Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, episode 5, “Janine.“June Osborne and Nick Blaine are once again on the path to reuniting inThe Handmaid’s Tale. The pair of star-crossed lovers have already parted ways once this year, but with Elisabeth Moss and Max Minghella such key parts ofThe Handmaid’s Tale’s cast, the show cannot resist finding ways to bring them back together. That’s particularly true now June is back in Gilead.
The Handmaid’s Taleseason 6, episode 5sees June return to Gilead with Moira Strand, to plan out a Mayday mission that will result in an attack on Jezebel’s. Inevitably, though, things went awry. It forces the pair into an extremely tense and difficult situation, which will have various major implications on the rest ofThe Handmaid’s Taleseason 6, including for June and Nick.
June and Moira’s plan has them cornered by one of Gilead’s guardians, who attempts to sexually assault Moira. It’s a harrowing scene and one where, thankfully, they’re able to fight him off. The result is him being murdered, and the pair having to find a way to dispose of the body.
This scenario, while different (and more difficult) in context, puts June in a similar position to Nick.Both have now had to kill members of Gilead’s security force in season 6 due to operations within the border going wrong, and it’s resulted in the walls closing in on them.
The Handmaid’s Taleseason 6 is the show’s final season, but it will be followed byspinoff seriesThe Testaments.
Nick kills Toby inThe Handmaid’s Taleseason 6, episode 5, but he’s not out of the woods yet:it’s clear that Commander Wharton has his suspicions, and they may not go away quickly. After all, he probably won’t just think it’s a coincidence that Toby died, after being set to make a recovery, around the time Nick visited him in hospital.
For June, things take a turn when she and Moira are unable to escape with Luke and Rita in the van, and instead find themselves having to get into the trunk of Commander Lawrence’s car. Much like Nick, June is, for now, once again stuck in Gilead.
Another June & Nick Reunion Seems Inevitable Now
What Will Happen When They Meet Again?
Earlier inThe Handmaid’s Taleseason 6, June told Nick that they weren’t saying goodbye; it was just"see you later.“That now seems very likely to come true. Lawrence is presumably taking June and Moira to his home inNew Bethlehem, where there’ll not only be a reunion with Serena Joy, but one with Nick too, given how much involvement he has there.
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“The Handmaid’s Tale”
June 26, 2025
This adds an interesting wrinkle to their dynamic when they do reunite. In previous seasons, we’ve typically seen them having more clandestine meetings. But now, there’ll be a bigger presence: Lawrence, Serena, and most interesting of all, Wharton.
How much [Wharton] discovers, how much he suspects, and how June and Nick act in front of him could all be things that shape both of their futures in The Handmaid’s Tale.
How much he discovers, how much he suspects, and how June and Nick act in front of him could all be things that shape both of their futures inThe Handmaid’s Tale. One way or another, June and Moira are going to have to find a way out of Gilead/New Bethlehem, but it’ll be fascinating to see whether Nick can really help them this time, and if, on this occasion, it really is going to be “goodbye.”
The Handmaid’s Talereleases new episodes Tuesdays at midnight ET on Hulu.
The Handmaid’s Tale
Cast
The Handmaid’s Tale is a television adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel, released in 2017. It is set in a dystopian future where a woman is compelled to live as a concubine under a strict fundamentalist theocracy.
