The Handmaid’s Tale captivated viewers for six intense seasons, and its series finale was no different. The final episode, titled 'The Handmaid’s Tale', premiered on Hulu on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, and delivered a powerful conclusion to June Osborne’s journey, played by Elisabeth Moss. What unfolded was both shocking and deeply emotional.
Series finale spoilers ahead!
In the penultimate episode, 'Execution', June narrowly escapes death once again. As she stands on the gallows with fellow handmaids, she defiantly repeats her iconic line: “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum," Latin for “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.” Just before the nooses tighten, she's rescued in a dramatic Mayday operation led by her husband, Luke, and her friend, Rita, sparking chaos and renewed hope.
Meanwhile, Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) boards a plane to Washington, D.C., alongside other high-ranking Gilead officials – including Nick, June’s former lover. Unbeknownst to them, the plane is rigged with a bomb. The explosion kills everyone on board and delivers a devastating blow to Gilead’s remaining leadership.
© FilmMagicAs the finale begins, June and her fellow rebels are on the cusp of a new chapter. Boston, once under Gilead’s control, has been liberated. June wanders through the city where her life was torn apart, imagining the future she didn't get, one filled with freedom, friendships, and womanhood unburdened by oppression.
She reunites with several key characters from the series. Alexis Bledel returns as Emily, who reveals she has been resisting Gilead from within, working covertly as a Martha. June is also reunited with her mother, Holly, who she thought was dead, in one of the finale’s most emotional surprises. But a long-hoped-for reunion with her daughter Hannah does not come.
Instead, Hannah remains in Gilead. After years under authoritarian indoctrination, she no longer remembers her early life in America. Her unresolved story sets up The Testaments, the sequel series set 15 years later, where she is expected to be a central character.
© Getty ImagesPerhaps the most unexpected moment of the finale is June’s encounter with Serena Joy. Once her oppressor, Serena now lives in a refugee camp with her son, Noah. Remorseful and changed, she shares a quiet moment with June – one rooted not in hatred, but in a fragile understanding. June forgives her.
The episode is told entirely from June’s perspective as she revisits the places that defined her trauma. She walks through the ruins of the Waterford house, and visits the garage where she once met secretly with Nick. In her former bedroom, the one that began her journey as Offred, she sits at the window and picks up a recorder.
© Getty ImagesEncouraged by her mother, June begins documenting her story. She describes the room as it once was, claiming ownership of her past and voice. The final words of the series echo the beginning:
© Getty Images“My name is Offred.”
And this time, the world is ready to listen.
