7 Plot Points to Remember Before You Watch ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 4
After a lengthy pandemic pause, The Handmaid’s Tale finally returns for its fourth season this week on Hulu—but before you rush to begin your binge, you may need a quick refresher on what exactly happened in season 3. A lot of things went down during the final few episodes in particular, between June and Rita smuggling dozens of children across the border to Canada, the Waterfords finally getting their comeuppance, June murdering Chris Meloni’s creepy Commander Winslow, June aiding in the death of Commander Lawrence’s wife Eleanor, Nick vanishing without trace for the back half of the season…
It was a lot. Here are the key things you need to remember about where we left off.
1) June and the Marthas smuggle almost 100 children out of Gilead.
Throughout most of season 3, June conspired in secret with Rita and several other Marthas to strike back against Gilead and hit the regime where it hurts the most. Since Gilead was (ostensibly) created solely to increase the birth rate, and children are its most precious resource, the plan was to take as many children as possible away from their faux Gilead families and bring them across the border to safety in Canada.
In the finale, Commander Lawrence arranges for Rita and the children to be funneled in secret through his house and onto a waiting plane that flies them north to Toronto. June stays behind because she’s determined to recover her own daughter Hannah.
2) June is shot in the final moments of the season.
Yeah, except for that. June, along with several other Marthas and Handmaids, create a distraction so Gilead’s guardians won’t notice the flight taking off. In the process, June takes a bullet to the abdomen and is shown being carried away by her fellow Handmaids in the season’s final shot. While it’s safe to assume she’s not dead, the extent of her injuries is unclear.
3) Serena turns on Fred.
And not a moment too soon! After enduring physical and emotional abuse from her husband for close to three seasons, Serena seemingly reconciles with Fred midway through season 3 and appears to be excited about the prospect of a new life with him in Washington, D.C. But it was all a ruse—she was actually working with the Canadian authorities to trade Fred in exchange for leniency and the chance to see baby Nichole again.
In the third-to-last episode of season 3, Fred is arrested for war crimes as soon as he and Serena cross the border into Canada. Meanwhile, Serena herself is also taken into custody, but is afforded a very luxurious cell and allowed to have supervised visits with Nichole.
4) But Serena ultimately gets arrested herself.
Because of how brutally Fred has treated her, it’s sometimes been easy to lose sight of just how monstrous Serena is herself. And though she had a brief moment of victory over Fred, the season 3 finale soon reminds us that she, too, is a war criminal.
After Serena turns on him, Fred wastes no time in returning the favor. While being questioned by Canadian agent Mark Tuello, Fred makes it clear that his wife is far from an innocent victim. Specifically, he reveals that Serena forced Nick and June to have sex in season 1, a rape to which June was unable to consent. Serena is arrested on this specific charge and now faces just as uncertain a future as her husband.
5) Commander Lawrence allies with June in secret.
Throughout his time on the show, Lawrence has remained a true enigma—he was one of the architects of Gilead, but fundamentally disagrees with most of its central tenets (including the ceremony) and has been working in secret to undermine it. In the season 2 finale, he helps Emily escape, and in season 3 he becomes a wary co-conspirator with June, allowing the rebel organization Mayday to secretly meet in his house.
Lawrence and June’s relationship becomes even more complex when Fred forces them to perform the ceremony against both of their wills. This experience traumatizes Lawrence’s fragile wife, Eleanor, who ultimately dies by suicide. In the finale, June tries to persuade Lawrence to leave Gilead with the Marthas, but Lawrence says Eleanor would want him to stay behind and “clean up his own mess.” It remains to be seen what consequences he’ll face for his part in the Mayday plot.
6) Nick is MIA.
Much to the chagrin of June/Nick shippers, Nick was absent throughout the latter episodes of season 3. Midway through the season, June makes the devastating discovery that Nick was a soldier in the Gilead crusade and played a key role in the regime coming to power. That would’ve been enough to drive a wedge between them, but Nick is then sent to serve on the front lines in Chicago and doesn’t return. But without spoiling anything, we’re pretty sure he’ll be making a comeback early in the new season.
7) June racks up quite the body count.
As she gradually becomes a revolutionary leader, June also becomes more and more ruthless, and by the end of season 3 she’s taken multiple lives. She memorably stabs Commander Winslow to death after he tries to rape her at Jezebels, and she chooses not to intervene when she finds Eleanor overdosing—which could be described as a mercy killing. Finally, in the finale, she kills a Guardian. All of these killings are justified, but they’re bound to have a psychological impact on June going forward.
Watch The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu
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