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The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 doesn’t look great for Nick Blaine. In the season 5 finale, he made an explosive decision, threatening his high-ranking status in Gilead. Nick winds up in a prison cell, where his wife tells him she’s done with their relationship. Though his situation might seem hopeless, showrunner Bruce Miller doesn’t see Gilead executing Nick.

[SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers ahead for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 finale.]

Bruce Miller says Nick won't be executed in The Handmaid's Tale Season 6. Nick sits in a jail cell wearing a white button-down shirt.
Max Minghella as Nick in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ | Sophie Giraud/Hulu

Nick punches Commander Lawrence in the season 5 finale

Throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, Nick has been straddling a fine line. He works his way up the ranks of Gilead until he becomes a powerful commander, but Nick has one weakness — June. No matter how hard he tries, Nick can’t forget about her.

In season 5, June nearly dies twice. The second instance ends with her in the hospital, and Nick risks everything to cross into Canada and visit her. Nick believes that Commander Lawrence had something to do with the attempts on June’s life. He pays Commander a visit just to punch him in the face on his wedding day, no less.

“I love all the romantic things that Nick does,” showrunner Bruce Miller told Entertainment Weekly. “He comes to see her [June], gives away his whole future and basically his allegiance to his country, just to be able to see her when she’s not even awake. So it feels like such a romantic thing. He’s not playing chess at all.”

Showrunner Bruce Miller assures fans Nick won’t be executed in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 6

Nick is promptly placed in a prison cell, where his pregnant wife arrives. Rose has never been blind to her husband’s feelings for June, but this time he’s gone too far for her. “I don’t want to be with you anymore,” Rose tells Nick.

This is where The Handmaid’s Tale will leave Nick until season 6, and his situation doesn’t look good. Rose is the daughter of a high-ranking commander, and the only way for her to separate from her husband in Gilead would be for him to die since divorce isn’t allowed.

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However, Miller doesn’t see Gilead executing Nick for his transgressions. “I don’t think he squandered his goodwill,” the showrunner told EW. “And as Nick says, his only strategy — I don’t think he’s playing chess — he says earlier this season, ‘I try to stay out of trouble.’ The important part of that is ‘try,’ and here, he wasn’t able to. He’s not gonna get executed. The men don’t have to follow any of these f***ing rules.”

June gives Mark Tuello a message for Nick

Gilead is certainly changing as The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 approaches. Commander Lawrence and Nick oversee the execution of Warren Putnam earlier in season 5. To be fair, Putnam has already broken the laws of Gilead, and Lawrence is a lot more likely to be forgiving toward Nick.

Meanwhile, June is on a train bound for Hawaii. She uses her last request to ask Mark Tuello to tell Nick that she and Nichole are safe.

All episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale are currently streaming on Hulu.

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