[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 6, “Surprise.”]
The title of the April 29 episode of The Handmaid’s Story, “Shock,” sells the episode’s bombshell reveal quick. June (Elisabeth Moss) wasn’t simply shocked by what she overheard about Nick (Max Minghella) whereas hiding in a closet with him in Serena’s (Yvonne Strahovski) residence, it took the air proper out of her lungs. That is the turning level in June and Nick’s relationship that was all the time inevitable on this sequence, and their relationship won’t ever be the identical. In actual fact, it’s most likely accomplished for good.
June returned to Gilead on a secret mission with Moira (Samira Wiley) to assist arrange Mayday’s plot in opposition to the Boston commanders that frequent the Jezebel’s brothel. Janine (Madeline Brewer) was working there, and June and Moira have been decided to assist free all the girls whereas attacking Gilead’s leaders. The plan went sideways, leading to June hiding out with Nick in New Bethlehem. The surprising return of Nick’s father-in-law, Excessive Commander Gabriel Wharton (Josh Charles), compelled June to hunt shelter at Serena’s. The subsequent morning, Wharton arrived at Serena’s (his now-fiancée) residence whereas June and Nick have been there. They hid in a closet and heard Gabriel divulge to Serena that the commanders found the plot in opposition to Jezebel’s with Nick’s assist. Whereas June was hiding at Serena’s and ready for Nick, Nick was pressured into revealing the reality in regards to the Mayday plot. Jezebel’s was shut down, and the destiny of each captive girl inside it was left hanging within the stability.
June was horrified by the betrayal, and Nick hung his head in disgrace because the episode ended. Moments earlier than Wharton arrived, Nick was making an attempt to persuade June to run away with him. With their hopes for the long run lengthy gone, Max Minghella breaks down this game-changing growth with TV Insider.
What was it prefer to dive again into Season 1 June and Nick on this episode’s flashback?
Max Minghella: It was a beautiful concept, I assumed, for a scene, and I all the time liked the design of Nick’s house from Season 1 and missed it. So it was fairly enjoyable to see the set once more, like seeing an outdated pal. And I assumed the scene was rather well written, and I all the time liked doing a scene with Lizzie.
Disney / Steve Wilkie
And naturally, it ties into him asking her to go to Paris later on this very game-changing episode for the connection. Nick is all the time serving to June in her insurrection, however he doesn’t actually appear desperate to get out of Gilead himself. Why is that?
I feel that Nick, previous to this world, didn’t have any safety in his life or any construction in his life. That has all the time been his Achilles heel. After which particularly in Season 6, Wharton is a big a part of it. It’s the primary time there’s been a paternal determine to Nick that we’ve seen who truly makes him really feel protected, for higher or worse. And whether or not it’s the worst place to search out safety, I feel there’s one thing about him that he’s been missing in his life. I feel lots of these individuals who get led astray don’t have very robust father figures, and I feel Wharton can benefit from that.
I really feel that Nick feels petrified of Wharton, however feeling oddly related to him doesn’t imply the concern isn’t there.
He’s petrified of him, however I feel that he hasn’t had a robust male function mannequin earlier than. And clearly, it’s a really skewed one, however I feel it simply provides him some sense of safety.
So in a means, he enjoys his relationship with Wharton? It feels good to him in some respect?
Whether or not it feels good to him, I don’t know if I’d say that. I don’t assume Nick’s ever had the privilege on this present of getting a interval of consolation. That’s not been his story, actually. However I feel that previously, he’s most likely solely had Waterford [Joseph Fiennes] and Lawrence [Bradley Whitford] as males to look as much as as form of paternal figures, and each of these folks had apparent vulnerabilities to them in a means that Wharton most likely doesn’t.
What’s it about Nick that makes him type of fold when he’s confronted with these higher-up commanders? He does assist June, so there’s a rebellious aspect to him. However the second he’s alone with Waterford or Lawrence or Wharton, he feels compelled to comply with these males a bit.
He’s additionally a survivalist. I feel there’s a pragmatism to it, and positively in lots of the earlier seasons. He stated it fairly nicely on this season to Sam Jaeger‘s character in one of many earlier episodes the place he’s like, “I’m no use to you if I’m lifeless.” He’s aware of the truth that he has to have some play within the infrastructure in an effort to assist June.
Does he actually wish to assist take Gilead down, or does he solely do it to assist June?
I feel up till this season, his sole goal for integrating himself to the diploma that he has has been to assist June or to see June, actually on only a primal degree. The extra entry he has, the extra data he has of the place she is, tips on how to defend her, and tips on how to join along with her. It’s exhausting to see one another beneath the circumstances of this TV present. And Season 6, issues have modified just a little bit. He has a spouse that he does care about. He has a toddler coming. He has a duty there that he additionally feels an ethical obligation to. After which Wharton, there’s one thing there, too, for him. And so I feel he’s truly rather more conflicted on this season when it comes to his alliance of Gilead than he has been earlier than.
Disney / Steve Wilkie
What’s his opinion of Gilead at this level? As a result of he’s serving to June within the resistance in opposition to it, however he’s additionally probably not keen to depart.
If he’d left, then he wouldn’t have been very helpful. Up till this season, there’s been a pragmatism to why he’s made the selections that he’s made, not simply staying in Gilead, however numerous choices that at the beginning may appear unusual or mercurial show to have some type of intention behind them. In Season 6, he’s simply actually torn between what the precise factor to do is. And the selections that he makes on this episode which are fairly controversial are coming from a spot of actual confusion essentially as to what to do. At a sure level, he’s at a little bit of a loss as to tips on how to make this all grasp collectively.
The episode’s ending reveals that in his earlier scene with Wharton, Nick revealed the Jezebel’s plot. How does Nick justify this to himself?
Within the precise scene the place that data is revealed by Nick to Wharton, it was essential to me that it actually felt prefer it was a no-win scenario. At the least in his thoughts, that there was nothing he may do. And although I’m not going to defend his resolution in any respect, nor do I anticipate anyone within the viewers to sympathize with it, it was essential to me that at the very least within the second, it felt like there was no escape and that he didn’t have a alternative. Generally folks don’t assume clearly beneath strain. I feel that’s an essential factor that I stored desirous about capturing that scene is like, we’re not all the time excellent folks on TV. We would like everybody to do the precise factor on a regular basis. However I like that this present has all the time embraced 50 shades of grey in everyone.
And in that second with Wharton, I think about for Nick, it felt like if he didn’t inform the reality, he would die.
That’s the logic, yeah.
What’s Nick’s opinion of himself now?
He’s again to outdated Nick, which is the vanity of a goldfish. I don’t assume that he thinks lots of himself. There’s a short second, I’d say on the prime of Season 6, the place for the primary time in historical past, I feel Nick is feeling himself just a little bit, and hopefully that’s articulated within the efficiency. However that’s rapidly dashed by all of this drama that’s occurring.
How a lot does his serving to refugee households reunite in New Bethlehem affect his sense of goal this season?
I feel he’s most likely been fairly shocked by his ascension by means of the ranks. I don’t assume he’s ever been a personality who’s had ambitions to be a high-ranking officer in Gilead. He stated the road to Rita in an episode, “It’s the most secure place to be, most secure factor to be is being a commander on this construction.” However that’s a type of new realization. I don’t assume he ever deliberate for any of this.
Disney / Russ Martin
Issues appear to type of occur to Nick. That’s how Gilead is ready up. These white males can’t ascend fairly simply simply by nature of how they have been born.
Fully. Fully. And he’s a little bit of a pawn, Nick, even inside the Gilead universe. He’s not anyone who I see make lots of management choices. He tends to be instructed what to do.
When he will get to Serena’s home and he’s like, June, let’s go to Paris. Does he assume that that kiss is perhaps their final kiss?
Oh, I don’t assume he’s considering straight in any respect. He’s in a state of whole maniacal panic, and I don’t assume there’s something structured about his thought at that time. Nervousness, anxiousness, anxiousness.
Does he know that Wharton is coming over to Serena’s and he’s making an attempt to get there earlier than he does?
No, however I feel he is aware of that stuff goes to hit the fan.
Issues are closing in on him for certain. Inform me about filming that scene with Elisabeth the place you’re within the closet and he or she hears Wharton reveal what Nick did.
For varied manufacturing causes, we ended up capturing that scene over the course of about 5 weeks. We needed to preserve dipping in to get one other setup from it. It was a factor we stored coming again to was this second of nice pressure and disappointment for this character on this very surreal area. So it was a helpful performing device to examine in with that. And it was great what they did. It was very dynamic visually, and it was actually enjoyable.
With him having to promote out the Jezebel’s plot, do you assume this storyline is revealing who Nick has all the time been, or revealing who he has advanced into?
I feel there’s two issues. It’s positively a product of circumstance and actually a particular scene which compelled this to occur. However I’ll say that elementary to Nick’s DNA is anyone who got here from a really particular background, the place he didn’t have any schooling and he didn’t have any management in his life previous to Gilead. So he’s born of a really unusual system and a misguided system, and one which he is aware of is misguided, however he doesn’t have a body of reference for anything. He’s a very good survivor. I don’t know if he’s the neatest particular person on the earth. And I feel that that has all the time been there just a little bit. That’s what he can’t provide June, which Luke [O-T Fagbenle] can, is an mental connection. He doesn’t have that in any respect. A variety of the time he finds himself in conditions as a result of he doesn’t actually have the instruments to navigate these items. It was by no means taught to him.
Is there any getting back from this for June and Nick? What can we anticipate from him in these last episodes?
I’m not going to have the ability to reply that query [laughs], solely as a result of there’s no reply that doesn’t undermine the enjoyment of the place the story goes to. And I feel it’s a very satisfying conclusion, and once more, genuinely stunning.
The Handmaid’s Story, Tuesdays, Hulu