THE Handmaid’s Tale has made its long-awaited return with the launch of season five but one character was notoriously absent from the season opener.
In the double-episode premiere, Hulu viewers were left stunned when Emily Malek (played by Alexis Bledel) was missing with it being revealed she had returned to Gilead.
Fans of The Handmaid's Tale will remember Emily first appeared back in 2017 in the pilot episode of the show as she and June Osborne were held captive and were abused during their time as handmaid’s.
Despite breaking free and creating a new life for herself in season three, viewers were left shocked to discover she had returned back to Gilead in an apparent bid to seek her own revenge.
June discovered the news after she turned up at Emily’s house only to be greeted by her wife Sylvia whom she had abandoned.
Viewers were left shocked at discovering Emily had deserted her family as it was revealed she had fled the family home without even saying goodbye to her son.
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Now the show’s boss, Bruce Miller, has expressed his shock at learning that the Hulu drama series would be losing one of its more prominent characters so soon.
Speaking to TV Insider, Bruce said: “It was a surprise to us that Alexis had conversations with her people and she made a very kind of careful decision.
“But I didn’t know we were going to lose her this season so I had planned on having her in the season.
“Because she’s such an important part of the show, she certainly played an essential role, so we had to pivot to move her out of the show in a way that made sense to the character.”
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The showrunner went onto add: “And then I think the way we’ve tried to treat her is very much how they treat people who are still in Gilead or lost in Gilead. June doesn’t talk about Janine ever because you can’t picture Janine, any picture is awful.
“So I think it’s like a black hole for their memory, and I think for us, it’s almost like they go over an event horizon, there’s no way to get any information back so why worry because there’s no way to know.”
Speaking of her departure, Alexis revealed: “After much thought, I felt I had to step away from ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ at this time.
“I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, the cast and crew for their support,” she said in a statement to Variety.
The Handmaid’s Tale is on Hulu in the US with a UK release date yet to be announced.
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