The Handmaid's Tale season 6 episode 3 brings a gripping, emotional, and action-filled episode that heralds the increasing instability both within and outside of Gilead. The latest episode 3, titled Devotion, was released on April 8, 2025, exclusively on Hulu.
In The Handmaid's Tale season 6 episode 3, June is now working in closer alignment with the resistance, and Serena Joy struggles to find her middle ground between Gilead and the external world. The Handmaid's Tale season 6 episode manifestly sets its sights on some greater conflict. But it's Nick Blaine who finally comes out as the most resolute character of the episode.
His gestures in the last few moments—both tender and brutal—signal a development in his constant battle between his Gilead role, conscience, and clandestine alliances.
In The Handmaid's Tale season 6 episode 3, Nick kills two Gileadean Guardians to protect June, Luke, and Moira during their escape.
What happened between June and Nick in The Handmaid's Tale season 6 episode 3?
Nick and June have had a convoluted and multifaceted relationship throughout the series, and The Handmaid's Tale season 6 episode 3 contributes one more emotional moment to their history together. In helping with the clandestine removal of June, Luke, and Moira from Gilead soil, Nick is afforded one more solitary moment with June before they go their separate ways once more.
But instead of a proper goodbye, the two opt to avoid the absolute of goodbye. The moment is suggestive but significant, underscoring the perpetual bond between them, defying distance and circumstance.
June's reluctance to bid goodbye comes from the conviction that this is not to be their last meeting. She seems to suggest that their mutual purpose of toppling Gilead will sooner or later compel them back to each other.
This moment highlights not only their emotional connection but also the thematic thread of unfinished resistance. Both characters know that their lives are still connected to the overall objective of toppling the regime and that personal connections have to take a back seat to the battle ahead.
Who did Nick kill in The Handmaid's Tale season 6 episode 3?
The most surprising moment in The Handmaid's Tale season 6 episode 3 occurs when Nick is ambushed by two Gileadean Guardians while carrying out the escape plan. The Guardians become suspicious of his activities and start questioning him, saying they have to investigate potential resistance activity.
Knowing the danger that lies for June and the others, Nick takes a second decision: he takes out the gun and shoots both men.
This act of violence is a watershed moment in Nick's resistance to Gilead. Although he has participated in clandestine acts of resistance in the past, giving intelligence, helping prisoners escape, and quietly sabotaging the regime, this is the first time he has actively murdered agents of the state.
The stakes have never been higher for him. With the bodies behind and limited means of hiding what occurred, Nick is now in a very real danger of being exposed. His future in Gilead, already tenuous because of his clandestine connections with the resistance and American officials such as Mark Tuello, might now be in jeopardy.
What else happened at the end of The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 episode 3?
Aside from Nick's fatal encounter, The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 episode 3 ends with several storylines building up. Mark Tuello reclaims his control over Nick, coercing him to continue his collaboration in return for security. Their encounter is more aggressive than before, with Mark reminding Nick of the perilous implications of betrayal or vanishing.
As Nick attempts to keep his status as a double agent, his vulnerability is more open than ever in The Handmaid's Tale season 6 episode 3.
At the same time, the episode sheds more light on Commander Lawrence's contentious New Bethlehem program. Pitched as a less extreme splinter group of Gilead, New Bethlehem offers a vision of reform that provides for limited freedoms and openness to the outside world.
To gather momentum, Lawrence has recruited Serena Joy, whose complex legacy will either provide cover or further entrench opinions. Although the project may seem progressive at first glance, it remains based on a system that inherently represses women and dissidents. As such, its future is doubtful, with strong opposition to be expected from traditionalist Commanders and hardliners in Gilead's inner circle.
Serena Joy's trajectory becomes more conflicted. Isolated from both Gilead and the resistance, she is now seen trying to reconcile her past with present circumstances.
Whether her work in New Bethlehem is an attempt at reform or a survival mechanism remains to be seen, but being present at the center of this political experiment puts her again in a place of power and danger.
Meanwhile, June is safe out of Gilead's immediate reach at episode's close, but her work is far from finished. Her temporary reunion with Luke and Moira, arranged by Nick's intervention, reaffirms the small wins that drive the bigger fight.
But while her daughter Hannah remains behind in Gilead, June's journey is far from finished. The episode ends on a note of forward momentum, tempered by doubt and impending repercussions in The Handmaid's Tale season 6 episode 3.
Interested viewers can watch The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 episode 3 exclusively on Hulu.