The Handmaid’s Tale season 4 episode 3: ‘Utterly brutal’ ending leaves viewers shaken as star recounts ‘emotional’ day filming

Latest episode ends in despair as shocking scene unfolds (Picture: Backgrid/Ruba)

Warning: spoilers ahead for The Handmaid’s Tale season 4 episode 3.

The Handmaid’s Tale viewers have expressed their horror over the end of season 4 episode 3, as one of the stars of the dystopian series recounts how emotional it was to film the devastating scenes.

In the latest instalment of the horrifying programme, June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) is reunited with the other Handmaids, including Janine (Madeline Brewer), after being tortured for information on their whereabouts in Gilead.

Having been threatened with the possibility of her daughter Hannah (Jordana Blake) being hurt, June gives up the location of the Handmaids’ safehouse, resulting in them all winding up in the back of a van with the draconian Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd).

During a brief stop on their journey, June and the other Handmaids take advantage of the opportunity to escape, overcoming Aunt Lydia and sprinting in an effort to cross the train tracks before an incoming train rushes by.

Two of the Handmaids are shot dead by the driver before Alma (Nina Kiri) and Brianna (Bahia Watson) are hit by the train, with only June and Janine making it over the train tracks in a harrowing turn of events.

June and Janine are the only Handmaids who manage to make it out alive (Picture: Hulu)

The episode ends with a flashback to the Red Center where the group of women were trained as Handmaids, showing how they would comfort one another at night, holding hands and communicating through lip-reading.

The final scene of the episode – which was directed by the show’s star Elisabeth – highlighted the bond that the Handmaids have shared since the beginning, with viewers describing the deaths of several of the Handmaids as ‘utterly brutal’ and ‘a punch to the gut’.

‘OMG. Just screamed at the TV,’ one fan reacted on Twitter, while another said: ‘That ending. Jesus. Am knackered.’

‘Nooo! That was such a punch to the gut,’ someone else wrote.

‘Absolutely harrowing end! My heart is beating so fast,’ another remarked.

During a recent conversation with Metro.co.uk, Janine actor Madeline opened up about the moment where Alma and Brianna are hit by the train, which was the last scene that the actors filmed, having been a part of The Handmaid’s Tale since season one.

Madeline said that it was one of the ‘more emotional days’ on set, which was made even more so by the fact that it was raining and ‘a gloomy, sombre afternoon’.

The Orange Is The New Black star explained that for Elisabeth to direct the scene where the Handmaids are killed provided ‘an added layer of care upon the whole thing since we’ve all been together for four seasons’.

‘It was just special. But it was like us, it was the group,’ she recalled. ‘It wasn’t someone who’s come in to direct an episode. She took the love and care for this moment.’

Madeline explained the difference it made having Elisabeth direct the scenes (Picture: YouTube/Hulu)

Madeline explained that sometimes when a character films their final scene on a series, they will receive a quick congratulations before the production swiftly moves on.

‘And it’s like no, this is a really, really big moment in this person’s life, saying goodbye to this character, and Lizzy understood that and gave it the time it deserved,’ she added.

As for the final scene in the Red Center, Madeline said that one of the most memorable aspects of the day was when they unexpectedly came across a bunny on set.

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‘Filming [the Red Center scene] didn’t take very long because it was kind of just a few little pick-up shots. I always love those days because we’re inside and we’re in comfy clothes, our hair is down,’ Madeline said.

‘That day, I remember we found a bunny. We found a little bunny in this church where we were shooting and they must have had a class pet, like a bunny that stayed there overnight, so that was the excitement of that day. That kind of overshadowed everything else, we were so excited to see a bunny.’

The Handmaid’s Tale returns next Sunday at 9pm on Channel 4 and is available to watch on All 4.

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