As The Handmaid’s Tale prepares to bow out after six harrowing seasons, actor Sam Jaeger, who plays Canadian government official Mark Tuello, is offering a glimpse behind the curtain, promising fans a finale that delivers both emotional payoff and long-overdue vindication. With anticipation at an all-time high, Jaeger says the team was acutely aware of the emotional toll the series had taken on its audience and that the final episode was crafted with a sense of accountability.

Since its debut in 2017, The Handmaid’s Tale has transformed from a chilling adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel into a tale of a grim society. Season 1 remained tethered to the novel’s core narrative, centering on June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss), one of the many handmaids forced into reproductive slavery in the patriarchal state of Gilead. While appearing on the recent episode of The Rich Eisen Show, Jaeger admitted the Hulu series isn’t the easiest of shows to watch, given the emotional stakes, saying: “It’s a hard show. It was a hard show to watch for some seasons, and I think we knew that, we want to reward the fans this year, because we put them through hell and it’s just a riveting season and a fitting finish.”

“A lot of times people try to end shows, and they don’t know how,” he continued, adding that he thought the writers “really stuck the landing” with the show’s 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.” Jaeger then went on to share a bit of his set experience shooting the dystopian series, adding:

“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? The people that work with me all have great senses of humor and don’t take themselves too seriously.”

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Is Getting A Sequel

As The Handmaid’s Tale grinds to a conclusion, fans of the series can continue to follow happenings in this universe in a sequel titled The Testaments. The series, which has been picked up by Hulu, commenced production on April 7, with Moss, serving as an executive producer. The story will be based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, a sequel published in 2019, 34 years after the original’s release. The Testaments will be narrated by The Handmaid’s Tale character Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) and will tell its story through the testimonies of two characters, Agnes and Daisy, young women living in Gilead and Canada, respectively. Starring in the sequel series will be Girl Meets World star Rowan Blanchard as Shunammite with Chase Infiniti as Agnes, Lucy Halliday as Daisy, and Mattea Conforti as Becka.