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- Where every 'Handmaid's Tale' character left off ahead of season 4
Where every 'Handmaid's Tale' character left off ahead of season 4
Claudia Willen
- Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale" returns with the first three episodes of season four on Wednesday.
- Season three ended on a cliffhanger over a year ago in August 2019.
- Insider created a guide detailing what happened to the main characters on the most recent finale.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the first three seasons of "The Handmaid's Tale."
June led a mission to smuggle over 100 children from Gilead into Canada.
In the show's third season, June Osborne (played by Elisabeth Moss) evolved into a respected rabble-rouser in the fight against Gilead, a totalitarian military regime that overthrew the US government.
She spearheaded a risky plan to sneak more than 100 children out of Gilead and into Canada by plane, tapping on a clandestine network of Handmaids and Marthas to usher the minors through the woods at midnight.
June, who refused to cross the border without her daughter Hannah, volunteered to distract the guard standing between the children and the tarmac.
The Guardian took the bait and chased her, providing an opportunity for the children to board the plane. After he shot June in the shoulder, she retaliated by drawing a gun on him and firing it at point-blank range.
She was left bleeding on the forest floor, smiling through tears as she watched the plane soaring above her. When the sun rose, a group of Handmaids that stayed behind to assist June found her alive and carried her away.
June's future in Gilead remains uncertain at the end of the season finale. Not only is she severely wounded from the gunshot, but she's entering season four as a wanted fugitive.
Rita accompanied the children on the plane to Canada.
Rita (Amanda Brugel), the Martha assigned to serve the Waterfords' household, was part of June's scheme to extricate the children from Gilead.
She accompanied the kids on the plane to Canada, reuniting with Emily Malek (Alexis Bledel), a former Handmaid, and meeting June's husband Luke Bankole (O-T Fagbenle) upon arrival.
"It's really good to meet you. she did this. June. Your June," Rita told Luke when she first sees him. "She did this. She did everything."
Fred implicated Serena after he was arrested in Canada.
After Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger), an agent for the US government in exile, lured Fred Waterford and Serena Waterford across the Gilead-Canadian border, they were both arrested.
Fred (Joseph Fiennes) was immediately concerned about his wife's wellbeing, telling all officials that she is innocent and has done "nothing wrong."
That changed during the season three finale.
When the Commander learned that Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) made a plea agreement to gain access to baby Nichole in Canada, he threw her under the bus, telling Tuello that she's committed crimes "far beyond the laws of Gilead and the laws of God."
Fred then informed Tuello that Serena forced their driver, Nick Blaine (Max Minghella), to rape and impregnate June in order to claim the resulting child as her own.
Serena's immunity deal fell apart.
When Serena entered Canada, she claimed that her actions in Gilead were conducted under duress as a subject of the state, striking a plea agreement that granted her immunity. Though she was monitored around the clock, she secured visitation rights with Nichole.
That is, until Fred told Tuello that Serena forced Nick to rape June.
Her immunity deal crumbled, and she was placed under arrest in Canada for rape, crimes against humanity, and sexual slavery.
Emily welcomed the children into Canada as part of the relief effort.
Emily, who left Gilead with Nichole during the season three premiere, greeted the children as they stepped off the plane in Canada.
As part of the relief effort, she collected the passengers' names in the hopes of reuniting them with any surviving family members.
Janine was part of the escape mission and stayed in Gilead to help June.
When June separated from the group to distract the Guardian from the children, she was joined by a group of loyal Handmaids. Janine Lindo (Madeline Brewer) was one of them.
A friend of June's since season one, Janine sacrificed a ticket to freedom in order to help throw rocks at the Guardian.
She was also one of the Handmaids that found June at dawn, showing visible signs of relief that her friend was still breathing when they rescued her.
Commander Lawrence remained in Gilead after hiding the children in his home.
Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) almost pulled the plug on the escape mission after a Martha is spotted sneaking around with a child in broad daylight. Since she, along with the other rebels, were convening in his basement, the scheme put him at direct risk.
June successfully convinced him to move forward as planned, threatening him with a gun at one point. And as over 100 children huddled together in Lawrence's basement, he read them an excerpt from "Treasure Island."
June asked Lawrence to come with them to Canada before the plane left, but he turned it down. He's "not a big fan of flying or children," he told her. Instead, Lawrence said he will stay behind and "clean up" the mess he created in Gilead.
Hannah was still with her adopted family in Gilead, but her location is unknown.
After June tricked Eleanor Lawrence (Julie Dretzin) into visiting Hannah's school in Gilead, the child's Martha was hanged for putting her in an unsafe situation.
The Mackenzies, Hannah's adopted family, then moved to an undisclosed territory in Gilead.
Hannah (Jordana Blake) wasn't among the children that boarded the plane at the end of season three, and her whereabouts remain a mystery to both June and the show's audience.
Luke was present when the children land in Canada, disappointed that neither Hannah nor June were among them.
Luke, the primary caretaker for Nichole in Canada, worked with Emily and Moira Strand (Samira Wiley) on relief efforts for Gilead refugees. He eagerly welcomed the children off the plane during the season three finale.
But as he sees the steady stream of survivors descend from the aircraft, he couldn't help but feel disheartened to realize that neither Hannah nor June were among them.
Moira was taking care of Nichole in Canada and helped the children off the plane.
As she built a new life in Canada, Moira helped Luke take care of Nichole and volunteered to help Gilead refugees.
At the end of the season, she was forced to bring Nichole to visit Serena as a result of her plea deal. Moira confronted her, calling her a "gender traitor."
Moira was also the first person to step on the grounded plane in the season three finale, discovering how many children June helped escape.
Aunt Lydia is in Gilead and will undoubtedly be furious at the Handmaids' rebellion.
Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) prides herself on caring for — and controlling — the Handmaids under her watch. To do so, she keeps a close eye on their ringleader, June.
At the beginning of the season three finale, Lydia grew suspicious of June when her fellow Handmaids dropped bars of soap in her grocery bag, a covert signal that they're on board with the escape plan.
Rather than torturing the answers out of June, Lydia delivered a stern warning.
Viewers don't get to see Lydia's reaction to the Handmaids' plan. Given her violent behavior in past seasons and her dedication to Gilead, there will certainly be severe consequences if she has a run-in with any of the women, especially June.
Nick is a Commander in Chicago.
During the talks between Switzerland and Gilead about bringing Nichole back to the Waterfords, June told Swiss officials that Nick, the baby's father, could provide inside information on the Gilead regime if it meant the child could stay in Canada.
The deal fell through, however, after June learned that Nick was "not to be trusted" and was a soldier in the crusades before becoming the Waterfords' driver.
"I don't think you know who Mr. Blaine is, or who he was," one of the diplomats told her.
Nick returned to Chicago, where he is stationed as a Commander, without saying goodbye to June. He didn't appear in the finale.
Alma was part of the resistance and is still in Gilead with the other Handmaids.
The Handmaid (played by Nina Kiri), who has appeared on all three seasons of the show, was one of the women that found June on the ground during the season finale and carried her away.
Brianna was also among the Handmaids that rescues June.
Brianna (Bahia Watson) was one of the Handmaids that rushed to save June after the plane took off. She remains in Gilead.
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