The Handmaid’s Tale Finale: Where’s Hannah?

*CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR The Handmaid’s Tale*

So the other night I watched the finale of The Handmaid’s Tale. Once it was done, I was left speechless.

There are varying opinions on the series. It goes much farther than the original book by Margaret Atwood and, as a result, has many new storylines, characters, and conflicts. Some people hate it, some people love it. But in my opinion, it keeps a solid story line. From beginning to end, it’s about June and all the other women who were abused and had their voices and names taken from them. 

I think back to the scene where June and Emily are walking along what was previously The Wall – now a kind of new version where Guardians are hung – and stop to look at a profound section. Here individuals who lost their name as a result of being a Handmaid, and possibly even a Martha as well, were able to write their name and have it be reclaimed, seen, and memorialized. There were many striking scenes like this one that showed the strength of women, their resilience, the ability to fight for themselves through the worst of circumstances.

But a huge question remains – will Hannah ever be back in her mother’s arms?

I read in one article by The Hollywood Reporter that it’s “The Handmaid’s Tale, not Hannah’s Tale”. The article is quite interesting, explaining why certain choices in the show were made. I recommend the read! But in it, they explain how the show is not about Hannah, but about June and her journey from being a Handmaid to a free woman. As frustrating as it is that we didn’t get the ending that was fought so hard for, that’s the reality of the world of Gilead. Handmaid’s are controlled and don’t have a say over themselves and their own bodies, the Wives try everything to get pregnant and they can’t, women overall do not have a choice in their own lives. Also, the show is not just about June being a mother. It is about the fight for survival against all odds, the power women have and how we are so multifaceted, have so many more parts to us than just that of being a mother, carrying a baby, serving a man. 

Did I want to see mother and daughter reunited? Was it disappointing when it didn’t happen? Yes, of course! But at the same time, there were so many other things that did happen that deserve recognition. 

Namely, I wanted to talk about June’s growth, as well as her endeavour to write a book detailing the realities of the past few years of her life and that of the women around her. In Gilead, women were unable to read, to write, unable to think for themselves. June, in writing this book, is paving a path – not a new one, as there was obviously a time before Gilead, but a reforging a path that had become overgrown and blocked off. At first, she didn’t want to write a book. Didn’t believe she could, from what I gathered. But I believe that once she saw this as an opportunity to lift up lost voices and stories, to honor all those lost and still being found, she decided it was a necessary endeavour. It is an act of rebellion that will last for future generations to see, as well as a form of education and a warning to avoid similar things in the future. 

The end of the episode where she begins to dictate her novel did upset me at first. It was hard to see her refer to herself as Offred, speak about her experiences in the present tense. I mean, hasn’t she been through enough? Why relive it all? 

But at the same time, I realize that discomfort is kind of the point. The book is not supposed to be comfortable. It’s not about us. It’s about her reclaiming what once broke her down. What took so much from her. It’s her deciding she is going to do this book her way, facing her demons in the ways that serve her. It is not for us to understand why she made the choices she did. 

Overall, the ending of the series is not tied up in a neat little bow. Not all the women are saved, not all the children are back with their mothers, not everyone gets a happy ending. But rebellion and the fight to create a new and better world is not tied up in a neat little bow. There are people lost and stories not told. There is disappointment and there is sadness. But, there is also hope in the cracks of despair, there is light in the darkness that seems so all encompassing, there is the ability to move forward despite it all.

So yes, I completely understand the desire for a happy and clean ending where Hannah is home and happy. But let’s not shrink June down to just being a mother and lose sight of her sacrifices and growth. Yes, she is a mother and that is selfless and brave and so, so difficult. But she is also so much more. Daughter, friend, activist, rebel, and warrior. It was an honor to watch her find herself and her power.