The Handmaids Tale
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Tucked away in this episode is an astonishing fact of Gileadean life.
Five years in which the world has done nothing to rescue the imperiled citizens of Gilead.
Another walking partner dead, she thinks to herself this episode, They must think Im cursed.
Which isnt to say that shes decided in error.
Where first the modern art goes, we know, more of humanity is sure to fall as well.
But why exactly is June back at the Lawrence house to notice such things?
The meds that control her bipolar arent coming through (does Gilead ban psychiatric medicines a la Scientology?
), and June sees an opportunity.
Hes scared, June says.
Fear can be a great motivator.
Junes plan is no longer just to find Hannah and escape.
Oh no, its not nearly that simple.
Shes going, she says, to getalllllllthe handmaids kids out of Gilead.
First she proposes the idea to Beth, whose Resistance connections all those sad scones!
may be of use.
Then, gazing into the refrigerated section at Loaves and Fishes (are those freshly squeezed juices theyre handling?
Meanwhile, Waterford is amping up the regimes power and control with a new series of measures.
and the Commander answers in the affirmative.
But a crackdown is still coming, one that could dampen or hamper Junes plans.
Theyre in the basement, just sitting in boxes!
Mrs. L has a clear-headed answer as to why they cant: Joseph is a war criminal.
Junes bond with Lawrence and his wife turns an already cruel rite into an emotional horror show.
Luckily, the shows writers knew exactly how much to show.
June, Lawrence, and Eleanor run through every available option.
We cant just sit here, June says as they stare at one another in the darkened room.
We could play canasta, Lawrence jokes, before learning that a doctor will examine June after the Ceremony.
Waterford and Winslow will know if no sex has occurred.
Theyll all end up on the Wall, including Beth and Sienna.
Eleanors keening is entirely understandable.
Just treat it like a job, she says.
Youre not you, Im not me.
These are the words of a pro, of someone who has disassociated for years.
They are also proof, yet again, that a womans work is never done.
This is the very heaviest of emotional labor.
Instead, she at least gets her jollies by quipping to Waterford: At least it wasnt you.
The forced Ceremony is all the proof Lawrence needed that his days in Gilead are numbered.
Will he come, too?
Is it cruel to lie to her and say hes been relocated to California?
Or is it just the right kind of lie, an unselfishness that June knows she owes Janine?
The Resistance will act.
The Marthas who oh-so-brilliantly telegraph their intentions with goddamnbaked goods will help.
That ten-seater van wont be enough.
Theyre gonna need a bigger boat.
