Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 8.
Over six seasons, The Handmaid’s Tale has delivered some of television’s most harrowing moments while introducing some of its most vile characters, both men and women. This season brought a few new faces, but one has quickly emerged as especially despicable, thanks to a chilling turn from the usually hilarious Timothy Simons. In the latest episode, the show delivers a demise for Simons’ Commander Bell that is not only brutal and shocking, but also deeply satisfying. It once seemed difficult to top Commander Waterford’s (Joseph Fiennes) death in Season 4, which was a defining act of collective vengeance carried out by the Handmaids, but what happens to Bell hits in a very different, more personal way.
Commander Bell Quickly Became One of Gilead’s Worst Characters in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
When Commander Bell was introduced, he quickly cemented himself as one of the most detestable figures in Gilead’s leadership. While many of the show’s controversial characters eventually reveal shades of nuance or reluctant empathy, Bell was vile from the start. His presence at Jezebel’s made even some of his fellow commanders uncomfortable. Unlike characters like Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) and Commander Wharton (Josh Charles), who see the political advantages of Gilead, Bell fully embraced its most brutal ideology. He leaned into humiliation and abuse, exerting control over Janine (Madeline Brewer) from the moment they met at Jezebel’s.
After Nick (Max Minghella) exposed the Mayday plan, leading to the massacre of the Handmaids working at Jezebel’s, Janine was spared, but her suffering continued. Bell took her into his home and made her his Handmaid. In last week’s episode, Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) witnessed the horrifying aftermath, spotting Janine beaten and bruised, staring out the window like a prisoner. It was a chilling moment that seemed to finally fracture Lydia’s blind loyalty, as she began to see the cracks in the system she had long defended.
When June (Elisabeth Moss) learned that Janine was still alive, she helped spearhead Mayday’s next move, targeting Gilead’s most powerful exactly where it would hurt the most. In the latest episode, “Exodus,” with the Mayday plan in full motion, starting with the mass poisoning of guests at Wharton and Serena Joy’s (Yvonne Strahovski) wedding, June makes her way to Bell’s front door. What follows is one of the most visceral and emotionally charged moments in the series that is raw, bloody, and absolutely earned.
“Exodus” Delivers a Fitting End for Commander Bell in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
When June finds Commander Bell in “Exodus,” she’s not entirely sure if he’s still alive, assuming he may have already succumbed to the poisoned wedding cake. But he’s awakened by a phone call, and when he sees her, he knows exactly who she is and, seemingly, what’s coming. He doesn’t yell or plead for his life. There’s no dramatic outburst. Instead, he stares at June with eerie calm, as if he understands his fate is sealed.
There’s no speech, no drawn-out confrontation. June drives a knife directly into his brain through his eye in a swift, brutal act that drips with irony, given the show’s “under His eye” refrain and the fact that Bell’s own Handmaid, Janine, lost her eye years earlier. Blood pours from the wound as Bell struggles, and June stands over him, expressionless, until it’s over. Before leaving, she calmly sips his drink, which is both chilling and badass, just before a very grateful Janine comes downstairs.
What makes Bell’s death so satisfying, beyond the obvious catharsis of watching a cruel man fall, is how deeply personal it is to June. She has carried the emotional burden of protecting Janine since the very beginning of the series, but especially since being forced to leave her behind in Chicago. Even though it helped the Mayday cause, June killed Bell for Janine, a woman who had endured years of cruelty and finally deserved a moment of peace. For the first time in a while, the two are reunited in a place that feels safe. While we don’t yet know their ultimate fate, the moment is long overdue and deeply satisfying.
The episode ends before we see the full aftermath of Bell’s death, but the ripple effects are already underway. Aunt Lydia is furious after discovering the plot, but with help from June, Moira (Samira Wiley), and Janine, she’s convinced to let their plan move forward. As The Handmaid’s Tale heads into its final episodes, this moment feels like the catalyst for a much bigger, and likely more violent, end to the series. If “Exodus” is any indication, the final stretch won’t be holding anything back.
All new episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 drop Tuesdays on Hulu.
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