The Handmaid’s Tale star Sam Jaeger has said the Season 6 finale will “reward the fans” after the show “put them through hell.”
The actor, who played Mark Tuello, a representative of the American government, admitted the Hulu series is “a hard show” to watch – but he promised that the last episode will be “fitting” after “a really riveting season.” The Handmaid’s Tale is set in a dystopian world where a nation called Gilead has taken over the former United States, forcing women to become Handmaids and bear children for officers and their infertile wives.
The drama, based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, explores the themes of powerless women in a patriarchal society, loss of female agency and individuality, suppression of reproductive rights and the ways women try to regain their independence. This week Sam, 48, appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and teased what the finale will look like.
“It’s a hard show. It was a hard show to watch for some seasons, and I think we knew that,” the actor and filmmaker said. “We want to reward the fans this year, because we put them through hell and it’s just a really riveting season and a fitting finish.”
Sam said the show’s creators had a clear vision of what the ending would be like, saying, “A lot of times people try to end shows, and they don’t know how,” before adding that the writers “really stuck the landing” with the ending. “You don’t want to be lost. I understand for all intents and purposes, you want to feel like we got to the end, and people feel satiated, but it also feels true to the show,” he explained.
During the interview, Sam also revealed that since the show deals with dark themes, the cast often try to diffuse the tension by cracking jokes and enjoying fun group activities. “The people that work with me all have great senses of humor and don’t take themselves too seriously,” he said.
“We have a great time on the show and then we go into shooting this harrowing scene, and then come out of it. I think you need that levity or else what’s the point of living?” Sam’s comments come after his co-star Elizabeth Moss, who played June Osborne in the series, described the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale as “such a wild ride.”
“So much happens. It’s jam-packed,” Elizabeth said, promising plenty of surprises. The highly anticipated season premiered on April 8, with new episodes dropping each Tuesday until the finale on May 27.