“She loved being on the show”: The Handmaid’s Tale creator makes his feelings known about this fan-favorite character’s return in series finale

The Handmaid’s Tale has come to an end after six thrilling seasons. The series finale aired on May 27, 2025, and featured several surprises for the audience as June Osborne’s story reached its conclusion.

One of the most exciting moments in the episode was the return of Dr. Emily Malek. After staying away from the dystopian drama, Alexis Bledel reprised her role as Emily in the finale, leaving fans astonished.

Bledel had decided to step away from The Handmaid’s Tale ahead of Season 5 in 2022. Series creator Bruce Miller has now talked about her cameo in the last episode, revealing how he convinced her to return. He said in an interview with Variety:

“It was always understood, at least for me, that I would do anything if there was ever a time that it made sense to bring her back. We loved her, and she loved being on the show.”

The Handmaid’s Tale creator talks about Emily’s return in the series finale

In The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 10, Emily reunites with June and tells her that she had spent the previous months in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where she partook in a rebellion. Bruce Miller revealed that he had always planned to bring back Alexis Bledel as Emily:

“It was a logistical piece at the end, because you only have a certain number of weeks to shoot it and it was very important to me that she was in that part of the show that was shot in Gilead where June was back.”

Talking about how important Emily’s appearance in the finale was, Miller explained June’s return to the neighborhood would not have made sense had she not gotten to know the whereabouts of her old friend:

“Because her [June’s] being back in the neighborhood meant a lot less if you didn’t find out what happened to Emily. So it felt like she was part and parcel of that. But it wasn’t a difficult decision at all, it just felt like the tumbler that needed to fall into place, but getting it to happen, as always, is more difficult.”

The Handmaid’s Tale had a satisfying ending as after reuniting with Emily, June returned to the Waterford house, the first place where she served. She ultimately decided to write a book about her life and struggle against Gilead.

While the Hulu series has concluded, the franchise is going to continue as a spin-off named The Testaments, and is already in development, with Bruce Miller returning as the showrunner.

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Apart from Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid’s Tale stars Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne, Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford, Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia Clements, Max Minghella as Commander Nick Blaine, Madeline Brewer as Janine Lindo, Bradley Whitford as Commander Joseph Lawrence, and Amanda Brugel as Rita Blue.

All six seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale are now streaming on Hulu.

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