The Direct's Russ Milheim spoke with The Handmaid's Tale stars Amanda Brugel (Rita) and Sam Jaeger (Mark), where the duo explained how this final season is a beacon of hope for fans.
The Hulu series has always been a dark and brutal ride, exploring an alternate world where the United States became a nation called Gilhead, which stripped away all rights from women and became the embodiment of oppression and everything wrong in the world.
Now, with Season 6, the show's story is finally coming to a close, and instead of constant dread and darkness, audiences might finally be in for a glimmer of hope.
The Handmaid's Tale Stars on How These Final Episodes Bring Hope to Fans
"[The Final Episodes] Are a Clear, Direct, Sort of Just War Cry of Hope."
- The Direct: "Audiences are quick to kind of point to this show as a dark reflection to the world that we currently live in. But on the flip side of that, with this final season, I was wondering how you would say that these final episodes can maybe be like a beacon of hope to audiences that feel that way."
Amanda Brugel: They're not kind of a beacon of hope. They are a clear, direct, sort of just war cry of hope. We take fans through the ringer for five and a half seasons, and so they deserve to finally have the rebellion, the resistance, the redemption that some of these characters need.
They need to see action. I think that they need to see a little more fight and less flight. And it's shown through a lot of different ways. It doesn't necessarily mean aggressive fight[ing]. It can mean all sorts of different ways of fighting and standing up, of quietly resisting. I say that as Rita, as being sort of a secret assassin, silent, quiet enemy.
But all in all, it can show you that when you band together for the greater good, you will always succeed, or at least you keep trying. And we didn't let people think that for a long time. I think we took people through the ringer, but at the end, you definitely come out the other side, hopeful.
Sam Jaeger: You definitely hope for like our story is about the underdogs, and unlike the posters behind you (referencing Star Wars posters in the background), the rebellion doesn't have a Jedi to kind of bail the people out... This is a human story. There are no superheroes. It's about, what would we do if we were in this situation? And that's the through-line of our show. It's finding empathy with people in the worst of situations.
- The Direct: "With this final season, can you guys tease what you guys were both able to explore with your characters that fans of the show have not seen before from those people?"
Amanda Brugel: Fans haven't seen Rita's gangster side, really. [You get] little glimpses, little snippets, but full gangster Rita? They haven't seen her, but they will in Season 6.
Sam Jaeger: For Mark, we get to see what it's like for a guy who's so measured to have lost any sort of firepower his country once had, and what desperate means he goes to to try and hold on to democracy and freedom.
Jaeger also shared how surprising the final season of the show will be, including what allegances are made and who lives and dies:
Jaeger: You know, I will say, when we started this season, I was very surprised about with this being the last season, who survives, who doesn't, what allegiances are formed. I was very, I was very surprised.
Looking back on her time with the show, Amanda Brugel noted that one thing she'll remember the most is being able to laugh on set as much as she did:
Burgel: I've never done drama before. It was only, and I mean, like comedy-comedy, and so it's the most I've laughed on set with any cast that I've ever had. Comedy people are so much more serious than drama actors. And I had the time of my life. I will miss forever laughing and being just fools together with this beautiful, wonderful, talented cast.
Jaeger added that with that show normally being shot in "the dead of winter," the cast "had to bring some levity" to it all—on top of its intense subject matter:
Jaeger: I mean, the dead of winter, most of the times we shot in Toronto, so we had to bring some levity... [The cast is] truly such a generous group of people with big hearts.
The full interview can be seen here:
The final season of The Handmaid's Tale debuts on Hulu on April 8, 2025.
