why establish a romantic sub-plot in the first place?
I joined The Handmaidâs Tale train pretty late (as in binging it all this month) so a lot of material from the earlier seasons was fresh on my mind while watching the last one. And it just. Baffled me? Not only did they completely undermine all of Nickâs development from 5.5 seasons, they also undermined Juneâs as well. Itâs so hard to believe she âusedâ him when all she did throughout the show was reciprocate that love. From expressing her wish not to lose him to visibly relaxing every time she saw him or heard his voice. Or confiding in him her traumatic experiences to comforting him after Eden was executed. Obviously, Nick loved her, if risking his life multiple times doesnât say anything, but they put an equal amount of effort into showing that she loved him too.
The real June understood that change didnât occur through purely âmoralâ action but required a level of sacrifice, that unintended losses were an inevitable consequence of that. Why else would she and other handmaids risk their lives to bring 86 stolen children to Canada? She would also understand Nickâs reasons for leaking Maydayâs plans to Wharton because of that, even if she couldnât immediately forgive him.
Maybe itâs delusional, but I refuse to accept how they characterized them both in the end. I refuse to believe that June suddenly turned into an inconsiderate, self-righteous person and Nick a man thirsty for power. It was a disservice to the entire showâs-worth of development invested into them and their relationship, and Iâd rather appreciate it as originally written than a gross distortion for the sole purpose of shock value.