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As The Handmaid's Tale season 6 continues further into its conclusion, questions about the destiny of some characters go unanswered, such as that of Esther Keyes, played by McKenna Grace. Season 5 of the award-winning Hulu series left audiences with significant changes in allegiances and an emerging resistance movement, but it also left some secondary character storylines unresolved.
Esther, introduced in season 4 as Commander Keyes' teenage wife, had a fraught narrative plagued by trauma, defiance, and mental breakdown. Her absence from the show in season 5 raised theories about whether and when the character would be seen again in the last installment.
The series, based on Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel, has made its reputation on suspenseful storytelling, especially with its female characters. From June Osborne's (Elisabeth Moss) flight from Gilead to Serena Joy's (Yvonne Strahovski) moral downturn, The Handmaid's Tale feeds on ever-evolving power structures.
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McKenna Grace has not been officially confirmed for The Handmaid’s Tale season 6. However, the actress had hinted at a possible return and expressed both excitement and apprehension about her character’s future in an interview with Screen Rant on May 14, 2024.
Exploring in detail McKenna Grace's future in The Handmaid's Tale season 6
McKenna Grace hasn't been formally announced as part of the season 6 cast for The Handmaid's Tale yet, but last year, she provided some telling insight into her position when she spoke with Screen Rant to hype the home release of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
Refraining from announcing any shooting schedule or storyline information, Grace shared a mix of excitement and nervousness about returning to the role.
"I'm hoping that we'll finally get to shoot the final season, but I have no idea what they're going to make me do. I'm game--whatever they tell me, I'll do it and I'm game—but I am a little terrified. With that show, you never know. You truly never know what's going to happen. I'm excited to see what Esther's up to this season," she said.
McKenna Grace's words implied that she anticipated being part of the last season, but the details of Esther's role are unknown, even to her.
Her statements regarding being game for whatever the writers do with her character, along with the use of the word "terrified," reflect the uncertainty of her role in The Handmaid's Tale.
What happened in the latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale season 6?
The Handmaid's Tale season 6 is the last installment of the beloved dystopian drama. It resumes with heightened tensions throughout Gilead, Canada, and in the resistance.
With June Osborne's explosive break from Gilead, the season delves into the increasing fraying of alliances and the agonizing price of rebellion. With each episode, the stakes rise higher as former allies are now on both sides of a changing power game in The Handmaid's Tale season 6.
By episode 6, Surprise, the resistance movement, Mayday, prepares for their largest mission ever: an extraction to smuggle June and Moira out of Gilead forever. However, the scheme falls apart when Nick Blaine, caught between loyalty and staying alive, betrays the mission under duress from manipulative Commander Wharton.
His reveal to Wharton results in the whole Mayday mission being ruined and Jezebel's, where part of the escape scheme was initiated, being shut down suddenly in The Handmaid's Tale season 6.
The betrayal destroys June, not only tactically but also emotionally, as her faith in Nick is broken. Hiding in Serena Joy's closet, she hears Wharton talk about the leaked plan, affirming that Nick betrayed the resistance. Nick subsequently begs June to escape to Paris with him on forged papers, but the harm has already been inflicted.
For June, the betrayal underscores that personal relationships cannot come above her end objective—freeing Hannah and vanquishing Gilead.
At the same time, Serena starts building a foundation for an even stronger future, perhaps in alliance with influential players within and beyond Gilead. Commander Wharton is also a genuine threat, turning out to be more intelligent and deadly than his predecessor.
His power to get information out of Nick heralds a new type of challenge for the resistance, one rooted not only in violence but also in psychological warfare.
Interested viewers can watch The Handmaid's Tale season 6 on Hulu.
