Does Janine die in The Handmaid's Tale?

Having her child snatched away from her and an eye plucked out was just the start for Janine (Madeline Brewer) - she's been through so much in The Handmaid's Tale and just deserves some respite.

While season 6 of the smash hit dystopian drama has left viewers with questions about the mysterious New Bethlehem and whether we'll ever find out what happened to Emily, there's another key question on their lips - will Janine die?

We look at the potential fate of one of Gilead's most longstanding and long-suffering Handmaids.

The following content contains spoilers for The Handmaid's Tale season 6.

Does Janine die in The Handmaid's Tale?

While Janine is alive for most of The Handmaid's Tale season 6, her ultimate fate by the very end of the series remains unknown. Janine doesn't die in Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel, and she isn't mentioned in the 2019 sequel, The Testaments. Therefore, based on the novels, it's difficult to ascertain her fate.

While we love that she's made it this far in the show, the series is known for unhappy endings and cruelty towards its characters and we wouldn't be shocked if Janine fell foul of this. However, she is the one person who deserves to find some sort of peace and happiness (and June needs to end the show in a relationship with Nick - there, we said it.)

Before she was rounded up and sent to Gilead, Janine was a waitress and single mother. She'd also previously had an abortion, and these factors combined made her the sort of sinful, fallen woman Gilead delighted to turn into Handmaids.

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Arriving at the Red Centre at the start of the show traumatised after having her son, Caleb taken from her, Janine defies the Aunts until she's dragged to another room to have an eye removed to bring her into line.

One of the first Handmaids to get pregnant, Janine unsurprisingly never comes to terms with having to hand her baby over to Commander and Mrs Putnam. While the Putnams name the baby Angela, Janine secretly names her Charlotte, and only ever has snatched glimpses of her daughter. Eventually, abducting Charlotte lands her in The Colonies .

June later finds out that Janine's son Caleb had been involved in a car accident with his Gilead family and had died - she chooses not to reveal this information to Janine.

Janine is returned to Handmaid status when a bombing at the Red Centre kills some of the other Handmaids, leading to a shortage, but Janine's life continues to be miserable despite being saved from a slow and painful death at The Colonies.

Janine managed to escape Gilead with June in season 4, only to be captured and returned while June made it safely to Canada.

Once back in Gilead's clutches, Janine was poisoned by a vengeful Esther Keyes, who'd been demoted from Wife to Handmaid. Janine nearly died in the attack, spending the majority of season five recovering.

Season 6 sees the fragile Handmaid sent to Jezebels to work as a sex slave, to the horror of Aunt Lydia, who believes one of her best girls, for whom she had an unusual soft spot, deserves better.

Viewers have come to believe that Janine's placement in Jezebels and alliance with Commander Lawrence have put her life at risk. It's been revealed during season 6 that other Gilead high-ranking Commanders have plans to have Commander Lawrence killed and New Bethlehem returned to full Gilead law.

With Commander Lawrence now stepfather to Angela/Charlotte and collaborating with Janine over parenting matters, both their lives are potentially in jeopardy.

The new, and possibly most evil Commander of them all, Commander Bell, both despises Commander Lawrence and is obsessed with Janine.

Seeing the pair head off to a room together, Commander Bell looks mutinous, and fans are worried that his continued power trip will see him have Janine killed because he can't have sole access to her and wants to punish her for talking to another man.

However, this is just a theory, and there has been no official word about Janine's future, although we sincerely hope it involves being reunited with Charlotte and a whole lot of therapy in a peaceful part of Canada.

Madeline Brewer has gently hinted that Janine will be alive at the end of the series. Speaking to The Cut, the actress revealed, "I had enough time between seasons to prepare myself for the goodbye."

"But Janine doesn’t end with much fanfare; she ends in a quietly beautiful way, to the point where you can kind of just imagine what her life might be like. It’s such a cyclical thing, starting the show in 2016 and finishing the show in early 2025. I’m ready to leave this world and take everything it’s taught me."

The phrases "quietly beautiful" and "imagine what her life would be like" certainly don't sound like somebody no longer alive. Long live Janine.