The fight rages on in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6, bringing new trials for Moira, Rita, and Mark. The final season has already plunged these characters into moments of intense violence and emotional strain. So what drives them to keep going—and what moments have resonated most with the actors behind them?
In a recent interview with CBR, Samira Wiley (Moira), Amanda Brugel (Rita), and Sam Jaeger (Mark) reflected on their characters’ growth and the powerful moments that have defined Season 6. They also shared what they’re most proud of from this final chapter and revealed the standout episode that left the biggest impression on them during filming.
To hear what they had to say and which scenes still stick with them, check out the full interview.
CBR: Sam, it’s been wonderful watching Mark expand from a guest character in Season 2 to a main character in Seasons 4-6. What has that journey been like for you to play over the last few years?
Sam Jaeger: Mark’s an interesting character. I still find people who are like, well, I don’t know what to make [of] Mark. And for me, I’ve always felt [a] pretty, pretty clear idea of who he was and where his moral compass was. But it’s testament to the show that they’ve kind of kept that under wraps.
I will say that playing Mark has been a joy. I’m just one small part of this larger story. And they trusted me to be a person who could stand and hold space for all these people going through all these really, really traumatic events. I’ve learned a lot doing it, but also just been mesmerized by the performances of the people beside me. It’s been a true honor.
Samira Wiley: I think about the Moira that we met in Season 1, the Moira that I said yes to when I was offered this role, the Moira that Margaret Atwood created in 1985, and I think that that is who we are returning to in Season 6. That fire, that fight, that badass, that inspires June. Even in Season 1, June has a line about what would Moira do in this situation, when she’s in the Waterford household. It is something that she deals with, which is survivor’s remorse. She gets out. June doesn’t. Even when June is back, there are so many women who are not. We get to this season six, and there is a return to who she was.
I don’t think this is a new Moira. I think this is a Moira with new clothes on, a Moira with clothes that she got from her old closet, a Moira that is ready to fight. She has no more time to live this surrogate life for June, taking care of her daughter, living with her husband, taking care of June. It’s, who am I? Who was I? Oh, I was a fighter. Let me go fight. Let me go be who I am. And honestly, I don’t care what it is. I don’t care what’s in my way. I’m going to just go until the end, whatever the end is.
Amanda, how do you characterize Rita in Season 6? Is she ready to brawl like Moira, or more measured like Mark?
Amanda Brugel: I think Rita is just low-key mischievous. [Laughs.] She has both of them in her. She’s just probably a bit more calculating. Mark is playing the long game towards kindness, and Rita’s playing the long game towards resistance. Just how we go about it.
What were your highlights from this final run of The Handmaid’s Tale? Anything that particularly stood out to you, whether you were involved in it or not?
Wiley: It’s been really exciting for me to return to Lizzie [Elisabeth Moss] — to return to having more screen time with her. The relationship that we have cultivated off-screen has transferred to what we do on screen. Having her be so involved in Season 6 in so many different hats — she’s directed a third of our season, at least the first two episodes and the last two episodes. So getting to see her evolution as an artist, wearing so many different hats and being inspired by her as I think of what my next steps are after Handmaid’s Tale, those are the things that I’m most proud of.
Brugel: Episode 8.
Jaeger: Episode 8, and for me, [Episodes] 9 and 10. I think it’s hard to stick the landing at the end of any show.
