Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Handmaid's Tale season 6, episode 7!

The Handmaid's Tale season 6, and here is why the Gilead Wives don't want it. Throughout The Handmaid's Tale, the Hulu series has chronicled June and other rebels as they attempt to take Gilead down, bringing the country's oppressive system with it. However, Commander Lawrence is taking a different approach. Lawrence has spent The Handmaid's Tale season 6 trying to change Gilead through reform, but to the surprise of many, the various Wives that reside in Gilead are completely opposed to these changes.

The Handmaid's Tale season 6, episode 7 is here, with the exciting final season of Hulu's hit dystopian show nearing its end. Although Mayday had spent all season planning a major attack on Jezebel's, this was ruined in The Handmaid's Tale season 6, episode 6, which featured Nick betraying June by telling Commander Wharton about the attack. Luckily, June managed to pivot in episode 7. June and Mayday are now planning on attacking the wedding of Serena Joy and Commander Wharton, using it as a way to wipe out many of Gilead's most powerful Commanders at once.

The Response To New Bethlehem Highlights The Subjugation Of All Women In Gilead

They Need To Work Together

Throughout The Handmaid's Tale season 6, Serena Joy has been a major er of New Bethlehem. The new form of society, while still very fascist, would see women undergo marginally less subjugation. Handmaids who have successfully produced children would be able to live better lives, and all women would be treated as more equal citizens. Women would be able to read in New Bethlehem among other things, showing how radically different it is from Gilead. Unfortunately, the very women who New Bethlehem would help are against Commander Lawrence's project.

The Wives' lack of for New Bethelhem highlights one of the most tragic aspects of Gilead. Although the Wives are the highest social class of women in the country, they too are victims of Gilead. However, rather than working with the women who are below them to make Gilead better for everyone, they have turned against the other women in an attempt to secure their continued spot at the top of the food chain. The Wives need to focus on coalition building rather than bringing others down, with this being one of the show's best pieces of political commentary.

Since the misogynistic society of Gilead treats women like nothing more than extensions of their husbands, this has led to many of the Wives simply parroting their husband's beliefs.

The Wives' opposition to New Bethlehem also highlights their oppressive relationships with their husbands. In Gilead, women aren't allowed to read, and if they could, the higher-ups in Gilead wouldn't allow women to think. Since the misogynistic society of Gilead treats women like nothing more than extensions of their husbands, this has led to many of the Wives simply parroting their husband's beliefs. The men in Gilead are against New Bethlehem for obvious reasons, with this in turn leading many Wives to be against it as well.

The Gilead Wives Will Likely See New Bethlehem Fail

By The End Of Season 6

While New Bethlehem would undoubtedly be a better place than Gilead, the Wives will likely see it fail. Simply too many The Handmaid's Tale characters are against New Bethlehem, with Commander Lawrence, Aunt Lydia, and possibly Serena Joy being its only ers. June and the other protagonists don't think New Bethlehem goes far enough, while the Wives think it goes too far. New Bethlehem attempts to be a compromise, but it doesn't make anyone happy, meaning that they will continue to fight against it.

Unfortunately, men make all the decisions in Gilead, and they are even more against New Bethlehem than the Wives. The Commanders have already shown that they want to put Commander Lawrence on the Wall, meaning that he is in danger if he continues to move forward with New Bethlehem. It will be hard for New Bethlehem to succeed in the future of The Handmaid's Tale, especially considering the direction that The Testaments is headed in.