The following contains discussions of suicide.
The Handmaid's Tale season 5 ending, recent episodes reveal Janine is at Jezebel's, the regime's secret brothel, where women are forced into sex work to serve Gilead's elite.
characters from season 6 of The Handmaid's Tale, one of them could have wound up in the colonies — the infamous place first introduced in season 2. It's been a while since the site's been seen, and a recap of its inner workings and purpose feels timely, especially since The Handmaid's Tale's final season promises to take down the worst of Gilead.
Where The Colonies Are Located
Radioactive Wastelands Exist In Several Former US States
In season 1 of The Handmaid's Tale, the Colonies are alluded to as the most terrifying punishment for women who defy Gilead's rules, a fate worse than death. Merely mentioning the Colonies sends a chill through the characters, reinforcing obedience through fear. In one of The Handmaid's Tale's saddest episodes, the show finally takes viewers into the bleak reality of these hellish places. When Emily (Alexis Bledel) is temporarily exiled there after running a Guard over with a car in an act of rebellion, the show offers a harrowing glimpse into Gilead's most brutal form of retribution.
As the seasons , more variations of colonies are revealed, such as the Magdalene Colonies, introduced after June takes 86 children to Canada.
As is the case in shows like The Handmaid's Tale, Gilead is formed in response to widespread pollution in the United States, which led to plummeting fertility rates — partially due to radioactive fallout from nuclear plants. Though the show doesn't confirm exact locations, Gilead maps suggest radioactive colonies exist in areas like Arizona, Arkansas, California, and Missouri. As the seasons , more variations of colonies are revealed, such as the Magdalene Colonies, introduced after June takes 86 children to Canada. These are also called "breeding colonies," where handmaids work the fields while still being subjected to the monthly Ceremony.
Why Are People Sent To The Colonies & What's The Purpose Of Them?
The Colonies Hide Punishment Behind The Disguise Of Restoring Toxic Land
The Handmaid's Tale's colonies are radioactive wastelands that function as labor camps for convicted women, labeled as "Unwomen." Overseen by Guardians and Aunts wearing protective gear, the Unwomen are forced to dig and collect toxic soil, supposedly to help clean up nuclear pollution. The Colonies function more as a death sentence than any meaningful environmental effort, one that could be the fate of Mckenna Grace's character in The Handmaid's Tale season 6. While framed as a necessary measure to restore the land, Colonies are most likely just another tool of control and fear used to oppress women.
The Testaments, the highly anticipated spin-off of The Handmaid's Tale based on Margaret Atwood's sequel novel, is said to touch upon the colonies and their origins through Ann Dowd's character.
The threat of being sent to the Colonies looms large over nearly every female character. Emily is one of the first to face this fate, but others, like Janine and June's mom in The Handmaid's Tale, are also condemned. While it's common for Handmaids to be punished if they fail to be fertile, things like gender treachery, adultery, or disobedience can also get anyone — whether Wife, Aunt, or Martha — sent to the colonies. It's widely understood that being sent to the Colonies is a death sentence, though fertile Handmaids may be removed to increase the number of pregnancies.
Why The Colonies Are So Dangerous
Overwork, Starvation, & Exposure To Contaminated Resources Guarantee Death For Unwomen
The Colonies in The Handmaid's Tale are not only radioactive wastelands that cause everything from skin lesions to cancer, but the living conditions are also deliberately inhumane. The water the Unwomen are given to clean with is contaminated with E. coli, leading to intestinal tract infections. Combined with starvation and overexertion, most women survive no more than three years, though many die far sooner. Corpses are buried daily, and those who volunteer for burial duty are rewarded with a breakfast egg, a grim incentive that slightly extends their survival.
What Is New Bethlehem? Lawrence's Gilead Replacement In The Handmaid's Tale Explained
New Bethlehem is one of the most interesting storylines in The Handmaid's Tale season 6, and here's what it is and what Lawerence wants to do with it.
As Emily describes the colonies, "We come here, we work, we die." The radioactive wastelands haven't appeared onscreen since season 2 of The Handmaid's Tale, though the show is likely to revisit them in its final episodes. Notably, the whereabouts of Emily and Esther remain uncertain, with the former said to have returned to Gilead for revenge, while the latter was last seen pregnant and chained after a suicide attempt in one of the best episodes of The Handmaid's Tale. If their stories took a dark turn offscreen, it's possible they ended up in the infamous colonies.
The Handmaid's Tale
- Release Date
- 2017 - 2025-00-00
- Network
- Hulu
- Showrunner
- Bruce Miller
Cast
Elisabeth MossJune Osborne / Offred / Ofjoseph
Serena Joy Waterford
WHERE TO WATCH
The Handmaid's Tale is a television adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel, released in 2017. It is set in a dystopian future where a woman is compelled to live as a concubine under a strict fundamentalist theocracy.
- Directors
- Mike Barker, Kari Skogland, Daina Reid, Reed Morano, Floria Sigismondi, Jeremy Podeswa, Kate Dennis, Richard Shepard, Amma Asante, Christina Choe, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Bradley Whitford, Dearbhla Walsh, Liz Garbus
- Writers
- Kira Snyder, Eric Tuchman, Yahlin Chang, John Herrera, Jacey Heldrich, Dorothy Fortenberry, Marissa Jo Cerar, Lynn Renee Maxcy
- Creator(s)
- Bruce Miller
- Seasons
- 6
- Story By
- Margaret Atwood
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