There aren’t many shows that can emotionally gut me likeThe Handmaid’s Tale.From the very beginning, it forced viewers to sit with deeply uncomfortable truths, exploring themes of power, oppression, and the desperate pursuit of freedom under a horrific regime. While the series is filled with brutal, unforgettable moments,one stands out as the most haunting for me: the death of Eleanor Lawrence (Julie Dretzin). In a world full of tragedy, Eleanor’s storyremains one of the most quietly devastating. It wasn’t one of the show’s most graphic or dramatic deaths, but the circumstances around it and the emotional weight it carried have stayed with me all these years.
Eleanor Lawrence Was a Tragic Figure From the Start in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
From the moment she appeared on-screen,Eleanor Lawrence felt different from the other wives in Gilead.Played with aching vulnerability by Julie Dretzin, she wasn’t a true believer. She didn’t smile through her privilege or wield her position with cruelty like Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) or Naomi Putnam (Ever Carradine). Eleanor had once been a brilliant, independent woman and an art professor who dreamed of having a family on her own terms, not through ritualized rape and state-sanctioned motherhood. That dream was shattered the moment Gilead was created, and what was left was a woman clearly terrified, fragile, and haunted,trying to survive a nightmare she never chose.
What made Eleanor so heartbreaking to me wasn’t just her mental illness or visible despair, but how deeply she understood the world around her. She knew exactly what Gilead was and that her husband, Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford),was one of the architects behind it.In many ways,she was just as much a prisoner as the Handmaids, but unlike them, Eleanor didn’t always know how to rebel. She still loved her husband, but I think part of her knew they could never return to the couple they were when they first met and fell in love. That quiet grief sits beneath so much of her story and ultimately buildsto one of the most powerful scenes of the season:when she holds him at gunpoint. Eleanor isn’t just acting out of instability or fear. She’s confronting the man she loves for theunimaginable pain his creation has caused, and for the part of him she knows she can never truly forgive. It’s raw, heartbreaking, andI think one of the most honest moments the show has ever given us.
Julie Dretzin’s performance was devastatingly goodand, in my opinion, one of the most underrated of the serie. In lesser hands, the role might have felt melodramatic or overplayed, but she brought a sense of restraint and empathy that made Eleanor feel heartbreakingly real. Her desire to help the Handmaids and her bond with June (Elisabeth Moss) made her instantly likable and, more importantly, one of the first characters who seemed to see where things were headed,much like others are only starting to now.She remains one of my favorite characters in the entire series, which made her tragic end all the more painful to watch.
The Stakes Have Never Been Higher for Commander Lawrence on ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
Praise be.
Eleanor’s Death Still Haunts the Characters in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
When Eleanor finally died, it wasn’t at the hands of Gilead’s enforcers or in some violent uprising. It was in her own bed, the result of an overdose. It was the only move she had left to make on her ownand was essentially an act of defiance she could claim for herself. And that, I think, is why June chose not to save her. Shesaw the pain of being trapped, powerless, and broken. Letting Eleanor go wasn’t cruelty, but a moment of unbearable empathy. As twisted and heartbreaking as it was, it gave Eleanor a sliver of power back. AndJune wasn’t about to take that away from her.
That moral complexity iswhat makesThe Handmaid’s Taleso devastating. June chooses not to tell Commander Lawrence what truly happened, at least at first. It’s clear that he mourns her still to this day. In Season 6, he has mentioned her more than once in secret to Naomi’s daughter. It’s clear she’s always on his mind as he considers her his “real wife”. June ultimately does tell him that she watched her die and could’ve helped her. At first, I wasn’t sure how Lawrence would respond, but I think ultimately his guilt keeps him from retaliating at all against June. He’s still committed tomaking huge changes to Gilead, and I think it’s hard to argue that a lot of thathas to do with what he believes he owes Eleanor.
The Handmaid’s Talehas always dealt in sorrow, but Eleanor’s death felt different. It wasn’t brutal for shock value. It was symbolic, intimate, and deeply personal, which made it all the more tragic. It crushed me when I first watched it, and even now, it remains one of themost emotionally resonant storylines the show has ever delivered.
All new episodes ofThe Handmaid’s Taledrop on Hulu Tuesdays. All previous seasons are available to stream on the platform.
The Handmaid’s Tale
