Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes), whose mangled body appears in 'The Handmaid's Tale' Season 5 premiere

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5 Premiere — Yes, You See Fred Waterford’s Mangled Body

Spoiler-heavy recap of the important moments from the first two episodes of 'The Handmaid's Tale' Season 5 from Hulu.

by Lauren Anderson

Published on September 14, 2022

2 min read

Fred Waterford’s body appears in the season 5 premiere

At the end of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4, June got revenge on Fred. After learning about the government’s plan to hold Fred’s immunity hearing in Geneva, June made a deal with Commander Joseph Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) and United States representative Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger). Commander Lawrence traded 22 Gilead prisoners for Fred, but he’s handed off to June instead. Together with her fellow handmaids, Fred was beaten to death in No Man’s Land. Then, got strung up on The Wall next to the phrase: “Nolite te bastardes carburondorum.”

Fiennes’ character may be dead in the Hulu series, but he still appears in flashbacks in season 5. Moreover, in an emotional scene at the morgue between Mark and Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski), she pulls back the sheet to reveal Fred’s mangled body. He’s missing chunks of skin on his right leg and chest, exposing his rib cage. As June details to the Canadian government, “I hit him and kicked him, and bit him.”

‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5 premiere spoiler: June gets away with murder

In addition to exposing Fred Waterford’s mangled body, the first episode of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 clarify what happens to June in the aftermath of his death. As revealed in “Morning,” June turns herself in and gets questioned by the Toronto police for her crimes. There, she twists the truth about what happened to Fred.

“I followed Commander Waterford to the forest by myself,” June lies. Nick (Max Minghella) handed Fred off at the end of season 4. June continunes: “I was alone when I chased him. He ran and tried to escape, but I caught him. I hit him and kicked him, and bit him. When he was dead, I left him in the forest.”

June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) in an image from season 5 of Hulu's 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5 | Hulu

Shockingly, there are no consequences for her actions. “These events did not occur in Canada,” June is told. “It is not a concern of the crown.” At the end of episode 1, June is welcomed back home by Luke (O-T Fagbenle) and Moira (Samira Wiley), who previously didn’t want her around the baby.

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5 Episode 2 brings more despair for Janine

Janine (Madeline Brewer) has known her fair share of hardship in the story of The Handmaid’s Tale. At the beginning of her journey as a handmaid in training, she had her eye plucked out as punishment. Janine’s strife continued when she was sent to the Colonies in season 2. Somehow, Janine has cheated death several times in the Hulu series, including the Chicago bombing in season 4. But Janine may not make it out of season 5 alive.

Devastated about her upcoming posting with the Putnams, Esther (Mckenna Grace) tries to cheat the system and take Janine out with her. She poisons chocolates stolen from the Putnam’s home and tricks Janine into eating them, causing the two to violently cough up blood.