Does June get Hannah back in Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid's Tale? Explained

The Handmaid's Tale has finally come to an end with the season 6 finale having aired on May 27, 2025. The Hulu TV series featured a dystopian society where fertile women were named Handmaids and forced to bear children for the rich and influential in the oppressive and totalitarian society of Gilead.

Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers for The Handmaid's Tale. Reader's discretion is advised.

Although The Handmaid's Tale is adapted from Margaret Atwood's eponymous 1985 novel, the series frequently diverges from the source material to expand the narrative and delve deeper into the stories of previously unexplored characters.

In the show's finale, June is unable to reunite with her oldest daughter, Hannah. This echoes the ending of Margaret Atwood's book, in which Hannah is left behind in Gilead.

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The Handmaid's Tale season 6 co-showrunner wanted to show June and Hannah's reunion

Yahlin Chang and Eric Tuchman served as co-showrunners for season 6, while series creator Bruce Miller contributed by writing two episodes. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on May 27, 2025, Chang said:

"We wanted June to get Hannah back. We really, really did. We wanted the story to go there, but Margaret wrote this sequel and there was this other TV show that started [production]. Because of that, our hands were tied and we were not able to bring June and Hannah together. That was probably the biggest, hardest thing we had to deal with."

In Atwood's second book, The Testaments, Hannah is one of the central figures and plays a key role in the revolution against the oppressive regime of Gilead. As Chang stated, the book is already being adapted into a series. This is the primary reason why The Handmaid's Tale did not go in that direction.

Elisabeth Moss, who plays June in the show, also said in an interview with Variety that Hannah's storyline in The Testaments was the reason they had to omit Hannah and June's reunion. When the interviewer said that he was hoping to see the two reunite, Moss replied:

"Talk to Margaret Atwood. It definitely is something we have carried with us since 'The Testaments' came out, knowing that wasn’t going to be an ending. That was a choice that Margaret made that we, of course, followed, and I don’t know if we would have done it if she hadn’t written 'The Testaments.'"

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Do June and Hannah reunite in The Testaments?

Hannah and June in The Handmaid's Tale (Image via Hulu)

Hannah is June and Luke's daughter, who was taken away from them after the rise of Gilead. She was placed with the high-ranking Mackenzie family in Gilead under the name Agnes.

In the final season, viewers see June's interactions with Hannah in flashbacks. However, their reunion does not happen, but June and Luke vow to keep looking for her.

Set 15 years after the events of the first book, the spotlight is turned on Hannah in The Testaments. She is part of the young generation of Gilead and carries on the revolution her mother began, working to dismantle the oppressive regime’s power structure.

The two finally get the chance to reunite in this book, and even more than once. So, if the show adapts the source material faithfully, fans will get to witness Hannah and June's reunion.

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The Handmaid's Tale is available to stream on Prime Video.