What Happened Last Season on The Handmaid’s Tale? (Season 4)

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
WhatsApp
Telegram

Brief Recap of The Handmaid's Tale Season 4 Finale

Setting the Captives Free

Knowing that Fred is going out of prison, they allow June (Elisabeth Moss) to make one more statement before heading to Geneva for an immunity hearing. June tells Emily (Alexis Bledel) afterward that she wants to be able to let go of Fred. Same with her own resentment so she can focus on Hannah (Jordana Blake), Luke (O-T Fagbenle), and Nichole (Nichole Osborne).

June pays a visit to Fred (Joseph Fiennes) in prison, where he informs her that despite what she stats in court He does not have a “bad will” against her. June is taken aback when he appears to sincerely apologize. He tells her how difficult it is for her to be away from her daughter. June tells Luke in the car that she’s going to put Fred “on the fucking Wall.”

June invites Tuello (Sam Jaeger) to visit Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford), who arrives with a deal. Gilead will offer 22 women who works with the Resistance in exchange for Fred’s return. Tuello agrees, and Fred returns to Gilead to face the legal system there. Tuello transports Fred to the Canada-Gilead border, where Lawrence and Nick greet him. 

They apprehend Fred, and Nick leads him to the center of the woods, which Nick refers to as “no man’s land,” where Fred meets June Osborne. Before Nick leaves the two alone, Nick kisses June in front of Fred, and June begs Fred to pick between a pistol and a whistle.

Nolite te Bastardes Carborundorum

June blows the whistle and summons a circle of women holding lanterns. Fred says he knows he can’t shoot him. June and the other Gilead ex-pat women pursue Fred into the woods. They are simulating what happens to June when she tries to flee Gilead. June rips off bits of his face with her teeth as they viciously murder him. 

The words “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum,” the show’s trademark slogan means”don’t let the bastards grind you down.” They scrawl beneath Fred on the Wall. Serena receives an anonymous parcel containing Fred’s finger, wedding ring, and everything.

June returns home and quickly hugs Nichole. When Luke walks in and sees that blood covers June’s face, he collapses to the floor, and she apologizes. The season ends with the mother, her children, and their future uncertains

Fans' Reaction to What Happened in The Handmaid's Tale Season 4 Finale

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4 finale stuns the viewers with a shocking and devastating conclusion. The fourth season ends with the demise of a prominent character. This moment makes fans respond quickly online after a four-season run that kept most of the core characters intact.

The Handmaid’s Tale’s “The Wilderness” is an appropriate send-off for actor Joseph Fieness’ Commander Fred Waterford. Fred dies a terrible end at the hands of many Handmaids. 

The American government of Canada takes them into custody after killing them brutally. In “Progress,” it is a disclosure that he is a poise to go free via a plea agreement. 

June does not put Fred on trial in Gilead after striking a deal with Commander Waterford to exchange him for 22 women from the Resistance. Instead, Nick takes Fred to the woods, where June instructs him to flee. June, Emily, and other Handmaids beat Fred to death before his body hangs from a wall, one of his own.

The scene struck an indelible impression on viewers, especially since The Handmaid’s Tale largely avoids killing any of its central characters. Season 4 ends with many people speechless, with others resorting to social media to express their shock at the final fatality. 

Quick Facts About the TV Show

  • a Bruce Miller American dystopian television series
  • premieres on April 26, 2017
  • the original title of the book was Offred
  • it depicts a dystopia after the Second American Civil War
  • the series films in Canada
  •  Offred does have a name in the book
  • the Colonies are visually from the inspiration of nuclear disasters, art, and the moon.
  • the series is the 10th adaptation of the book. 
  • Margaret Atwood appears as a cameo in the first episode
  • Hulu and MGM are working on a spin-off series basing on Margaret Atwood’s 2019 novel The Testaments.
  • since its premiere in 2017, receives 75 Nominations and 15 Awards at Emmys and 6 nominations and 2 Awards in Golden Globe Awards,  
  • ranks 25th on The Guardian’s list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century

Handmaid's Tale Cast and Characters

  • Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne, is seen as an adulteress, and Hannah is an illegitimate child. 
  • Joseph Fiennes as Commander Fred Waterford, June’s second master, a high-ranking government official. He and his wife are both in the development of Gilead.
  • Yvonne Strahovski, as Serena Joy Waterford, is Fred’s wife and a former cultural conservative activist. He seems to accept her new status in a society that she helps to construct. 
  • Alexis Bledel, as Dr. Emily Malek, Ofsteven, Ofroy, Ofjoseph #1, June’s shopping partner and a former university lecturer in cellular biology. June is initially skeptical of her, but it soon becomes clear that she is not as religious as she appears, and the two become friends. 
  • Madeline Brewer as Janine Lindo, also known as Ofwarren, Ofdaniel, Ofhoward, a Handmaid who arrives at the Red Center at the same time as June for training and considers June a friend because of her kindness. 
  • Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia Clements, a lady in charge of the Handmaids’ sexual re-education and responsibilities. She is severe and punishes disobedient Handmaids physically. 
  • Max Minghella as Commander Nick Blaine, the driver of Commander Waterford and a former Michigan drifter with affections for June. June and Nick form a deep bond, and she soon learns that he is an Eye, a Gilead spy who plays a pivotal role in the Gileadean coup. 
  • Bradley Whitford, as Commander Joseph Lawrence, the founder of the Colonies and the economy of Gilead, has an on-and-off relationship with
  • Sam Jaeger as Mark Tuello, an American operative Serena faces the Canadian government.

The Handmaid's Tale Plot

Fertile Women takes into Sexual Slavery

This series is according to Margaret Atwood’s best-selling novel Gilead, a totalitarian country that is formerly part of the US.  The fundamentalist regime governs and views women as state property.

Some fertile women take into sexual slavery in a desperate attempt to repopulate the country. Offred is desperate to escape the horrible world she lives in and locate her daughter.

In the aftermath of a civil war, the totalitarian, economic dictatorship of Gilead establishes power in the former United States. Fertility rates plummet due to diseases and environmental pollution. Power-hungry leaders, a new military, a hierarchical government of religious fanaticism, and newly constructed social classes, in which women are in captivity, order society.

Worldwide underpopulation leads to the enslavement of fertile women in Gilead. They are the “fallen women” by the new administration on an extreme interpretation of the Biblical tale of Bilhah. Women who is into several marriages, single or unmarried mothers, lesbians, non-Christians, members of Christian religions, political dissidents, and scholars are examples of these women.

Handmaids Submit to Ritualized Rape

Handmaids are sent to the homes of the ruling elite. They must submit to a ritualized rape in front of their wives by their male masters. They need to produce children for them. Much of society, like the Handmaids, is now divided into classes that govern their freedoms and responsibilities.

The Handmaid assigned to the Gileadan Commander Fred Waterford and his wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) is June Osborne, renamed Offred. She is married to Luke and had a daughter, Hannah, at the time. 

June is abducted to become a Handmaid when she and her husband commits adultery while attempting to flee Gilead with their daughter. An upper-class family kidnaps and raises their daughter while her husband flees to Canada.

Much of the plot revolves around June’s yearning to reunite with her husband and daughter and her inward transformation into a darker version of herself.

Will there be Handmaid's Tale Season 5?

After many years of servitude, June Osbourne (Elizabeth Moss) ultimately escapes Gilead’s captivity. However, many young women remain stuck in an unimaginable world and desperate need of assistance.

June, who I’ve known since the fifth of the year, appears to be returning to Gilead in revenge. If the writers had intended to free one woman, the show would have finished in season 4. Season 5’s announcement causes us to believe that fantastic things will come next season.

Season 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale was confirmed before season 4 is aired, implying that the show’s creators have a decent grasp of the long-term strategy.

Samira Wiley, who plays Moira, has confirmed in her interview with The View, stating, “We’re picking up right where we left off,” she said on The View.” Everyone who saw the season finale knows what happened with Commander Waterford. And so June, as always, is in a bit of trouble.” She also confirms that June will remain in Canada in the new series as she figures out how to take Gilead down from there

Slave Tale

Jordan Hellman, the Hulu’s security team leader, speaks up about the ‘Slave Tale’ conversations near the end. Hellman stated that while the series’ success is crucial to the broadcasting industry, they are also concerned about the show’s finale. They will not want to lengthen the front to attract more viewers.

The release of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 is expected to be delayed. Even before the fourth season began, the game’s creators and actors reveals that the popular game would be back for a fifth season in December 2020. Nothing is final as of yet. According to some supporters, the program might be delayed and published in late 2022 or early 2023.

Reference:

  1. The View, YouTube Video, retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CowjF8T-yU