Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Handmaid's Tale season 6, episode 9, "Execution."The Handmaid's Tale's cast - plus Wharton himself - was still a shocking conclusion.

Of course, both Nick and Lawrence being involved was not part of the plan for America in The Handmaid's Tale season 6, episode 9's ending. The former was originally with his wife, Rose, in the hospital, before she pushed him into ing her father, Commander Wharton, and fighting for her and their son. Lawrence's was a much more cruel happenstance, as the Commanders arrived early and backed him into a corner, meaning he had to involve himself in the plans to blow them all up, and that's exactly what he did in The Handmaid's Tale season 6's penultimate episode.

Nick's Death In The Handmaid's Tale Season 6, Episode 9 Explained

And Yes, He Is Definitely Dead

Technically, The Handmaid's Tale doesn't outright show the death of Nick (nor Lawrence); we never see a body, and if that's the case on TV, it's something of a golden rule that it means the person could still be alive. Not so much here. This isn't a sitcom; there's no question of whether Nick got off the plane, and no feasible way he'd have been able to survive that explosion. Nick, Lawrence, Wharton, and the other Commanders who were flying to D.C. are dead, with a tearful June watching as the plane becomes a ball of fire in the sky.

The addition of Nick to the plane's enger list might have made things a tad more painful for Lawrence, who had a closer relationship with him and at least understood his complicated nature. But it certainly wasn't enough to prevent him from going through with it. There was no turning back, no way to avoid it. Lawrence, for the love he had for "his" daughter, and the love he had for his late wife, Eleanor, had to choose to be on the right side, finally and definitively. That meant not only his death, but Nick's as well.

Why June Didn't Stop Nick From Getting On The Plane

Saving Nick Was Never Really An Option

Could Nick's fate have been prevented? June silently watched him get on the plane, and so she could, in theory, have tried calling out, given she knew what otherwise awaited for him. But that wouldn't have just felt like a cheap way out for the show's story, it wouldn't have fit for either of the characters at this point.

June probably does still love Nick, on some level. Despite what he did, those feelings don't just completely disappear overnight, it's never that simple. But she also fundamentally cannot trust him. There's no guarantee, if she were to try to save him, that he'd help them get out of the situation, or that he'd choose at that point to go against Gilead. He already made his choice, and it's too late for another chance.

Given June had just watched Lawrence make the ultimate sacrifice in order to help create a better world for those he loves, there was no way she could've allowed any lingering feelings for Nick to interfere.

Bigger than that, though, is the risk it carries. June could've been heard by the other Commanders, or Nick's driver could've spotted her and alert them. This was the one chance to bring down multiple high-ranking Commanders and strike another major against Gilead. Given June had just watched Lawrence make the ultimate sacrifice in order to help create a better world for those he loves, there was no way she could've allowed any lingering feelings for Nick to interfere.

Nick's Final Moments Were Fitting For His Handmaid's Tale Arc

It Felt Right That It Was About June

In the end, Nick's story, as it had to, came down to June. The woman he had loved and lost multiple times throughout the show, whom he had saved and been saved by, was at the very center of his ending. His final conversation with Lawrence was not only about her, but how right she was:

"She told me to give all this up. She did tell me. Many times."

"You should've listened to her."

It is true that Nick should have given it all up, and should've listened to June. And yet, I had always felt that Nick's destiny was to die in Gilead. ittedly, prior to just a few episodes ago, I absolutely thought that would be saving June and/or Hannah, but this fate is actually a stronger payoff, because it strikes to the duality of Nick: the kind, decent man who loved and saved June, and the scared kid who couldn't go against the men who ruled him.

Nick's fate is a sad one, though Lawrence's stands as a bigger tragedy, but it was the right choice for The Handmaid's Tale. A happy ending for him would not have felt true to the series in any way, and it's cleaner - with The Testaments coming up - to have him removed from the equation entirely. And while he may not have been able to turn against Gilead, his death, and those of the others, could help bring it all down.

The Handmaid's Tale series finale will release May 27 on Hulu.