‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Just Killed off a Major Character in Season 5 Episode 6
“Together,” episode 6 of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5, is one of the most shocking to date. Esther Keyes (Mckenna Grace) finally comes to after the stunt she pulled in “Ballet,” revealing some damning information about a commander that results in a shocking twist of fate. But that’s not the only twist in episode 6 — find out what other shocking moment the Hulu series delivered this week.
[SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers ahead for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Episode 6 “Together.”]
Aunt Lydia learns Commander Putnam raped Esther Keyes in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5 Episode 6
Earlier in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5, Esther poisons herself and Janine (Madeline Brewer) after Commander Waterford’s (Joseph Fiennes) funeral. Both handmaids survive and in “Together,” Esther reveals Commander Warren Putnam (Stephen Kunken) raped her that day. As a result, she’s pregnant with his child.
Armed with this knowledge, Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) takes matters into her own hands. She reports the rape to Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford).
Nick Blaine kills Commander Warren Putnam for raping Esther
While out to breakfast with his wife Naomi (Ever Carradine), many of Gilead’s elite stare Putnam’s table down. “What did you do?” Naomi asks after noticing the glares surrounding them.
“Something you will be thanking me for,” Warren replies. The couple already has a daughter, Angela, who Janine bore when she was posted with the family. However, it’s unlikely Naomi will be pleased about how Warren went about getting them a second child.
Amid their meal, the Eyes show up and abruptly remove Warren from the table. Outside, he’s brought to his knees in front of Commander Lawrence and Commander Blaine (Max Minghella). “The high criminal court of Gilead, in a special overnight session, found you, Commander Putnam, guilty of apostasy — sins of the flesh,” Nick says.
“That’s insanity!” Putnam replies. “For what?”
“The rape of unassigned property,” Lawrence clarifies. “She’s my handmaid,” Putnam retaliates. “She belongs to me.”
As Nick points a gun at Commander Putnam’s head, he pleads: “But I have a baby on the way.” Still, Nick pulls the trigger, leaving Putnum dead on the tiled Gilead flag.
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5 Episode 6 features another shocking twist
Putnam’s death wasn’t the only surprising moment in “Together.” At the end of the episode, Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) arranges a meeting with June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss), presumably to kill her. Instead of letting Ezra Shaw (Rossif Sutherland) take the shot, Serena insists she be the one to pull the trigger.
But instead of shooting June, Serena shoots Ezra in the chest. He’s wearing a bullet proof vest, so he’s not dead — yet. However, he’s knocked down, giving Serena enough time to command June to drive the car away.
It’s unclear where Serena is headed, but she made her escape from the Wheelers, who were quickly starting to smother the former wife of a Gilead commander. Tune in next week to see what happens with Serena and June in episode 7, “No Man’s Land.”
Watch new episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu every Wednesday.
