The Handmaid’s Tale — “Shattered” — Season 6, Episode 7 Recap & Review: Blood, Betrayal, and the Final Countdown Begins
In The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6, Episode 7, “Shattered,” the series doesn’t just live up to its name — it cracks open its soul. As the resistance reels from Nick’s betrayal, June’s hope for a Mayday-led future dies a quiet death… or does it? With only four episodes left, Hulu’s dystopian juggernaut tightens the noose around its characters and its audience, giving us one of the most intense hours since the show’s earliest seasons.
A massacre in Jezebel’s. A relationship in ruins.
The episode opens on devastation. At Jezebel’s, commanders massacre the women — bodies crumple, blood spills into shower drains, and Janine is violently torn from the chaos. When Nick confesses his role, June doesn’t even flinch. Her silence cuts sharper than any scream. “You’re just like them,” she tells him. “But you love me,” he counters. Her answer? She vanishes into the forest.
That haunting scene marks a point of no return for June — and the audience.
Lydia wakes up, and Luke calls it like it is
Ann Dowd finally reclaims her presence as Aunt Lydia. When she finds the aftermath at Jezebel’s, her grief is visceral, her sobs trembling with rage. But it’s not just Lydia feeling the tremors. Back at Mayday, Luke explodes at June for still trusting Nick. “Don’t love a Nazi,” he warns, his voice raw with heartbreak.
Even Rita can’t comfort Nick. When she tries to reassure him, he spits back that the only person you can trust in Gilead is yourself. It’s a line soaked in self-loathing — and truth.
Serena’s wedding becomes a trap
Meanwhile, Serena plays hostess at a bridal shower, clinking glasses and scheming under veils of lace. Her vision of New Bethlehem as a haven for retired Handmaids is laughed off, even by Mrs. Lawrence. But it’s the wedding itself — now moved to Boston — that becomes the linchpin of June’s next plan. With global eyes on the ceremony, Commander Lawrence hints this might be their last shot to strike.
And just like that, the revolution is back on.
Janine, beaten but not broken
Commander Bell saves Janine — only to keep her for himself. Lydia’s joy at the news turns to horror when she glimpses Janine’s bruised face behind a window. It’s the episode’s quietest but most chilling moment.
As Lydia leaves for D.C., June and Moira sneak into Gilead with weapons hidden in a car trunk. The Handmaids are going to war — from the inside.
Emmy reels and redemptions
“Shattered” delivers what fans have long begged for: a showcase for Ann Dowd and Bradley Whitford. Dowd’s fury and grief break through Aunt Lydia’s rigid facade, while Whitford brings sly menace to Commander Lawrence — mocking, manipulating, but never quite revealing his hand.
Elisabeth Moss is as gutting as ever, but it’s the ensemble that finally breathes fire into the series again.
Final thoughts
“Shattered” is The Handmaid’s Tale finally clearing its throat after whispering for too long. The stakes are real again. The emotions are messy, conflicted, human. It’s a brutal, beautiful hour — not perfect, but purposeful — and it reignites hope that this series might go out not with a whimper, but with fire.