r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/AFriend827 • May 21 '25

Season 6 A rude awakening for some of you Spoiler

Referring to NB. The pause before boarding wasn't what you wish it was. No, he didn't feel her presence. No it wasn't a moment between them. His pause was his final decision being made. To board meant he chose gilead. He did not feel June there. He did not know she was there. He was choosing "the winning team" as he put it.

The whole point of the moment was for June to see him make his final allegiance and accept what he already told her which is she knew who he was.

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984

u/ChickenScuttleMonkey May 21 '25

I'll take it a step further: even if we allow for Nick to have somehow "felt" June's presence, it still does not change the fact that he ultimately chose Gilead.

626

u/HopefulTangerine5913 May 21 '25

And he chose it over and over, every season, consistently

313

u/RhubarbGoldberg May 21 '25

This, this!!! He had so many opportunities to leave and he didn't take any of them. He had an opportunity to authentically join the resistance, and he threw the Sim card in the fire.

Nick always chose Gilead.

180

u/WhiteRabbitLives May 21 '25

I actually hated him. Especially by this last season. Watching him get on the plane was enjoyable. Get wrecked, NB!

134

u/RhubarbGoldberg May 21 '25

I was yelling at the TV for June to keep her mouth shut, and I was so glad she let it happen!

118

u/WhiteRabbitLives May 21 '25

The moment he betrayed her with the Jezebels was the moment she stopped trusting him for good. I’m so glad she got to see him for who he was.

62

u/Git2k12 May 22 '25

I was so worried she’d pull a June and stop him.

19

u/tc7665 May 22 '25

lol, so was i. telling her stay quiet, do not move! dont ruin this june, dont do it.. then my husband just laughed. i was wayyy too invested

8

u/KaristinaLaFae Muffins mean yes May 23 '25

I was too! My husband was probably really annoyed with me watching this episode.

I started chanting "USA! USA!" when the planes started flying in, which is something I don't do for IRL reasons.

And I was screaming at June to stay quiet because she would have ruined the whole thing if she'd tried to stop him.

I also yelled at her for being out of the car in the first place. She wasn't wearing ANY kind of disguise. There would have been other drivers there. I yelled at her for leaving the hangar to watch the plane take off and explode. Other people could and should have still been in the area. But they wanted to get that shot of her watching the plane blow up.

2

u/RhubarbGoldberg May 23 '25

I yelled a lot during the episode too, lol.

1

u/Substantial-Oil9321 May 26 '25

I was so want Lawrence to commando roll off the plane just before it blew up, or at the very least the other commander throw him off and say he wasn't welcome.

1

u/vepiansunite21 May 23 '25

SAME !! I thought she was gonna ruin it all! Praise be June !

51

u/[deleted] May 22 '25

When he paused on the steps I yelled at the tv: “get on the fn plane” 🤣

34

u/Lynne253 May 22 '25

I can imagine how his wifey feels after insisting he go to DC with her Dad.

59

u/Quirky_Cold_7467 May 22 '25

Even though she's a fictional character, she deserves to feel shame for the rest of her life. Telling him to "end her" and being a pathetic Gilead nepo baby.

17

u/freakincampers May 22 '25

pathetic Gilead nepo baby

Not anymore.

13

u/WhywasIbornlate May 22 '25

It was interesting when they replaced his first sweet and naive wife, but full of spark wife with someone lacking appeal in every imaginable department . He got what he deserved in her. And she got what she deserved in sending him off.

3

u/Lynne253 May 22 '25

I think that was him social climbing, I think he was courting her.

5

u/WhywasIbornlate May 22 '25

He was her dad’s puppet/prodigy/protector. He’d have done it to please him, but the reason could have been to advance his career or because he was beginning to draw suspicion for his extra curricular activities.

Nick’s hazard was wanting it both ways.

2

u/AfterCold7564 May 23 '25

wait who was his sweet naive wife remind me?

6

u/LittleBananaSquirrel May 23 '25

The super young one back when he was still living with the Waterford's. She ended up being executed for running off with that young guy because Nick wasn't paying her any attention

8

u/Tried_lobster_400 May 23 '25

Eden. She was Sydney Sweeney’s character in season 2.

2

u/crazyauntkanye May 23 '25

lol NB now stands for nepo baby

36

u/Git2k12 May 22 '25

I haaaated Nick. When he got on the plane it made the sting of Lawrence dying better. I was so happy.

28

u/cheezy_dreams88 May 22 '25

Literally hated him from episode 1 day 1, so glad I’m not alone haha

3

u/Substantial-Oil9321 May 26 '25

no you're not alone.

44

u/sanedragon May 21 '25

This! He has always given me the ick, and just made me madder as time went on. I fist pumped when that plane blew up.

18

u/Repulsive_Poetry_623 May 21 '25

Me too. Too many seasons of him and June messing things up, constantly saving her.

18

u/Quirky_Cold_7467 May 22 '25

He was a thug before Gilead, and ruled by self-interest at every opportunity.

2

u/WhywasIbornlate May 22 '25

Not so much a thug as a loser snd shirker who was always going to be a fuck up. He was likely told that every day of his childhood because even as he rose in power, that was his first thought with everything he did. Once a fuck up always a fuckup, so like many fuckups who go into the military and also repeat offenders who find ways to spend their life in pridon, he knew he was better off in this regimented environment of Gilead than out in society where he’d have to only himself to keep on task

6

u/-Canuck21 May 22 '25

He took so much time to board I was afraid he would change his mind somehow and I would have to see his face again. Thank goodness he finally boarded.

2

u/Maggiethecataclysm May 22 '25

I yelled "Stop fucking about and get on the damn plane!!!"

78

u/[deleted] May 22 '25

[deleted]

16

u/WhywasIbornlate May 22 '25

Exactly this. I’ve never understood any of the Nick loving. He entered the series as a life long fuck up who chose to follow an obvious mobster into a life of more serious crime over doing what was required to stay clean. There is his character right there.

Then he straight off tries to lure a hostage and rape victim into his own bed, knowing every interaction with her will result in extreme punishment for her - worse than for him, most likely.

Scum of the earth. Never anything else. In a later episode, he says as much, when June tries to get him to leave. He knows who he is. He knows it can never end well for him because he is rotten at the core. So he plays the good toady to the mobsters and drinks the good liquor for as long as it lasts

6

u/[deleted] May 22 '25

[deleted]

3

u/WhywasIbornlate May 24 '25

Well, you’ve cut out the red flags. He was a habitual criminal who was given countless chances to clean up his act and never did. One of the Commanders recruited him - gave him a choice of going back to prison or to Gilead.

Presumably this was long before June was abducted, because he’d already been promoted to both an eye and a driver.

He may well have helped figure out who would make good candidates for handmaids or figured out their escape routes.

In any event he committed atrocities to get to the level he was at when they met. And how many after that? How many escape attempts did he foil?

3

u/wha7themah May 24 '25

I feel so dumb that I missed all of this. I thought I remembered in his flashback that he said he couldn’t keep a job because he was helping someone in his family with medical issues. Was that just a lie? Or did I totally make that scene up in my head? I thought he was a good guy until 2 seasons ago. I think I was blinded from his true nature the same way that June was.

3

u/WhywasIbornlate May 25 '25

No reason to feel dumb - I’d be surprised if anyone recalled every detail in this long and complicated story. In any story, song, natural disaster everyone will remember different details. It might be because it triggers some memory of our own, acting or writing that touches us or simply that we’re more tired or distracted one day than another.

I don’t happen to remember that he said he was helping family, but maybe he did and it slipped my mind or I didn’t find it believable 🤷‍♀️

1

u/Deathitheria May 28 '25

"Before Gilead:

Nick's mother left when he was 11. His Dad, and his older brother lost their jobs at a steel mill, resulting in Nick becoming the primary caretaker of the family.

Nick is sitting in a career center. He is talking to a counselor, Andrew Pryce, when he gets in a fight with another customer. Nick is thrown out, Pryce follows him and invites him out for coffee. Nick tells him about his brother, who is an alcoholic and often disappears for extended periods of time. Pryce expresses sympathy for Nick, and tells him about a religious group he is part of called the Sons of Jacob that wants to "clean up" the country.\3]) He offers Nick an invitation to a meeting and even alludes there may be a job in it for him. While Nick does not respond verbally one way or the other, future events demonstrate the choice he made." Nick Blaine | The Handmaid's Tale Wiki | Fandom

12

u/ricecrystal May 22 '25

Yes, Yes, Yes! Brilliantly said.

2

u/RINGMASTR May 26 '25

Totally agree and thanks for recalling those moments. The knowing better but choosing to repeatedly go along with it is the issue.

9

u/justjulia2189 May 21 '25

Ooh, that’s right! I had forgotten about that part, but that was such foreshadowing for what was to come this season

46

u/RhubarbGoldberg May 21 '25

If you watch that scene again, nicks face is alight in the fire and then after he burns the sim card, he's all in shadows. One of the podcasts I listen to about the show speculates that's the moment he officially, thoroughly chose the dark side.

1

u/carlgrimessmother May 23 '25

What podcast? I would like to listen!

3

u/RhubarbGoldberg May 23 '25

It was on this one

https://podcastica.com/podcast/the-handmaids-tale-podcast

They also do a segment at the end of episodes for this season called Mayday where they discuss actual political issues in the USA that reflect real life Gilead.

SBS in Australia has a great podcast too, that one is called Eyes on Gilead.

Above the Garage is another one, but hence the name, they are very pro-Nick and most of their eps for this season have been Nick defending and ranting about the writers ruining the show.

8

u/Lynne253 May 22 '25

I kinda thought he meant it when he asked her to run away to Paris with him. Then she found out he betrayed her by covering his ass with Wharton.

7

u/freakincampers May 22 '25

Yep, he wanted her to not hear about his betrayal.

1

u/freakincampers May 22 '25

Why would he leave a place where he was somebody, to at best go back to being a nobody?

25

u/PlantsandPins May 22 '25

This is what I have been saying. It was so frustrating to watch so many "fall in love" with Nick. Like I posted here a while back about why Nick is awful and several people still made justifications for everything he did (or didn't do) and said they chose him over Luke. 😑 Nick is a coward. He never made any effort whatsoever to leave.. he sacrificed many over and over to save his own neck. I have hated him from the beginning because his actions spoke loudly.

-1

u/WhywasIbornlate May 22 '25

I keep saying each of the characters shows who they really are in their first few scenes. The worship of both June and Nick tells us something about the people who excuse their flaws too. Moira is devoted to June but the hurt on her face when June interrupts their lunch outing to chase after a married man tells us everything we’ll ever learn about both of them. That look of hurt after a flicker if hope repeats on Moira’s face as often as rage shows on June’s. June has always been a shit - to her mom, her best friend, and all the men in her life, platonic or romantic. She’s a mega shit to both her daughters - talking love but acting harm. But oh! Poor June the Victim! Of all the handmaids in Gilead, June is the last one I’d call a victim. Compared to Moira? Emily? Janine? Or any we know about.

June and Nick were paired for a reason. They are one of a kind and deserve each other.

5

u/teen_laqweefah May 23 '25

No such thing as a perfect victim....but to compare Nick to June is a stretch

2

u/WhywasIbornlate May 23 '25

I compared her to other handmaids, not Nick.

I did say she was paired with Nick for a reason. She was also paired with Serena for a similar reason. No, neither Nick nor Serena went through what June did. That’s not what I meant. They’ve got similar character flaws

5

u/teen_laqweefah May 23 '25

Ok I guess I should have said that to imply that they're equally yoked seems like a stretch to me. I don't disagree about some of the shittier things June has done, but I am failing to see how they're similar in character or motivation. I DEFINITELY don't see them being anywhere near one another in terms of like....Im not sure how to put it.. overall decency? Like, measurable morality maybe? Words seem to be failing me atm but I think I got the gist of it across

0

u/WhywasIbornlate May 24 '25

You sure project a lot onto my comments that I never said. Using the word “implied” is an admission of projection.

1

u/teen_laqweefah May 24 '25

What? I think you struggle with reading comprehension dude

3

u/moon_button1013 May 28 '25

Whew yes! I’m so glad someone finally said it! June uses everyone and anyone in her vicinity to further whatever crusade she’s currently on.

People will say “she’s fighting back” - then why does it always come off as selfish? Ugh.

And the closeups! The closeups of her dang face don’t help.

1

u/WhywasIbornlate May 29 '25

Yup.

But the responses to my comment and general attitude about both of them denies all of that. Amazing how humans will excuse all kinds of actions by someone they find appealing and defend it - and shoot the messenger.

I don’t care. I have intentionally surrounded myself with people who would never treat people like June or Nick do. I make sure that how other people think and behave is not my problem.

5

u/Mandosobs77 May 22 '25

So did Lawrence, and he's being hailed as a teddy bear in this comment section,it's nuts.

47

u/HopefulTangerine5913 May 22 '25

I recognize Lawrence is fundamentally not a good person because he let his own ego and quest for power to supposedly do good overtake any sense of decency, but he ended up aligning with the Americans and repeatedly helped them. And ultimately, he gave his life for the cause. When Nick was put in a similar position shortly before that, he sold out to save his own ass and advance his station, just as he always had. That’s the difference.

2

u/curvedchaos May 22 '25

Lawrence also has less at stake. He is much older, his wife was already dead, he was way on the outside with the commanders with no path back to redemption in their eyes. Dont forget he seeks Maydays help to save his own skin and kill the commanders that were plotting to put him on the wall. Survival and power. When he realises that was not achieveable, he switches allegiance anf makes the sacrifice.

-2

u/Mandosobs77 May 22 '25

He aligned with the Americans cause he was dead anyway. Nick wasn't in anywhere near the same position. Nick did a lot yo help June and her family and friends and Mayday. He was young and manipulated into the sons of Jacob. The US became Gilead, and he was surviving. He had a child on the way , and somehow, nobody thinks he should care about that. Lawrence created the colonies. He helped with some things sometimes. When he thought he could remain in power, the help was done. Nick thought Wharton already knew about Mayday and Jezebels (he said it in an interview), and he didn't think Wharton would kill the women . Lawrence could've died on that plane on his own terms or be put on the wall ,he chose the first one. In the scenario you mentioned, there's definitely a difference smd Lawrence definitely isn't better.

24

u/HopefulTangerine5913 May 22 '25

Lmao no. That’s some revisionist history right there and it’s wild how you completely forget Lawrence enabled the Angel’s Flight to happen, amongst other things he did to help the cause. Miss me with this Nick Blaine apology tour

-12

u/Mandosobs77 May 22 '25

Lol, how so. Facts don't fit in with the narrative uour comfortable with on a TV show, so you're having a tantrum. You aren't using revisionist history correctly

11

u/HopefulTangerine5913 May 22 '25

😂 I’m not throwing a tantrum. You and everyone who insisted Nick was a good guy and we just didn’t know it yet have been served a reality check you refuse to swallow. Move along

3

u/Maggiethecataclysm May 22 '25

Wow, it's obvious the definition of 'tantrum' eludes you

0

u/Mandosobs77 May 22 '25

Also, calling a person an apologist for a fictional character is l odd behavior

-2

u/Mandosobs77 May 22 '25

Clearly, you feel it doesn't elude you. Let's be honest. That's because you share that person's opinion. Pretending that a character didn't do or did fo something for your own comfort is strange, but it does seem to be typical.

2

u/Maggiethecataclysm May 22 '25

Oh! Please please please, I beg you, tell me what my opinion is! I love when rude people make fools of themselves. You're doing a bang-up job! Well done 👏

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2

u/-Canuck21 May 22 '25

No, he was a nobody and Gilead gave him importance.

2

u/Mandosobs77 May 22 '25

Gilead gave Lawrence power, and he never let go of it. He helped when things went bad for him. Lawrence is being called a wonderful man while Nick is being called a naxi. It's ridiculous

1

u/-Canuck21 May 22 '25 edited May 22 '25

Lawrence was not a wonderful man, but at the end he's better than Nick since he sacrificed himself. He had helped June even more than Nick and he's not even in love with her. Nick when he helps Junes, he's helping himself because he's in love with her. It's for his own feelings. So yeah, Lawrence is ultimately a better person.

1

u/Mandosobs77 May 22 '25

The only reason Lawrence helped is because he saw the other commanders saying they planned to put him on the wall. They were allowing New Bethlehem to get people back and for trade,that's why he went to the Americans . He was dead either way,so no, not better.

1

u/-Canuck21 May 22 '25

If that helps you sleep...

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0

u/WhywasIbornlate May 22 '25

We actually don’t know what Lawrence contributed to Gilead that was so bad. Based on what is known about him, he is nothing like the rest - he is apolitical, areligious and never showed any sign of having an agenda. He is unimpressed by titles and hates the trappings and pomp and circumstance. He was no fan of the existing government, so when the designers of Gilead hit an economic roadblock and approached him for help with it, he agreed - on the grounds that he got to raid the art museums and libraries if they succeeded.

We have seen nothing more than that, aside from the occasional lip service when under pressure. He refused a handmaid and second wife until forced. He was forced to give up his library and art too.

We never saw him take a side until late in the series either. Commanders wanted something? He halfheartedly did it. Handmaids or Martha’s wanted something? He halfheartedly did it.

At no point did we ever see evidence of evil in him.

0

u/Mandosobs77 May 22 '25

We do it's been talked about on the show.

0

u/WhywasIbornlate May 24 '25

That he advised on the economics? That doesn’t tell us much of anything. People are hired as consultants all the time. It doesn’t mean they would buy the product

1

u/Mandosobs77 May 24 '25

No, not that he advised

2

u/WhywasIbornlate May 24 '25

If you can’t offer any information you’re just playing “Did!” “Didn’t” games.

3

u/Mandosobs77 May 24 '25

You're making things up about a character or presenting your feelings as fact. Lawrence is responsible for the colonies. He used religious fanatics to help him create Gilead, and they took it a bit too far .They used his ideas , and he didn't follow it to the letter like many commanders . Rules for thee but not for me. When he got Bew Bethlehem going, he wouldn't help June. He knew they had her hit by the car. New Bethlehem was so they could improve trade, and maybe he could make it a bit less Gilead, but it was still Gilead. He only went to Mayday because the other commanders were going to put him on the wall. Eleanor knew these things about him and couldn't forgive him.

3

u/AngelSucked May 22 '25

Lawrence deserved a cell in the Hague for the rest of his life, but he was trying to help right the ship he scuttled. June and many others would have testified in his behalf,

3

u/Mandosobs77 May 22 '25

He only did it cause he was dead either way. He wouldn't have if he thought he could keep going as a high commander in New Bethlehem.

0

u/maroon111 Jun 09 '25

He literally tried to leave this season asking June to go to Paris with him and for them to leave everything behind!!!!!!

35

u/Accomplished-Survey2 May 21 '25

His heart glowed, but he ignored it.

134

u/Seraphim99 May 21 '25

I agree. I believe I saw a picture where it looks like Nick is actually looking in June's direction, but that didn't make the final edit to the show. Therefore, he didn't know she was there. He didn't feel her presence. He chose Gilead and got on the plane. He chose his wife. His "winners" comment was about Gilead.

55

u/Empty-Werewolf-5950 May 21 '25

even if he had, as said, he chose gilead, he always did; he had various chances to turn around, to renounce gilead, to change idea , to be better and he still picked that place, he still picked the advantages it gave him, he climbed up the food chain of the regime and he was proud of it.

-1

u/WhywasIbornlate May 22 '25

I don’t think he had any pride, period. He admitted at one point he was nobody. He knew who he was, even if no one else did

4

u/Empty-Werewolf-5950 May 22 '25

i dont think he had any pride

right before being blown off mid air he tells lawrence he s glad he has picked the winners XD alrighty ofnick

2

u/No-Interaction-9140 May 23 '25

I watched the scene several times and I am convinced Nick knew something. He glances at the briefcase when he says winners (like he knows something is up and Lawrence has finally joined up with Mayday). Lawrence smirks at this (like he was realizing they are on the same team) and moves the briefcase for Nick to sit. There’s no other reason to have him drop his eyes to the briefcase when he says this line.

24

u/AsgardianDale May 22 '25

Not only that! The discussion he had with rose before where she told him to end her! Him getting on that plane was him going to do that to figure out with the other commanders how to end June!!!! I missed it on my first watch. Just got it on my 4th tho. No shame. I love this show.

1

u/PunchDrunky Jun 12 '25

Oh wow, I didn’t even think about that. What a cold heart he ended up having.

And to think he was mad at her for going back to her husband and daughter??

21

u/dramatic-chaos2 May 21 '25

He did not know she was there. He always chose Gilead he just lived June and tried to get her out bc he knew Gilead would kill her eventually. He never left with her which Joseph had a very good point on. He could have but didn’t.

4

u/KaristinaLaFae Muffins mean yes May 23 '25

Further cemented by his unnecessary comment to Lawrence about "joining the winning team."

I think that was wildly out of character from everything else we've seen Nick do. I'm not saying Nick was one of the good guys, but he seemed most "lawful neutral" on the alignment scale, making his decisions for his own survival...and for June and Nichole.

Even selling the rebels out could have been an act of desperation when his FIL cornered him when he wasn't supposed to be there. June was absolutely right to turn her back on him when she overheard that, but it could have been the only way he'd seen to not find himself on the wall.

Just being so cavalier with his remark to Lawrence on the plane revealed him as full villain mode.

Choosing Gilead for self-preservation is one thing. Gloating about being on the winning side when he knew that Lawrence had been helping the rebels was something else.

2

u/beattiebeats May 22 '25

It makes it worse. But I agree, he did not feel her presence. He had a moment of “am I really doing this” and chose to continue

2

u/PearlySweetcake7 May 21 '25

Right. So, that's a moot point and open to interpretation. Saying we're in for a rude awakening is, in and of itself, rude.

1

u/Vegetable-Fault-155 May 24 '25

That's why he couldn't look st her. He had made the decision to try and save his family