After five seasons, the Margaret Atwood dystopian thriller The Handmaid’s Tale came to a dramatic conclusion overnight, with fans scrambling to find spoilers for the sixth and final season.
Episode 10, the season finale, aired on SBS at 9.30pm on Thursday, and saw the two lead roles, played by June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) and Serena Joy Waterford (Australian Yvonne Strahovski) holding precious babies on a train to Canada.
It was a tense setting, and notwithstanding any spoiler alerts, it’s safe to say the two oppressed protagonists of Gilead were drawn to each other on the train by the sounds of another crying baby.
After five seasons of misguided fury and loyalty, the two women approach each other and Serena smiles: “Hi June … you got a diaper?”
Billie Eilish’s Bury a Friend lyrics – “What do you want from me? … Why don’t you run from me? … Why aren’t you scared of me?” bring us to the closing credits.
Never fear, there’s one more season to look forward to.
An SBS spokesperson confirmed to TND that while there was no release date on season six, the network had the rights “to the sixth and final instalment”.
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‘Too many women who are Offred and a handmaid’
At the time of launching series five, creator and executive producer Bruce Miller threw fans a lifeline, saying the sixth series will wrap up June’s story “in a satisfying way”.
“It has been a true honour to tell the story of Margaret Atwood’s groundbreaking novel and the chillingly relevant world, and we are thrilled to bring viewers a sixth and final season,” he said at the time.
So what’s in store for The Handmaid’s Tale season six?
In an interview with Digital Spy published on November 9, Mr Miller said: “We’re going to wrap it up on our own terms.
“The book is so frustrating at the end, because the book just ends. And everybody’s like, ‘How could you, Bruce Miller… Who do you think you are, writing more?’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, to write the rest.’ Because it’s like: What the hell happened?
“It’s the most infuriating ending.
“We have so many women through history who didn’t have names, who were never identified. They were there for a while. They told their story, and this is The Handmaid’s Tale – she told it.
“And then they disappear, faceless, into the mist of history. And that’s what the problem is: There are too many women out there who are just Offred and are just the Handmaid.
“But that’s the story we’re telling.
“In order to make it really this story, it starts when that kid is taken from her. And that’s when she turns into a Handmaid. And it ends when she disappears off our radar.
“But she doesn’t disappear from the world. She’s a real human woman. Just because she’s not on our radar doesn’t mean she doesn’t exist.”
The Testaments spin-off
The Testaments is a 2019 Atwood novel, set up as a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, and is told by three narrators.
When asked by Time the reason behind the title, Atwood replied: “It has several different meanings: Last will and testament, Old and New Testaments. And what does a witness give? A testimony, but also a testament.
“So it’s those three – the witness, the will and ‘I’m telling you the truth’,” Atwood said.
Mr Miller told Deadline on Wednesday he has been working on The Testaments at the same time as season six of The Handmaid’s Tale.
He has had conversations with Atwood about June’s character, whether original characters including Offred and villain Aunt Lydia will be in it, but the spin-off remains a closely guarded secret.
Whether it’s a memoir about part of June’s life – not including her time as a handmaid – or years later, is also unclear.
“I think that the characters have a lot of similarities, which is wonderful – and they are definitely falling into place for The Testaments,” he said.
“But for June, I don’t feel an allegiance to wrap her up the way she’s wrapped up in The Testaments novel. I just want to follow the story and make sure it makes sense.”
All Mr Miller really tells us is that The Testaments is a sequel to the TV show.
Praise be!
All five series can be watched on SBS On Demand. Season Five runs from September 22 to November 10
