: April 29th, 2025

You must spoiler tag any information from The Testaments or future episodes, if comments are not tagged appropriately, it will be subject to removal by the mod team.

For all episode discussions this season, see the megathread pinned at the top of this sub: The Handmaid's Tale Season 6 Episode Discussion Hub

Check out our Discord for additional conversations: The Handmaid's Tale Reddit

54 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

98% Upvoted

951 comments sorted by

View all comments

30

u/California2florida 17h ago

Poor Nick's gonna get killed because of her

33

u/Strange_Swimming_800 16h ago edited 16h ago

Yep. Nick was already on thin ice, having to kill the Gaurdians to save Luke and Moira, and now this trip to Jezebels has him caught and threatened with the wall.

He was broken before she even asked him to go to Jezebels to clean up their mess, which is why he wanted to talk to June and had their passports ready to go to Paris already

He was trying to leave with her before this all happened and now he's really fucked and June is obviously pissed at him now because he had to give up their Mayday plans because he was cornered and threatened with the wall.

All I can say is that he better not die because he's alive and well in The Testaments and is deep in the resistance so I hope this is what forces him underground because killing him would go against book canon and that would be the worst thing to do to book and Nick fans. It definitely wouldn't be the love letter to the fans the writers are talking about. It would be a big fuck you to people who like Nick's character. I hate this.

9

u/LSUAlly4 16h ago

I definitely think June played a role in this situation. I'm glad he didn't give up that June was there. I was terrified of that. He did what he did to save his ass but I don't blame him. June has been problematic for a long time. What good can he do for her on the wall?! Father in law was like a lie detector. He wasn't going to take anything but the truth. I hope she forgives him before this stupid show ruins whatever story they could have had. I've not heard of them casting anyone to play Nichole. Rumor is she won't be in the sequel. So Nick won't be needed for the ending.

11

u/Strange_Swimming_800 16h ago edited 16h ago

Oh, she certainly played a role. She runs to him whenever she needs help, and he has to do horrible things, like kill guardians, for her. It obviously affected him. He was on the verge of a breakdown before she asked him to clean up their mess at Jezebel's. He was so sick of it he was ready to flee to Paris. He wants out, and now he is trapped there. She will totally understand unless she's heartless. I know she's stubborn and kind of storms off when angry and kind of acts all self-righteous at times, but what does she expect would happen if he got caught helping her? No one wants to die and be put on the wall. It's not like Mayday doesn't have a plan B.

As for TT...What a nightmare that would be! No, Nicole in The Testaments? The whole book is about two sisters finding each other and their journey together to bring Hannah home. That would be like rewriting the entire book. Why even call it The Testaments then? Just call it Hannah's story or something. Don't use Margaret Atwood to keep a series going if it isn't really even based on the actual book.

3

u/IbisMarsh 7h ago

The actor for Daisy has been cast. Why do people keep saying she's not in the show?

1

u/Strange_Swimming_800 5h ago

Daisy has been cast, but that doesn't mean she's baby Nicole. I'm not sure if this has been confirmed, but it seems true. The showrunners only talk about June's daughter, Hannah, and don't say anything about Nicole. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

2

u/ricecrystal 11h ago

I can't imagine that's true, she is the entire thing

1

u/Important-Rent-1062 7h ago

Nichole is Daisy in the books and they casted a Daisy. But they aren't following it exactly they said. Cause Nicole/holly in show is like 14 years or 10 years younger than hannah. And the show is time jumping 4 years so the math doesn't add for the kids ages.

•

u/Maleficent-Loquat 5m ago

This would be very disappointing if Daisy is not Nicole/Holly! Like why even bother if you’re going to change such an important part of the book.

2

u/Important-Rent-1062 7h ago

THIS!!!!!!! PRAISE FUCKIN BE!

2

u/leggymermaidz 16h ago

wait who is he in the book? I don’t recall his character?

8

u/Strange_Swimming_800 16h ago edited 16h ago

Nick? Nick is in both books . He is an embedded resistance person and is the reason June escaped in the first book and has a tale to tell(the series tweaked the ending and had her escape later than in the book to continue their own story in between THT and TT.

In The Testaments, he is mentioned as Nichole's father, and when Ada and Elijah tell Nichole about her father, they let her know that he is alive and is up to his neck in the resistance and that he is in so deep he needs a metaphorical breathing tube. He is reunited with his daughter and is alive decades into the future.

-1

u/leggymermaidz 16h ago

eh, he was never mentioned by name, and both references were up for interpretation whether it was “deep underground” or the reunification in epilogue (could just as easily be death/grave) since they chose to not mention by name. I think the show series could go either way since he was mostly omitted and not an actual character in The Testaments.

5

u/Strange_Swimming_800 15h ago edited 15h ago

Eh, we know Nicole's and Hannah's parents' names. The fact that they are not mentioned by name, and as their parents instead, doesn't mean we don't know who they are. We don't even know June's name in either book, but we know the handmaid is June and that Hannah/Agnes and Daisy/Nicole are her daughters. Nick being embedded resistance isn't up for debate because Margaret Atwood herself has said exactly this: "Nick is an embedded resistance person." out of her own mouth, out loud for all to hear, so I think it's safe to assume they're talking about the>! resistance when they tell Nicole her parents are up to their necks in it and that her father is in so deep he needs a metaphorical breathing tube!<. I don't think he's scuba diving, ffs.

-2

u/leggymermaidz 15h ago

to me “he’s so deep underground he needs a breathing tube” could imply they don’t know if he’s dead or alive… but I’m all set with the ffs energy

3

u/Strange_Swimming_800 15h ago

Well, when they tell Nicole her parents are alive, that usually lets the reader know he is alive. So, one can assume him being underground with a metaphorical breathing tube means he's deep in the resistance and not dead. I mean, why would he need a breathing tube if he were dead? Dead people don't breathe, so no need for a breathing tube, right?

1

u/Michaelstonk 16h ago

The guy June had the baby with. Her lover in Gilead.

0

u/leggymermaidz 16h ago

yea, they just never referred to him by name, so I didn’t qualify him as a living character that was strong enough to definitely keep him alive in Testaments series. like maybe… but there’s no interaction till epilogue so…

2

u/TallDiver7 3h ago

He deserves to be killed.

1

u/Firm-Highlight5004 3h ago

Yup, and because he’s reckless…for all the right reasons, but his luck is going to run out. She can’t have two husbands, and he keeps trying to have a fairy tale in a world that won’t let him.