The WORST episodes of The Handmaid's Tale
Every episode of The Handmaid's Tale ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Handmaid's Tale!
In a dystopian near-future, the totalitarian and Christian-fundamentalist government of Gilead rules the former United States amidst an ongoing civil war and subjugates women, who are not allowed to work, control money, or even read. Widespread infertility due to environmental contamination has resulted in the conscription of young fertile women—called Handmaids, according to biblical precedent—who are assigned to the homes of the elite, where they must have ritualized sex with the men in order to become pregnant and bear children for those men and their wives.
#1 - Heroic
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 7/17/2019
Confined in a hospital, June’s sanity begins to fray. An encounter with Serena Joy forces June to reassess her recent actions.
#2 - Morning
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/14/2022
June confronts the consequences of killing Fred. A scared Serena makes an unexpected decision.
#3 - Fairytale
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/5/2022
June and Luke embark on a dangerous quest. Serena gets to know her new hosts.
#4 - Dear Offred
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/28/2022
June fights her need for violent revenge as Serena settles into her new role in Toronto. Rattled by Janine, Aunt Lydia makes a surprising suggestion to Lawrence.
#5 - Allegiance
Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/2/2022
June and Luke prepare for a rescue mission. Serena tries new tactics with her oppressive hosts. Lawrence makes a surprising proposal to elevate his status.
#6 - Offred
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/26/2017
Offred, one the few fertile women known as Handmaids in the oppressive Republic of Gilead, struggles to survive as a reproductive surrogate for a powerful Commander and his resentful wife.
#7 - Milk
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/5/2021
June takes a harrowing journey with Janine, trying to escape Gilead, as Janine remembers a stressful experience in her past. In Toronto, Serena tries to manipulate Rita, who seeks advice from Moira.
#8 - Border
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/21/2022
June and Moira join a rebel outpost. As a pregnant widow, Serena tries to restore her status. Aunt Lydia questions her strict methods of dealing with Handmaids.
#9 - Vows
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/19/2021
After a shocking reunion with a dear friend, June contemplates the possibility of freedom, and confronts the unfulfilled promises she’s made to herself and to Luke.
#10 - Pigs
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/27/2021
On the run, an injured June and the fugitive Handmaids find refuge at a farm, where the 14-year-old Wife nurses June back to health. June restores her role as the women’s leader. In Gilead, an imprisoned Lawrence tries to avoid a death sentence, and Aunt Lydia reels from the loss of 86 children on Angels’ Flight. The combative Waterfords, in custody in Toronto, learn of June’s feat.
#11 - Under His Eye
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/3/2019
June escalates her risky efforts to find Hannah. Emily must face her past crimes as the ongoing international diplomatic crisis becomes more complicated. Serena and Fred contemplate their future in Washington.
#12 - Other Women
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/9/2018
A baby shower provokes a troubling shift in Offred’s relationship with Serena Joy. Offred reckons with the choice she made that led her to become a Handmaid.
#13 - Mary and Martha
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/5/2019
June helps Marthas with a dangerous task while navigating a relationship with her pious and untrustworthy new walking partner. Emily and Luke struggle with their altered circumstances.
#14 - Faithful
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/10/2017
Serena Joy makes Offred a surprising proposition. Offred remembers the unconventional beginnings of her relationship with her husband.
#15 - Birth Day
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/26/2017
Offred and her fellow Handmaids assist with the delivery of Janine’s baby, prompting Offred to recall her own daughter’s birth. Offred draws closer to Ofglen while dreading a secret meeting with the Commander.
#16 - Jezebels
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/31/2017
The Commander surprises Offred with a secret adventure in Gilead. Nick’s troubled past leads to his recruitment by the Sons of Jacob.
#17 - Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/3/2017
Punished by Serena Joy, Offred begins to unravel and reflects on her time with Moira at the Red Center. A complication during the Ceremony threatens Offred’s survival with the Commander and Serena Joy.
#18 - Useful
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/5/2019
June navigates a meeting where she must face both Commander Waterford and Nick. Serena Joy attempts to recuperate at her mother’s home. Lawrence teaches June a hard lesson about the difficult decisions he makes as a Commander.
#19 - Chicago
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/12/2021
June seeks out more active rebels in the Chicago war zone, while Janine tries to help her fit in with their new group of survivors. Moira goes on her first field aid mission.
#20 - Unwomen
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/25/2018
Offred adjusts to a new way of life. The arrival of an unexpected person disrupts the Colonies. A family is torn apart by the rise of Gilead.
#21 - Motherland
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/26/2022
June considers a tempting but risky offer from a surprise visitor. Serena hits rock bottom and searches for allies.
#22 - Nightshade
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/27/2021
June plots revenge at the local Jezebels, before she and the Handmaids plan to leave the farm for the next safe house. In Toronto, Moira deals with the fallout of June’s choices, and Serena and Fred are bound together by a miracle.
#23 - Seeds
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/16/2018
Offred spirals as a Gilead ceremony disrupts her relationship with Nick. Janine tries to adjust to life in the Colonies, jeopardizing her friendship with Emily.
#24 - God Bless the Child
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/12/2019
June negotiates a truce in the Waterfords’ fractured relationship. Janine oversteps with the Putnam family, and a still-healing Aunt Lydia offers a brutal public punishment.
#25 - Late
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/26/2017
Offred visits Janine’s baby with Serena Joy and remembers the early days of the revolution before Gilead. Ofglen faces a difficult challenge.