Hulu’s twisted drama The Handmaid’s Tale recently wrapped its fifth season with a jaw-dropping cliffhanger. As fans await its sixth and final season, the real reason Hannah Bankole (played by Jordana Blake) wore purple was unveiled.
As the dystopian drama kicked off, viewers were enthralled as they watched Serena Joy’s (Yvonne Strahovski) fall from grace.
Before she was disgraced, Serena sought revenge against her ex-handmaid June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) and decided to parade her kidnapped daughter Hannah on screens.
However as June and her husband Luke Bankole (OT Fagbenle) watched in horror, they noticed their 12-year-old daughter’s uniform had shifted from pink to purple.
June quickly learned the purple dress indicated, Hannah was being prepared for the next stage of her life, marriage.
The Handmaid’s Tale: Hannah was originally dressed in pink on the show (Image: Hulu)
This was a huge shift for Hannah as her pink uniform signified healthy children who are expected to be fertile one day.
She was renamed Agnes and placed to live with Commander MacKenzie (Jason Butler Harner) and his wife Mrs MacKenzie (Amy Landecker).
As a result, Hannah was indoctrinated into their “sacred duty” from a young age.
With this discovery, June and Luke became even more eager to save their daughter they were met with heartache when the American rescue mission failed.
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However, costume designer Leslie Kavanagh revealed there was a deeper meaning behind her purple outfit.
She shared: “This was really exciting for me coming in at season five, we haven’t seen a new colour since season two when they went to the colonies.
“It was scripted as a plum colour, there was no definitive tone or anything at that time.
“Traditionally in the show, we’ve seen little boys in a light powdery blue.
“And then little girls in powdery pink, I played around mixing those colours to see what would come out.”
“While they’re showcased as prominent daughters because they are commanders and wives in Gilead they are actually really biologically mostly from handmaids.
The costume designer explained: “I played around with the handmaid’s red and wife’s teal in doing dye colours to try and come up with a really interesting colour tone.
“There’s not just one specific shade, we’ve done a bit of a range to showcase for different things.”
Speaking to Gold Derby, Leslie added: “It was really fun to be able to have fun with that.”
Throughout the series, June has made countless attempts to save Hannah, while living in Gilead but was faced with severe punishment.
When she eventually found freedom in Canada and reunited with her husband, she tearfully apologised to Luke for not bringing Hannah home.
However, season five revealed the youngster acknowledged who she truly was, which could mean Hannah may reunite with her parents in season six.
The Handmaid’s Tale seasons 1-5 are available to stream on Hulu in the US and on All 4 in the UK.
