Praise be! The series finale of The Handmaid's Tale has dropped and it's the last time we have to sit in a full body clench of anxiety waiting to find out what becomes of June Osborne and her band of rebel handmaids.
Many early fans struggled to stick with the show after the first couple of seasons, fatigued by the violence and exasperated that June continued to put herself in danger for reasons that weren't always clear.
But for those who've stuck it out — or reluctantly been drawn back in — the prospect of the series finale offered hope that we might finally get some relief: an end to June's suffering or at least an outlet for the collective female rage.
So did the finale deliver? Let's dive in.
Warning: spoilers ahead!
Blessed Day: Did June survive the finale?
Anyone hoping to see fighting reminiscent of the season four scene, where June and other former handmaids beat Fred Waterford to death, will feel deflated by this ending.
Episode nine — with its Look What You Made Me Do intro and intermittent bursts of violence — felt like it was building to a moment of graphic bloodletting.
Although June survived episode nine, her survival has never felt assured so it was no guarantee she would see out the series if a full-blown attack was underway.
And there was an attack, we just don't see it.
Instead, the finale opens with June's narration telling us that Boston is free. Gilead was ousted in just 19 days.
Which is what every fan was ultimately hoping for. But it did feel like our fight or flight response was triggered for nothing.
And while we might have expected June to be pumped by the win, she instead seems defeated.
It's a hollow victory if she still doesn't have what she came for: Hannah.
Blessed be the fruit: Is Hannah reunited with her parents?
No. Instead we learn that Commander MacKenzie — her Gilead father — has been promoted and moved to Washinton DC as a result of the loss of all the Boston commanders.
This means Hannah will move to DC and be much closer to June and Luke than she was in Colarado, but still out of reach for now.
So, once again, June commits to going back to Gilead, leaving Nichole behind with Holly.
It's not clear exactly what she will do though. She is going to talk to Mark Tuello, a representative of the US government in exile. June says she'll "go state to state, figure out a plan" and go get Hannah.
This time though, Luke won't be left behind. He is going to continue fighting with Mayday, near the New York border.
Even though they'll be separated for now, it's not forever. Luke and June have agreed to "meet you there" — assuming they both survive and make it to Hannah.
While it's an emotional farewell for the couple, there is no embrace, no kiss goodbye.
Instead it's a moment all the Team Luke fans will be proud of: he loves June unconditionally, he is patient for her, he supports her and he'll be there for her again in the future.
May the Lord Open: What happens to Moira, Janine and the other handmaids?
About halfway through the episode — in what appears to be a hostage release scene — Janine is dumped by Gilead forces on a freezing road, looking as if she has once again been beaten badly. Waiting for her is June and Mark.
It is such a relief to see Janine safe, she's the woman June has described as like her little sister.
But then, behind her, there is Angela Lawrence with Charlotte and Aunt Lydia.
The impossible happens. Janine gets Charlotte back.
It gives the audience at least some of what they came for: a mother who has endured the unthinkable finally reunited with the child stolen from her.
And it looks very much like Aunt Lydia helped make it happen. Aunt Lydia remains in Gilead but she seems very subdued from the woman we met at the start of the series.
There'll be no more screaming denunciations of Gilead's commanders as "wicked, godless men" from her either.
Moira is largely absent from the finale, Luke says she's rallying the Mayday troops to move on from Boston. We only see her in what appears to be a scene June imagines where Moira, Rita, June and Janine sing Landslide by Fleetwood Mac at a karaoke bar.
Don't let the bastards grind you down: Are Serena and June friends now?
Watching Serena and June's relationship develop has been a highlight of season 6.
June was clear in the opening scenes that they are not friends and Serena was not forgiven. However the intimacies the two have shared had earned Serena something akin to grudging respect from June...at times.
For her part, Serena had been almost touchingly deluded about where she stood with June, often behaving as if they are friends.
But in the penultimate episode, Serena chose to betray her husband and Gilead to help Mayday. And that really wins June over.
Before Serena boards a bus for a refugee camp, she once again apologises to June — this time with feeling. And June forgives her telling her to "go in grace".
Serena also gave comfort to all the Team Nick fans on the internet, saying that if Nick felt he had a real choice, he would have chosen June.
(But he didn't. He chose Gilead. He chose to be a jerk on a private jet. As June said, he reaped what he sowed.)
Go in grace...knowing there's more to come.
The finale closes with June revisiting the bombed-out Waterford mansion she was trapped in as a handmaid.
The shot of June ascending the stairs is framed just like a classic horror movie where the victim is going upstairs to meet a grisly end, while the audience is internally screaming for them to run down and out of the house. (Which would be relevant advice given the OH&S issues of walking through the structurally unsound home for the sake of a trip down memory lane.)
The finale ends with June, in her old room, dictating lines for the book she will write — the lines mirror those in the opening pages of The Handmaid's Tale novel.
She also reaches out for Hannah's hand, throwing forward to the sequel, The Testaments.
Margaret Atwood published The Testaments in 2019. It is set 15 years after the events of the first book and opens back in Gilead.
The story is told from three perspectives: Aunt Lydia, Daisy and Agnes (we all remember Hannah was re-named Agnes in Gilead, right?).
The TV adaption of The Testaments is in the works but a release date has not been announced. Filming only began in April, so it could be a while before it hits our screens.
So far, the only familiar face for Handmaid's fans will be Aunt Lydia, with reports that Ann Dowd will reprise her role in the spin off.
Other cast members include Chase Infiniti as Agnes and Lucy Halliday as Daisy.
