In Elisabeth Moss) journey from Handmaid to a key figure in the Resistance occur in Boston, Massachusetts, otherwise providing viewers with very little information about the scope of Gilead's power. Now that June has traveled to a war zone, fans should gain more insight into how high the stakes are for rebels to retain control over Chicago and other areas where Gilead is struggling in its mission to wipe out democracy in the midst of this Second American Civil War.
The Handmaid's Tale has revealed some areas fighting back against the Sons of Jacob uprising. During season 2, episode 9, "Smart Power," Fred and Serena Waterford travel to Canada on a diplomatic mission where Serena is approached by an agent of the American government, Mark Tuello, who offers her political asylum in Honolulu in exchange for publishing her story. In season 2, episode 11, "Holly," as June prepares to escape Gilead, she listens to a radio station broadcasting somewhere from "the Great White North," and she learns the American government is still functioning in Anchorage, Alaska. During season 3, the Waterford household and June head to Washington D.C., where the religious fanaticism of Gilead is even more strictly enforced.
Following the season 2 finale, the show's creator, Bruce Miller, confirmed to The Handmaid's Tale season 4, isn't the only hot spot for conflict. Rebel-occupied areas stretch along the entire Canadian border as well as Florida, the Gulf Coast, California, Oregon, and Washington. Gilead continues to battle for full control over Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, Idaho, and other areas of the Pacific Northwest.
Geopolitically, where Gilead stands with the rest of the world is murkier. Other countries such as the United Kingdom have imposed sanctions, and Canada, which at one point was open to a trade relationship, backed out due to public outrage over Gilead's human rights violations. Presumably, Gilead possesses America's arsenal of nuclear weapons, and with its strong military presence, it isn't vulnerable to an outside invasion. The problems America faced pre-Gilead in regards to sterility, a declining birth rate, and pollution are global in scope, and at least one country -- Mexico -- appears willing to overlook Gilead's oppressive regime as long as it produces positive results. Gilead has also abolished the press and maintains strict control over what information is disseminated and to whom, so the extent of their crimes against humanity isn't broadly known or acknowledged.
Critics of the series who have grown frustrated with June's storyline and the gratuitous violence may be satisfied now that most of the central characters are outside the confines of Boston (Although transplanting June and Janine to the frontline promises more violence, not less.) With June's fate revealed in Margaret Atwood's 2019 Handmaid's Tale sequel The Testaments, her role in the Resistance will likely extend beyond season 4 (and possibly beyond Chicago), especially since The Handmaid's Tale has already been renewed for a fifth season.