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'The Handmaid's Tale' Season 4: Internet demands 'justice for Janine'

At the end of 10 episodes of Season 4, Janine was not granted the respect of freedom, much to fans' disappointment

'The Handmaid's Tale' Season 4 just wrapped up and not an ounce of justice was shown to the character Janine, long term fans of the show are complaining on Twitter. Over the years, Janine went from being the chirpy, bubbly girl next door to a traumatized, burnt-out flicker of her flaming self. But when Janine rose from her ashes, she rose with vocal resolution — a denial of bliss so effective that nothing could break her. And at the end of 10 episodes of Season 4, Janine was not granted the respect of freedom, as, much to fans' disappointment, the 22 handmaids exchanged in returning Fred Waterford to Gilead did not include her. 

After trying to resuscitate the heroine of the story June, Janine is trapped in the rubble that the Gilead air raid leaves behind in Chicago. June cannot find her and that is all fans were shown of the beautiful one-eyed girl in Season 4, until the finale. The finale ended with one shot of a disheveled Janine, trapped by Gilead. The scene was reminiscent of actor Madeline Brewer telling Good Housekeeping about her character's imminent return at the end of this season. “We see Janine by the end of the season.” Brewer had said, adding: “It’s not at a place that we want her to be, but such is life.”

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Many had assumed Janine was either dead in the explosion and others had speculated that her fate had not been sealed yet. But fans were hopeful for justice for the woman who's lost her eye, her sanity, her children, and been brutally assaulted both physically and sexually. So that cryptic shot of Janine was clearly not enough, after not giving Janine the release with the other 21 handmaids that left Gilead.

Fans expressed their distaste on Twitter, remarking "I’m going to need #JusticeForJanine by the series finale of #HandmaidsTale." Another wrote: "If Janine doesn’t survive this series it would be a true tragedy." Others complained: "Why wasn’t Janine one of the ladies they traded Fred for? And Hannah too??" And another wrote: "So.... June got 22 women out of Gilead and ZERO of them were Janine," with disappointment. One heartbroken fan even said, "I was hoping Janine would’ve been one of the women rescued."

Others deemed this damaging for the show's future with respect to fan following. "At this point i just want janine free hopefully next season," wrote one. Another said: "All I know Janine better be one of the 22."