Praise Be! The Handmaid’s Tale Season 3 premiere spoilers are here, so if you don’t want to know what up with June (Elizabeth Moss) and the gang, then we suggest you stop reading now. If you’re flummoxed and befuddled (because we are living out our own real-life war on women’s rights) then let us catch up to speed on the Hulu series. Based on the acclaimed novel by Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale is set in Gilead, a totalitarian society that was once the United States. As a result of a series of environmental disasters and a plummeting birth rate, the remaining fertile women–the handmaids, have been forced into sexual servitude. The Hulu series focuses on June’s story.
In Season 2, we watched June give baby Nichole to Emily (Alexis Bledel) so that they could flee to Canada while she stayed behind in Gilead to await arrest. If you recall, June’s sole reason for returning to the Waterford’s and her former position as a handmaid is for the opportunity to rescue her older daughter, Hannah from the McKenzies.
We don’t want to give away all of the nitty-gritty details about the Season 3 premiere episodes, so you’re going to have to see if baby Nichole and Emily make it across the border to Canada and what happens to June (and the Waterfords) for yourself. Spoiler Alert: Shit goes up in flames.
MORE SPOILERS AHEAD
Image: Hulu.
However, the one thing we must discuss about the Season 3 premiere of The Handmaid’s Tale is Aunt Lydia (Anne Dowd). The last time we saw the diabolical auntie, Emily was stabbing her and pushing her down the stairs. Truly, it was one of the most glorious things we’ve ever witnessed on TV. Unfortunately, evil isn’t so easily snuffed out.
As we discover, evil ass Aunt Lydia isn’t actually dead as a doorknob.
However, there is also something very different about her motives this season. We’ve seen her have compassion for June in the past, so we can’t quite read her motives. However, you should note that as Episode 2 of Season 3 opens, Aunt Lydia says,
I used to be bad at waiting. They also serve who stand and wait. Not all of you will make it through. Some of you will fall on dry ground or thorns. Some of you are shallow-rooted. Think of yourselves as seeds. What kind of seed will you be, girls?’ I pretend I’m a tree, and I wait.
Whatever this may mean, we know that Aunt Lydia is about to be a significant power player in Season 3 of The Handmaid’s Tale.