The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 5 Review: The Mirror Named Janine

Critic’s Rating: 3.85 / 5.0

3.85

It never gives me the warm fuzzies when an episode is named after a specific character, especially when that character lives in a place like Gilead. And “Janine” is one of the most beloved, tragic figures in The Handmaid’s Tale universe. That title alone sets off alarm bells.

At first, the reference seemed like it might just tie into her role in the impending Commander attack at Jezebel’s. 

But as the hour unfolded, it became clear: Janine wasn’t the focus — she was the catalyst. Her name set everything in motion, pulling truths to the surface that Gilead desperately wants to keep hidden.

A Goodbye, a Delivery Truck, and a Trap

(Disney/Steve Wilkie)

June and Moira would never have stepped foot inside Jezebel’s again if not for Janine. That’s the bottom line. 

But that desperate goodbye between June and Luke, scored to Joy Division’s “Atmosphere” as she loaded herself into a delivery truck like cargo — that moment already hinted that something bigger was at play.

Here’s the thing: June Osborne’s face is one of the most recognizable in the world, especially to the monsters who created Gilead. She’s either their greatest enemy or their inconvenient icon. 

Her choice to walk into Jezebel’s, all to protect Janine from the indignities of Commander Bell, is as reckless as it is deeply human.

Janine Is Singing, But It’s Not a Song of Joy

(Disney/Steve Wilkie)

When they arrive, June and Moira see the degradation almost immediately. The young women look worn and broken. But Janine? She’s singing “What’s Going On” like she’s trying to protect her own sanity.

It’s a facade that cracks the moment she sees June and Moira — her real friends. The layers of survival peel off her face instantly.

What follows is a grotesque display: Bell forces June to clean the floor in front of him, dragging her hand up his thigh. It’s humiliating. But it puts her in Joseph’s line of sight — and even he looks confused by what he’s seeing.

Joseph Learns What He’s Really Enabling

(Disney/Steve Wilkie)

Joseph Lawrence has long lived in the gray areas. But as Janine points out, just because he’s better than the other Commanders doesn’t mean he’s a good man.

He surprises even himself when he pulls Janine out of the room and stands up to Bell — if only briefly. But it’s not courage. It’s discomfort. The kind that creeps in when you finally realize you’ve been complicit.

Janine lays it out plainly by opening a small hole in the wall: New Bethlehem is a trap. It’s a honey pot to lure trusting people back into the nightmare of Gilead.

They reel them in with promises of freedom and family, then lock the doors behind them. Joseph hears it for what it is, and it visibly shakes him.

But Janine’s not fooled — and she doesn’t let him off the hook.

Sisterhood in Pain, and the Wounds That Don’t Heal

(Disney/Steve Wilkie)

Janine won’t leave her friends behind. That loyalty opens a raw wound between June and Moira, who have never truly reckoned with how different their Gilead experiences were.

Moira’s eruption is a long time coming. June, trying to lighten the moment with dark humor, jokes about the frequency of their rapes — as if there’s any comparison to be made between “every night” and “once a month.”

That’s the absurdity of this world. That’s how broken it’s made them.

But even in pain, there’s love. Moira admits she’s hated June at times, but she’s always loved her.

Gilead may have tried to turn women against each other, but it also created a sisterhood forged in fire — one the men will never understand.

New Bethlehem Is on High Alert

(Disney/Steve Wilkie)

Elsewhere, Commander Wharton is not satisfied with Nick’s version of events.

The attack on two guardians happened on Nick’s watch, and Wharton wants answers. The tension escalates when Wharton reveals one of the guardians has survived — and made “remarkable progress.”

When Nick visits the hospital, the surviving guardian, Toby, appears not to recognize him.

Nick nearly walks away — but mercy is a luxury no one in Gilead can afford. It’s a mistake he won’t make again.

Serena Joy Loses All Progress in Her Humanity Journey

(Disney/Steve Wilkie)

In yet another turn of Gilead’s poisonous wheel, Aunt Lydia confronts Serena Joy about the conditions of the Handmaids. Serena responds with the worst kind of privilege, dismissing everything Lydia says in favor of a new fertility plan.

Her suggestion? Move the Handmaids into New Bethlehem’s fertility center and let them “retire” there — attendants in name, prisoners in practice. Lydia, always looking for leverage, suddenly finds the idea compelling.

But it’s not lost on her how influential Gabriel is becoming, nor how Serena uses that power to her advantage.

Gabriel himself is a wild card. Is he sincere in his desire for reform, or is it all for show? Does raising Noah soften him — or simply give him another tool to manipulate others? Is he actually trying to rewrite Gilead from within, or is this just a new flavor of the same oppression?

Whatever the answer, Serena says yes when he proposes marriage. Because of course she does.

A Mission Turned Meltdown

(Disney/Steve Wilkie)

Moira and June didn’t just go into Jezebel’s for a rescue — they went with a mission. But after being attacked, after watching everything unravel, survival becomes the mission.

That fight scene — messy, raw, terrifying — is a reminder of the emotional hold this show still has. My heart was racing. I was scared. Not for their lives, but for what they were becoming. For what I was becoming watching it.

And then Luke is struck. The plan falls apart. But Joseph emerges at just the right moment. June reveals herself, asks for his help — and he delivers. They climb into his trunk, and the credits roll.

The Sanest Person Left Standing

(Disney/Steve Wilkie)

If Joseph really heard Janine’s warning — if he truly understands what Gilead has become — then helping June escape again might be the start of something real, something redemptive.

Because in a world that twists love into servitude and loyalty into bait, maybe the only sane people left are the ones who still believe they can get out — the ones who still fight.

And maybe Janine — with all her trauma, resilience, and righteous clarity — is the only one who sees everyone for who they really are.

You made it to the end — and that means a lot.
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