We step behind enemy lines with the talented Samira Wiley to discuss “The Handmaids Tale”.
The series went back into Gilead ahead of tomorrows intense new episode....find out more now!
Audiences are now halfway through the 6th and finale season of The Handmaids Tale on Hulu, last weeks episode #5, titled “JANINE” was deeply emotional, intense, and tantalizing.
If you aren’t yet familiar, The Handmaid’s Tale is based on the best-selling novel by Margaret Atwood, this series is set in Gilead, a totalitarian society in what used to be part of the United States. Gilead is ruled by a fundamentalist regime that treats women as property of the state, and is faced with environmental disasters and a plummeting birth rate. In a desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world, the few remaining fertile women are forced into sexual servitude. One of these women, June, is determined to survive the terrifying world she lives in, and find the daughter that was taken from her.
In season 6, episode 5, viewers were on edge as now free, former handmaids June (Elisabeth Moss) and Moira (Samira Wiley) went on a dangerous undercover mission for the resistance. They headed back into Gilead, posing as Martha’s to sneak inside of Jezebel’s (the brothel for excommunicated handmaids). Meanwhile Serena and Nick made consequential choices that will have shocking and long term implications for the people that they care about the most.
The last episode has been one of the most suspenseful and emotional episodes to date as key characters were placed in extremely dangerous situations and faced with insurmountable odds. Completing this mission is critical to the future for the resistance in order to gain access/intel and free more political prisoners.
Through a very tense and emotional scene, June and Moira’s issues come bubbling to the surface. Their relationship between these women has been transformative over the years, although complex and at times complicated, their friendship both before and after their traumatizing time in Gilead has been one of the many bright, fan favorite highlights throughout the series.
In the very first season, it was Moira’s voice and unyielding words that played inside of June’s head, keeping her afloat throughout the most dark and desolate days early on in the Waterford household. Thus, proving that although sometimes flawed, true friendship is unyielding and priceless. Now as free women, both June and Moira have proved that they are a force to be reckoned with. They will continue to help the resistance forge forward, stopping at nothing until the day that justice is served, families are reunited, and all handmaids are free.
In season 6 episode 5, with mounting danger and emotions from past traumas boiling over, June and Moira were still able to complete their mission, meeting up with Janine (Madeline Brewer), briefing her on the resistance (Mayday) plans and getting the intel that they needed. However, things did not run as smoothly as planned, with a dead guard on their hands and no ride or way out of the brothel, the pair ran into a very unenthusiastic Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) who just had his own emotionally jarring night at Jezebels. The episode ends on a nail biting cliffhanger. Commander Lawrence unwillingly agrees to help and then closes both Moira and June in his trunk outside of the brothel.
We caught up with Emmy Award winning actress Samira Wiley to discuss her character Moira’s journey, heading back into Gilead for the first time, and what audiences should know about the rest of the final season of The Handmaids Tale.
Through a creative and riveting storyline, impeccable acting as well as overall production, and the ability to showcase the impactful and pivotal role that politics and policies play on what is deemed a societal norm and daily life freedoms/rights has made The Handmaid’s Tale series feel unabashedly close to reality for some. The Handmaids Tale has been emotional, intense, moving, and shattering all at once! It has become a monumental series that resonates with so many for years and even more so today.
The remaining episodes from the final season and their release dates are listed below:
Episode 606: April 29
Episode 607: May 6
Episode 608: May 13
Episode 609: May 20
Episode 610: May 27 (series finale)
Don’t forget to tune into episode 6 titled, “Surprise” streaming April 29, 2025 on Hulu to find out the fate of the resilient duo Moira and June as they try to flee Gilead once again!
**Seasons 1-5 are streaming now on HULU!**