The Handmaids Tale
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Are we living in a pre-Gilead era?
In the Obama years,The Handmaids Talewould have been great television.
In the Trump era, it almost feels like a precognitive documentary.
A domestic terrorist attack, followed by martial law?
A law requiring a husbands signature for birth control?
And in this episode, she is wondering the same thing.
The BostonGlobebuilding has become a de facto home for June over her two months as a self-contained prisoner.
You were there all the time, she tells the clippings, but no one noticed you.
In flashbacks, however, we learn that Junewaswarned that the country was going down the drain.
She took a bottle to the face from furious protesters.
She surrounded and supported and encouraged women.
Except her daughter, that is.
Holly ignores Junes promotion but loudly praises Moira to her friends for designing a queer alliance website.
She tells June that shes settling with her job as an assistant editor at an academic press.
And, unbidden, she tells June that she doesnt think she should marry Luke.
You really want to take all that energy and passion and give it to a man?
Luke is fine, Holly continues, but come on, this country is going down the fucking tubes.
Its time to get out in the street and fight, not play house.
Understandably, he heads for the truck and tries to leave June behind.
Is he stupid or brave?
Probably a little bit of both.
But just like Handmaids and Wives, they are entirely subservient to their husbands wishes.
The Econowives cook, clean, and shop for their families.
If Id played my cards right.
If Id known I was supposed to be playing cards.
The first child June has probably seen up close or interacted with in a long time.
They arent exactly happy, but theyre together and alive.
Heather, Omars wife, is obviously dismayed at the thought of harboring a fugitive handmaid in their apartment.
First, because no unusual movements go unnoticed in their neighborhood.
Like neighbors in Nazi Germany, theyve been frightened into informing on one another.
I dont know how you could give your kid up to somebody else.
June is left in their apartment while Omar and Heather attend church.
I swore Id never do that again.
Its an odd silver lining to Gileads harsh restrictions.
The world around June is totally washed of color and personality.
Its compelling this way, especially when you compare the uniforms of the Econowives to those of the Handmaids.
An Econowife has no role but to blend in.
But June lets go and makes it to the airstrip.
But who is she now?
She isnt June, but she certainly isnt Offred, either.
