This article references rape and sexual assault.
After six incredible seasons,The Handmaid’s Talehas finally come to an end, and I couldn’t be happier with Janine Lindo’s (Madeline Brewer) ending. AlthoughThe Handmaid’s Taleis based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel of the same name, the scale and scope of the novel cannot match 6 seasons of television. Characters like Janine Lindo (Madeline Brewer) changed wildly in the transition from book to series. In the novel, Janine is so beaten down at the Red Center that she becomes a submissive favorite of the Aunts.
Although Janine has a daughter inThe Handmaid’s Talenovel, that child is designated a “shredder” and does not survive. In Margaret Atwood’s novel, Janine’s life is a tragedy from beginning to end, andJanine’s characterization in Hulu’s series is still tragic but undeniably more uplifting.In the TV series, Janine fights back against Gillead, and her daughter, named Angela by the Commanders and Charlotte by Janine, lives. In the bleak world of Gilead, Janine’s fate is one of the only genuinely hopeful aspects ofThe Handmaid’s Tale’sfinale.
It’s A Great Scene And A Full Circle Moment
Image via Hulu
AsThe Handmaid’s Tale’s finale concludes, Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) and Naomi Lawrence (Ever Carradine)reunite Janine with her daughter, Charlotte. At that moment,Janine’s story finally came full circle. With the reunion of Janine and Charlotte, it became clear that, even if the other aspects ofThe Handmaid’s Tale’s ending were ambiguous, at least one character would have a genuinely happy ending.
Janine’s reunion with Charlotte means that both of them are finally at peace.
Janine first gave birth to Charlotte back inThe Handmaid’s Taleseason 1, andshe never stopped fighting for her daughter.Charlotte and Janine reuniting years later meant thatThe Handmaid’s Talehad a beautiful full-circle moment at the end. Ultimately, a weeping Janine embraces her daughter, and the two of them travel to safety on US soil. Janine’s reunion with Charlotte means that both of them are finally at peace, and I would not change a single detail.
Janine Not Having A Happy Ending Would’ve Been Too Cruel, Even For The Handmaid’s Tale
If Anyone Deserved A Happy Ending, It Was Janine
One reason that I am especially grateful that Janine was reunited with Charlotte is that the alternative would have been too cruel. Whileevery class of woman inThe Handmaid’s Taleis undeniably oppressed,Janine’s backstory is particularly tragic. Before Gilead, Janine was gang-raped as a young woman. She had her eye ripped out as punishment at the Red Center, was forced to endure years of sexual violence as a Handmaid, and experienced the further rape and exploitation of working as a Jezebel.
Janine’s biography reads as a decades-long litany of some of the most horrific violence and tragedy that a human can experience. ByThe Handmaid’s Taleseason 6, one of the few goals that Janine has left is getting her daughter back.IfThe Handmaid’s Talehadn’t let Janine and Charlotte reunite, then Janine would have suffered yet another blow at the hands of Gilead.
The only good ending was a reunion between Janine and Charlotte.
While it is true thatThe Handmaid’s Taleis a cautionary tale, it is by no means hopeless or nihilistic.If Janine had been kept from her daughter in the finale, all of the hopeful messaging about resistance and rebellion inThe Handmaid’s Talewould have been undercut by Janine’s tragedy. The only good ending was a reunion between Janine and Charlotte, and I am so glad thatThe Handmaid’s Talelet us share in their joy in the end.
Even A Wife Can Find Redemption
The cherry on top of Janine and Charlotte’s ending is the role that Naomi played in their reunion. Although Naomi, as a Wife, was in an antagonistic position towards Janine and the Handmaids for most of the show,Naomi has consistently been at her most human when interacting with Charlotte,or, as she calls her, Angela. The Handmaid system in Gilead meant that Naomi was Angela’s adopted mother - she may not have been a perfect parent, but it is clear that Naomi did care for the little girl.
Presumably, Naomi risked her own position and safety getting Janine and Charlotte out of Gilead. Her own fate after the end ofThe Handmaid’s Taleis unknown.
Naomi tells Charlotte, “you need to be safe,” and, in that moment, she explains her actions. By the finale ofThe Handmaid’s Tale, Naomi has gone from a Wife to a widow, and she has watched a revolution rock her country.Naomi cannot keep Charlotte safe in the remains of Gilead, but the child has a chance in the United States with Janine.By helping Janine and Charlotte, Naomi shows that, despite buying into a brutally cruel and misogynistic system, her humanity is intact. While the ending doesn’t excuse Naomi’s earlier actions, it undeniably offers her a sliver of redemption.
Janine’s Ending Was Bittersweet
Charlotte Got Out because Hannah Couldn’t
The Handmaid’s Talewas never going to give us an unequivocally happy ending, however, and Janine’s happy ending is contemporaneous with June Osborne’s (Elizabeth Moss) final tragedy.While Janine does get her daughter back, June’s daughter, Hannah (Jordanna Blake), is still in Gilead.That loss is written plain across June’s face when Aunt Lydia and Naomi emerge with Charlotte. Of course, we, the audience, had a pretty good reason to suspect that Hannah was never going to get out of Gilead.
Hulu has announced a sequel series toThe Handmaid’s Talebased on Margaret Atwood’s 2019 novel,The Testaments. InThe Testaments,Hannah is a main character, and she’s still in Gilead. If Hulu wants to stay true to Atwood’s narrative, then June and Hannah could not be reunited. That massive loss hangs over everyone’s heads, even as it is wonderful to see Janine and Charlotte together again. June’s tragedy makes Janine’s ending a bittersweet victory, and, for a series as rich and complex asThe Handmaid’s Tale, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
