As grim and grave the society of Gilead is, fans do not seem to be bothered even a tad and have instead broken out in celebration with The Handmaid’s Tale returning for its fifth run, with a two-part premiere episode on Hulu in the United States on Wednesday, September 14, 2022.
In its latest release last week, the fifth episode of the season, we saw Luke joining June for a reconnaissance mission in dangerous territory to obtain more information. In the meantime, Serena proceeded to get acquainted with her new hosts. Episode 5 from Season 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale was released on October 5, 2022, and is entitled “Fairytale“.
The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Episode 6 Preview
This week’s episode is dubbed “Together,” and it is the sixth episode of the new season, in which we will see, true to the fans’ dread, June and Luke getting into serious trouble, thanks to their quest for intel. Meanwhile, Serena perceives malicious intent from her patrons.
However, a surprising power move on the part of Nick and Lawrence steals the show.
Plot of The Handmaid’s Tale
Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale is an American dystopian TV show based on the novel written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood in 1985 which is of the same name. Created by Bruce Miller, the plot follows the aftermath of a second civil war in America where a totalitarian, theonomic government uphold the enslavement of fertile woman for child-bearing.
In the society established by the Gilead in the erstwhile United States, such women were named Handmaids and were allotted to families of the ruling elite in their homes, where they must participate in “the ceremony”, a euphemism for ritualized rape by their male masters or Commanders in the presence of their wives.
The purpose of this is to serve as a surrogate to conceive and bear children for their masters. Handmaids are assigned new names, which are created by adding the prefix “Of” to the first name of the Commander who owns them. If they are transferred to another man, their names are changed accordingly.
The show mostly revolves around a fertile woman, June Osborne, who is forced to live as a concubine to a Gileadan officer, Fred Waterford, and his wife Serena Joy. As June is made to adhere to the Gilead society’s stringent rules, she yearns for freedom and to be reunited with her husband and daughter from the time before war ensued.
Initially, in their efforts to leave Gilead with Luke, her husband, and their daughter Hannah, June was caught and made to become a handmaid, as Hannah was taken and given away to an affluent family to raise as their own, while Luke fled to Canada.
As the Waterfords, who played a key role in establishing and consolidating Gilead, struggled with the shifting nature of the dark society they had a hand in creating, June’s strength internally evolved into something darker.
The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Cast
The main cast of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 consists of Elisabeth Moss, who plays June Osborne/Offred, and later, Ofjoseph; Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford, the late commander Fred’s (Joseph Fiennes) wife; Madeline Brewer as Janine Lindo/Ofwarren/Ofdaniel/Ofhoward, who considers June a friend owing to her kindness;
Ann Dowd plays Aunt Lydia Clements, a woman who supervises the Handmaids in their sexual duties and re-education; O-T Fagbenle as Luke Bankole, June’s husband from preceding the war; Max Minghella, who plays Commander Nick Blaine, a former drifter from Michigan and Fred Waterford’s driver who is fond of June.
In addition, Samira Wiley plays Moira Strand, June’s best friend since college; Amanda Brugel, who had a recurring role in Season 1 and was promoted to the main cast in Season 2 plays Rita Blue, a housekeeper at the Waterfords’; Bradley Whitford is Commander Joseph Lawrence who made a guest appearance in Season 2 but has been in the main cast since Season 3, as the founder of the Colonies and chief architect of the economy of Gilead; and finally, Sam Jaeger plays Mark Tuello who is an operative of the U.S. Government.
The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Episode 6 Release Date
Hulu has confirmed 10 episodes for the fifth season of The Handmaid’s Tale, and with the new season kicking off on September 14, the season finale is expected on November 9, 2022. New episodes of the show air weekly on Wednesdays on Hulu at 12 AM ET in the US, while in Canada, new episodes are released on Wednesdays at 9 PM ET on the CTV Drama channel.
Episode 6, in particular, is slated to air on October 12, 2022, on the same channel at the said time.
Where to Watch The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5
In the United States, the science fiction tragedy is currently streaming on Hulu and the Disney Plus Hulu bundle. In Canada, the options expand with The Handmaid’s Tale available to stream on Crave and Amazon Prime Video with a subscription or for free with ads on CTV. Moreover, fans may buy “The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 as a download on Apple iTunes, Google Play Movies, and Microsoft Store.
In Australia, the dystopian series can be watched on demand in one’s own time on SBS On Demand for free with ads. Unfortunately, for fans in the United Kingdom, Season 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale is not available just yet, but the show is expected to air on Channel 4 whenever that happens, in consistency with its previous seasons.
In 2017, The Handmaid’s Tale became the first show produced by Hulu and the first series on a streaming service to win a major award when the first season of the show won a whooping eight Primetime Emmy Awards from thirteen nominations, including Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Elisabeth Moss, as well as Outstanding Drama Series.
Needless to say, such a feat speaks for itself.
