HuluThe Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 5 is titled ‘Janine’. And if a new theory is to be believed, this might be the biggest clue yet that the ending of the story will look very different.
The sixth and final season of the Hulu series promises to bring June’s long fight to a close, as she and the Mayday resistance – with the help of the US government-in-exile – continue their mission to dismantle Gilead.
But there’s a slight issue: New Bethlehem. Led by Commander Lawrence and now backed by Serena Joy, this so-called “reformed” outpost is offering safety to refugees and a softer version of Gilead, which itself is improving international relations.
The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 trailer makes one thing clear: a rebellion is coming. But the question that’s driven the show from the start remains unanswered: will June ever get Hannah back? A new theory suggests we’ve been asking the wrong question all along. Warning: spoilers for the books ahead!
Janine might be the key to The Handmaid’s Tale ending
HuluThanks to The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments novels, we know June and Luke most likely won’t get Hannah back by the end of Season 6. But a new theory suggests that the goal is really for Janine to reunite with Angela (aka Charlotte).
Janine gave birth to Charlotte while serving as a Handmaid for Commander Warren Putnam and his wife Naomi. She was then given to the Putnams, who renamed her Angela, and Janine has pined for her daughter ever since.
Lawrence – who’s now married to Naomi after he and Nick got Warren killed – gives Janine one of Angela’s drawings. And in Season 6 Episode 5, she continues to cherish the memento.
She also told Aunt Lydia to back off and that the only way she can help her is by getting her daughter back. Maybe, just maybe, this is the real direction the Hulu show is headed.
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Taking to Reddit, one fan wrote, “Okay, hear me out… What if we’ve been looking in the wrong direction this whole time?
Hulu“Everyone’s so focused on Hannah, getting her out, saving her, holding on to that hope. And I get it, we’ve all been rooting for June to reunite with her. But what if that’s not where the real ending lies? (The Testaments are plans we read the book… hope is just not enough!)
“What if it’s Angela? What if it’s been Angela all along? Think about it, Janine’s story has quietly run so deep. We’ve seen her heartbreak, her resilience, her love for Angela through everything.
“And now, somehow, she’s ended up close to her again to still be somewhat safe under Lawrence’s roof. It’s like the pieces are falling into place.
“What if the show is setting up Angela and Janine to be the ones who make it out? Together. Safe. Whole. What if that’s the happy ending we didn’t even realize we needed?”
They went on to say that while they’re unsure whether this will be the case, it would be “such a powerful, full-circle moment. Not just for Janine but for all of us who’ve watched her break and rebuild over and over.
“Without that somewhat happy ending how would we want to enter The Testaments series with only heartbreak!”
Many support the idea, with one writing, “I would love this to happen. Janine is my absolute favorite and all I want is for her to have a happy ending.”
However, another pointed out, “Atwood is not famous for happy endings.”
Does June get Hannah back in The Handmaid’s Tale book?
HuluNo, by the end of Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Hannah is still living in Gilead and known as Agnes, with Commander Kyle and his wife Tabitha serving as her parents. So, it seems unlikely that June will get her daughter back by the end of Season 6.
They are eventually reunited in the 2019 sequel novel The Testaments, which is currently being adapted into a spinoff TV show, with filming starting on April 7, 2025.
Agnes is one of the three main narrators of The Testaments. She grows up inside Gilead, unaware of her true origins until later in the book. Another narrator is Daisy, a teenager raised in Canada who is later revealed to be Nicole, June’s second daughter.
By the end of the novel, Agnes and Nicole escape Gilead together. It’s revealed they are both June’s daughters, and in the final chapter, they return to Canada and reunite with their mother.
Of course, the Hulu adaptation of the flagship story has made a number of changes to the text, including Janine and her daughter – Angela doesn’t survive due to birth defects.
Since this is different from the series, it could be that Angela and Janine are reunited, giving us the happy ending we need for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6.
For more on the series, read about Timothy Simons’ Commander Bell, and check out our recaps for Season 6 Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, and Episode 4.