With the final season of The Handmaid's Tale upon us, it's time to revisit the dystopian universe. Join us as we explore the most gut-wrenching moments that defined this groundbreaking show. From brutal ceremonies to daring escapes, these scenes changed everything for June and her fellow Handmaids.
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00:00Well, good morning girls.
00:04Good morning Aunt Lydia.
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at moments from The Handmaid's Tale's first five seasons that we're still hyperventilating from.
00:13Be prepared for some stressful spoilers.
00:16Your existence is an abomination.
00:20Number 20. Chicago Bombing
00:22Even when June successfully manages to escape her captors, it's merely the beginning of a marathon.
00:27I must have left in a hurry.
00:30Do you think the Nighthawks attacked them?
00:33They wouldn't have left the food here.
00:37At least someone up there still likes us.
00:40June and Janine reach a milestone in Chicago, but their newfound freedom can be stripped away instantly.
00:46Just as they're about to continue their pilgrimage to Canada, Gilead bombs the city.
00:50Janine?
00:51What?
00:53Something's not right.
00:54The two flee from the explosions in the distance, only to run right into a blast.
00:59As a disoriented June emerges from the rubble with Janine nowhere to be found, we anticipate the worst.
01:05Janine?
01:08And the tears come streaming down your face.
01:13Calling out her friend's name, June doesn't find Janine, but rather Moira, who has come to help.
01:27As gratifying as this reunion is, the episode still leaves us on an uncertain note with Janine M.I.A.
01:33As June feared, Janine is again bound for Gilead.
01:38Number 19.
01:39Eden and Isaac are executed.
01:41While the handmaids suffer the most, few, if any, are safe in Gilead.
01:46When Nick's bride Eden is caught having an affair with guardian Isaac, they're given two options.
01:51Repent for their infidelity or pay the ultimate price.
01:54The truth doesn't matter right now, Eden.
01:55It matters to God.
01:56He knows what's in my heart.
01:57He doesn't decide what happens here today, okay?
01:59Just tell them what they need to hear, say you sinned, you're sorry.
02:03I can't.
02:04Unwilling to live under these conditions, the star-crossed lovers are taken atop a high dive with weights attached.
02:10He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us all from unrighteousness.
02:20Renounce your sins and plead for his mercy.
02:23Eden naively tries appealing to her executioners with a Bible verse, but Gilead believes in a more vengeful God.
02:30They condemn the couple to the waters below as others in attendance powerlessly watch.
02:35It does not envy.
02:38It does not boast.
02:40It does not dishonor others.
02:43It is not self-seeking.
02:44This includes Eden's mother.
02:47Even Serena is shocked by this display,
02:49marking one of the first times we see a more human side of the woman who has caused June so much pain.
02:56Number 18.
02:57Esther tells off Aunt Lydia.
02:59Masterfully played by young McKenna Grace,
03:01Esther Keyes uses her status as a wife to help the handmaids.
03:05Esther is eventually caught, though, becoming a handmaid herself.
03:09Looking for a way out,
03:10Esther shares some poisonous chocolates with Janine.
03:12They survive, but when Esther comes to, it's revealed that she's with child.
03:17Did you behave in a way that might have even unwittingly invited his attention?
03:29No.
03:31Like most other babies in Gilead,
03:34Esther's was conceived in the worst way possible.
03:37However, Esther wasn't impregnated during the ceremony.
03:40When Aunt Lydia apologizes for what Commander Putnam did,
03:43Esther calls her out on this double standard.
03:46They don't do it.
03:48You know they do.
03:51You're not sorry.
03:53With or without a ceremony,
03:55Esther is no different than the other handmaids who were forced upon.
03:58Esther justifiably breaks down in anger,
04:01hammering in what a hypocrite Aunt Lydia is.
04:03No!
04:04Get out!
04:06Get out!
04:08I'm coming!
04:09Number 17.
04:11Protesters are shot.
04:13One of the earliest episodes flashes back to a turning point when everything started going to hell.
04:18There'd be no mercies for a member of the resistance.
04:23She left nothing behind.
04:26No footprints.
04:29No breadcrumbs.
04:30In a snap,
04:31women lose their right to make money and own property.
04:34June and Moira find that they've also lost their right to protest.
04:38The latter doesn't only apply to women.
04:41Male or female,
04:42anyone who stands against Gilead is a target.
04:45As an angry mob stands against armed forces,
04:48shots are fired in one direction while an explosion goes off in another.
04:51Seeking shelter,
05:05the friends watch as others are gunned down.
05:07Just when the coast appears to be clear,
05:09shattered glass rains upon them.
05:11There's no longer any use in protesting.
05:14All June and Moira can do is run as far as they can.
05:17June almost shoots Serena.
05:34Despite making it to Canada and putting Fred Waterford out of commission,
05:37June still finds herself fighting.
05:39Hey man,
05:39she came from America.
05:41What the f*** is no America?
05:42Dude,
05:42take it easy.
05:43She isn't holding back anymore,
05:45however.
05:46When a protester punches Moira,
05:48June whips out a gun.
05:49While she only fires into the air,
05:51June is prepared,
05:53and even eager to shoot anyone who tries throwing another punch in her direction.
05:57Luke escorts June off the scene,
05:59but they cross paths with Serena and her bodyguard.
06:02June is tempted to kill Serena right then and there.
06:05Consequences be damned.
06:06Stay back.
06:15The only thing holding her back is Serena's pregnancy.
06:19Although June is full of vengeance and not in the most rational mental state,
06:23she cannot bring harm to a child,
06:25no matter who the mother is.
06:26I didn't do it this time.
06:31But I'm not going to promise that I won't do it next time.
06:36Number 15.
06:38Fred Waterford gets arrested.
06:40When June gets Nicole to safety,
06:42it initiates a chain of events that results in a disastrous one for Fred Waterford.
06:46Tell her I love her.
06:49June!
06:51No!
06:52June!
06:54After a series of pleas and negotiations for Nicole's return,
06:57Fred and Serena meet with Mark Tuello,
07:00the U.S. official who'd earlier approached Serena in Canada.
07:03I have a safe place we can talk up ahead.
07:05Follow me.
07:07Desperation easily clouds their judgment,
07:09as Tuello deceives them into following him across the border into Canada.
07:13Once there, he reads a laundry list of the commander's war crimes
07:17and places him under arrest,
07:19to the absolute satisfaction of everyone watching.
07:22The charges identify the use of your authority
07:25and access to the apparatus of the state.
07:27Number 14.
07:33The Handmaid's Close Call.
07:34You are told the will of God,
07:39and you say,
07:41I know better!
07:42Although The Handmaid's Tale is an adaptation of the Margaret Atwood novel,
07:46the series exhausts the book's narrative by the end of the first season.
07:50For its follow-up,
07:51the show's writers take things into their own hands
07:53and drive us down a path of total brutality with this opening scene.
07:57Aunt Lydia devises a wrathful plan to teach The Handmaids a lesson
08:10after they disobeyed her in the season one finale.
08:12The Handmaids are rounded up,
08:14threatened with barking dogs and forced onto gallows,
08:17while Kate Bush's This Woman's Work plays hauntingly in the background.
08:22It is a spine-chilling scene that is not made easier by the reminder
08:25that Gilead would never get rid of all of its handmaids.
08:28Our father, who art in heaven.
08:31Seriously?
08:32Number 13.
08:34June's Foiled Escape.
08:35I'm the handmaid.
08:37Where's the outfit?
08:38How do I know you're the real deal?
08:43The third episode of the second season
08:45finds June hunkered down in the Boston Globe
08:47while she gears up to leave Gilead.
08:50She's found by a man named Omar,
08:52who reluctantly takes her to his home
08:54when he learns that their safe house is compromised.
08:56So are you brave or stupid?
09:02I'm not brave.
09:04So, there you go.
09:06After Omar and his family fail to return from church on time,
09:10June runs from their house and finds her way to the airstrip,
09:13where she is loaded onto the plane bound for Canada.
09:16Just as we think all might finally turn out well,
09:19the plane is intercepted by Gilead's guards,
09:22and June is ripped away from the prospect of freedom.
09:25No!
09:30Number 12.
09:31Janine's Sentence.
09:33In the season one premiere,
09:35the handmaids are assembled
09:36and made to beat a man to death
09:38for assaulting a pregnant handmaid,
09:40resulting in the death of her baby.
09:42You may come forward and form a circle.
09:45June leads the charge,
09:47kicking down the unfortunate man without thinking twice.
09:50This exact scene is mirrored in the season finale,
09:53with Janine kneeling in the man's place.
09:56Charged with the crime of endangering a child,
09:58Janine is sentenced to death by stoning
10:00at the hands of her fellow handmaids.
10:03The price of his love is sometimes high,
10:08but it must be paid.
10:15Now, you all know what to do?
10:18June once again steps up to the plate,
10:20only this time,
10:21she defiantly flouts the orders,
10:23and the other handmaids follow suit.
10:25Although her actions are certainly not without consequences,
10:28it's a captivating way to show just how much
10:31June has grown over the season.
10:40Number 11.
10:42Serena's Consequence
10:43The law in Gilead forbids women
10:45from reading any written material.
10:47Not educational books,
10:49not grocery lists,
10:50not even the Bible.
10:51June tells Serena that in Gilead,
10:54Nicole will never be able to understand God,
10:56as she won't be allowed to study scripture.
10:58My daughter will be raised properly.
11:03She will understand the word of God,
11:05and she will obey his word.
11:08She cannot read his word!
11:09This thought overwhelms Serena so much
11:11that she decides to raise it up
11:13before the council of leaders.
11:15To everyone's surprise,
11:17and outrage in the case of Fred,
11:18Serena brings out a Bible
11:20and reads a passage from it.
11:21In the beginning was the word,
11:24and the word was with God.
11:27And the word was God.
11:30Her punishment?
11:31A life without her left pinky finger.
11:34The moment not only makes her realize
11:36that the world she helped create
11:37cares nothing for her,
11:39but it is also instrumental
11:41in her decision to let Nicole go.
11:43Ever since June made the decision
11:55to remain in Gilead
11:57at the end of season two,
11:58the question of whether she would ever
12:00reconnect with her husband
12:01has lingered in every viewer's mind.
12:03This episode finally answers such an inquiry.
12:06I'll be there.
12:09Luke.
12:10Emily.
12:11Rita.
12:13Everyone who loves you is there.
12:16After Moira smuggles June into the Sarah boat,
12:18they successfully make it into Canada
12:20regardless of a few hiccups along the way.
12:23June and Luke reunite for the first time
12:26after years of being torn apart in Gilead.
12:29She tearfully apologizes
12:30for not being able to rescue Hannah.
12:32I'm sorry.
12:37I'm sorry, it's just me.
12:40I'm sorry, it's just me.
12:41I'm sorry, I didn't want you.
12:43But Luke is just happy to see her again.
12:45Together, they can fight to save Hannah
12:47and take down Gilead.
12:49You want to fight them?
12:50You fight them from Canada.
12:52We will help you.
12:53Number 9.
12:54Serena shoots Ezra.
12:56Not long after June resists shooting Serena,
12:59the roles are reversed.
13:01Captured in No Man's Land,
13:03June is taken to Serena.
13:04Prepared to execute June on the side of the road,
13:07security guard Ezra hands the gun to Serena.
13:09Accepting her fate,
13:11June prays that future generations,
13:13even Serena's baby,
13:15will grow up in a better world.
13:16I pray
13:17that my daughters
13:20live a life of peace.
13:30A life without all of this
13:32hate
13:33and violence.
13:36June appears more surprised than anyone
13:39when Serena turns the gun on Ezra.
13:42Although he's wearing a vest,
13:43it allows enough time for Serena
13:45to point the gun back at June,
13:46ordering her to drive them away.
13:48Get in the car.
13:49What are you doing?
13:50Get in the car!
13:53Go!
13:55Making matters even more stressful,
13:57Serena goes into labor.
13:59As June gets behind the wheel
14:00with an armed Serena in the back,
14:02we are not sure who has the advantage.
14:04Number 8.
14:06Serena in labor
14:07Throughout the series,
14:09power has shifted between June and Serena.
14:11Although she's technically Serena's hostage,
14:14June knows control is within grasp.
14:16Just keep driving.
14:17Where?
14:18To Toronto?
14:19To Gilead?
14:20Is that what you're doing?
14:21June goes back and forth
14:22on whether she should help Serena.
14:24Serena is equally skeptical about June,
14:26who once had harsh words
14:28about her unborn child.
14:29Despite their differences,
14:31June sees Serena share
14:32in a moment of maternal bliss.
14:34While June and Serena
14:35have reluctantly joined forces before,
14:37Noah's birth is arguably
14:38the first time they find
14:39genuine common ground.
14:41They're still angels.
14:44Maybe that's what you are for me.
14:52Is that what you think of me?
14:55June and the audience
14:56thus have conflicted emotions
14:58when Serena is detained,
15:00screaming for help
15:01as she's separated
15:01from her newborn child.
15:03We rarely feel
15:04such sympathy for Serena.
15:06For June,
15:07seeing Serena on the other side
15:08isn't as satisfying
15:10as she had imagined.
15:10Please don't let this
15:12take you from me!
15:13Please don't!
15:15Please help me!
15:18Please help me!
15:20Thank you!
15:21Number 7.
15:22June gets hit by a truck.
15:24The penultimate season's finale
15:25wastes no time
15:26plunging us into peril
15:27as a vehicle stalks June.
15:29As June speeds up,
15:31so does the truck,
15:32ramming into her.
15:33Few sound effects hurt more
15:35than June's arm being run over.
15:37A Gilead bumper sticker
15:38further confirms
15:39that this isn't
15:40a random freak accident.
15:42Before the driver
15:42can finish the job,
15:44Luke comes to June's rescue.
15:45Stop! Stop!
15:46Realizing that Luke
15:47killed the driver
15:48and is facing arrest,
15:49June decides
15:50it's time to move again.
15:51We have to run.
15:54What?
15:56We waited last time.
15:59And we waited too long.
16:01And we didn't see
16:02how much they hated us.
16:04Things characteristically
16:06don't go according to plan.
16:08While June and Nicole
16:09get on a train,
16:10Luke is forced to stay.
16:12June isn't the only passenger
16:13with a baby,
16:14encountering Serena.
16:16It's uneasy yet oddly hopeful
16:17as the mothers reunite,
16:19questioning what the future holds.
16:21Hi, June.
16:27Hi, Serena.
16:30With a car at her disposal
16:34and the authorities
16:34struggling to find her,
16:36June seemingly has escape
16:37served on a silver platter.
16:39In the United Kingdom,
16:40additional sanctions
16:41on Gilead were announced,
16:43as well as plans
16:44to raise the cap
16:45on American refugees
16:46relocating from Canada.
16:50Now attuned to remind
16:51everyone who's listening,
16:53American patriot
16:54or Gilead trader,
16:56that we are still here.
16:57Of course,
16:58it's never that easy.
16:59The garage door
17:00is frozen shut,
17:01and even if June
17:02could get it open,
17:03her baby decides to come
17:05at the most inconvenient time.
17:07Seeking refuge by the fire
17:08as the sun sets,
17:10June tries giving birth
17:11on her own,
17:12but it becomes clear
17:12her baby won't survive
17:14without help.
17:15It's gonna be okay.
17:17Wandering into the snow,
17:18June fires several shots
17:20into the air.
17:21She knows the best-case scenario
17:23is that somebody will hear,
17:24getting her and her newborn daughter
17:26to safety.
17:27Even then,
17:28that safety will be short-lived,
17:30as June and Holly
17:31remain at Gilead's mercy.
17:32I tell.
17:35Therefore, you are.
17:39We did it, Holly.
17:42Number 5.
17:44The Handmaid's Daring Escape
17:45June!
17:46We can beat the train, dummy!
17:47Prior to this episode,
17:49there have been
17:50multiple escape attempts
17:51by June
17:51that were either impeded
17:52or abandoned.
17:54So, naturally,
17:55our hopes
17:55weren't too high
17:56for this one.
17:57When June
17:58and the other handmaids
17:59from the farmhouse
18:00are recaptured,
18:01they're bundled
18:01into a van
18:02with Aunt Lydia,
18:03bound for a breeding colony.
18:08It's so wonderful
18:09being all together again,
18:10isn't it?
18:11At a railroad crossing,
18:12the driver steps out
18:13to answer nature's call,
18:15and June
18:16sees an escape window.
18:18She grabs the cattle prod
18:19from Aunt Lydia,
18:20and the other handmaids
18:21make a run for it.
18:22While June and Janine
18:23successfully make it
18:24past the crossing,
18:25the other handmaids
18:26aren't as lucky,
18:28with two of them
18:28getting swept away
18:29by the passing train,
18:30and the others
18:31being gunned down.
18:41Number 4.
18:42Fred's life
18:42comes to a satisfying end.
18:44I don't know
18:45that I was
18:46able to
18:49fully appreciate
18:51your situation
18:52until now.
18:54In the aftermath
18:55of his arrest
18:56by the Canadian government,
18:57Fred Waterford
18:58decides to cut a deal
18:59for his release
19:00in exchange for information
19:01about the inner workings
19:02of Gilead.
19:03This deal enrages June,
19:06who somehow manages
19:07to secure
19:07a prisoner exchange instead,
19:09Commander Waterford
19:10for 22 Gilead women.
19:12Fred is arrested
19:13before he can board
19:14a plane to Geneva
19:15to sign the deal,
19:16and finds himself
19:17in no man's land
19:18staring down
19:19a malevolent June.
19:20Choose.
19:21At the beckoning
19:33of her whistle,
19:34June is joined
19:34by Emily
19:35and a host
19:36of other women
19:36who had suffered
19:37greatly because
19:38of people like Fred.
19:39The women
19:40chase the high
19:41and mighty commander
19:41through the wilderness
19:42like a terrified animal,
19:44stripping him
19:44of his dignity
19:45and eventually
19:46his life.
19:47Number 3.
19:57The Waterford's
19:58Unforgivable Act
20:00She's going into labor.
20:02It's time.
20:04Granted,
20:04every instance
20:05of the ceremony
20:06in Gilead
20:06can be classified
20:07as intimate trauma,
20:08but this one
20:09was particularly cruel.
20:11June begins
20:11to have contractions
20:12and is rushed home
20:14to initiate
20:14the birthing ritual.
20:16However,
20:17it turns out
20:17to be a false alarm,
20:19disappointing everyone
20:20present,
20:20especially the Waterfords.
20:22We are all
20:23impatient.
20:25I can promise you
20:26that this pregnancy
20:27will end soon
20:28and Offred
20:29will be off
20:29to her next posting.
20:31After the series
20:32does its best
20:32to humanize Serena
20:33in the preceding episodes,
20:35she takes several steps
20:36back into depravity
20:37by convincing Fred
20:38to induce June's labor
20:40in, we quote,
20:41the most natural way.
20:43It is an extremely
20:44graphic scene
20:45that is obviously
20:46more of a punishment
20:47than a procedure
20:48intended to induce
20:50the child's birth.
20:50Serena, listen to me.
20:52You don't have to do this.
20:54Stop it.
20:54Please don't do this.
20:56Stop it.
20:56It doesn't have to be this.
20:57Offred me to say it.
20:58You don't.
20:59Stop it.
20:59Don't.
21:00Please.
21:01No.
21:01Number two.
21:02Emily's Story.
21:04The first season
21:05of the show
21:05is filled with
21:06many shocking moments
21:07that introduce us
21:08to the cruel
21:08dystopian world
21:09of Gilead.
21:10There was a black van,
21:12then footsteps
21:13steps on the stairs,
21:14then something quick
21:17and brutal
21:18that made her unable
21:20to scream.
21:21One such moment
21:22comes at the end
21:23of the third episode,
21:24not even with our protagonist,
21:26but with the handmaid
21:27formerly known
21:28as Of Glenn.
21:29When her romantic
21:30relationship with
21:30Amartha is discovered,
21:32the two women
21:32are put on trial
21:33for, quote,
21:34gender treachery
21:35and swiftly
21:36pronounced guilty.
21:37Your existence
21:37is an abomination.
21:39True justice
21:40would see you
21:41sent to an eternity
21:42of suffering,
21:43but God has seemed
21:45fit to make you fruitful
21:46and by that
21:47we are bound.
21:48Their sentences
21:48are immediately
21:49carried out,
21:50resulting in
21:51Martha being executed
21:52right before
21:53Of Glenn's eyes.
21:54Meanwhile,
21:55an even darker fate
21:56awaits the handmaiden.
21:58After she wakes up
21:59in a blinding
22:00white patient room,
22:01we find out
22:01her real name
22:02is Emily
22:02and that she's
22:03experienced
22:04the unthinkable.
22:05You won't want
22:06what you cannot
22:09have.
22:13Blessed be the fruit, dear.
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22:31Number one,
22:31Emily escapes
22:33with Nicole.
22:34After everything
22:35she's done to her,
22:36we couldn't help
22:37but cheer
22:37when Emily
22:38attacked Aunt Lydia.
22:39What seems like
22:40the end of the line
22:41for Emily
22:41marks a fresh start
22:42as Commander Lawrence
22:43arranges her escape.
22:54June isn't far
22:57behind with Holly,
22:57who Serena
22:58has renamed Nicole.
23:00Although she catches
23:01June trying to flee,
23:02Serena tearfully
23:03turns a blind eye,
23:05knowing deep down
23:05the baby will be
23:06better off
23:07away from Gilead.
23:08Serena,
23:08listen to me.
23:10Listen to me, okay?
23:12Please.
23:13I can get her out.
23:17I can get her out of here.
23:19All of the pieces
23:20are in place,
23:21except June's eldest daughter
23:23Hannah is still
23:24under Gilead's thumb.
23:25In what might be
23:26the most difficult choice
23:27of her life,
23:29June hands her baby
23:30to Emily,
23:31remaining in Gilead
23:32to save Hannah.
23:33Before departing,
23:34June tells Emily
23:35to call the baby Nicole,
23:37recognizing Serena's sacrifice.
23:39Call her Nicole.
23:44Tell her I love her.
23:47Which Handmaid's Tale
23:48moment took your breath away?
23:50Let us know
23:50in the comments.
23:51She cannot grow up here.
23:53No.
23:54She cannot grow up
23:55in this place.
23:57Listen to me.
24:00You know she loved.
24:01Oh.
24:27She cannot...