Handmaid's Tale Season 6 kicked off with a big decision made by Max Minghella's Commander Nick Blaine, as fans saw the longtime character throw something in a fire to show his commitment to a cause.
Nick has been a part of the hit drama since its inception, playing a complicated character who has both been a part of the show's authoritarian regime and directly acted out against it.
Minghella's character has embarked on a fascinating journey early in the show's sixth and final season, but where he will end up is still unknown.
Explaining Nick's Season 6 Fire Decision
Fans may be confused about a significant character decision for Max Minghella's Nick, seen in The Handmaid's Tale Season 6.
The longtime character was seen shockingly throwing something into a fire in Season 6, Episode 2, showing that the Gileadean regime may still have its icy, cold grip on the former commander.
Earlier in the season, the series put the spotlight on Nick's continued rebellion efforts as he met with the leader of the U.S. Government-in-Exile, Mark Tuello (played by Sam Jaeger).
With Nick still a high-ranking official in the Gileadean ranks, Mark has employed the longtime character to help in espionage efforts to, hopefully, bring the government down once and for all.
Nick's will-they-won't-they lover (and the main character of the series), June, is now residing in Anchorage, Alaska, outside Gileadean control. Because of June's distance and connection to the rebel effort, Nick agrees to take the phone to pass information back to liberated territory and stay connected with June.
However, Nick seems to throw it all away after a key time jump in the season's second episode.
About mid-way through Season 6, Episode 2 (subtitled "Exile"), the show leaps forward by two months. The "two months later" fast-forward sees the fissure between Gilead digging its heels in even deeper as the government attempts to snuff out further insurgent activities.
Part of these efforts come to bear in a key conversation between Nick and his father-in-law, Commander Wharton. The sequence between the two directly precedes Nick's fireside fit, where Wharton essentially warns Nick not to pursue any further rebel causes.
He tells Minghella's character to"make good choices" and "be his own man," saying without saying that he knows of Nick's connections to the mutineers who would seek to see the end of Gileadean reign.
As Commander Wharton leaves the room, Nick is visibly distraught. He then quickly takes out the phone Mark gave him earlier in the episode, throwing the SIM card into the flames, severing his ties with the rebel effort, and cutting off contact with June and the Anchorage, Alaska settlement.
Nick's burning of his burner is key to the rest of the show's three-episode Season 6 premiere. His decision means he did not provide Mark and co. with the patrol routes he previously promised he would.
Without the patrol routes, characters like Luke and Moira, now stuck in No Man's Land, are pinned down without hope of escaping the Gileadean grip and making it to Alaska.
Going forward, it will be fascinating to see if Nick's renewed devotion to the Gileadean cause and New Bethlehem is genuine or if the character was giving in to Commander Wharton's threats in the moment and did what was necessary to keep June and the Mayday resistance movement safe.
With the rest of the season described by star Amanda Brugel as a "war cry," fans should expect a flashpoint involving Nick, Mayday, and the Gileadean regime as Handmaid's Tale Season 6 progresses.
