I’m Extremely Worried About the Fate of This ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Character
Throughout the six seasons of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the characters have been put through the wringer. No one is safe in the harsh, punitive environment of Gilead, and even the members of the highest rung of the hierarchy, like the Commanders and their wives, have been placed in severe danger at times. Now that the show is in its final season, it seems that the stakes have been raised in an even more terrifying way. Any character could meet an untimely fate since the show won’t be returning.
Sure, there would be fan outrage if some of these characters didn’t end up staying alive, but all bets are off about everyone surviving such a dangerous setting. I’ve gotten used to holding my breath as my favorite characters put themselves at risk, but after watching the last few episodes, there’s one character that I’m convinced isn’t going to make it: Madeline Brewer‘s Janine.
Janine Has Suffered More Than Anyone Else in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
It’s difficult to sum up the amount of suffering that has taken place in The Handmaid’s Tale since the series since it began in 2017. Countless handmaids have been brutalized and assaulted at the hands of their Commanders, women of all statuses have been subjugated, and some victims have even ended up on The Wall. But out of all the characters, I feel like no one has endured more pain than Janine. She starts out as one of the spunkier handmaids until Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) takes her eye (and her spirit). Janine loses access to her daughter, gets sent to The Colonies, survives a suicide attempt, gets taken back to Gilead after she escapes to Chicago, and is poisoned by chocolates. And those are just the travesties I remember off the top of my head!
As a handmaid, Janine has lived through countless abuses, but she’s also experienced the everyday indignities of losing bodily autonomy and any freedom she once had. Now, in Season 6, she’s been designated as a sex slave at Jezebel’s. There was a time when Janine reverted to a childlike state because it was the only way she could cope with her life. She now seems to have all of her faculties, but it’s astonishing to me that the one thing that Janine has never lost is her kind heart. She fights for her daughter, she looks out for the other women around her, and she always focuses on surviving. However, Janine’s actions in the latest episode have me incredibly worried about her safety going forward.
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Has Just Placed Janine in Even More Danger
Aunt Lydia believed that Janine and the other handmaids who had given birth would be allowed to live out their days in peace, since they fulfilled their duty by having healthy babies. She is dismayed to discover that Janine has been placed at Jezebel’s (which is pretty much the lowest status in Gilead). Commander Joseph Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) shows Janine kindness by offering her a drawing that her daughter has done. But this small grace is the only one that Janine receives at Jezebel’s, where she’s assaulted and humiliated every day by the other Commanders, especially Commander Bell (Timothy Simons). Janine is keeping her wits about her and has formed a tight-knit community with the other women who are prisoners there, but she’s still being tortured almost constantly, with no hope of ever escaping.
In the latest episode, appropriately titled “Janine,” June (Elisabeth Moss) and Moira (Samira Wiley) go undercover as Marthas to scope out Jezebel’s and warn Janine about an upcoming invasion by the resistance group. I loved seeing the reunion between June and Janine, but right away, I got a bad feeling in my stomach watching this interaction. June tries to get Janine to come back with them, but Janine insists she should stay behind and help the girls prepare for Mayday’s eventual takeover. Not only has Janine taken a risk by meeting with the two women in the first place, but now, she’s sacrificing her opportunity to escape to keep the rest of the women safe. This selfless hero move has now completely convinced me that Janine won’t make it safely through this ordeal.
I’m Scared That Janine Won’t Survive Season 6 of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ 
In dramas like The Handmaid’s Tale, it’s common for truly benevolent protagonists to be killed off — they’re basically considered too pure to survive this world. That’s exactly how Janine has always felt to me; she’s generous and loving, and even though she can be pretty feisty, she’s never mean-spirited. Her wrath is reserved for only the most heinous members of Gilead society. The world of Gilead has given her every reason to be a bitter, selfish person, and Janine has never taken the bait. However, it is because of Janine’s sweet spirit that makes me think she’s not destined to survive.
I think there’s a strong chance that Janine could be willing to sacrifice herself to save the other women when the invasion actually happens. If she can’t get her daughter back, what other true purpose does her life have? There’s also a possibility that Janine’s bottled-up rage could surface at an inopportune moment. Perhaps her hatred for the Commanders (especially Bell) could blind her and lead her to take actions that would result in her untimely death. And, of course, Janine could perish because this Mayday invasion isn’t a good idea in the first place.
I would be heartbroken to see Janine die. With all the pain she’s had to endure, she deserves a happy life more than anyone. However, the fact that she keeps getting chained to Gilead makes me think that her fate has always been doomed. While I’ll certainly cry buckets if Janine dies, I do think her character is the perfect representation of this dystopian environment. Nothing pure and kind is supposed to be able to survive in such a misogynistic and toxic setting. Snuffing out Janine’s light would be the best way to symbolize how this type of society ruins the very best parts of our humanity.
If, in some wild twist, Janine manages to make it out of Gilead (I would even go so far as to wish for her to be reunited with her daughter), I’ll certainly be thrilled. But Mayday seems to be willing to risk the lives of the innocent women in Jezebel’s, so things are not looking good. There are only five episodes left before The Handmaid’s Tale comes to an end, and I’m so sad to say that I don’t think Janine will make it that far.
The Handmaid’s Tale is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S. New episodes drop every Tuesday.
- Release Date
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2017 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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Hulu
- Showrunner
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Bruce Miller
- Directors
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Mike Barker, Kari Skogland, Daina Reid, Reed Morano, Floria Sigismondi, Jeremy Podeswa, Kate Dennis, Richard Shepard, Amma Asante, Christina Choe, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Bradley Whitford, Dearbhla Walsh, Liz Garbus
- Writers
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Kira Snyder, Eric Tuchman, Yahlin Chang, John Herrera, Jacey Heldrich, Dorothy Fortenberry, Marissa Jo Cerar, Lynn Renee Maxcy
