The Handmaid's Tale season four certainly delivered on the drama. The dystopian series, inspired by Margaret Attwood's novel of the same name, aired its season four finale in the US on Tuesday night - and viewers weren't left disappointed. Warning, spoilers below…
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In the episode, June's former commander Fred, played by Joseph Fiennes, finds himself turned over to June and the rest of the Handmaids after being tricked by his former driver Nick.
He's then given the choice between a shotgun and whistle and when he doesn't respond, June decides to blow the whistle, signalling for her fellow Handmaids to come forward out of the dense woods around them.
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They violently begin exacting their revenge on Fred before killing him and stringing him up on a wall, the way Handmaids and other traitors were punished in Gilead. The episode ended with June returning home to say goodbye to her infant daughter, Nichole, before fleeing.
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Many viewers took to social media after watching the episode to give their verdict, and it seems they were all in agreement, calling the finale both "satisfying" and "shocking". One said: "Stayed up to watch the season finale of The Handmaid’s Tale when it dropped at midnight and now I can’t sleep because WHAT AN ENDING."
© HuluSeason four ended with the Handmaids exacting revenge on Fred
Another added: "Last 15-20 mins of #HandmaidsTale finale has to be the most satisfying thing I've ever watched. I just wish that part was longer," while a third said: "I audibly gasped when that scene started."
Speaking about where the show can go from here, showrunner Bruce Miller told Variety: "I feel like we have to tell a different story."
Elisabeth Moss has revealed that season four will see June return to Gilead to find her other daughter
He added that viewers can expect to see more of young star McKenna Grace as the chain-smoking wife of a commander in season five as well as some other side characters. "We're going to definitely follow her through next season in Gilead with Janine and Lawrence and Lydia," he said. "There's a dynamic going on there that June is very interested in, having left those people behind."
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As for June specifically, actress Elisabeth Moss said that viewers shouldn't forget that she "still has a daughter that is in Gilead," explaining to The Hollywood Reporter: "This show is about a woman creating a better future for the next generation and, specifically, for her own children. That's the only thing that I'm thinking about and focusing on in season five right now, without knowing all the details."
UK viewers have only to wait a few more days to tune into the latest season, which will begin airing weekly at 9pm from Sunday 20 June on Channel 4.
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