Alexis Bledel was a key cast member in The Handmaid's Tale for four seasons, until she surprisingly left the show.
The Hulu series is based on Margaret Atwood's novel, exploring a dystopian North America where a portion of the United States has been turned into Gilead, which is ruled by a totalitarian regime that forces fertile women into a life of slavery in order to repopulate.
The cast of The Handmaid's Tale includes Elisabeth Moss as June, Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia, Yvonne Strahovski as Serena, and Bledel as Emily.
What Happened To Emily in The Handmaid's Tale?
Emily is introduced in The Handmaid's Tale as another handmaid alongside June. While initially wary, the two become friends and work together to find a way out of Gilead.
Emily was revealed to be a university professor before the Civil War. She had a wife and son in Canada, who she was desperate to reunite with.
After associating herself with the resistance group Mayday, Emily is sent to the Colonies in Season 2 (along with Janine). However, she is returned to Gilead after some time to serve as a handmaid again.
In the Season 2 finale of The Handmaid's Tale, Emily escapes Gilead with June's daughter, Nichole, and she is granted asylum into Canada, where she is taken in by June's husband, Luke.
Much of Season 3 sees Emily readjusting to life in Canada and tentatively reuniting with her wife and son.
She is then last seen in The Handmaid's Tale Season 4, where she and several former handmaids struggle to re-integrate due to their past traumas. Her last scenes occur in the season finale, where she joins the handmaids in getting vengeance on Fred Waterford.
While Emily is not on-screen following this episode, it's revealed in Season 5 of The Handmaid's Tale that she has returned to Gilead to continue fighting its oppressive regime. Emily's wife Sylvia tells June in the season premiere that "It’s what [Emily] needed to do."
Why Did Alexis Bledel Leave the Show?
Emily's in-world reason for leaving the show is tied to Alexis Bledel's decision to depart The Handmaid's Tale after four seasons.
Bledel announced her departure from the show months before the Season 5 premiere, saying in a statement she decided to leave "after much thought" and "felt [she] had to step away:"
"After much thought, I felt I had to step away from The Handmaid’s Tale at this time. I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, the cast and crew for their support."
Bledel has not given any further explanation for her departure from the Hulu series. However, some have speculated it may have been related to issues in her private life, particularly her divorce from her husband, Vincent Kartheiser, which took place a few months later.
The Handmaid's Tale showrunner Bruce Miller told The Hollywood Reporter that Bledel was the one who made the decision to leave and added that she was going through a "complicated time:"
“[Alexis] made that decision completely on her own; it was a complicated time and she let me know."
Since Bledel's departure, The Handmaid's Tale has continued into its sixth season, which will be the final season of the Emmy-winning Hulu show.
