Entertainment

The Newest ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Trailer Shows That June’s ENTIRE World Has Changed

by Karen Fratti

Super Bowl commercials are always good for a laugh or sentimental tear or two as you grab another serving of buffalo wings and nacho cheese dip. An impending sense of doom isn't usually what one expects from a commercial, but after the premiere of the Handmaid's Tale Season 3 trailer during the Super Bowl, no one will blame you for losing your appetite for more football snacks. It's going to be OK.

Of course, fans of the show know that doom and dread are just par for the course for the award-winning Hulu series and it looks like things are just going to get worse when the third season premieres this spring. Days before the big game, Hulu released a 10-second teaser for the trailer, which consisted of just a shot of June walking in a group of other women. June's face turned quickly to the camera, just as distressed as always.

The full trailer was something else entirely. It looked like a political campaign commercial at first, with shots of Elisabeth Moss looking wistfully out a window, as a narrator explains that it's "Morning Again In America," and bragging about more "jobs" and "babies being born" than ever before. Of course, those jobs were out in the Colonies and the babies? Cradled safely in the arms of Serena and other Wives. Ugh, enough to make you choke you on your Super Bowl onion dip, right?

The tone quickly picked up pace with Moss's June coming in as the narrator whispered, "Wake Up, America," with quick shots of scenes from the upcoming season. It was hard to make out any sort of major plot points, but it looks like June is a Martha now (or at least wears the clothes for a little bit), which is pretty major. There was no sign of Ann Dowd's Aunt Lydia, but it's still entirely possible that she survived that Season 2 attack. The trailer made it look like anything could be possible in Season 3.

If June is a Martha now, that could change everything when it comes to her quest to find her daughter, Hannah, although it isn't entirely surprising. At the end of Season 2, June gave birth to Holly and sent her away to Canada with Commander Joseph Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) and Emily (Alexis Bledel). Instead of escaping, she realized that she could use what she now knows about the underground network of Marthas to find her daughter and make good on the promise she'd made to herself to not allow her daughters — either of them — to grow up in Gilead.

Moss explained this choice to The Hollywood Reporter last summer, saying that June is "no longer alone." "She just discovered that there's a legitimate and strong underground network of Marthas working for the resistance. The wives led by Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) just rebelled against the men and government of Gilead. They are starting to resist," Moss explained. The actress added that now her character needs to know how deep the resistance really goes. "She knows now she isn't alone. She doesn't want to leave Hannah, but when she sees Emily and the commander, she realizes she can get her baby Holly out and stay to try to do the same for Hannah," Moss added.

Some fans felt like Season 2 moved a little slowly, but judging from the Season 3 trailer, that seems like that won't be the case this time around, even if June's quest looks just as miserable and horrifying as it was previously in the series. Finding out how June manages to become a Martha and steer clear of Commander Waterford and Aunt Lydia since her escape — and seeing whether she gets any closer to reuniting with her husband, daughter, and best friend in Little America — is going to be one heck of a ride. A dreadful, teary ride, as always, but an intriguing one for sure.