‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: Is Nick Secretly Betraying June?
The Handmaid’s Tale recently entered its fourth season. Viewers once again delved into the world of Gilead. After viewing all of the episodes, people walked away with new fan theories. One of them is if Janine died in Chicago.
Another question on people’s minds is whether Nick Blaine is June’s ally or her enemy. Season four expanded on his character, but fans do not know his true motivations.
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ portrays survival under totalitarianism
In 2017, The Handmaid’s Tale premiered on Hulu. Currently, there are four seasons with a fifth one on the way. The show earned critical praise and won several Primetime Emmy Awards. Elisabeth Moss stars as the lead character. Other cast members include Joseph Fiennes and Alexis Bledel.
The story takes place in the United States after a civil war broke out, leaving the country with a totalitarian government. Fertility rates have dropped, and the leaders of Gilead force a group of women called Handmaids to bear children for Commanders and their Wives. Some people have more freedom based on their social class.
June, also called Offred, becomes a Handmaid after getting caught while fleeing to Canada. She has to navigate through the new society while trying to reunite with her husband and daughter. She and another character make it to Chicago, which gets bombed in an attempt to squash rebel forces.
Nick has a love story with June that evolves throughout the series
Nick is one of the major characters in The Handmaid’s Tale. In the beginning, he is a Guardian and a driver for Commander Fred Waterford. Later in the series, Nick gets promoted to the status of Commander. While the character has a quiet demeanor, he is cunning and thinks one step ahead.
In the show, Nick becomes June’s love interest in the first season. Their love story plays an essential part in the story. Elle held an interview with actor Max Minghella, and he explains, “I think that these two characters find real refuge in one another, and I think in a sort of meta way, that narrative also ends up being a sort of refuge within the context of the show.”
While Nick is not in the third season a lot, he appears in the fourth one to help capture June. Nick makes it clear that he cares about her but still delivers her to a place where she gets tortured. Fans also see the two share a kiss. Minghella noticed a shift in his character in season four and sees that Nick carries a lot of guilt.
Is Nick here to help to sabotage things for June?
Some fans know Nick has some power to help June escape to Canada but are surprised when he does not. Nick seems to be sending mixed signals, and viewers are not certain if he is an ally or an enemy to June. Where does Nick stand?
According to Screen Rant, one of the reasons why Nick captured June in the latest season is that he does not want to compromise his position as Commander. He is doing everything he can, but his help is limited. Some people speculate that he secretly planned for her to flee the bus to the Magdalene colony. Nick likely is not an enemy but a careful ally.
Nick is aware of the punishment for a failed escape attempt. He cannot help June if he is hanging from the wall. Also, Nick might not want to mess up his position since he could have other plans. If he has no loyalty left for the government, he may use his status as Commander to bring down Gilead.
Another theory is that Nick wants June alive so he can weed out Mayday. This would allow Nick to rise the ranks in Gilead and he may trust June to lead him to the resistance group.
