The Handmaid's Tale left fans with one question last season. It's answered in episode 1.

When we left Gilead almost a year ago, things were pretty grim.

The entire second season of The Handmaid’s Tale was a lesson in endurance for the viewer.

We sat through rapes, and stonings, and hangings. We watched a child bride drown in a public pool because she fell in love with another boy.

June gave birth to her daughter, Nichole, and we watched helplessly as she was ripped out of her arms into the arms of Mrs Waterford.

Watch the trailer for season three of The Handmaid’s Tale below, which teases the new alliance between Serena Joy and June. 

Enemy lines were blurred and even the biggest supporters of the regime were finding it hard to turn away from its brutality.

Then, just when we thought we couldn’t take anymore, we were handed a glimmer of hope. A tiny hint that maybe, just maybe, things would improve for June and her two daughters.

After years of abuse at the hands of the regime, June finally had a chance to escape. She, along with her baby daughter Nichole, and her friend Emily, were given the opportunity to flee to Canada.

But June chose to stay behind.

In the final moments of season two, June handed Nichole to Emily and headed back towards Gilead, determined to save her older daughter, Hannah.

The season finale left fans with a lot of unanswered questions…

Did Emily and Nichole make it safely to Canada?

Did June actually go back into Gilead?

Was June able to rescue Hannah?

Did they get out of Gilead together?

What happened to Mrs Waterford?

All of these questions are answered in the first episode of season three.

We unpack the latest episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale on our Mamamia Recaps podcast… Post continues after audio 

We find out the fate of Emily and Nichole. We follow June on her rescue mission. We discover what’s happening back at the Waterford’s house.

Most importantly, we get a few more glimmers of hope.

A few little nuggets of information that lead us to believe that June and her friends might be actually be able to fight back, and finally overthrow the regime.

There’s no doubt that season three of The Handmaid’s Tale is going to be another tough watch. It’s a TV show that takes us into the darkest parts of humanity and offers us very little relief.

But hopefully, at the end of the season, it will be worth it.