The Most Inspiring Acts of Rebellion in The Handmaid’s Tale

This article contains spoilers for all seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale.

The oppressive regime of Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale is a breeding ground for acts of rebellion. It’s a Christofascist regime that doesn’t actually live by Christ’s teachings, but instead enacts violence on those it deems “unworthy,” with men in power using said power to subjugate women and those beneath them. It’s not an easy society to live in by any means, and there are many characters throughout the show’s six season run that find ways both big and small to fight back.

Here are the best acts of rebellion in The Handmaid’s Tale, in chronological order.

Refusing to Stone Janine

Season 1 Episode 10 “Night”

At the end of the first season of The Handmaid’s Tale, June and the others are gathered together to punish Janine, who was arrested for “endangering a child.” In the previous episode, Janine has a breakdown after realizing that her previous Commander, Warren Putnam, wasn’t coming for her as he promised. She steals her child that she was forced to birth for him and his wife and stands on a bridge. June is able to talk her into handing Charlotte back, but Janine still jumps into the freezing river below.

Janine miraculously survives this, only to be sentenced to death by stoning at the hand of the other Handmaids. Once June and the others realize that Janine is the one they’ve been brought together to brutally murder, they hesitate, June being the first to drop her stone with a defiant “Sorry Aunt Lydia.” The others follow suit, refusing to take part in the killing of a friend, even if she may have been a little misguided in her actions. Even though this act of solidarity and rebellion does ultimately have consequences for June and the Handmaids, it proves that they have each other’s backs – something Gilead will repeatedly try and fail to kill within them.

Red Center Bombing

Season 2 Episode 6 “First Blood”

One of the most violent acts of rebellion in the series, the bombing of the newly built Rachel and Leah center is also one of the bravest. It’s hard to commend the acts of a suicide bomber when so many Handmaids also paid the price, but Lillie a.k.a Ofglen, was able to deal a painful blow to Gilead. She not only injures Fred Waterford, but is able to take out a number of high-ranking Commanders. We also never hear about the Rachel and Leah center again after this, which we can assume means that Gilead’s plans to expand their Red Centers are at least stalled for a time.

Because so many handmaids were lost, this act also gives Janine and Emily an escape from the deadly and poisonous work in the Colonies. Not that life as a Handmaid is necessarily better, but it’s generally easier to fight back against and escape your oppressors when you’re not dying a slow, painful death in a poisoned wasteland.

Eden Running Away With Isaac

Season 2 Episode 12 “Postpartum”

Eden’s arc in The Handmaid’s Tale is arguably one of the series’ most tragic. She’s one of Gilead’s most pious young women, even after being married off to Nick at only 15 years old. She wants to be what Gilead wants her to be – a good wife, mother, and child of God. But when she realizes that she won’t get the love she wants from Nick, she runs away with a young Guardian named Isaac.

The two are unfortunately caught after Eden’s father turns them in. Gilead sentences them to death for infidelity, but even in their final moments, they refuse to repent for their so-called “sins.” Eden instead recites a Bible verse about love before the two are pushed into a pool and drowned. It turns out that Eden had had a secret Bible that she had read and annotated in depth, despite Gilead’s rules against women and girls reading and writing. She wanted to understand God through His word, wanted to find a husband that loved her in a Godly way, and yet Gilead killed her for it.

Eden was not a rebellious girl, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t an act of rebellion. She wanted the life that Gilead told her she should want, and yet because she didn’t go about it strictly by their rules, they killed her. 

Serena Reading the Bible

Season 2 Episode 13 “The Word”

After Eden and Isaac’s execution, Serena worries about Nichole’s future in Gilead as a young girl. With the support of the other wives, she asks for an audience with the Commanders, to the surprise of her own husband. She asks for them to consider an amendment that would allow girls to read the Bible, so that they might better understand His word. But when it becomes clear that the Commanders are simply humoring her, she opens Eden’s Bible and reads a verse from it in front of them. At this point, she even has some of the wives leave her side in disgust.

For this “transgression,” Serena loses a pinky finger and realizes that Fred cares about his power more than her. With all of Serena’s cruelty toward June and her role in the rise of Gilead, it’s hard to give her credit for such a small thing. But it’s also important to recognize that this act was a catalyst in getting Serena to see the error in her ways and eventually leads her to letting June take Nichole out of Gilead. We don’t get the Serena we see in the final season, the Serena who gives up the Commanders’ flight to Mayday, without this small act of rebellion.

Angel Flight

Season 3 Episode 13 “Mayday”

June spends most of season 3 working with the Marthas in Commander Lawrence’s house to help Mayday. While helping them, June comes up with an idea to get kidnapped children out of Gilead and back to their families in Canada. If she can’t save Hannah, she’s at least going to save as many other children as she can. With the help of Commander Lawrence, the Marthas, and her Handmaid friends, June is able to get a plane full of children, and Rita, out of Gilead.

The Angel Flight, as it comes to be called, becomes one of June’s greatest acts and makes her famous among the rebellion. It also deals a big blow to Gilead and their attempts at portraying a society of family values. How good can your society be if even your children want out?

Esther Slowly Poisoning Her Husband

Season 4 Episode 1 “Pigs”

Now on the run with an injured and bleeding June after helping the Angel Flight take off, Janine and the other Handmaids seek refuge in the farmhouse of Esther Keyes, a young girl who has been married off to an elderly Commander. But despite her young age, Esther is not afraid to fight back. After being abused and raped by her husband and his associates, Esther takes to slowly poisoning and drugging him to keep him docile. She doesn’t want to kill him yet, because then she could be sent to an even worse fate, but she does want to use his compound as a secret base for Mayday operations. With the Handmaids on her side now, she’s able to take control of the compound for a time, enacting her own brand of vengeance on those who took advantage of her.

Esther is smart and will prove to be a thorn in Gilead’s side for as long as she can. This society has not been kind to her, so she is simply returning the favor. She’s doing what she can with the resources at her disposal to fight back, and June ends up surviving to fight another day because of it.

The Red Wedding

Season 6 Episode 8 “Exodus”

Mayday’s original plan to assassinate a group of Commanders falls through after Nick betrays June and gives up the plans to save himself. In an effort to recoup some good will with the rebel group, take out the Commanders, and save Janine, June offers to go back into Gilead with Moira to infiltrate the Handmaids and arm them to take out their Commanders.

Using Serena’s wedding as the ultimate distraction and cover, Moira and June, with the help of Rita, Lawrence, and others, drug Serena’s wedding cake and distribute knives to the Handmaids. While everyone is knocked out, they take their sweet, sweet revenge on the Commanders as the first part of Mayday’s plan. Chaos ensues and Gilead is dealt a massive blow. This moment also finally turns Aunt Lydia to their side. She really does love her girls, in her own convoluted way, and she can finally see what these men in power have done to them and why they’re fighting back.

These attacks pave the way for Mayday and the American army to infiltrate Boston and take over, and are truly some of the greatest acts of Rebellion in the series.

Lawrence’s Final Act

Season 6 Episode 9 “Execution”

Unfortunately, not all of the Commanders in Boston are taken out after the wedding festivities or in the subsequent invasion by American forces. In order for the Americans to take more of Boston, they have to prevent the surviving Commanders from fleeing to Washington D.C. With Serena’s help, they discover when and where their plane is leaving from, and Commander Lawrence offers to place a bomb on the flight.

Even though Lawrence arrives early, so do the other Commanders, eager to get out of Boston. He’s not able to place the bomb and leave without giving himself away, so he resigns himself to his fate and carries through with the plan anyway. Lawrence has long had to wrestle with his role in Gilead’s creation. Though he has tried in many ways throughout the series to make Gilead better and make up for the atrocities committed by Gilead, this was the ultimate sacrifice he could have made.

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