The Handmaid’s Tale is currently airing its sixth and final season. Widely praised by fans, the show delivers a gripping and intense portrayal of a dystopian future where the United States has been overtaken by the oppressive regime of Gilead. Its themes hit uncomfortably close to home for many, especially given today’s political climate in America. While the series is largely compelling, some elements leave viewers scratching their heads.

A Hulu original adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s acclaimed novel, The Handmaid’s Tale isn’t exactly light viewing—it tackles deeply disturbing and often triggering subject matter. Still, it stands out for its powerful storytelling and rich world-building that brings Atwood’s vision vividly to life on screen. However, like most narratives, it’s not without flaws, and there are a few inconsistencies that simply don’t add up.

10. Gilead Claims to Have the Best Prenatal Care in the World

But the Nation Ignores Basic Science

Gilead came to power in response to a global crisis: plummeting conception and birth rates. As fertility became a worldwide concern, Gilead implemented extreme and authoritarian measures to address it—most notably, forcing fertile women to bear children against their will. The regime’s brutal tactics appeared to yield results, as birth rates rose significantly, drawing the attention of other nations. Gilead proudly claims to lead the world in prenatal care as a result.

Despite these achievements, Gilead remains a deeply religious theocracy that prioritizes biblical doctrine over scientific fact. This leads to one of the most puzzling contradictions in The Handmaid’s Tale: the regime refuses to acknowledge male infertility. In Gilead, women are always blamed for fertility problems, even though science clearly shows that infertility can affect any gender. For a society obsessed with increasing reproduction, its complete disregard for male infertility—even within a patriarchal system—seems both illogical and self-defeating.

9. Women are Never Seen Wearing Glasses

Even If They Need Them

In Gilead, women are routinely denied basic medical care, highlighting the regime’s extreme control and disregard for their well-being. When Emily escapes to Canada after years of serving as a handmaid, her doctor informs her of several medical conditions she had been unaware of—conditions that went entirely undiagnosed and untreated in Gilead. One particularly strange example of this neglect is the denial of eyeglasses. Emily is shown wearing glasses before Gilead’s rise and again after arriving in Canada, yet during her time in Gilead, she never wears them.

This omission is baffling. While women in Gilead aren’t permitted to read or write, they are still expected to manage households, care for children, and maintain pregnancies—tasks that require clear vision. The fact that Gilead, a technologically capable nation, withholds something as essential as corrective lenses raises serious questions. It seems counterproductive, even by Gilead’s harsh standards, to prevent women from seeing properly when they are relied upon to fulfill such vital roles in society.

8. The Handmaids in the Capitol Have Their Mouths Clamped Shut

It Silences Them, But It’s Extremely Impractical

In one chilling scene from The Handmaid’s Tale, June shares a room with another handmaid during a trip with the Waterfords. When she tries to start a conversation, the other woman removes her face covering to reveal a horrifying sight—her mouth has been sealed shut with three large metal rings, making speech and even basic movement of the jaw impossible. It’s a harrowing visual that underscores the brutal lengths Gilead will go to in order to silence and control women, especially handmaids. However, this method raises serious practical concerns.

Handmaids are supposedly sacred—“chosen by God” to fulfill a divine duty: to become pregnant, carry a child to term, and nurse the infant after birth. Their entire value to Gilead lies in their physical ability to reproduce and nourish new life. Physically disabling a handmaid’s mouth makes basic nourishment extremely difficult, if not impossible. Even with a liquid diet, it’s hard to imagine they’d be getting sufficient nutrients to remain healthy and fertile. From a logistical standpoint, this brutal punishment contradicts Gilead’s core goal of maximizing reproduction. In their obsession with control, they risk sabotaging the very function that makes handmaids valuable to their regime.

7. Moira Kills a Commander & Escapes Jezebel’s

But The Handmaid’s Tale Doesn’t Address How She Makes It All the Way to Canada

After her failed attempt to escape Gilead, Moira is captured and sent to Jezebel’s—a secret brothel that caters to high-ranking officials. There, stripped of her identity and renamed Ruby, she’s forced into sex work with powerful men. Eventually, Moira fights back, kills a commander, disguises herself, and steals a car to make her escape. While this act of resistance is thrilling and her escape from Jezebel’s feels plausible, her journey all the way to Canada raises some questions.

June, who was apprehended after a similar escape attempt, is returned to the Red Center. Moira, on the other hand, ends up at Jezebel’s before making it out. The show never clearly states where Jezebel’s is located, leaving open the possibility that it’s near the Canadian border. Still, considering how heavily guarded Gilead’s borders are—with frequent Guardian patrols and checkpoints—it seems unlikely that someone could simply drive across without being caught.

While Moira’s arrival in Canada is one of the show’s most triumphant and emotional moments, it stretches believability. The logistics of evading Gilead’s security and making it to freedom feel a bit too convenient, especially in a world as tightly controlled and monitored as Gilead’s.

6. The World is in the Middle of a Fertility Crisis

But It’s Incredibly Inconsistent & Plot-Dependent

Gilead gained control during a global fertility crisis that caused birthrates to plummet. In response, some nations became so desperate for healthy babies that they were willing to negotiate with Gilead, even if it meant trading for handmaids. Mexico is a notable example—despite learning about the brutal treatment of women in Gilead, Ambassador Castillo openly admits that her country is still interested in making a deal.

“I am from Xipica. There hasn’t been a child born alive in Xipica in six years. My country is dying.” – Ambassador Castillo

Meanwhile, other parts of the world, like Canada, appear to be far less affected by fertility problems. Once handwritten letters from handmaids exposing Gilead’s abuses were leaked, Canada swiftly severed all diplomatic relations, putting human rights above any possible benefits. However, this principled stance seemed to waver when Serena attempted to open a fertility clinic on Canadian soil. Suddenly, officials who had previously ignored Gilead were now willing to listen—despite having rejected every offer the regime had made before.

5. Aunt Lydia is a Walking Contradiction

She “Loves” Her Girls, But She Brutalizes Them

Aunt Lydia, true to her title, serves as one of the Aunts—women tasked with overseeing the Red Center, training handmaids, and monitoring them to ensure they fulfill their assigned roles. Aunts are meant to protect handmaids, prepare them for life in Gilead, and discipline them when deemed necessary. Among them, Aunt Lydia stands out as the most prominent figure in The Handmaid’s Tale. She constantly insists that her actions come from a place of care and concern, claiming her goal is to keep the handmaids safe.

“Only in suffering will we find grace.” – Aunt Lydia

It’s entirely possible that Aunt Lydia believes her own words. However, her behavior often violently contradicts her supposed intentions. Her methods include beating handmaids, using cattle prods, and enforcing brutal punishments—such as having Janine’s eye gouged out and ordering the removal of Emily’s clitoris. One particularly cruel moment is when she stages a fake mass hanging to punish and frighten the women into obedience.

What makes her approach even more confounding is that handmaids are considered Gilead’s most precious resource due to their fertility. Yet Aunt Lydia’s relentless physical and psychological abuse puts that very fertility at risk. The constant trauma, stress, and injuries make her methods seem not only inhumane, but also counterproductive to the regime’s central mission: reproduction.

4. Emily Returns to Gilead at the End of Season 4

She Leaves Behind Her Wife & Son

At the end of Season 4, Emily makes the surprising decision to return to Gilead and continue fighting the regime from within. This choice is hard to reconcile, given everything she endured during her time there—she was subjected to horrific abuse as a handmaid, had her clitoris surgically removed, witnessed her lover’s execution, and spent time laboring in the toxic Colonies. For so long, escaping Gilead had been her goal, which makes her sudden desire to go back feel deeply inconsistent with her character arc.

In reality, Emily’s exit was written to account for Alexis Bledel’s departure from The Handmaid’s Tale after Season 4. Rather than killing off the character or keeping her off-screen in Canada, the writers opted to send her back to Gilead.

However, this narrative choice doesn’t quite hold up. There are many other ways to resist Gilead from the outside. The series has already introduced the remnants of the United States government, the Mayday resistance network, and efforts in Chicago—all of which offer ways to fight the regime without stepping foot back inside. Realistically, Emily returning alone into the heart of a totalitarian state seems like a suicide mission, with little chance of success and a high risk of immediate capture or death. Considering she had finally been reunited with her wife and child in Canada, sending her back feels like a forced and unsatisfying end for a character who deserved more healing, not more trauma.

3. The Narrative Keeps Rewarding Serena Joy

& It’s Incredibly Frustrating to Watch

Serena Joy Waterford is arguably one of the most detestable figures in The Handmaid’s Tale. As one of the ideological architects of Gilead, she played a pivotal role in dismantling democracy, breaking up families, and laying the foundation for a regime that systematically strips women of their rights—including her own. Despite being oppressed by the very system she helped build, Serena fully embraces its cruelty. During June’s time in the Waterford household as Offred, Serena emotionally and physically abuses her, and even pressures Fred into raping June in a desperate attempt to trigger labor.

Eventually, Serena manages to achieve what she once believed impossible: she conceives and gives birth to her own child, Noah. While the show does hold her accountable at times—imprisoning her, taking her child, and confronting her with the consequences of her actions—Serena somehow keeps landing on her feet. Just when it seems like she’s finally facing justice, she finds a way to claw her way back to influence or sympathy.

Her repeated rise—despite constant failure, betrayal, and clear hypocrisy—becomes frustrating and feels implausible. Not only does she evade lasting punishment, but she’s often rewarded in ways that contradict Gilead’s own rigid principles, such as being a mother as a disgraced wife or receiving media attention and asylum. Serena’s ability to manipulate her surroundings and rewrite her narrative stretches credibility, making her storyline one of the more baffling aspects of the series.

2. June & Serena Become Friends, Sort Of

But It Doesn’t Feel Right

June and Serena’s relationship in The Handmaid’s Tale is one of the most complex—and frustrating—arcs in the series. They’ve experienced moments of uneasy alliance, such as when Serena agreed to let June take baby Nichole to Canada. But just as quickly, Serena reverts to her old, abusive ways, reminding viewers of who she truly is. In Season 5, however, the show begins steering their dynamic in a new direction—one that leans heavily into a strange, forced camaraderie.

June helps Serena give birth, protects her from captivity, and even goes out of her way to help her stay connected with her newborn son. Later, in Season 6, June defends Serena from an angry group of refugees—people whose lives were destroyed by the very system Serena helped create.

Elisabeth Moss continues to deliver a powerful performance as June Osborne (Offred), while Yvonne Strahovski portrays Serena Joy Waterford with chilling precision. But no amount of stellar acting can fully smooth over how unnatural this sudden bond feels.

Serena is the one person June has every right to hate. She enabled June’s repeated abuse, sanctioned her rape, tore families apart, and helped build the foundation of Gilead. For June to suddenly show empathy toward her, and for the story to hint at a redemption arc for Serena, feels deeply unearned. While some may argue the series is exploring themes of forgiveness and moral complexity, Serena’s repeated betrayals make any resolution that includes her redemption ring hollow.

Hopefully, Season 6 won’t shy away from the justice Serena truly deserves—and won’t ask viewers to forget the pain she’s caused.

1. June Has a Bit Too Much Plot Armor

It Starts to Push the Boundaries of What’s Believable

The Handmaid’s Tale is primarily told through the eyes of June Osborne, a former handmaid assigned to Commander Fred Waterford and his wife, Serena Joy. Throughout her time in Gilead, June is a consistent thorn in the side of the regime—defiant, rebellious, and determined to resist at any cost. She breaks countless rules, aids in Emily’s escape with baby Nichole, engages in a forbidden affair with Nick, and even comes close to escaping Gilead herself.

June’s behavior is bold and often dangerous—not just for herself, but for those around her. She talks back, refuses to obey, and actively undermines Gilead’s authority. Her most significant act of rebellion comes when she orchestrates Angel’s Flight, smuggling dozens of children and refugees out of Gilead and into Canadian safety.

And yet, despite her relentless defiance, June repeatedly avoids the brutal punishments that other handmaids are forced to endure. She’s never maimed like Janine, sent to the Colonies like Emily, or executed like countless others. Somehow, she survives Gilead’s wrath time and time again, even when her actions would have earned anyone else a death sentence.

Even after escaping to Canada, June continues to defy expectations—and the law. She ultimately lures Fred Waterford into No Man’s Land and kills him in cold blood. Yet again, she faces little to no consequence. While June’s strength and determination make her a compelling protagonist, the extent of her immunity can feel unrealistic at times, especially in a world as merciless as Gilead.