The Handmaids Tale
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Did anyone else throw their hands up and scream How did they KNOW?!
at the television this week?
The episode relies on what would have been a shaky premise until this week.
Why would two sworn political enemies meet for talks in which neither will relent?
There really is no rational reason that Canada would invite the Waterfords at all.
ButHandmaids Talehad to kick-start what Im assuming will be further escalating tensions with our no-longer-friendly neighbors to the north.
The show does an excellent job of keeping her teetering on the brink of victimhood.
Its a more nuanced picture of a complicit woman than we usually see.
He needs her, he says, to show them a strong Gilead wife.
But her garb alone wields substantial power over the mother and daughter she bumps into waiting for the elevator.
Serena is so potent that the mother refuses to step into close proximity with her.
Instead, hes a representative from America (Which America is that?
Touche, Serena) and hes there to offer a little tit for tat.
He can get her a whole new life in Hawaii, nonetheless!
but Serena coyly resists, claiming she didnt pack for the beach.
Still, its not enough.
Youve only offered treason and coconuts, she counters.
So he takes out his grand prize, a baby.
Will Serena take the offer or wont she?
Junes plotline, meanwhile, is heartfelt but more than a little unlikely.
As a godmother, Rita makes some sense.
Shell certainly be around the child on a daily basis, and she and June have shared confidences before.
They arent exactly bosom buddies, but each woman knows that they stand on the same side.
Even the deranged, Stepford June of a few episodes ago wouldnt make this move.
I wont do it.
Do you hear me?
They do not own you.
And they do not own what you will become.
Do you hear me?
Im gonna get you out of here.
Im gonna get us outta here.
This week, apparently, she relapsed yet again.
And rebounded once again.
If that doesnt sound like series-finale bait, I dont know what does.
What proceeds is the most frustratingly pared-down conversation in history.
But the biggest gift he bestows isnt about June at all.
In Gilead, hatred for the Commanders and Wives and Aunts is kept at a low simmer.
Its sad, what theyve done to you, worm their way inside Serena.
Her discomfort is palpable, and not only because she may fear for her safety.
And then I half-expected Serena to take a last-minute leap from the vehicle.
And then to push the Commander down the steps after they return home.
And then to at least stow away that matchbook for later.
Somehow, her inaction is continually surprising.
But it doesnt appear as if it will last forever.
Now lets see if anything else goes boom.
