Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Handmaid’s Tale season 4, episode 9, “Progress.”
June Osborne and Nick Blaine reunite in The Handmaid’s Tale season 4, and the setting – the Maria Magdalena Academy – supports the idea that Nick will die saving Hannah Bankole from Gilead. While June is now back living with her husband, Luke Bankole, it’s clear that Nick is her great romance. The pair of star-crossed lovers found each other in Gilead, and understand one another in a way that’s difficult for people outside of that to fully comprehend.
Unfortunately, while June and Nick may be The Handmaid’s Tale‘s true love story, it’s also one that has to end in tragedy. That much was clear even before June escaped to Canada, and it’s even more apparent after the events of season 4, episode 9, “Progress.” The episode brings the pair back together as June seeks Nick’s help with Hannah, and while the reasoning is very much driven by her desire to rescue her daughter, it’s framed around their romance.
The events at the Maria Magdalena Academy show just how much love June and Nick have for one another, as they’re smiling, laughing, and cast in light; it’s a very un-Handmaid’s Tale-esque scene, allowing for something happier and more intimate than the Hulu show normally provides. But the location is also important in this: The Handmaid’s Tale has evoked Biblical imagery (and verses) and lot in the past, but the nod to Mary Magdalene does at least somewhat fit with the presentation of June and Nick’s story. In context of Mary Magdalene, then the scene in “Progress” could be casting June in that role, and Nick as Jesus himself, setting up his death (h/t u/snowflakebake on Reddit).
Typically, Mary Magdalene is conflated with an unnamed sinful woman from the Bible, who was said to be a prostitute. This largely comes from her being a woman close to Jesus and referred to in various gospels, and while there’s no certainty they are one and the same, it is a common presentation of her. So if June is Mary in this case, then it would fit with how Gilead sees her (and all Handmaids); often women who they would deem promiscuous, and certainly sinful (which works even if Mary and the sinner aren’t the same, because it’s the perception that matters). With that, Nick would take the role of Jesus; someone who sees Mary Magdalene for the person she is, not what people believe her to be. Some speculate that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a romantic relationship and, while the Bible doesn’t confirm that, it does work for The Handmaid’s Tale‘s purposes, which is using the Bible for allegory, meaning, and imagery rather than trying to be completely accurate.
If June is Mary Magdalene and Nick is Jesus Christ, then it could mean that The Handmaid’s Tale is leading to his sacrifice. Mary was present at Jesus’ crucifixion, and the theory that Nick dies saving Hannah from Gilead would likely have June present too, as it may happen at the border and in view of her (which is loosely backed-up by a shot of a screaming June in a season 4 trailer). While it’s not a complete 1:1 comparison, obviously – Nick is not a match for Jesus in many ways – this could be why the show uses the Maria Magdalena Academy. The scene itself is them discussing getting Hannah out, and while Nick says it’s “impossible,” it doesn’t completely close the door on it. Commander Lawrence’s role in things has yet to be fully revealed, for instance, and so he could shed new light on things that causes Nick to act.
Of course, there are other problems with this reading as well. Mary Magdalene was not only present for Jesus’ death, but also one of the first to know of. his resurrection – and there’ll be no literal resurrection for Nick if he does die in Gilead. It’s possible it’ll go for a more thematic illusion to this – his legacy living on in Canada – or that the allegory is only intended to go so far, if intended to convey such meaning at all. There’s also the fact that this is The Handmaid’s Tale, and June herself has more typically been presented as the figure of salvation. If she is supposed to be Jesus in this scene, then it would flip the roles, but given she won’t be dying anytime soon (since Elisabeth Moss is the star), then that would muddy things further. There’s no such problem with Nick, who is seemingly trapped in Gilead with no hope of escape; for him, a sacrifice for June would feel fitting, and while it may not play out in The Handmaid’s Tale finale (the use of The Last Supper for Aunt Lydia shows just how liberally they’re using Biblical references), the imagery and setting of Maria Magdalena Academy does support the idea.
The Handmaid’s Tale releases new episodes Wednesdays on Hulu.
About The Author
