Miller: [Nick] wasn’t going to be forgiven by the U.S or Canadian government.
They forgave Fred. They pardoned Fred.
Is Nick worse than Fred?
I didn’t watch the show and at any point think “oh, when Nick’s not on screen he’s hugging babies and playing with puppies.”
That whole interview pissed me off.
You want to be realistic? You want to be subversive?
Let Serena Joy be evil.
Let her be evil because she loves it. Because she believes in it. Because right now this country is being torn apart by women like Serena Joy Waterford. Women who will not for a second think what they are doing is wrong or despicable.
You want hope in a bleak world? Show people that change is possible. That making a choice when you thought there were no others doesn’t damn you to a life of loneliness and hatred.
He only existed in “Juneland” because you wrote him that way in the final hour. But before that? He found purpose in the unnamed handmaid. Friendship in an unspoken alliance with Rita. Camaraderie with Beth and the marthas who spoke so freely to him.
You want feminism? Show us a male ally. A man who finds strength not just from the women around him but in the actual act of supporting them.
Instead, you unwittingly centered the man you were so desperate to omit. And you forgave a woman who, in all reality, would rather go down with her burning ship.
I wish never watched season six of THT. I have never experienced this level of heartbreak and devastation from a tv show.
It is not because I didn’t watch the show, or have no depth, or love a nazi, or have trauma, or am toxic, or don’t know the point of the story, or haven’t read the book, or am maga, or don’t know that he is a commander in gilead … Nick Blaine was such a good dude and did not deserve what they did to his character.
The fucking nerve of June alone to treat him as she did from his “betrayal” was diabolical. That man was spiraling and was literally broken. He needed her and instead of being there for him just once she deserted him. She didn’t trust him, she didn’t let him explain, she gave no comfort or understanding.
She not only let him walk onto that plane and die. she let him walk onto that plane thinking that he was nothing and that the woman he loved more than anything thought he was a monster and didn’t love him.
June is a horrible fucking person who never deserved him.
The way the anti nick fans speak is so hurtful. And the constant comments and interviews of the writers and show runners about his character literally hurts my heart. I can’t stand Elizabeth Mosses voice or face. I’m so sick of people telling me my feelings and my reality are wrong. 😞
The Handmaid’s Tale’s series finale is now the lowest-rated episode in the show’s history—and I find it deeply validating.
Because let’s be honest: making motherhood the central theme of the endgame wasn’t just the wrong choice—it was a bad one. Even for anti-Nick folks. It's narratively limiting, emotionally unsatisfying, and structurally impossible to pay off thanks to the looming shadow of The Testaments. The writers set up a journey they were never going to finish, and the fans knew it. The ratings prove it. We were never going to get Hannah back. We were never going to get closure through that lens. It was just dumb.
So why not shift focus to the part of the story that could have been wrapped with power and emotional truth? Why not go for the love story, the partnership, the passion that carried this show through its darkest seasons? And the part of the story the majority of fans—passionate, vocal, invested fans—actually wanted. From a storytelling and marketing perspective, it makes zero sense.
Instead, they gave us a finale that sidelined its emotional core—June and Nick—in favor of half-baked symbolism, awkward pacing, and a quiet exit that barely felt earned.
Let’s be real: they chose to abandon the raw, messy, human center of this show. Not just June. Nick. A character who’s been so carefully drawn—layered, morally gray, quietly heroic, deeply in love—and they reduced him to a footnote. And the truth is, he was a fan draw. Possibly the most compelling character in their entire universe. Max Minghella saved their bacon in the later seasons with the way he delivers Nick—and they just screwed him over.
After six seasons of sacrifice, longing, loyalty, and love, he’s left adrift in a story that barely acknowledges what he meant—not just to June, but to us. The fans who stayed because of him. Because of them. We didn’t need a fairytale ending. We needed a reckoning. We needed truth. And the finale gave us none.
So yeah. 5.7 stars. That feels about right.
And I’d love to know how many Hulu cancellations they got. I know I canceled. Didn’t even bother watching that stinking finale. Never will.
Spoilers ahead......At this point spoil yourself. There's nothing left to look forward to.
I don't even know where to begin. I'm writing this to vent. I'm writing because this was a devastating episode for long time fans of this show and i just need to talk about it.
As i saw this episode i kept thinking about how Elisabeth Moss really said record yourself as you watch the last scene with so much glee. Is she really that clueless or just sadistic?
It feels like every interview she has ever given where she spoke about Nick was to gaslight us into thinking she feels the way we do about these two characters but really she was just playing with our feelings. I WISH i had recorded my reaction to the finale because it was mainly just me saying Fuck you to her.
She said during the episode that her god is the god of love. She lied. Tried to lure us into thinking that means something. She said I love you to the handmaids, trying to throw us off into thinking this epsiode is the one where she will choose love. This was all done on purpose. To set us up. Which is just cruel. Her god is the god of wrath.
To say that Serena is one of them now because she gave up one measly piece of intelligence six seasons in when Nick has given her significantly more throughout this journey is undoing the work of all these seasons. Can't they see this? She says at one point that she thought Serena has changed. When did she see this? When she kept going back to Gilead to rise up in power time and again. Giving up amnesty, everything Tuello offered. And the minute the conversation between Serena and June turned to what she has done to bring up Gilead June gladly says let's not talk about it. Why? Why not talk about her wrongs? Because it doesn't have the shock value for the social media pages to see a villain confront her wrongdoings. It's more jarring to see the good guy go bad.
To say bravery looks good on Lawrence while knowing what was about to happen. They chose to write this dialogue on the back of every brave thing Nick has ever done- disregarding him and all those instances that made us love this character. Again because Lawrence made one good decision in three seasons.
Now to talk about the most painful scene of this episode. It was cruel and i guess what Moss wanted most of all- Shocking. Maybe she knew the script this season was so bad that this is what would get us to watch. I wish she knew we would have watched anyway. For Nick. For the rebellion (that falls flat on the face by the way because it's so poorly written).
The slow motion to show Nick, the fake tears on her part. Making him stop on the steps and doing nothing. She knew she was killing us along with Nick and reveled in it as a director. Completely foregoing everything we loved about June.
How could she not stand up? How could she not at the very least give him the choice to get on that plane? Just a nod, a signal, anything...Didn't he deserve that much after everything? Even if he did choose to get on the plane, he would never tell on her to those on board. He would die even as he made the wrong choice. I know this. Because that's the Nick you showed us for all these years.
I would take a Nick who gives up a half assed plan to save June than a June who doesn't even blink as she watches Nick go up on that plane. They really want us to think that SHE has the moral high ground here?!
Adding that line for Nick, saying that she told him to leave time and again...when? I'll tell you when- it never happened. This is your last ditch attempt to make us believe he's a whole different person. Because you spent the last few seasons convincing us he was forced to stay in Gilead and now you changed your mind. And if he is to be the biggest villain on the show then why torture us by having him ask Lawrence if she was okay at the end? Just to devastate us and play with our feelings. To make us watch for that tiny morsel. Forget making something authentic for the audience that has been loyal to you for so long. Just horrific- the way this was handled!
Forget that people invested in the story you told. I guess it really is just show business. Joke's on me for believing in this story all this time. Thanks to you I'm not going to be watching The Testaments or anything made by these writers ever again. Thanks for the trauma.
How often is June's love for Nick talked about in The Testaments? I don't know anything about that book whatever happens in it I bet it's better than the tv series.
Not at all. I would not read it if you're only looking for a Nick & June story. The Testaments is more about the sisterhood/love between Agnes and Nicole, the inception of Gilead, the challenges of being a Commander's daughter, and the duties of the Aunts/Pearl Girls (missionaries). Although The Handmaid's Tale is a better novel (IMO), I still enjoyed The Testaments. (My full review is here.) I connected with the girls and really felt for them. I even enjoyed reading Aunt Lydia's journey; she is so clever and cunning. It would honestly be a show I would enjoy watching...if they didn't completely ruin the symbolism of Nicole's existence by killing Nick. She was created out of love, where such love was forbidden, an incarnation of hope and resistance. She was supposed to be the proof that Nick and June's love won in the end, especially once they are finally reunited as a family.
Here are the few moments when they are mentioned in the book:
Ok, I know this isn't part of the book, but I like to think Nick and June picked Daisy's (Nicole's) foster parents, Melanie and Neil, as a mutual decision. It would be one of the rare moments they got to be parents together. :(
They are confirmed alive and are given updates on Nicole
June doesn't wish to endanger Nick by revealing who/where he is. He's supposed to be "so deep underground he needs a breathing tube." I'd like to think Nick and June are working together for Mayday. But at least June cares enough to still protect him.
Nicole asks about her father, like, three times. She just wants her dad. :(
As I mentioned, they are reunited in the end and live a long life together. Nick and June get to be grandparents!!!!!!
These rewatch posts will all be spoilery, so if you haven't seen the show and want to watch it unspoiled, read no further.
Ahh I forgot this was the hospital kiss episode. I kept thinking it was in 2x08 for some dumb reason, so I wasn’t prepared. What a perfect scene for 47 reasons.
I love how when June walks by Nick at the hospital and she just says "blessed day" to him, it's like they're having a coded conversation (an Osblaine specialty) where she's actually saying "I need to be alone with you," and he understands, so he repeats back a "blessed day" that's actually saying, "I got you, I'm coming, one second."
The moment Nick swerves into that alcove with her, he's already breathing heavily and stressed af about her wellbeing, asking his traditional "you okay?" as he's rushing up to her, and they can just rip my still beating heart out of my chest and crush it for fun at this point.
Then they hear the walkie talkies on the other side of the wall, she apologizes quickly for putting him in danger, and she tries to leave. But the way he pushes her back against the wall to stop her is so potent, like he's telling her with his whole body that this moment with her - that being there for her to express how she feels, even though she is physically okay - is more important to him than any risk he's taking.
This episode rolls off the previous two where June’s mental state deteriorated to the point that she and their daughter almost died, so not only is this “you’re more important than anything that could ever happen to me” energy on brand for Nick, but he also almost lost her when their safe space together was taken away from them by his marriage. So now any moment they can steal to be alone has so much weight to it.
I also love how this very risky, near-public hug/kiss took place one episode after June told Nick in the Waterfords’ sitting room that they can’t keep sneaking around. Girl, we all knew that was futile.
Ooh man, and when June tells Nick: "Cushing, he wants to know who helped me... when I ran." I totally LOVE Nick's moment of terror there, where he's not expecting that, and he's like... "omfg there's another problem now, fuck." He covers for it real quick, but for a second, you can see how scared he is for both of them.
And then the way she says "okay" after he says "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." Her "okay" is honestly kind of dismissive to me, as if she's not actually worrying about that. She's worrying about Nick, as she says in the next line. And he misunderstands and is trying to reassure her, so that's yet another thing that catches him off guard - that she's clearly more worried about him here.
But also, it's actually so much like the moment on the bridge in 4x03 when he's trying to apologize for what happened with Hannah and she's like "yeah, yeah, I know, it's not your fault, we only have a second, and I need your comfort right now." It's a very similar facial expression from Lizzie.
Before the hospital kiss, June is in the room with Fred and Serena while Fred thirsts over her pregnant belly (vomit), and it was just making me think about how ever since June got pregnant, Fred is always staring at her body and belly and the “miracle” and asking about that (like when he returns home in 2x08 and the household is lined up in the foyer waiting for him).
Of course Fred never actually cared about June as a person anyway, but having that scene of him touching her belly in the hospital right before the moment when Nick rushes into the alcove to check on JUNE - as a whole person - is so striking. Nick cares about JUNE. Everyone else sees her as a vessel. And I never thought about the juxtaposition of those scenes back to back before.
I'm also questioning everything about the structure of Eyes vs. Commanders vs. Guardians again. When Nick is in the hospital to see Fred and Serena, and Putnam asks Nick "did you know him well?" - it almost reads to me like Putnam knows or suspects that Pryce was over the undercover Eyes, and if Nick did "know him well," then that's a clue as to Nick's undercover status with the Eyes? I think it was ambiguous to keep it mysterious, but now I want to read a whole, dry, Gilead-sealed document about how it all works...
What's your favorite moment from 2x07?
"Commander Pryce has gone home to God."
"I'm fine, sorry."
"It's okay. It's over."
"He's not gonna give up." "No. No, he's not."
"I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."
"What about you?"
"The evidence submitted by the Eyes is overwhelming."
If you're a podcast listener, here are the links to the spoiler free and spoiler full discussions of 2x07 from Above the Garage:
The Handmaid's Tale: Above the Garage · Episode
The June & Nick Cut:
Here's a link to my June & Nick only cut of episode 2x07. I would really appreciate credit if you share these anywhere else. ♥️
A betrayal of its roots – The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 is a masterclass in narrative collapse
Very glad to post this review on Rotten Tomatoes today. Trust me, I had high hopes for this season but they decided to turn their back on the audience so They Reaped What They Sowed.
The Handmaid’s Tale once stood as a powerful, poetic exploration of womanhood, resistance, and the enduring need for love in the face of totalitarianism. But with Season 6, the show fully jumps the shark — and then rewrites the entire ocean.
What was once a carefully woven dystopian drama has unraveled into a disjointed mess of plot holes, character erasure, and shallow storytelling. Storylines introduced and built up throughout Season 5 — Mackenzie, Esther, Nick and Tuello’s plan, the Wheelers — are swept under the rug with no closure or logic. Characters fans once cared about are reduced to plot devices used only to prop up the protagonist’s unchecked ego. Even the once-iconic music choices now feel forced and desperate, with clunky pop tracks shoved into scenes for superficial relevance.
Atwood’s original message — that love can be a form of resistance, that womanhood is complex, flawed, and deeply human — has been distorted into a shallow satire of feminism. This new version believes every woman is redeemable if she's a mother (and preferably white), regardless of the atrocities she’s committed. Meanwhile, men — even those who have risked everything to fight Gilead from within — are vilified, sidelined, or erased.
What’s perhaps most infuriating is the protagonist’s inability to show self-awareness or growth. She has committed serious moral transgressions, yet refuses any introspection, choosing instead to betray the very people who once saved her. Her arc is no longer a tale of survival and resilience — it’s a cautionary tale of how to alienate your audience by abandoning the humanity at the core of the story.
And the showrunners? Rather than listen to their loyal fanbase, they’ve doubled down with tone-deaf interviews, mocking valid concerns and attempting to gaslight the very audience that carried this show through its weaker seasons. Their defensive PR campaign reeks of damage control, but the damage is already done.
Season 6 isn’t just disappointing — it’s a complete betrayal of what The Handmaid’s Tale once stood for. We never thought they could do worse than Season 5. But here we are.
After Eden confirm to Nick that she is not going to lie, that she loves Isaac and that she only wanted to have a family with him, she asks him to forgive her.
And now you can see Nick's heart break.
Nick kneels in front of her, asking for forgiveness: for not being kinder, for not protecting her as a husband, for not realizing that she was so innocent. June warned him and he just ignored it.
After some heartbreaking performances, the tragedy happens. In a last attempt to make the young lovers repent, Eden goes back to mentioning the Bible with the most beautiful passage about love.
For Gilead, this was an act of infidelity, not love. Love can exist only within the family, between a husband and wife who never chose one another and yet must love one another’s.
During the execution, Nick staring without taking his eyes off of them.
His guilt, his penance.
He keeps looking until he can't take it anymore. He doesn't cry, he stands unwavering. He cannot take the eyes off of them, he doesn’t allow himself to hide from his grief.
His guilt, his penance.
A true believer would convince himself that he is doing the right thing, punishing the girl for her sin.
A true believer would never kneel to a sinner woman.
Damn Offred was down bad if only we saw half as much love from June in the series it felt like she didn't love him as much as he did for her.
I understand how you feel! That's why season 1 was so great; they had incredible source material to go off of. However, as the seasons progressed, their idea of June had changed from the original character, which may be why we feel her love for Nick was not as strong as we hoped. I wish the writers were talented enough to create a story with an intersectional feminist message while also keeping the important love story. Unfortunately, season 6 made it clear that romantic love was not worth fighting for, even though that was what June originally risked her life for repeatedly and felt empowered by. If I had it my way, seasons 1-4 depict a beautiful love story through the most hellish circumstances. At least we have the books--proof that their love is as strong as death. :(
oh what could have been…
Fanfic fix-it recs for a show that forgot its own heart that I absolutely adored. Thought I'd share a few I enjoyed over the weekend ;)
Rainbow (long but well worth it)
Alternative Season 5. After briefly escaping to Canada, June returns to Gilead—not for punishment, but with purpose. She assumes a secret identity and lives undercover as an econowife in Nick’s Cleveland household, alongside his new wife, in a part of Gilead where no one knows who she is. Beth is still alive. The Blaine house becomes a haven for quiet resistance. And June? Pregnant, dangerous, and fully in her element.
This fic dares to explore what the show wouldn’t: what happens when June re-enters Gilead not as a prisoner, but as a threat. It’s full of emotional tension, slow-building intimacy, and a return to the Atwoodian complexity the series abandoned. Their love becomes the engine of revolution—not a detour from it. This would have been so fun in a season long arc instead of the mess of the later seasons.
Drive (loved this one @trademarkblue be curious how the last few chapters go)
Set directly after the 4x10 finale, this fic imagines Nick making the hardest choice of his life to protect June and save Hannah. Loved the idea of them on the road and it also leans into some of the emotional honesty/fallout that the show brushed past. It’s escapist, yes—but it’s also deeply earned.
(Canon through Season 4, ignores The Testaments.)
Challengers of the Unknown
Post–4x10, Nick and June reunite at a safehouse in rebel territory. For once, there’s time. Time to speak, to mourn, to be soft with each other. They’re preparing for June to go underground—but before that, they get a week to reconnect after a year apart.
This fic is full of conversations the show never let them have: about the past, about what’s next, about who they are outside of trauma. It’s sexy, slow, vulnerable, and tender. They’re not just lovers—they’re partners trying to survive, trying to hold onto each other, trying to build something from the wreckage.
All three of these fics do what the show wouldn’t:
→ let June and Nick become co-architects of the resistance
→ explore the cost of love in the face of impossible choices
→ give us the emotional and physical intimacy they earned
And most importantly?
They imagined an endgame that was messy, layered, and true.
Can someone please tell me WHY June asked Tuello about his rank? Like… what was the purpose of that? Why did we, the audience, need to know he’s a Commander? Seriously who cares? 😀
This wasn’t about Tuello at all. It was another breadcrumb. Another painful little reminder. Because the word “Commander” = Nick. They threw that line in just to twist the knife. To remind June and us that she’s surrounded by ghosts. That everything still leads back to him.
And that’s the thing.No matter how hard she tries to forget him, she just can’t
If they didn’t act like this in the press, I would never leave those trashy ratings and reviews. But honestly, they’re just asking for it. They keep provoking us, disrespecting us, gaslighting us like they want their ratings to drop. I genuinely don’t understand
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