What happened in season three of The Handmaids tale?

THE fourth season of The Handmaid's Tale is airing on channel 4.

Based on Margaret Atwood’s award-winning, best-selling novel, The Handmaid’s Tale is the bleak story of life in the dystopian Gilead- find out what happened in season 3 before the new season airs.

When did season 3 air in the UK?

The third season of The Handmaid's tale aired on June 5, 2019.

Season three aired on channel 4.

What happened in season 3?

The Handmaid's Tale is set in a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the United States.

With a plunging birth rate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted regime that treats women as property of the state.

As one of the few remaining fertile women, June, aka Offred (Elisabeth Moss) is a Handmaid in the Commander’s (Joseph Fiennes) household, one of the women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world.

Here's what happened in season 3:

June has just given birth

June smuggled baby Nichole to Canada to find her first daughter Hannah, still stuck in Gilead.

 Nichole was supposed to stay with the Waterfords so June gets back to them to tell them the baby is out of the country.

The Waterfords have publicly pinned Nichole’s kidnapping on Emily, but Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) insists to Fred (Joseph Fiennes) that it was her decision to send the baby away.

 She tries to commit suicide upon realising that she can’t leave Fred.

June strikes back heavily against commander Fred

June gets sent to a new commander, Joseph, so she's no longer "OfFred" but "OfJoseph".

Turns out it's Commander Lawrence, who helped baby Nichole escape- luckily for June he doesn't partake in the rituals of Gilead.

She finds that Lawrence is also prone to playing power games to make her less likely to rebel.

Serena and Luke meet

The Waterford's learn that Luke is in Canada with Nichole and so Serena travels there with Fred.

Serena and Luke have an intense reunion in which she gives him a locket for Nichole and a tape from June containing the name she gave the baby, Holly.

She also reveals that Nick is Holly’s father. 

Fred gets arrested for crimes against humanity as Serena sold him out to be able to live in Canada and have visitation rights on baby Nichole, but because she is his wife, she also gets arrested

The resistance begins

June learns that her lover and Nichole's biological father, Nick has been promoted to Commander, thus hired to quash the rebellion.

June decides to get all the Handmaidens' kids out of Gilead to send them over to Canada, where Gilead rules don't apply.

In her quest she ends up killing High Commander Winslow.

June and the other handmaids manage to smuggle over 50 children to Canada but June gets shot at the end of season 3, her life being saved by the other handmaids.

The kids arrive in Canada and Luke finds out from Rita that June organised the escape

When does season 4 start on Channel 4?

Season 4 of The Handmaid's Tale airs on 20 June 2021 at 9:00 pm on Channel 4.

You can catch up on any missed episodes on demand on 4OD.