The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5: What Happened in Season 4 Finale and Ending, Explained?

By Phoebe Uren Last updated Sep 22, 2022

After the intense Season 4 finale of The Handmaid’s Tale, your heartbeat may have finally slowed down. You may already be wondering when more episodes will air. You’re not the only one.

The show got 21 Emmy nominations in 2021, and fans are dying to know what happens next to June Osborne (played by Elisabeth Moss) and her fellow handmaids after their fight for justice ended in a bloody, violent scene in which a major character died.

What’s good? We already know that there will be a fifth season. In fact, in December 2020, before Season 4 even came out, the cast announced in an Instagram video that Season 5 was going to happen, so you don’t have to worry that you’ll never find out what happened to the people who lived in, escaped from, or fled Gilead.

What’s the Plot of the Handmaid’s Tale Season 5

Commander Fred Waterford was killed in the woods by June and some other Gilead survivors. This was a very dramatic way for the season to end, but it had been coming for a long time.

It’s also likely that Atwood’s second book, The Testaments, which is the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, will start getting more attention, though this is just a guess for now

“In season 5, June has to deal with the consequences of killing Commander Waterford while she tries to figure out who she is and what she’s here for. As Gilead’s influence spreads into Canada, Serena, who is now a widow, tries to make a name for herself in Toronto.

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“Commander Lawrence works with Aunt Lydia as he tries to change Gilead and get more powerful. June, Luke, and Moira fight Gilead from afar as they continue to try to save Hannah and get back together with her.

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Cast

All of the following main characters have now been confirmed to be back

June Osbourne is played by Elisabeth Moss
Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy
Madeline Brewer as Janine Lindo
Aunt Ann Dowd Luke Bankole is played by Lydia Clements O.T. Fagbenle.
Moira Strand, played by Samira Wiley
Commander, played by Max Minghella Nick Blaine
Amanda Brugel as Rita Blue
As Commander, Bradley Whitford Joseph Lewis
Mark Tuello played by Sam Jaege

When Will Season 5 of “The Handmaid’s Tale” Come Out?

Nick, played by Max Minghella, looks out of a window. Nick, played by Max Minghella in The Handmaid’s Tale, looks out of a window. Sophie Giraud/Hulu

The first two episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 came out on Hulu in the US on September 14, 2022 according to radiotimes.com/. New episodes come out every week.

We don’t know when season 5 will start on Channel 4 in the UK, but if the last season is any indication, it could be a couple of months later. If so, you can expect it to come out in November. We’ll keep this page up to date with any new information, like when the show will air in the UK.

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4 Finale and Ending, Explained

In season 4 of The Handmaid’s Tale, June met with Fred Waterford, ostensibly to say goodbye before he went to Zurich and made a deal with the international court that set him free. But it was clear that their meeting made her unhappy, so June tried to find a way to stop Fred from getting away.

Mark Trello was jogging when June came up to him and asked him to drive her somewhere. There, they made an offer to Commander Lawrence. If they gave Gilead Fred, 22 women who had been caught while working for the resistance would be set free.

Mark agreed, and just as Fred was getting on a plane to go to Zurich, he was arrested and taken to a place called “no man’s land.” Commander Lawrence met him there, but he gave him right back to Commander Nick Blaine right away.

Nick took Fred into the woods, and June met them there. After she kissed Nick and said goodbye to him, she took Fred’s handcuffs off. She blew a whistle when he started to thank her. From the woods, a group of former handmaids came out, and June told Fred to run.

He ran away, and June and the other maids gave chase. Then Fred fell down, and June started beating him. The other women soon joined in.

The bloodied women got in their cars and drove home the next morning. June sneaked into her house and went to her daughter Nichole’s room to give her a hug. Luke, her husband, found them and saw that June had blood on her face. He knew right away what she had done. He broke down and fell to the floor. June told him, “I’m sorry.” “Give me five minutes with her and I’ll leave,” he said.

During this, a flash shows that Fred’s body is hanging from the wall without its head. “Nolite te bastardes carburondorum” is written in blood below.

Serena is calm as she works on her computer in the detention center. A mailman opens a package that was sent to her and is sitting outside. Fred’s wedding ring and his finger fall out.

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