The season kicks off immediately in survival mode. June and Serena end up on the same refugee train out of Toronto. It’s awkward, tense, and just straight-up weird seeing these two women, who basically tried to destroy each other, sitting side by side. The vibes are icy, but things heat up when other refugees recognize Serena. Let’s just say… she’s not exactly beloved by the people, and things spiral into a full-blown mob moment.
June, who could have easily let Serena take the fall, chooses to help her escape. Yep, even after everything. That scene in the woods with June helping Serena and baby Noah escape? Wild. It’s a total power move, showing just how complex June’s sense of justice is...she’s not about revenge for revenge’s sake.
We also get a massive emotional twist: June finally finds her mom, Holly, alive in Alaska. That reunion hits hard. It’s raw, bittersweet, and a huge moment of healing in the middle of so much chaos. Between the physical journey and the emotional one, this episode sets the tone: no one's path is going to be simple.
In episode 2, we see June settling into new places and realizing how messed up the world still is, no matter where you go. She's trying to adjust to life in Alaska, but she’s still haunted by everything she’s gone through. She’s reunited with her daughter and her mother. But there’s a weight to it, like she doesn’t quite know how to live now that she’s not constantly fighting to survive. It’s a weird limbo between safety and grief.
Meanwhile, Serena is straight-up doing PR for Gilead-lite. She’s now in New Bethlehem, a supposed “reformed” territory where Gilead’s rules are slightly looser. She’s taken on the alias “Rachel” and is trying to sell this place to the outside world like it’s the future of peace and progress. Super shady.
Back in Canada, Luke and Moira are done playing it safe. They’re deep in with Mayday, the underground resistance, and they’re ready to *do* something. The energy is shifting. You can feel it—people are getting desperate, and that makes things dangerous.
Episode 3 is action-heavy and emotionally charged. June teams up with Nick to go on a mission into No Man’s Land (a.k.a. the most dangerous spot on the map) to rescue Luke and Moira, who’ve gotten themselves caught in a sticky situation. The scenes here are tense. It’s also a huge moment for June and Nick. Their chemistry? Still there. But the baggage? Also still there.
Serena continues to push the New Bethlehem agenda, playing politics like a pro. She’s trying to convince foreign diplomats that Gilead has changed, which is a massive stretch, but she’s convincing because she believes her own story. Or maybe she’s just really good at lying to herself.
Then there’s Aunt Lydia. She gets a brutal wake-up call when she sees firsthand that the colonies are still using handmaids as forced labor, after all her efforts to reform things. It shakes her. She’s finally starting to see that the system she’s devoted her life to is still rotten at the core. And that realization? It’s gonna cause some serious waves.
These first three episodes are doing a lot of heavy lifting: reuniting characters, shifting alliances, and setting up the moral and emotional stakes for the rest of the season. The show’s no longer just about survival. It’s about legacy, justice, and what comes after the fight. If this is how they’re starting the final season, we’re in for one hell of a ride.
