MarieClaire
  • News
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Lifestyle
  • Career
  • Bridal
  • Podcasts
  • Beyond Beauty
  • Drive Time
  • Video
MarieClaire
  • News
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Lifestyle
  • Career
  • Bridal
  • Podcasts
  • Beyond Beauty
  • Drive Time
  • Video
Subscribe
Billie Eilish unrecognisable in 'Xanny' film clip
Watch 0:32

Billie Eilish unrecognisable in 'Xanny' film clip

{headline}

{headline}

Jennifer Lopez Takes To The SNL Runway in *That* Versace Dress

Jennifer Lopez Takes To The SNL Runway in *That* Versace Dress

There’s A New Deleted Scene From ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8

There’s A New Deleted Scene From ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8

Jonathan Van Ness Has Just Made Magazine History

Jonathan Van Ness Has Just Made Magazine History

Olivia Colman Has Finally Been Given The Royal Recognition She Deserves

Olivia Colman Has Finally Been Given The Royal Recognition She Deserves

{headline}

{headline}

A 'Friends' Inspired Cards Against Humanity Deck Has Landed Just In Time For Christmas

A 'Friends' Inspired Cards Against Humanity Deck Has Landed Just In Time For Christmas

Jennifer Aniston Reveals The 'Friends' Cast Is "Working On Something"

Jennifer Aniston Reveals The 'Friends' Cast Is "Working On Something"

Sarah Jessica Parker's 'Sex And The City' Theory Will Surprise Fans

Sarah Jessica Parker's 'Sex And The City' Theory Will Surprise Fans

{headline}

{headline}

Sarah Jessica Parker Pays Fashion Homage To Carrie Bradshaw

Sarah Jessica Parker Pays Fashion Homage To Carrie Bradshaw

Your First Look At Camilla Parker Bowles In 'The Crown'

Your First Look At Camilla Parker Bowles In 'The Crown'

All Hail The Queen Of Hollywood Julia Roberts

All Hail The Queen Of Hollywood Julia Roberts

Our First Look At 'Stranger Things' Season 3 Is Here

Our First Look At 'Stranger Things' Season 3 Is Here

Australian Actress Aisha Dee Dishes On 'The Bold Type'

Australian Actress Aisha Dee Dishes On 'The Bold Type'

Everything You Need To Know About Season 2 of Killing Eve

Everything You Need To Know About Season 2 of Killing Eve

There Are More LGBTQ+ Characters On TV Than Ever Before

There Are More LGBTQ+ Characters On TV Than Ever Before

  1. Home
  2. Lifestyle

Everything You Need To Know About 'The Handmaid’s Tale' Season 3

1. It can't come fast enough - by Isabelle Truman
  • 01 Feb 2019

Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Handmaid's Tale season two

The season two finale of The Handmaid's Tale left many, for lack of a better word, shook. 

The final 15 minutes showed June/Offred (Elisabeth Moss) escaping with her newborn baby, running through backyards with the help of various Marthas.

Watch the trailer for The Handmaid's Tale season three:

The Handmaid's Tale: Season 3 Trailer (Official) * A Hulu Original

With both Nick and, surprisingly, Serena's help, you finally think Offred is going to make it to Canada and be reunited with her husband, Luke.

But in the final few seconds, she passes the baby to Emily (Alexis Bledel) and chooses, instead, to stay in Gilead. 

Of course, Offred staying in Gilead to save her daughter Hannah makes way for the third season of The Handmaid's Tale. Which, TBH, we're not mad about.

Below, everything we know so far.

When will it be released?

Hulu, the show's creator, has revealed the show will be released in the US on June 5, 2019. Although we don't know for sure if that means SBS will pick it up for the same date, it does mean we can expect to see it within the next few months. 

Will all the major cast be back?

In the final episode of season two, Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) was attacked with a knife by Emily, however, showrunner Bruce Miller has confirmed she will be back (via IndieWire). Emily has (hopefully successfully) escaped to Canada, so we'll likely see less of her on the show. Australian actress Yvonne Strahovski, who plays Serena Joy Waterford, is pregnant in real life, but she has confirmed she'll be back for season three.

the handmaid's tale

Aunt Lydia is going to get worse

"Aunt Lydia doesn't die, [but] she's transformed by this event," Miller said of Emily's attack. "The fact that one of her girls… has literally stabbed her in the back. I think that that alters your workplace feelings on a day-to-day basis… In her case, it makes her double down that she feels like she just wasn't strong enough in her discipline. So she, I think, has decided it's time to get tough," he explained.

We're going to see more of Commander Lawrence 

You know, the guy who helped Emily escape but also helped create Gilead? "I think we're gonna learn a ton about him. I think the fact that he's, you know, our Oppenheimer character, the man who designed an atomic bomb and then saw what it could do," Miller told The Wrap.

the handmaid's tale

Serena will likely swap sides

Throughout season two, Serena seemed to be battling internally about which side she was on - going from allowing Offred to work with her in Commander Waterford's office to holding her down as he raped her. However, in the final episode, we saw a transformation: first, when she read the bible out to the husbands and then when she let Offred escape with the baby. "It would be nice to see her continue on this sort of breakdown path of maybe come to more realisation about the society that she's helped create and what that means and where she goes from there," Yvonne Strahovski said of her character.

"But ultimately it's a negotiation with where she's stuck, because we see all these characters at the end and they're still in Gilead, they're still right there in that household. Whatever they're truly feeling at the time is going to be a negotiation against the society as we've seen in the last two seasons, because they can't get out. It's a very tricky position to be in."

Isabelle Truman
Isabelle Truman
Isabelle Truman is a freelance writer based out of London, UK. She specialises in fashion, lifestyle and travel and knows a thing or two (read: everything) about both Meghan Markle and 'Sex and the City'.

Free MECCA MAX Gift- worth $111

When you subscribe to marie claire.

Subscribe Now
Free MECCA MAX Gift

Free MECCA MAX Gift- worth $111

When you subscribe to marie claire.

Subscribe Now
Free MECCA MAX Gift

Recommended to you

Billie Eilish unrecognisable in 'Xanny' film clip
Watch 0:32

Billie Eilish unrecognisable in 'Xanny' film clip

{headline}

{headline}

Jennifer Lopez Takes To The SNL Runway in *That* Versace Dress

Jennifer Lopez Takes To The SNL Runway in *That* Versace Dress

There’s A New Deleted Scene From ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8

There’s A New Deleted Scene From ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8

Jonathan Van Ness Has Just Made Magazine History

Jonathan Van Ness Has Just Made Magazine History

Olivia Colman Has Finally Been Given The Royal Recognition She Deserves

Olivia Colman Has Finally Been Given The Royal Recognition She Deserves

{headline}

{headline}

A 'Friends' Inspired Cards Against Humanity Deck Has Landed Just In Time For Christmas

A 'Friends' Inspired Cards Against Humanity Deck Has Landed Just In Time For Christmas

Jennifer Aniston Reveals The 'Friends' Cast Is "Working On Something"

Jennifer Aniston Reveals The 'Friends' Cast Is "Working On Something"

Sarah Jessica Parker's 'Sex And The City' Theory Will Surprise Fans

Sarah Jessica Parker's 'Sex And The City' Theory Will Surprise Fans

{headline}

{headline}

Sarah Jessica Parker Pays Fashion Homage To Carrie Bradshaw

Sarah Jessica Parker Pays Fashion Homage To Carrie Bradshaw

Your First Look At Camilla Parker Bowles In 'The Crown'

Your First Look At Camilla Parker Bowles In 'The Crown'

All Hail The Queen Of Hollywood Julia Roberts

All Hail The Queen Of Hollywood Julia Roberts

Our First Look At 'Stranger Things' Season 3 Is Here

Our First Look At 'Stranger Things' Season 3 Is Here

Australian Actress Aisha Dee Dishes On 'The Bold Type'

Australian Actress Aisha Dee Dishes On 'The Bold Type'

Everything You Need To Know About Season 2 of Killing Eve

Everything You Need To Know About Season 2 of Killing Eve

There Are More LGBTQ+ Characters On TV Than Ever Before

There Are More LGBTQ+ Characters On TV Than Ever Before

MarieClaire
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Pacific Magazines
  • Partners
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Statement
MarieClaire Magazine Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Pacific Magazines
  • Partners
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Statement

Brands

  • Beauty Crew
  • Home Beautiful
  • Instyle
  • Who
  • Women's Health

Pacific Network

  • Better Homes and Gardens
  • BHG Shop
  • New Idea food
  • New Idea
  • Men’s Health
  • Girlfriend
  • That’s Life
  • All Recipes
  • Perth Now
  • The West Australian
  • Practical Parenting
  • 7travel
  • 7Plus
  • Airtasker
  • 7NEWS
  • SocietyOne
© 2019 Pacific Magazines
Get more from Marie Claire

Magazine Subscription Offer

Free MECCA MAX Gift- worth $111

Shop This Offer
Free MECCA MAX Gift