The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 wastes no time shaking up its main characters, and one of the most shocking early scenes involves Nick Blaine. In Episode 2, titled “Exile,” Nick throws something in the fire that hints at where his loyalties now lie — or at least where he wants others to believe they lie. But what was it? Here’s everything viewers need to know.
Here’s what Nick throws in the fire in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6
Nick throws the SIM card of the phone he got from Mark Tuello into a fire.
Midway through The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 2, following a two-month time jump, viewers see Nick make a gut-wrenching choice. After a tense conversation with his father-in-law, Commander Wharton, Nick takes out a device from his pocket — the encrypted phone he got from Mark Tuello, the leader of the U.S. Government-in-Exile.
He tosses the SIM card into a fire. The phone had been Nick’s lifeline to June and the rebel forces in Anchorage. Earlier, he had agreed to use it to share critical intelligence, like Gilead’s patrol routes. But burning the SIM card meant cutting off all communication — not just with the resistance but also with June.
The tipping point seems to be a serious conversation with Commander Wharton, who subtly warns Nick to stay in line. He urges Nick to “make good choices” and “be his own man,” implying he’s aware of Nick’s rebel ties. The weight of that conversation clearly leaves Nick conflicted, forcing him to choose between rebellion and survival.
Nick’s decision to throw the SIM card into the fire in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 may be seen as an act of self-preservation or perhaps a strategic move to protect June and the resistance from further danger. Either way, it sends a clear message: Nick is walking a tightrope between loyalty and betrayal. For now, Nick’s choice has immediate consequences, as his decision of not providing patrol routes leads to Luke and Moira getting trapped in No Man’s Land.
