HuluFollowing the devastating reveal with Nick at the end of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 6, questions have turned to what this could mean for his relationship with June – and whether he’ll be making an appearance in the upcoming spinoff show, The Testaments.
Who June will (or should) end up with has to be one of the hottestly debated topics since the start of the Hulu series. Luke is Hannah’s father, June’s husband, and he’s waited for her from the start.
However, following the Gilead takeover, Nick became June’s only solace in the Waterfords’ home. She simply wouldn’t have made it without him, and with a little push from Serena, they had their baby Holly together.
The June and Nick shippers have been going strong amid the release of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6, but now that he’s betrayed her trust, their chances of making it as a couple are slimmer than ever. Warning: spoilers for The Testaments book ahead!
Will Nick be in The Testaments?
HuluAlthough Nick Blaine isn’t mentioned by name in Margaret Atwood’s novel The Testaments, he is referenced numerous times, meaning he could very well appear in the Hulu adaptation.
For the uninitiated, The Testaments is a 2019 sequel novel to Atwood’s 1985 The Handmaid’s Tale. Set 15 years after the events of the original book, it follows the life of three women: Aunt Lydia (who we know), Agnes Jemima (aka Hannah), and Daisy (aka Nichole).
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The streaming service confirmed filming had begun for a TV show adaptation of the book in April 2025, and while details about the plot are sparse, we can’t rule Nick’s return out just yet.
One of the biggest questions non-readers have is whether he appears in The Testaments, and the answer to that is… kind of. You see, although his name is never mentioned, he is discussed multiple times in relation to Daisy.
After she finds out that she’s actually “Baby Nichole,” it’s alluded to that he joined the Mayday resistance. The text reads, “‘So my father’s one of those?… A Commander?’ The idea of him being part of me – being inside my actual body – made me shiver.
“‘Luckily not,’ said Elijah. ‘Or not according to your mother, though she doesn’t wish to endanger your real father by saying so, as he may still be in Gilead. But Gilead is staking its claim to you via your official father. It’s on those grounds they’ve always demanded your return. The return of Baby Nicole,’ he clarified.”
McClelland & StewartLater on in the novel, Daisy finds out her parents were in the resistance against Gilead, with Ada telling her that her father is “so deep underground he needs a breathing tube.”
Finally, the epilogue jumps forward in time, when a group of academics discuss recent discoveries about the history of Gilead and its fall. They mention a statue put up by Agnes and Nicole, suggesting they were reunited with their respective fathers.
“The inscription would appear to name the principal actors cited in our materials. If this is so, our two young messengers must indeed have lived not only to tell their tale but also to be reunited with their mother and their respective fathers, and to have children and grandchildren of their own,” the book states.
Not only is Nick acknowledged in The Testaments, but Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale has expanded on him beyond the scope of the original novel, much like it has with other characters.
In other words, there’s room for The Testaments’ showrunners to either include Max Minghella’s Nick in flashbacks or extend his arc to explore the fallout of his work within and against Gilead. For now, it’s in the hands of the writers.
The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 7 lands on Hulu on May 6. Until then, catch up with our recaps to Season 6 Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, and Episode 5. You can also read more about New Bethlehem, what a Martha really is, and why Nick changed his mind in Episode 5.