‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: Why Fans Think June Will Make a Trade for Hannah
The Handmaid’s Tale season 4 is coming to an end. And after picking apart clues from the finale sneak peek, some fans think June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) is getting ready to make a trade with Gilead for Hannah’s safe return.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for season 4 episode 9 of The Handmaid’s Tale.]
June gets an offer from Commander Lawrence in episode 9 of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
In the penultimate episode of The Handmaid’s Tale season 4, June makes a call to Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whtiford) and begs him to get Hannah out of Gilead. But the Commander is colder than ever, and suggests June just enjoy her own freedom.
But when he hears the pain and desperation in June’s voice, he makes her an offer. Lawrence asks her to trade ten Gilead children (that June helped escape) in exchange for Hannah.
When June refuses, he comes back with an offer to five children. Again, June isn’t playing, so Lawrence hangs up the phone.
June and Luke know where Hannah is now, thanks to Nick
The June 8 episode of The Handmaid’s Tale also brings June and Nick (Max Minghella) together one more time. When the call with Commander Lawrence goes nowhere, Luke reluctantly suggests June take Nicole to meet Nick, and ask him to help her get Hannah out of Gilead.
After Tuello sets up a meeting, June and Nick reunite in a remote place. Nick hands June a file containing photos and information about Hannah, and reveals that she’s now living in Colorado.
Before this, June had no idea where Hannah was. So with this information, she gets a tiny step closer to finding her daughter.
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ fans find clues of a trade-off in the sneak peek
In the preview for The Handmaid’s Tale season 4 finale, fans spotted a few things that suggest June might make a trade with Gilead. In one shot, she’s standing in a forest with dozens of car headlights glowing behind her. And in the final scene, June says she needs Fred to “get what he deserves.”
Some fans think she might try to trade Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) in exchange for Hannah. Because, now that he’s cooperating with the Americans and Canadians, and offering to spill the beans on Gilead, he would be considered a traitor.
But others think that June might offer herself up instead. “She’s trading herself for Hannah,” one Reddit user wrote. “Since she’s not the same person anymore to the same people — Hannah is almost McKenna Grace’s (Ester Keyes) age. She knows that’s the life she’ll end up with if she doesn’t save her from it soon.”
“It’s not about June…to June,” another Redditor added. “Her life is nothing more to her than like, a vessel of protection for Hannah.She won’t have to ever worry about that when she goes back to Gilead in exchange for Hannah being turned over to Luke in Canada. She can return to Gilead to annoy and defy them all she likes.”
June is a soldier, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see her go back into Gilead to fight. But ultimately, fans will just have to wait until the finale to see how things actually unfold.
