The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 6 recap: Are Nick and June endgame?
June and Nick are reunited inThe Handmaid’s Tale Season 6Episode 6, ‘Surprise’, and not just for a brief meeting in No Man’s Land. But does this mean they’re back together?
InSeason 6 Episode 5of theHulu series, June and Moira returned to Gilead to scout out the Jezebels penthouse for Mayday. While there, they ran into Janine and warned her about the plan to target the High Commanders.
Of course, this is Gilead we’re talking about, and things didn’t quite go as planned. Not only did they have to slay a Guardian but their ride home with Luke fell through, meaning they had to go toCommander Lawrencefor help.
It was another notch on an already bad day for him, having just found out that his fellow High Commanders are usingNew Bethlehemto lure refugees back to Gilead. The ultimate goal? Stage a coup and put Lawrence on the wall. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Are June and Nick endgame?
Sorry to all you June and Nick shippers. Though they come so close to being endgame,The Handmaid’s TaleSeason 6 Episode 6 sees Nick betray June in the worst way possible, marking the death knell of their relationship.
But before we go any further, we need to start at the beginning. The latest installment picks up where we left off, with June and Moira in Lawrence’s car trunk.
They’re concerned about what they left behind at Jezebels. If you remember,Janinehad drawn them a map for the elevator into the penthouse, which they were going to use to enact Mayday’s plan.
Janine also gave them a pile of letters written by the women at Jezebels to family members. But when Moira and June went to leave, a Guardian found them and locked the papers away in a safe.
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Yes, they killed him, but they didn’t know the key to the safe and had to leave. “What about when they find them?” Moira says. “All those women are dead.”
“Moira, we’re in a f**king trunk,” says June. In other words, it’s a problem to solve later. Finally, the car comes to a halt and Lawrence lets them out.
Lawrence and June join forces
He asks what they’re doing in Gilead, but June doesn’t want to say as he’ll “just tell his little friends.” Lawrence insists he had nothing to do with the attack on the US planes that attempted to retrieve Hannah in Season 5.
“You could’ve stopped them,” says June, to which Lawrence retorts, “You could’ve stopped Eleanor.” But Lawrence acknowledges his role to play in his late wife’s suicide, stating, “I built this miserable hellscape and I trapped her in it.”
He goes on to tell June and Moira about the High Commanders’ plan: “The war hogs are using my reforms to set a trap. They want to put me on the wall… maybe we’ll be next to each other.”
June knows she can trust him and so decides to tell him about Mayday’s plan.
“What if I told you that by this time next week, every single one of those goddamn men would be dead, and you would be the most powerful commander left in Boston?” she says, an idea Lawrence seems open to. What else has he got to lose at this point?
June calls on Nick for help
The scene cuts to Lawrence’s house, where he brings June and Moira to the basement. He tells them they need to make sure they take all of the High Commanders out as they’re like Hydra – the multi-headed Greek mythological monster.
“Chop one head off and another idiot just pops up to replace him,” he says. June reassures him that this is the reason Mayday wants to kill them all at the same time.
The next step is for them to retrieve the letters and map from Jezebels, but Lawrence points out that the place is on lockdown, and so June asks to borrow his phone – Nick has got to be on speed dial at this point.
Thankfully, Nick is more than willing to help June out. He retrieves the goods from the safe, but on his way out, he runs intoCommander Belland Janine in the hallway.
Now, normally he’d be able to worm his way out of sticky situations, but he’s already on thin ice as it is. InThe Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 3, he shot two Guardians while bailing Luke and Moira out.
And let’s not forget, one of the Guardians survived the ambush – andNick had to finish the jobhimself to cover his tracks. His father-in-law, Commander Wharton, has been keeping a close eye on him ever since.
June and Nick are together once more
When Nick gets back to New Bethlehem, he delivers the goods to June. He lets her know that Moira has gone with Lawrence and she’ll go with him, but he’d rather take her back in the morning to be safe (translation: so they can spend the night together).
Nick tells June that sometimes he thinks she’s the only good thing in his life. We see a flashback to The Handmaid’s Tale Season 1, when June is still a Handmaid and Nick isthe Waterfords’driver.
They’re together in his little outhouse, having just slept together, and they dream about living in the real world, having their first date, and going to go to Paris. It’s all just a fantasy, of course, but their love for one another is very real.
The scene cuts to Jezebels in the present day, where Aunt Lydia is still living in delulu land, believing she can “save” Janine.
She tells Janine about the plans with Serena to open a fertility clinic in New Bethlehem where former Handmaids can retire, which leads to an argument.
Aunt Lydia slaps her, and Janine pushes her out the door after saying she’ll never be free so long as Gilead is still in power.
Commander Wharton grows suspicious
Nick takes June to his house but the coast is definitely not clear. Commander Wharton, who’s meant to be in DC, is waiting for him in the living room.
He tells June that if he’s not out in five minutes, go to Serena’s house. When Nick heads in, the atmosphere is tense.
Wharton gets straight to business. Commander Bell obviously ratted Nick out about seeing him at Jezebels. “Have you been unfaithful to my daughter?” he asks, which Nick denies.
Wharton presses him about why he was there, but Nick says it’s “confidential.” This isn’t a satisfying answer, and so Wharton piles the pressure on, pointing out that Nick was the last person to see the young Guardian before he died.
“Can’t you see these lies are going to land you on the wall and your son will be left without a father, is that what you want?” he asks. “I can’t help unless you’re honest with me.”
June and Serena reopen old wounds
As their conversation continues, June realizes Nick’s not coming out and so she heads to Serena’s, who is understandably shocked to see her.
June lies about why she’s there, saying she was trying to get Nick to come to Alaska. Serena is just happy June appears to be starting to trust her and agrees to give her a place to sleep for the night.
But while preparing for bed, Serena reveals she’s going to marry Wharton, which gets June’s back up. They get into an argument, with June saying Serena hasn’t changed and Serena insisting she is going to reform Gilead with Wharton’s support.
The former Mrs. Waterford once again downplays the terrible things she’s done in the past, while June admits that she can’t forgive her. Rather than solving their issues, they leave each other to it.
But Serena is still hellbent on making amends, and in the morning she invites Rita over for a catch up. It’s a heartwarming reunion for June and Rita, albeit a little awkward with their former aggressor listening in.
Thankfully, Noah stirs and Serena tends to him, giving Rita and June the opportunity for a real chat. June tells her about Mayday’s plan and asks for her help, but Rita doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize her family, having only just reunited with her sister.
June understands completely, saying she deserves peace.
Serena’s diary says it all
While waiting to be taken home, June finds a notebook with a photo inside of Serena, Fred, and Nichole, aka Holly.
She then takes a look at the diary entry, which gives an eye-opening insight into Serena’s attitude towards religion, Gilead, and her own sense of power.
It reads, “Two ideals on the decline and threatening our future. Not only of our country but of humanity itself. Some people called me the Mother of the Revolution, a title I accepted with humility but also with the weight of responsibility.
“I was the voice for a return to faith, and to a society where women were revered for their natural role as mothers and nurturers. The Handmaids, though their role was misunderstood by many, were a vital part of that mission.
“The Handmaids system came with many unforeseen challenges. There were sacrifices to be made, not just by the Handmaids but by all of us who believed in Gilead.
“We were willing to make the hard choices, to endure the scrutiny and misunderstanding from those who refused to see the necessity of this new world.”
Oh Serena, June’s right – she will never change.
No way back for Nick and June
Finally, Nick shows up, but rather than taking June back, he has a new destination in mind: Paris.
Yes, Nick wants June to drop everything and run away with him to the city of love. He’s arranged everything they’d need, and he’ll make sure both Hollys – her mom and their daughter – come with them.
For a moment, June looks like she’s going to say yes, but their moment of passion is interrupted by a knock at the door.
Serena rushes in and tells them to hide in a cupboard, before answering the door to find her husband-to-be, Wharton. And their conversation is what leads to the destruction of June and Nick’s relationship.
Turns out, Nick told Wharton about Mayday’s plan in order to save himself. Rather than admitting he was at Jezebels to help June (or find another excuse), he claimed he was helping to prevent the attack.
Wharton explains all of this to Serena, saying he’s going to get Jezebels shut down, which essentially means Janine and the rest of the women there will be killed.
What’s more, Mayday’s plan to target the High Commanders can no longer go ahead, and no doubt Gilead will be tightening up its security from now on.
“To be honest, I’ve had my doubts about him, but he has proven his loyalty,” Wharton tells Serena. “It was Nick who discovered the plan. It was Nick who told me everything.”
June looks like she’s had the wind taken out of her as she feels the full force of betrayal, while Nick looks to the floor in shame. The camera pans out to reveal a symbolic shot of June standing alone.
While we’re yet to see the fallout, it’s hard to imagine June and Nick ever finding their way back to each other now that the trust between them has been so thoroughly shattered.
Find out when the next episode drops with our guide toThe Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 release schedule. you’re able to also catch up with our recaps forSeason 6 Episode 1,Episode 2, andEpisode 4.
