As a series, The Handmaid's Tale [1] has taken us all by surprise since the imagined totalitarian theocracy of Gilead brings up issues so close to our own in the real world. In this dystopian society, women are disenfranchised and forced to bear children for the ruling class. Suffice to say, we can no longer imagine Joseph Fiennes as struggling playwright William Shakespeare or Elisabeth Moss [2] as sassy copywriter Peggy Olson.
The hit drama recently swept the floors at the Emmy Awards [3] and the Golden Globes [4], elevating Hulu's status as a formidable streaming service. Now, the series is expanding beyond the universe defined by Margaret Atwood's groundbreaking novel [5].
While we wait for the second season [6] to finally come out, here's a quick refresher course on what happens to everybody by the end of the season one finale!
June/Offred
So much has happened to poor June, who's now been renamed Offred, aka "Of Fred" since her commander's name is Fred. Her days as a loving mother and book publishing employee are long gone. In the finale, we see the commander's wife, Serena Joy, beating June for going out on a rendezvous with Fred at a secret brothel called Jezebel's. June learns that she's pregnant from her secret meetings with the Waterfords' servant, Nick. Serena Joy brings June to see her daughter Hannah only to tell the handmaid that if anything happens to the child inside of June, Hannah will get hurt.
The first season ends with an act of resistance from June. Aunt Lydia orders the handmaids to stone Janine to death for risking her child's life. June drops her stone and says, "I'm sorry, Aunt Lydia." The other handmaids follow her lead. When June is waiting to be punished for resisting, Nick tells her to "just go with them" when two guards take her away. We hope that he's not leading her astray.
Emily/Ofglen
Alexis Bledel definitely isn't sweet Rory Gilmore anymore. In The Handmaid's Tale [7], she plays June's ostensibly pious shopping partner, Emily, or Ofglen. We later learn that before Gilead, she worked as a professor and had a wife and son. Authorities soon find out that she's been having a sexual affair with a Martha, or an infertile servant in Gilead. Since Emily is still capable of having children, they punish her with a cliterodectomy, which takes away her enjoyment of sex.
After her procedure, she works for a commander named Steven. She encourages June to join the resistance organization Mayday. She manages to steal a car and run over a guard. But other guards catch her and take her into a black van. We don't know the details of what happens to her, but Alexis Bledel is returning to the show as a series regular next season [8]. From the looks of promotional pictures, she's headed to the notorious Colonies [9].
Janine/Ofwarren
Ah, Janine [10], aka Ofwarren, is complicated. After telling Aunt Lydia to "f*ck off," she loses an eye as punishment. She gives birth to a daughter whom she names Charlotte. The handmaid experiences a bit of a mental breakdown when she's taken to be "Ofdaniel," yearning for her child and believing that her commander will leave his wife to be with her.
She jumps into a freezing river after handing her daughter off to June. She survives the jump but is punished to death for risking her daughter's life. The handmaids defy Aunt Lydia's orders to stone Janine to death. We don't know what happens to Janine, but she may be sent off to the Colonies if the authorities decide not to kill her.
Nick
Nick is the father of June's unborn child, who's conceived per Serena Joy's request for them to sleep together. Nick and June later develop feelings for each other. When guards take June away, he tells her to just "go with them." If Nick doesn't end up betraying June, it's likely that their relationship will intensify over the course of the second season.
We learn a little bit about Nick's backstory in the later part of the first season. He's a part of Gilead's secret police, the Eyes, in addition to working for Fred Waterford's family. Before Gilead, Nick was just a normal guy looking for a job, a mundane reveal that belies his strong, silent-type persona. While job hunting, he lands a job with the Sons of Jacob, a group that had a hand in starting Gilead.
Fred and Serena Joy Waterford
At the beginning of the season one finale, we see Serena Joy, a former conservative personality and cofounder of Gilead, whacking June into a door frame after learning about her outings with Fred to Jezebel's. She forces June to take a pregnancy test, which turns out to be positive. She threatens to hurt June's daughter should anything happen to her child. Serena Joy later confronts Fred about his dates with June and lets him know that June is pregnant and that it's probably not his child because he's a weak man. Fred tries to blow off her threats but becomes increasingly wary about potential punishments (like losing a hand) should his involvements be publicly disclosed.
Moira
Moira, June's best friend prior to Gilead, escapes from the secret brothel Jezebel's. She finds her way to Ontario at a refugee center and reunites with Luke. While she's finally free, she's bound to be processing a lot of trauma. We'll just have to see what lies ahead for her.
Luke
Luke makes it to the Canadian border, although he loses track of his wife and daughter after they're caught by the guards. In Toronto, Luke receives a note from June through the Mexican ambassador's assistant. June indicates that she's alive and that she loves him. She tells him to save their daughter. By the end of the first season, he tearfully meets with Moira after she escapes from Gilead.