Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, episode 3.Now in its sixth season, eight years after it debuted,The Handmaid’s Talestill can’t let go of June Osborne and Nick Blaine. It might seem a little odd for a show likeThe Handmaid’s Tale, which deals with so many powerful themes and storylines around women’s rights and the subjugation of them, to invest so much in what’s now a love triangle (along with Luke Bankole) and, in the case of June and Nick, essentially a “will they/won’t they” relationship.
In a sense, that’s emblematic of how the show has changed since it overtook Margaret Atwood’s book (which only covered the first season), at times veering more into being a dystopian soap opera (not necessarily a criticism). Certainly, Elisabeth Moss and Max Minghella remain great as major parts ofThe Handmaid’s Tale’s cast, and their chemistry is part of why the June/Nick story has largely worked. And afterThe Handmaid’s Taleseason 6, episode 3’s ending, while the show itself nears its endgame, it’s clear there’s a lot more to come with them.
The Show Can’t Quite Bring Itself To Have Closure
Initially, it seemed likeThe Handmaid’s Taleseason 6was giving up on June and Nick. When they talk in episode 3, just before heading in to rescue Luke and Moira, the conversation is headed in the direction of June decisively choosing Luke. Nick even says as much, andJune herself half-agrees, explaining that"[Luke] waited"for her. That could have been the end of it right there, but she then walks it back slightly:
Nick: “I’ve lost you, over and over again.”
June: “I’m here.”
That itself, in isolation, could’ve been her simply trying to reassure him. With Nick stuck in Gilead, or now part ofCommander Lawrence’s New Bethlehem, he’s seemingly got no chance of escaping, while she is outside of it, so maybe there’s no need to fully break his heart.
But then at the end of the episode, Nick tries to say goodbye, and she won’t let him, insisting it’s just"see ya later.“It’s an intimate moment that speaks to the closeness and endurance of their bond, and while it does speak to the pain each would feel in saying goodbye, it also signifies that it’s not going away just yet.
Why The Handmaid’s Tale Isn’t Giving Up On June & Nick
There Are A Few Reasons To Keep It Going
It makes sense, really, thatThe Handmaid’s Talewould keep June and Nick going until the very end. It’s a storyline the show has invested in, and that viewers have invested a lot in; whether someone is Team Nick, Team Luke, or Team No One, as trivial as it could come off as when the stakes of the series are so high, it is part of how the show is consumed. The show looking to maintain that investment, and pay it off in the biggest way, is understandable.
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But there are deeper reasons for it, too.Hannah’s potential escape from Gilead inThe Handmaid’s Taleis a defining story, and something June cannot truly give up on. Nick is entwined with that; not just as someone who has tried his hardest to get Hannah out, buthe is June’s closest link (that she can communicate with) to Gilead, and thus a tether to her missing daughter. That’s not an easy thing to just walk away from.
[June] says that Luke is part of her, but so too is Nick.
Similarly, June’s own feelings for Nick are, presumably, extremely complicated. She says that Luke is part of her, but so too is Nick. That’s not just because he’s Nichole’s father - though that’s a major factor - but that he was the one who was there for her in Gilead.Just as Nick cannot be what Luke is or know June in the same way, the opposite is true for Luke. And with that comes what Nick represents, and what love is: hope. For herself, for Hannah, for Gilead to be defeated, and that’s why June and Nick can’t be over yet.
Will June & Nick End Up Together?
The Odds Aren’t In Their Favor
There is clearly a fondness for June and Nick, and teasing the possibility of them being together, not only among viewers but among the writers of the show. And soI don’t think it’d be accurate to say there’s no chance they end up together, but it does seem like a very slim one.
There’s obviously a much bigger picture of June’s story: Canada, the United States, and Gilead, that needs to take precedence anyway, but it’s also hard to imagine this having too happy an ending (and not solely becauseThe Testamentsshow is happening).
It probably needs to be more bittersweet, and that may be where Nick comes in.
The characters have been through so much that, hopefully, some of them get what they deserve, but it wouldn’t feel true to the show for it all to work out OK in the end. It probably needs to be more bittersweet, and that may be where Nick comes in. His and June’s romance will more likely be doomed, whether that’s him dying or simply unable to escape his life in Gilead/New Bethlehem.
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“The Handmaid’s Tale”
June 28, 2025
Hopefully, before then, he’s still able to have a big impact onThe Handmaid’s Taleand June’s story, whether that’s helping her, Nichole, or Hannah. They actually should get to say goodbye and have a proper ending. It’s just hard to imagine it being them together.
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.
