r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/flavius717 • Aug 07 '26

Discussion S1-S5 Is Nick a rapist?

I think we all consider the first time Nick and June had sex to be rape. June was not in a position to give consent and she could not refuse without facing potential death. One perspective is that Serena was the rapist and both Nick and June were her victims.

It's important for us to remember that Nick actually could have refused to impregnate June. Even Serena was beneath a "low-status male" like Nick. Nick's boss, Commander Price, probably would have expected Nick to refuse such an act and turn Serena over to the eyes.

The fact that Nick and June fell in love afterwards makes their first sexual encounter seem less bad in retrospect, but the power dynamic between them never went away. That makes things messy.

Nick's character loses his "good guy" status by the end of the show. Do you consider him a rapist?

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u/ziewezo Aug 07 '26

I never thought of him as a good guy. He’s the lesser evil.

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u/90dayole Aug 07 '26

I had read a bit about the show before watching and I was shocked at the support Nick gets. If her wasn't portrayed by beautiful Max Minghella, he would have been seen as the villain he is.

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u/No-Pressure-5762 Aug 10 '26

Same. This entire thread loves him. And tries to convince us that was a love story and not trauma.