The Handmaids Tale
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The scenes from the time justbeforeGilead have always struck me asThe Handmaids Tales most powerful.
Naked women are prodded, their flesh pushed open for examination.
The male guards, meanwhile, are relishing all of it.
(Move it, bitch!)
Where does it come from, this talent for ruthlessness?
Seems so easy for them, for these men, for men like these.
Its all they want, I suppose, June reflects in her voice-over.
It isnt about being right, or having the people or God on your side.
It isnt anything that grandiose.
In the end, victory goes to the hardest heart.
The cruelty,as the saying now goes, is the point.
In the Toronto luxury ryokan/prison complex, Fred Waterford is playing his last hand, too.
I didnt surrender my rights, she insists.
I traded them for my daughter.
Will she have full custody?
That much is unclear, and Luke and Moira seem left out of the equation.
What is certain is that Fred is pissed, and out of sheer spite he turns on Serena.
Its a fitting trap for Serena, a character whose greatest allure lies in the nebulous space she occupies.
Now shell go down for the one crime that, in a way, she didnt commit.
They might never see each other again.
But any good escape tale has a hitch thrown into its plans.
The child is about Hannahs age, June must realize.
From then on the drama only heightens.
The Martha finally flees, fearful, and June pulls her gun.
You are not in charge.
On their return the light is out, a bad omen.
Instead, I was perplexed.
What does staying behind do, besides get him killed?
The good news is that these children have been trained to be silent and get in lines.
And then its time, yet again, for a season-ending decision for June.
How many times can one woman come so close to freedom and then change her damn mind?
How much more can the showrunners milk out of this narrative of a trapped woman and her rebellious schemes?
June isnt going anywhere.
Why exactly were Moira and Luke and Emily all present for the arrival of this plane in Canada?
I dont think anyone knows.
Yes, Moira works with refugees.
Yes, Emily is a research scientist and therefore a kinda-sorta doctor.
But should Moira really be first aboard that plane?
Should Emily be manning the medical table?
Should Luke just stand around so uselessly?
Once theyve closed we dont know if its for good.
Thats the cliffhanger the shows writers promised an all-too-predictable question of whether June is dead or alive.
But Junes troubles are, like a womans work, never done.
So dont be surprised to see those eyes shoot back open at the start of next season.
