Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale presented the world with a chilling vision of a dystopian world in which women's rights are abolished and their identities boiled down to their reproductive function. The main character, referred to as Offred in the novel, is a vehicle through which readers feel the fear, isolation, and passive resistance of a society that has gone astray.
When Hulu brought the novel to television in 2017, it closely followed Atwood's story at first but later branched out much further than the book's events, particularly regarding the trajectory of June Osborne, the show's equivalent of Offred, played by Elisabeth Moss.
Throughout six seasons, The Handmaid's Tale television series developed June from a reservedly observant narrator into a vocal icon of resistance against the totalitarian government of Gilead.
The writers of The Handmaid's Tale, collaborating with Atwood as a consulting producer, expanded on the novel's themes but permitted the narrative to develop into new ground. With the last season now airing in 2025, comparisons between June's destiny in the original novel and the TV series yield striking differences in narrative, agency, and conclusion.
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Exploring in detail the key differences between June's fate in the books and The Handmaid's Tale show
Perhaps the most eye-catching disparity between the book and the TV series is the development of June's agency. In the novel by Atwood, Offred is mostly passive, a survivor living in a repressive regime, but not a leader or someone rebelling against the regime.
Her acts of resistance are low-key and internalized, like remembering prohibited memories or clandestine interactions with Nick. When the book ends, she enters a van with no knowledge of whether she’s being rescued or arrested, leaving her fate unknown.
The Handmaid's Tale series, however, turns June into a fighter. From the very first season, the show gave her more agency, and by season 2, she begins taking matters into her own hands. Her efforts increase over the course of the series, organizing dissent within Gilead, coordinating the flight of scores of children during season 3, standing trial in Canada, and revealing Gilead's atrocities to the world.
Instead of disappearing into a van in ignorance, she is the driving force that cracks the walls of Gilead. The Handmaid's Tale remakes June not just as a survivor but also as a catalyst of revolution.
What is the second key difference?
Another key difference is how the story is told. Atwood’s novel is entirely from Offred’s point of view, often unreliable and introspective. The narrative is limited to her thoughts and surroundings, leaving much of Gilead’s structure, politics, and resistance movements unexplored.
This creates a haunting, claustrophobic atmosphere fitting for the character's oppressive circumstances.
By contrast, The Handmaid's Tale series takes a more expansive narrative approach. It cuts frequently between locations and characters, presenting multiple perspectives. Serena Joy, Aunt Lydia, Commander Lawrence, Luke, Moira, and Nick all receive storylines and depth, which the book does not.
The series also adds new characters such as Emily (loosely based on Ofglen in the book) and ventures outside of Gilead's boundaries to Canada, the Colonies, and beyond.
These additions provide for a richer world-building. Fans experience Gilead both inside and outside; we see the political machinations of its survival, and we discover more about how individuals resist or rationalize the system.
June's own development is strongly affected by these increased narratives, especially through relationships and tragedy.
What is the third key difference?
Atwood's book concludes ambiguously. Offred gets into a van, and the narrative shifts to an academic conference in 2195 where scholars discuss her recovered audiotapes. It's revealed that Gilead has collapsed, and her story is now a part of history, though incomplete and unverifiable.
This remote and analytical conclusion underscores the book's motifs of women being silenced, misunderstood, and diminished to historical artifacts. It provides no clarity on June's final destiny either.
The Handmaid's Tale show, however, follows June's narrative much further than that van ride. Every season is an extension of what she does, what she suffers, and how those actions affect her. Her viewers track her from being a Handmaid to her bold escapes, being an underground fugitive, and living as a refugee in Canada.
She struggles with PTSD, the justice system, and what's left of her broken relationships in subsequent seasons. The series is determined to provide June with a full journey not only as a narrator but also as a revolutionary, a mother, and a survivor.
Interested viewers can watch The Handmaid's Tale season 6 on Hulu.
