‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5: O-T Fagbenle Calls Rescuing Hannah a ‘Ticking Time Bomb’
In The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5, June and Luke have one goal in mind — to rescue their daughter Hannah from Gilead. The pair are even more determined when they spot Hannah on TV at Fred Waterford’s funeral. Hannah’s purple outfit means she is training to be a Wife, and June and Luke are desperate to rescue her before that happens.
[SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers ahead for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Episode 5.]
June and Luke learn the meaning of Hannah’s purple outfit
Luke and June are determined to rescue their daughter Hannah from Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5. In episode 2, Serena Joy returns to Gilead for Fred’s funeral. The Republic agrees to broadcast the ceremony worldwide. June and Luke watch as their daughter appears on screen, presenting Serena with flowers.
Hannah now wears purple. June learns from Nick that this means she is preparing to become a Wife. In episode 5, a Guardian named Jaden gives Luke and June more information about the “Plums.” The Wives-in-Training go to special schools to train them to “run their households.”
Jaden also tells the couple that the Plums don’t stay at the schools for long. “They move them through, try and get them matched up quickly,” he says.
O-T Fagbenle says getting Hannah back is a ‘ticking time bomb’ in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5
Luke and June are, of course, horrified by the idea of their twelve-year-old daughter being married off. The situation adds a new amount of pressure to get her out of Gilead.
“It’s a ticking time bomb,” Luke actor O-T Fagbenle said while speaking to Entertainment Tonight. He added, “growing up, coming of age in Gilead’s terms, into being eligible to be married off — that is just something any parent [cannot] stand for, and they cannot contend with it.”
Hannah is also living with her new “parents,” the Mckenzies, and Gilead has clearly already begun to mold her mind. The last time Hannah saw her mother, June, she was afraid of her. The Mckenzies may have even been telling her lies about her own mother. Fagbenle adds that getting Hannah out is now an “emergency.”
Luke is taking more immediate action to rescue Hannah
The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 shows Luke starting to take a different approach to fight back against Gilead. He manages to shut Serena’s building down, but it’s quickly apparent that this isn’t enough.
“Luke’s been banging this form of bureaucracy for a long time, and it’s provided really poor results,” Fagbenle told Entertainment Tonight. “June has been acting out, taking risks.” Perhaps this realization leads Luke to cross into No Man’s Land with June.
“Luke has in some way been guilty of being a little passive sometimes, and I think this season you see a little bit more of his drive for immediate action,” Fagbenle said in a featurette. “A bit more of a visceral reaction to what’s going on.”
Don’t miss new episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Wednesdays on Hulu.
