• The rebellion reclaims Boston, but June and Luke have big plans to continue crushing Gilead all over the country.
• Janine is freed and reunited with her daughter, while the reformed Aunt Lydia remains in Gilead.
• June bids farewell to Serena, reunites with long-lost Emily, and begins working on a book to inspire future generations.

The final episode of The Handmaid’s Tale doesn’t go out with a bang – there was plenty of that in last week’s explosive, penultimate installment – but rather tearful goodbyes, fresh beginnings, and a surprise reunion with a beloved character from the past.

As the episode opens, one of June’s (Elisabeth Moss) signature narrations accompanies an evening camera pan over Fenway Park: “Boston is free. The Gilead occupation is over. We won. Here, at least.”

That latter line is notable because, while Gilead has been booted from Boston, the totalitarian regime still occupies much of the country. “But this is just the beginning,” June continues. She goes on to detail Mayday’s plans to next take New York, then move west across Ohio, Kansas, and eventually Colorado, where Hannah (Jordana Blake) is still living with Commander MacKenzie (Jason Butler Harner) and his wife.

As June passes a bonfire burning Gilead propaganda, the glow of the blaze transitions to a flashback of her and Hannah watching a brightly lit carousel spin before them. Back in the present day, she joins Moira (Samira Wiley) and Rita (Amanda Brugel) as they watch a man raise an American flag. She asks if they’ve heard anything about Janine (Madeline Brewer), who’s been missing since Mayday’s attack on Boston. Sadly, they have no news on their friend.

Sam Jaeger. Disney/Steve Wilkie

June next walks by a group of imprisoned guardians that were captured after their commanders were killed off. As she passes the men in makeshift cells, she flashes back to a highlight reel of her happiest moments with Nick (Max Minghella). Her friend and ally Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) also makes a brief, in memoriam-like appearance during the montage.

June finally makes her way to Luke (O-T Fagbenle), who apparently hasn’t slept since rescuing the handmaids at the gallows. He tells his wife he’s now working to restore the city’s electricity, as well as facilitate the return of June’s mom Holly (Cherry Jones), their daughter Nichole, and the other refugees already en route from Alaska.

He also confirms that Mayday is preparing to take back New York. June’s anxious to rescue Hannah in Colorado, but Luke assures her the best way to save their daughter is to smartly and systematically overthrow Gilead one state at a time.

June receives better news from Agent Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger), who’s ironically been promoted to Commander within the U.S. military. He informs her that, thanks to a reshuffling of the Gilead hierarchy, MacKenzie is being reassigned to D.C., where he’ll soon move with his wife and Hannah. It’s a small victory that will bring June’s daughter 2,000 miles closer to Boston.

Tuello also tells her that Janine is among those still trapped in Gilead. Aunt Lydia remains behind enemy lines as well, but she’s no longer a prisoner. June learns that Mark has a son and ex-wife in Hawaii, the former of which inspires him to keep fighting for a Gilead-free future.

While visiting a memorial of those still missing or imprisoned, June has another flashback of her and Hannah at the amusement park. Hannah briefly gets lost; when she reunites with her relieved mother, June tells her “Mommys always come back.” June’s tour of liberated Boston next brings her to Serena (Yvonne Strahovski), who congratulates her on the victory. But June’s quick to remind her that the rebellion couldn’t have thwarted Gilead without her help.

Serena offers her condolences on Nick’s death, to which June responds, “Nick reaped what he sowed.” While June holds baby Noah – fitting him for a Red Sox onesie she’s found among donated clothes – Serena attempts to comfort her, assuring her Nick would have chosen her if he felt he had any choice at all.

June, along with Tuello, then escort Serena to a refugee bus. She’s worried about where she’s headed and what the future holds for her and Noah. But Mark tells her not to worry, and that he will find her. Before parting ways, the two exchange sweet smiles that suggest they share a spark that could ignite if the world ever returns to normal.

Serena then begins to say goodbye to June. Her farewell quickly morphs into a heartfelt apology, however. She expresses deep shame and regret over the way she treated her former handmaid. Upon hearing her out, June takes a moment then responds, “I forgive you, Serena.” “God bless you, June,” she manages through tears.

Yvonne Strahovski. Disney/Steve Wilkie

Tuello commends June on her generosity, then hands her an access card. The key allows her entry into a newly liberated sector of Boston, which also happens to be June’s neighborhood from the before times. She uses the card to visit her old stomping grounds, where snow is falling and U.S. soldiers are patrolling the streets. While staring at a shuttered business, a woman standing next to her recounts that it used to be an ice cream shop.

June slowly turns towards the stranger, who greets her with a “Blessed be the fruit.”  “Oh my f—ing God,” June replies to Emily (Alexis Bledel), her long-lost friend. Last seen in season 4, Emily had left her wife Sylvia (Clea DuVall) and son Oliver in Canada so she could return to Gilead and continue fighting.

We learn – along with June – that Emily wound up in Bridgeport, a rebellion hot spot where she became a Martha and befriended a commander. She kept in contact with her family, but hasn’t returned to Canada. As they walk past hanging guardians – strung up on the same wall Gilead used to hang its prisoners on – Emily justifies her decision to leave her family, telling June she shows her love by fighting for them. She also offers her friend some hope that she’ll eventually find Hannah.

Alexis Bledel, Elisabeth Moss. Disney/Steve Wilkie

Later that evening, June is dreaming of the Boston that could have been if Gilead never happened. She envisions herself and her friends – new and old – having a blast, singing karaoke at a bar. As they belt out Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” we return to the present day, where June is removing her red handmaid cloak from a box. She takes the garment to the bonfire where we previously saw Gilead flags being burned. Just as she tosses the cloak into the flames, the surrounding street lights illuminate – it seems Luke got the electricity working.

June calls it a night, but is awakened with an urgent request to meet Tuello. She’s taken to the Massachusetts-Rhode Island line, which serves as reclaimed-Boston’s new border with Gilead. Two vehicles pull up across enemy lines. Janine is escorted from one before being dropped across the border by a pair of guardians.

Madeline Brewer, Alexis Bledel, Nina Kiri, Amanda Brugel, Samira Wiley, Bahia Watson, Elisabeth Moss. Disney/Steve Wilkie

As a relieved June reunites with her friend, Naomi (Ever Carradine) and Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) exit the other car and approach with Angela/Charlotte. Naomi says goodbye to the little girl, then allows her to cross the line to her biological mother. While Janine, unbelieving and overjoyed, embraces her daughter, June thanks the widow Lawrence. Lydia then asks June to take care of the mother and child, to which she replies, “Blessed is the woman who does not walk in stride with the wicked.” Lydia nods gratefully, “Under his eye, dear.”

Back in Boston, June has a happy meeting of her own when her mother Holly and Nichole arrive from Alaska. But their reunion is bittersweet, as June lovingly cradles her daughter and tells her she’ll soon be leaving her once again. Perhaps inspired by Tuello and Emily’s difficult but noble paths, June believes the best way to keep Nichole – and all girls – safe is by continuing to crush Gilead.

This decision leads to a heartwrenching exchange between June and her mom. The latter, fearing for the former’s safety, doesn’t want her to leave again. But June insists it’s her mother – who was a powerful activist long before Gilead came along – who taught her to fight and never give up. Holly suggests June write a book, chronicling her fight as a “warrior” to inspire future generations, including her own children, to never give up.

Madeline Brewer. Disney/Steve Wilkie

June’s tearful talk with her mom is followed by an equally emotional exchange with her husband. The couple concede that they’ve changed so much since Gilead tore them apart that they no longer know each other. Luke details his plans to bring the rebellion to New York, while June discusses her strategy for saving Hannah.

While they part ways, Luke promises his wife there will be an “after” to their relationship. Like Holly, he encourages her to chronicle her journey, especially as a way to memorialize the people worth remembering, including Nick. As her husband walks away, June remembers a different, happier time, when she, Luke, and Hannah visited the aquarium.

Before the series signs off, we catch up with Serena one last time. She’s feeling alone and abandoned in a refugee camp that’s unequipped to help take care of Noah. She tells her son that he’s all she ever wanted and all she’ll ever need. Their future is uncertain, but Serena’s reminded she’s not entirely alone when she finds the Red Sox onesie June packed for Noah.

Elisabeth Moss, Cherry Jones. Disney/Steve Wilkie

The series’ final scene sees June taking Holly and Luke’s advice. She returns to where her nightmare started, Commander Waterford’s home. The former Gilead estate is now burned and destroyed, but symbols of June’s harrowing time as a handmaid remain.

Once a prisoner on this property, she now peers through the bars of its front gate a free woman. She looks up to the windows of her old bedroom, then enters the house. June creeps up the staircase and into the room that previously served as her cell. The latin phrase “Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum” is still scrawled on the wall. Once a disturbing reminder of Waterford’s previous handmaid who took her life, the phrase now recalls June’s heroic war cry, “Don’t let the bastards grind you down,” bravely screamed before she was to be executed.

Elisabeth Moss. Disney/Steve Wilkie

June sits on the windowsill and imagines Hannah in front of her. She holds her daughter’s hand. She then smiles, reaches into her coat pocket, and pulls out a recording device. While we get a brief flashback of June as a handmaid, sitting in the room in its pristine state, she begins speaking into the recorder, “Chair, table, lamp…”

She then begins describing the window’s shatterproof glass. Talking in first person, from her past self’s perspective, she details how the special glass wasn’t used to prevent escapes, but to keep the distraught handmaids from taking their own lives with the broken shards. She then raises her head, offers one of her signature stares to the camera, and flashes a smile: “My name is Offred.”