For June on The Handmaid’s Tale, “even success comes at a cost,” Elisabeth Moss warned us.
The Emmy-winning Hulu drama wraps up its third season on Wednesday, Aug. 14—don’t fret, it’s already been renewed for a fourth season—and the finale is sure to be a game-changer for the series.
“Even winning means you lose something,” Moss said at the finale event.
This season, June’s sort of come into her own in Gilead, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. While serving as Ofjoseph, June worked to rebel against the oppressive forces of her government. Her big plot? Get 52 children out of Gilead into Canada. But this new leadership type of role doesn’t come without a cost.
“I don’t think it’s that simple, I don’t think it’s that easy. I don’t think it’s a matter of someone just finding their power, I think it’s a matter of somebody actually putting something before themselves,” Moss said.
The finale is “surprising,” “entertaining” and “heartbreaking,” Moss said. And she hopes viewers, “take the success from it that June takes.”
Joseph Fiennes, Commander Waterford on The Handmaid’s Tale, said there’s a lot to celebrate in the finale, but it is “harrowing.” However, some “very dastardly people” get their “comeuppance.”
Through a series of manipulations by Serena (Yvonne Strahovski), she and Fred are now being held as war criminals in Canada. “The Waterfords, they finally get it,” he teased.
“In terms of Fred, he’s not just your average bad-doer, he’s a rapist, war criminalist—God, there’s such a long list,” he said. “So, if anyone else, today, is on that kind of list, yeah, they should watch this and not do what they do…I think also it’s a great relief, certainly for viewers, to see evil and pathetic characters like Fred finally get it.”
Madeline Brewer, handmaid Janine on the series, said this is what viewers have been waiting for.
“I think it’s really what everyone’s been waiting for this entire season…I think that in episode 13 we really see all of the magic of every individual woman come together for the children,” Brewer teased.
Click play on the video above to hear more from the cast about the big finale.
The Handmaid’s Tale season three wraps up on Wednesday, Aug. 14 on Hulu.