Name: The Handmaid's Tale season 5 episode 10
Director: Elisabeth Moss
Released: 2022-11-09T10:30:00

The Handmaid’s Tale finale ‘Safe’ concludes the season with troubles getting more severe for June and her family as she tries to flee for her and Nichole’s safety.

Recap

The Handmaid’s Tale finale ‘Safe’ opens with June trying on the bulletproof vest she has ordered for herself in the wake of recent events and the atmosphere in the country.

Her fears are justified as soon as she goes outside of her house and a truck runs her over. Her arm is severely injured in the attack by the Gilead-sympathising trucker. Luke arrives and prevents the situation from getting worse before the trucker moves to run over June again.

She’s taken into a hospital and Luke into questioning as he attacked a Canadian while being a refugee himself (even though he did it in self-defence).

Before this incident transpires, Nick met and talked about the shooting incident with June earlier. Lawrence said he can’t be sure if there’s going to be another attack on her not, given what she just tried to pull with the American forces’ attempt at an attack on Gilead.

After June’s accident, Nick arrives covertly to pay her a visit and asks Tuello to keep his visit a secret. He then storms into Lawrence’s wedding and slaps him, earning him captivity in jail.

Rose pays him a visit and ends her relationship since he, self-admittedly, can’t let June go or stop loving her. Meanwhile, Naomi is asked by Lydia to take Janine as their handmaid.

However, when Janine hears of June’s accident, she ruins her chance to meet and get closer to her daughter as she blurts out to Naomi how much she hates her.

She’s later captured and taken away as Lydia tries to stop them and can’t do anything.

As the authorities close in on Luke for attacking a Canadian citizen, June decides they can’t stay here longer and prepares to leave with him and Nichole. Tuello stops them and directs them to the trains that are taking the refugees to the west instead.

At the station, Luke realises June and Nichole can’t be safe with him tagging along so he purposefully gets arrested as June boards the train with her daughter and the train departs.

Inside the train, among the numerous refugees, June hears another baby crying who turns out to be Serena’s, who’s also on the train, fleeing from the Wheelers.

As June gets close, Serena breaks the awkward silence by asking her if she has a diaper, before the credits roll on The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 finale.

Review

The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 episode 10 marks the end of the instalment with an average outing that mostly acts as a build-up for what the next season will entail.
The contemporary trend of having the current instalment of a series or film essentially be the set-up for the sequel is also present here and it takes some standalone content from the finale.
The developments in the show continue to be quite repetitive as June suffers one tragedy after another, never quite catching a break.
Perhaps the most important bit that might get overlooked in this episode is the other commanders witnessing Nick and Lawrence’s falling out.
The slap can’t be a good look for the architect of Gilead either, who’s been on a mission to fortify his stature and authority.
The falling out with his ally and colluding with the Americans puts Nick in a most precarious situation and the ultimate run of the show might have some diabolical, and if the show’s consistent, tragically grim fate.