Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for the series finale of The Handmaid’s Tale
After six seasons, the Emmy-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale ended with a finale filled with reflection, reunions, and, surprisingly, hope for some of its most brutalized characters. But one scene in particular left even the show’s most devoted fans confused: the seemingly out-of-place karaoke sequence, which begins with June (Elisabeth Moss) imagining a dream version of Boston completely untouched by Gilead’s rule and the horrors it brought.
The moment proved polarizing, with some viewers dismissing it as filler or tonally inconsistent, while others found it a light in an otherwise bleak series. But in reality, it makes perfect sense. This dreamlike sequence carries deep significance, acting as a callback to an earlier promise and spotlighting one of The Handmaid’s Tale’s most powerful and enduring themes: the bond between its women and the force that has always been at the heart of their survival.
The Karaoke Scene in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season Finale Has a Deeper Meaning
In the finale, after Boston is reclaimed from Gilead, June walks through the city she once called home. In a powerful and surprising moment, she reunites with Emily (Alexis Bledel), and together they retrace the path they once walked as Handmaids. Their walk ends at a wall covered in hopeful messages from women. Standing there, Emily reflects on how she sees impossible things differently now. After all, neither of them ever imagined they’d both be alive and standing in that spot as free women.
Soon after, June’s voiceover drifts into a reverie, as she speaks of dreaming of a Boston that might have existed if Gilead had never come to be. The dream sequence shows June imagining herself in a karaoke bar with the women who survived Gilead alongside her: Moira (Samira Wiley), Emily, Janine (Madeline Brewer), and Rita (Amanda Brugel), along with two women they lost — Brianna (Bahia Watson) and Alma (Nina Kiri). They drink, laugh, and sing Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” an emotionally resonant song about change and resilience.
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The scene is clearly a fantasy. Janine has both eyes, and Alma and Brianna, who were killed in Season 4, are there, sharing knowing glances with each other. The sequence imagines a world where these women could live free, without trauma or fear, and it leads directly into one of the finale’s most cathartic images: June burning her Handmaid’s red cloak in the wreckage of the plane that killed Gilead’s leaders. And for fans who may have thought the karaoke scene was random, it wasn’t the first time karaoke had come up between these women.
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’s Series Finale Calls Back to Season 1
The finale’s karaoke scene directly echoes a moment from Season 1, Episode 9, “The Bridge.” In that episode, Janine is devastated after being forced to give up her baby, Charlotte. When she threatens to jump from a bridge with the child, June is called to talk her down. It was early in the series, but it planted the seed for one of The Handmaid’s Tale’s most poignant relationships — a friendship built in unimaginable circumstances. In that moment, June tries to give Janine hope, telling her that things won’t always be like this, and that someday, when they can, they’re all going to go out drinking together. Janine is the one who suggests karaoke, and June promises: “Sure. Whatever you want.”
It’s a bittersweet exchange, as both women fight back tears, knowing that their dream may never happen. But it gives Janine enough strength to safely hand Charlotte to June. And then, in a heartbreaking turn, Janine still jumps, which ends up being just one of many moments throughout the series when viewers feared for her fate. Years later, in the finale, it’s deeply moving to not only see Janine survive, but to watch her finally hold her daughter again. June’s imagined karaoke night fulfills the promise she made back on that bridge, even if, for now, it’s still just a dream.
Knowing that context, the karaoke sequence isn’t an out-of-place filler scene. In many ways, it lies at the heart of the show’s final message of hope and resilience. It’s what ultimately inspired June to write a book about her experiences in Gilead, and why the fight continues in The Testaments. And while The Handmaid’s Tale is more known for its bleakness than its joy, moments like these stand out. After years of unimaginable trauma, the ease of a girls’ night out, for both the characters and the actors who have carried these heavy roles for so long, feels like the perfect release, and a powerful callback to Season 1.