The Handmaid’s Tale: 10 moments where hope almost died

The Handmaid’s Tale showcases a scary world where freedom is gone and a harsh government called Gilead is in charge. The show is based on a famous book by Margaret Atwood.

It takes place in a place where women have lost all their rights. Women who can still have children, called Handmaids, are forced to give birth for powerful families. The plot follows a woman named June Osborne. She is taken from her family and forced to live as a Handmaid.

In Gilead, she is called by a different name: Offred. Even though the world in The Handmaid’s Tale is very dark and painful, there are small signs of hope. We see people who try to fight back, moments of friendship, and chances to escape.

These small moments of hope help the characters and the people watching keep going. But many times, that hope is quickly taken away. Sometimes it is because of betrayal, violence, or the cruel rules of Gilead. We must say that The Handmaid's Tale show makes us think about what happens when hope is almost erased.

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10 moments where hope almost died in The Handmaid's Tale

Ofglen’s arrest and punishment

In the early episodes of The Handmaid's Tale, June finds a rare bond with another Handmaid, Ofglen (later known as Emily). Ofglen is bold, intelligent, and subtly rebellious, a spark in a sea of silence. She introduces June to the underground resistance known as Mayday, giving her the first real sense that Gilead might one day be brought down.

That fragile hope is quickly shattered when Ofglen is arrested for being in a same-s*x relationship, an act considered a crime in Gilead. Her punishment is horrifying. Her lover is executed, and Ofglen herself undergoes genital mutilation.

When June learns of her fate, it is a devastating moment in The Handmaid's Tale. Ofglen had been proof that rebellion was possible. But her capture and brutalization show just how vicious and controlling the regime truly is. In that moment, hope in The Handmaid’s Tale feels like a dangerous illusion.

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Moira’s return and broken spirit in The Handmaid's Tale

Moira in The Handmaid's Tale represents the fire of resistance. Unlike many women in Gilead, she doesn’t quietly accept her fate. When she escapes from the Red Center, it seems like a victory, proof that not everyone is trapped forever. June clings to stories of Moira’s escape as if they’re lifelines.

But that triumph turns to horror when June is taken to Jezebel’s, a government-run brothel, and finds Moira working there. Once fierce and unshakable, Moira is now resigned.

Her emotionally shattered spirit has been crushed by years of abuse, and she is barely able to talk about what happened to her. The woman who once believed she could outrun Gilead now lives under its roof, surviving instead of resisting. To see Moira like this is one of the most painful blows to June and the viewers. If even the strongest can be broken in The Handmaid’s Tale, what chance do the rest have?

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June’s miscarriage and near suicide

As June becomes more deeply entangled in Gilead’s cruel system within The Handmaid’s Tale, her emotional and physical trauma begins to take an unbearable toll. When she becomes pregnant again, it feels like a complicated form of hope, perhaps she can protect this baby, use her status to bargain for her freedom. But unfortunately, when she miscarries, June spirals into despair, and it is so overwhelming.

Even in one particularly painful scene, she contemplates taking her own life. She sits alone, defeated, with nothing left to give. The miscarriage is the death of every dream June dared to have about escape, freedom, and reunion with her family in The Handmaid's Tale. It’s a moment when hope nearly dies, not because of a single event, but because of the accumulated weight of suffering.

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The train tracks tragedy

At one point in The Handmaid's Tale, June and fellow Handmaids manage a daring escape. The goal is to reach a moving train, a symbol of freedom, a chance to finally get away.

As they run for it, hearts pounding, it feels like a miracle might happen. But then, in a split second, Alma and Brianna are hit and killed by the train. The scene is sudden, violent, and deeply tragic. What was supposed to be a moment of triumph becomes a massacre.

The survivors are forced to hide again, with the deaths of their friends haunting them. It is a reminder that in Gilead, escape is not just difficult, it is deadly. Hope, once again, is punished with loss in The Handmaid’s Tale.

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Fred and Serena’s assault on June

In The Handmaid's Tale, as June’s pregnancy progresses, she becomes a pawn in a disturbing power game between her Commanders. In one of the most horrific scenes in the series, Serena Joy and Fred force themselves into June’s hospital room and attempt to induce labor by assaulting her.

It’s an act of pure control, driven by desperation, jealousy, and power. This moment in The Handmaid's Tale strips June of her last shred of safety. Even in childbirth, even in medical care, she is not protected.

The people responsible for bringing her into this world of violence are now literally trying to rip her baby away. It is a moment where hope feels like a lie in The Handmaid’s Tale, where the cruelty of Gilead becomes unbearable, and the world’s indifference to her pain is fully exposed.

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Luke’s despair at the airport

When June finally manages to send a plane full of children to Canada, it’s hailed as a major victory in The Handmaid’s Tale. But for Luke, June’s husband, who has been living in exile, the moment is bittersweet.

He waits at the airport, hopeful that his daughter, Hannah, might be among the children. But when the plane lands, Hannah isn’t there. Luke’s silent devastation is heart-wrenching as he tries to stay strong for the children who did make it. Here, the absence of his own daughter is overwhelming.

For a moment, it seemed like they might be reunited, but once again, Gilead steals that joy far away. The pain of not knowing where Hannah is or if she is safe or not, becomes another heavy weight that hope struggles to carry.

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Emily’s River Escape

Emily’s escape with baby Nicole is a high-stakes, terrifying sequence in The Handmaid’s Tale. In the dead of night, she flees Gilead, running through woods and freezing water, cradling a baby in her arms. The river crossing is nearly fatal. They stumble, they fall, they disappear beneath the water.

When they finally make it to Canadian soil and are rescued, it is a moment of relief, but not pure joy. Emily is battered, physically and emotionally. She is free, yes, but not whole. The fear that Nicole might die, the trauma of everything they survived, lingers. Hope exists in this moment, but it is fragile, covered in scars, perfectly summing up the essence of the show.

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Serena’s Sacrifice in The Handmaid's Tale

Serena Joy is one of the most complex characters in The Handmaid's Tale, both a victim and an architect of Gilead. In one of her rare acts of humanity, she allows June to escape with baby Nicole. Knowing she may never see the child again, she does it out of concern. For Serena, who has yearned for a child of her own, it is a devastating decision.

This act cracks open the idea that even the enforcers of Gilead may not be immune to its cruelty. Serena’s sacrifice is a small flame of redemption, but it also reveals just how much everyone has lost. Hope is born from Serena’s decision in The Handmaid’s Tale, but it’s steeped in pain and moral ambiguity. Nothing in Gilead is clean.

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June’s Choice to Keep Fighting

At the end of The Handmaid's Tale, June is faced with a choice: Give up and try to heal, or keep fighting. She chooses the latter. She tells her story and promises to fight against Gilead. She decides that she will not let the cruel system break her. It is a quiet but strong moment. It shows that hope is not just about wishing for good things — it is about speaking up and not giving up. This kind of hope doesn’t fix everything right away in The Handmaid’s Tale.

But it means not staying silent and not losing your strength, even when things are hard. It’s the kind that endures, survives every death, loss, and betrayal. In choosing to resist, June symbolizes what hope truly looks like in a world built to destroy it.

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The Handmaid’s Tale shows how hope and sadness go in circles in a world ruled by strict and cruel leaders. Every time hope almost dies in the story, it helps us see how strong people can be, even when they are hurt or afraid. We follow characters like June, Moira, and Emily, who face terrible things but still try to fight back.

The stories in the show remind us that standing up for what’s right is important. Even when things feel hopeless, this show tells us that hope can come back. It may take time, but it can still grow, even in the darkest times.