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Why You Shouldn't Give Up Hope That Nick Will Return To 'The Handmaid's Tale'

by Leah Marilla Thomas
Hulu/George Kraychyk

Spoilers for The Handmaid's Tale Season 2, Episode 3 ahead. The latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale widens the world of Gilead a bit, but not without some truly heartbreaking twists and turns. Does Nick come back in The Handmaid's Tale Season 2? His relationship with June has hit another source of conflict that could have major consequences.

Since June was unable to make it to Canada, it's likely that we will see Nick again. He wasn't on the escape plane with her, but if she's heading back to Boston and he's there, they will probably run into each other. June lived in the Boston Globe office for two months, where Nick visited and brought coffee he's stolen from Rita. So — Nick is still seemingly driving Commander Waterford. He's still living at the house. That seems significant as to his current status and location. It's possible that he's safe there, unaware that any of this is happening. Maybe he was too scared to leave. Maybe he was never planning on it. Whatever the reason, he may have saved his own life by not joining June on that deadly escape plan.

Then again, he could have gotten caught himself. Who knows who ratted June, or the other driver, or the man with the plane out to Gilead authorities. It could have been the econo-family who took June in when she needed a place to hide. They never came back from church, and June was already suspicious. It could have also been the nice butcher that transported her to and from the Globe. It could have even been the woman who sat behind her on the public transportation formerly known as the T out of Boston. She definitely peeked at June's map from between the seats. Or Nick himself could have been caught and had the answers tortured out of him.

Hulu/George Kraychyk

"As things get harder and more dramatic and he finds himself increasingly between a rock and a hard place, his moral compass doesn't always serve him," said actor Max Minghella, who plays Nick, in an interview with SyFy about his character in Season 2. "That said," he added, "I always believe he is trying to find due North, or what is the right thing to do."

The actor also described Season 2 as "an expressive season for everybody," which could mean that there's more to come from Nick than just the three episodes at hand. He also alludes to a moment in the season finale that he is looking forward to fans seeing. Unless Minghella was just hanging around on set while they shot the final episode, that's as good of an indication as any that he is sticking around for the long haul.

"There's many low blows which he takes this season," Minghella said in the same interview. "There are lots of very painful things for him to deal with in the process, but I don't think any can be comparable to what June has to go through."

Don't forget that Nick is practically a triple agent at this point. Not only is he working with May Day to get June to Canada, but he's one of the secret police known as the Eyes and informing on Commander Waterford and other higher ups in the former Boston area. That's a lot of lies to juggle, and we still don't truly know where his loyalties fall. There are a lot of questions that the show needs to answer about him, so Nick's story is likely far from over. Whether he betrayed June, is paying for what he and June did, or right where we left him with garden shears in hand — Nick most likely hasn't left The Handmaid's Tale yet.