The Handmaids Tale
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Like many sophomore efforts,The Handmaids Taleseason two has been an exercise in patience.
Some must have imagined June would die in childbirth.
I wondered if Canadian forces would invade the U.S. as Luke seemed to hint they might.
Emotionally, theyre still trying to walk through fire.
But lets leave the end for the end.
June cant realistically plot her own escape she cant even walk to the grocery store without accompaniment.
Every step shes taken towards freedom has met with an insurmountable barrier.
While the show has waffled on June, Serena has emerged as the most fascinating character to watch.
Serena, unlike June, has almost no one to blame for her current situation other than herself.
Serena isreal a woman whose wants got away from her and took on an ugly life of their own.
She also has some small amount of power: enough, at least, to ask for radical change.
We expect better for our children than we had for ourselves.
(Or maybebecauseit fails.)
Fred at first dismisses it (Thank you.
The latter is far more dangerous than the former.
But the primary goal of a man in power is to stay in power.
And Serena isnt being punished for reading.
Serena is being punished for reading in front of the Council.
For embarrassing her husband by leading the other women to rebellion.
For daring to assume she could do such things.
But in the end, while Serena has lost a pinky, shes gained an awakening.
Emily, too, has had enough of the status quo.
Is it for the Commander?
to even remember that the ceremony was meant to take place.
The next morning all our dreams come true.
Aunt Lydia had, oddly, softened in recent months.
Aunt Lydia doesnt speak, but she looks terrified, which is what she deserves.
Her rolling, wide-open eyes are at first giddy and then suddenly alert to her new reality.
Her hands clutch at anything around her that might offer stability.
I couldnt help but imagine that this is exactly how I would respond in the same situation.
He also has some excellent life advice, including Dont do drugs.
Finally, back at the Waterford manse comes the moment June and all of us have been waiting for.
But Yvonne Strahovski plays it quietly, beautifully, meekly.
If we cant feel for Serena, then she is a useless villain, a cardboard cutout of evil.
So now for that ending.
Yes, its disappointing that June chooses to stay in Gilead.
I yelled, out loud, at my screen, What the hell is wrong with you?
I suspect that the move will loseHandmaids Talesome viewers people who see escape as Junes goal.
But that misunderstands who she is.
And there is no certainty that shell head back to the Waterfords.
In our last glimpse of her, June pulls up her hood and rises like a sith lord.
