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The Handmaid's Tale fans, here'southward what actually happens to Ofglen in the volume

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The Handmaid's Tale season 3: Alexis Bledel as Emily / Ofglen

Alexis Bledel'southward character will exist returning for the 3rd series of The Handmaid'southward Tale  – but how will Emily/Ofglen cope in Canada? What will she do with June (Elisabeth Moss)'s babe, Nicole? And will she be instrumental in leading the resistance? Hither, nosotros have a look at Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel in a bid to find answers.

We're calling it: Emily/Ofglen (Alexis Bledel) is one of the most compelling characters in Hulu'south Television receiver adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale. And, as the 3rd season approaches (forth with Emily'south much-anticipated reunion with her wife and son), it remains to exist seen just how much her time in Gilead has affected her.

In the fourth dimension before Gilead, Emily was a confident and empowered biology professor – one of the youngest and brightest in her field. As Serena Joy's rhetoric reached fever-pitch in America, though, Emily saw her livelihood – and her personal life – come up nether threat. So, after learning that her colleague and friend (played by John Carroll Lynch) had been hanged for being gay, Emily attempted to flee the land with her wife, Sylvia (Clea DuVall) and their young son.

They made it as far equally the airport. There, stony-faced I.C.E agents informed the couple that their matrimony was no longer recognised nether the new police force.

"Which law?" asked Emily.

"The law," they replied.

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As such, Sylvia and her son were able to move onto Canada, just Emily was forced to stay backside in a country that no longer recognised her human rights. She became a Handmaid, forced into a life of sexual servitude and surrogacy. And yet, despite this, she e'er refused to accept the say-so of Gilead – and always instilled June (Elisabeth Moss) with hope, informing her about secret resistances, Mayday rebels and the like.

Emily was branded a 'gender traitor' in episode three of the first flavor – and, in a cruel bid to "curb her of her impulses", Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) oversaw the mutilation of her genitals in government-ordered surgery.

For a while, it seemed every bit if Emily'southward rebellious spirit had been destroyed: she was assigned to a new household, given a new name, and was forced to censor herself on a daily basis. However, she afterward decided to cede herself in a final, desperate stand confronting the Gileadean regime: she stole a auto, she used it to run over and impale a Guardian and wound up in the Colonies as a result.

In that location, she made it her concern to help ease the suffering of those poor souls dealing with radiation sickness – unless, of course, she saw them as an enemy to women everywhere. It was a lesson which Mrs O'Conner, a commander's wife who had been sent to the Colonies, learned the hard way. Emily poisoned Marisa Tomei's terrified character, then stood over her and watched as she slowly expired on the bath flooring.

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The making of The Handmaid's Tale

There, she made it her business to assist ease the suffering of those poor souls dealing with radiation sickness – unless, of course, she saw them as an enemy to women everywhere. Information technology was a lesson which Mrs O'Conner, a commander's wife who had been sent to the Colonies, learned the difficult manner.

Emily poisoned Marisa Tomei's terrified character, then stood over her and watched equally she slowly expired on the bathroom floor.

Since and so, Emily'south killer instincts have only been sharpened. Brought back to Gilead and assigned to a new household, the Handmaid struggled to come to terms with the reality of what her life had become, and wound upwards violently stabbing Aunt Lydia.

Thankfully, though, Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) – the very aforementioned man who designed Gilead – decided to aid Emily escape the hell he had created for her. Information technology was he who organised the van which spirited her across the border, and it was he who ensured she had a clear passage to (nosotros assume) the safety of Canada.

She, of course, has been tasked with caring for June's babe daughter, Nicole. And showrunner Bruce Miller has informed us that the unlikely duo will play an important role in the upcoming third season.

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"We take not seen the last of Emily and baby Nicole," "Emily's a fascinating character," he said. "Alexis only has brought her to life in a way that is subtle and complicated and strong and very believable and, A really remarkable performance. Subtle beyond subtle and just heartbreaking across heartbreaking."

Miller added: "Nosotros have not seen the final of Emily and infant Nicole. And I don't know that we're gonna see Nicole going to her first prom very soon, Or Emily for that matter. Only nosotros have not seen the last of them. We'll follow them on their journey afterwards they exit Offred in the tunnel, in the finale, we will be post-obit them."

Only what happens to Emily/Ofglen in Margaret Atwood's book? For those in need of a refresher or who accept never read the tome, read on.

Off-white alert : the rest of this article contains spoilers for The Handmaid'due south Tale , but, being equally it was published dorsum in 1985, we're hoping that doesn't bear witness too much of a problem.

Alexis Bledel as Emily/Ofglen in The Handmaid's Tale

Ofglen is, just equally she is in the TV bear witness, introduced relatively early on in the book. A seemingly pious, pro-regular army disciple of Gileadism, it is revealed that, merely two weeks earlier, she replaced a Handmaid who disappeared inexplicably. Equally such, Offred fears her and finds it hard to trust her. The pair commutation bland Gileadean pleasantries ("blessed be the fruit") and walk silently together most days to the nearby shops.

Equally Offred points out, they are not there to provide companionship: they are there to monitor and report on one another. It isn't until the fourth affiliate that we get fifty-fifty an inkling of Ofglen's true nature: later on they part with the sanctimonious "Under His Heart" ritual farewell, Offred catches sight of her companion's face – and sees her ain hesitation and fright reflected there.

And yet, despite this, Ofglen remains something of an enigma – until chapter 27, when she and Offred stop at a store chosen Soul Scrolls (which is filled with bustling machines that impress prayer afterwards prayer after prayer).

Ofglen, under the cover of her red hood and white wings, quietly asks Offred whether she believes God really listens to the machines – a treasonous question, which Offred initially fears has been asked in order to catch her in a criminal deed.

"No," she eventually admits, taking the risk – and it is then, finally, that the women realise that they are able to trust one some other.

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Walking side past side and speaking out the corner of their mouths, the pair exchange data most one some other. And, just as we see in the TV prove, Ofglen soon whispers to Offred that she is a member of the May Twenty-four hours resistance group – although Offred oft wonders whether her friend's claims are true.

It isn't long before Ofglen has recruited Offred to the cause, asking her to gather data on the regime during her secret, illicit meetings with Commander Fred.

All the same she inadvertently outs herself every bit a May Mean solar day member during a Particicution: instead of joining her fellow destructive Handmaids in clawing, scratching, and chirapsia a supposed rapist to a bloody pulp, Ofglen dashes in first and kicks his caput several times, causing him to lose consciousness.

When a disgusted Offred later asks Ofglen why she did this, the rebellious young woman replies that the and so-called 'rapist' was part of the underground resistance, and she wanted to put him out of his misery apace – and foreclose him from spilling any secrets.

Emily/Ofglen has always been, quite possibly, June/Offred's closest marry in The Handmaid's Tale

Her conclusion to spare her compatriot is plenty to heighten suspicions: the adjacent time Offred goes to meet Ofglen for a scheduled shopping trip, Ofglen doesn't prove up.

Instead, there'southward another Ofglen in her place – and, when Offred cautiously tests her for loyalty, it quickly becomes credible that this interloper is most definitely non a fellow member of May Day.

So, what happened to the original Ofglen?

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Offred may exist terrified, but she yet attempts to prise some information from the new Ofglen well-nigh her friend. The usurper remains silent, refusing to comment on the subject – but, equally Offred turns to go, the Handmaid seemingly relents.

"She hanged herself," she whispers to a stunned Offred. "She saw the van coming for her."

Still, Atwood leaves Ofglen's truthful fate deliberately ambiguous (but as the evidence does) – after all, the new Ofglen is inappreciably a trustworthy character.

Did she truly commit suicide rather than face up torture and reveal the names of her co-conspirators? Was she (every bit we witness in the TV show) dragged away by the Eyes for a sham trial and sentenced to female genital mutilation? Or did she, as many fans of the book have already suggested, manage to escape into the cloak-and-dagger, set up to lead the resistance from afar?

Will Emily/Ofglen atomic number 82 the resistance in the 3rd series of The Handmaid'due south Tale?

After all, it would brand sense that the new Ofglen would not desire to make full Offred with promise – and she near definitely would have been warned confronting sharing news of May Day'south growing powers. And we know (thanks to the book's final Q&A' section) that the theocratic Commonwealth of Gilead is at some point overthrown in favour of a more than equal society, with a restoration of full rights for women and freedom of religion.

Could Ofglen have been i of the key forces driving this societal change?

Well, quite possibly (in the TV testify anyway): it has at present been confirmed that Bledel will be reprising the role of Ofglen/Emily in the third season of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale – and that, this time, she's beingness bumped from guest star to serial regular.

We guess this ways that Emily volition still, even from her new position in Canada, play a big role in the show's upcoming storylines.

Every bit Miller put information technology recently to Diverseness: "People are still leaving their children to go to school and trying to build a life, and Emily walks into [Canada] carrying Gilead with her. One of the things we're exploring is that Gilead is within these people and information technology changes them forever, and a lot of the conversations nosotros had with the United nations in Season 1 well-nigh refugees was about how they resettle and what'southward that like psychologically. To me, information technology doesn't tell the brutality of the story of a place similar Gilead if you get out of there and everything's fine.

"That's not the manner it works. So for Emily, I loved the story of her in this season trying to effigy out a way to exist some version of herself over again. We practice information technology very measured. We've got Clea [DuVall] and Alexis, two amazing actors, so we tin really tell this story of this couple who doesn't figure information technology all out. It takes a long, long time and there are hitches and starts, and yous're trying to tell a pretty intimate story and both of those characters are pretty private. You don't want to feel like you're butting in, but you want to feel like their story is progressing."

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Will Emily and Sylvia have a happy ending, though? Non necessarily.

"I've seen a lot of release reunions and they're not always storybook endings," says Moira to Emily in the third flavor previews. "But nobody's talking about happily e'er afterwards, just after."

The Handmaid's Tale: Emily and Sylvia

Speaking well-nigh why she took on the office of Ofglen, Bledel  toldEntertainment Tonight: "More than than annihilation, I simply think about what roles I take on, and make sure that it's really something that I experience passionate about if I'm going to leave home and get work.

"I just want to love what I'thou doing."

Images: Aqueduct 4