Summary: Offred is left alone and she ventures around the property. The Waterfords show up, looking for her and Offred debates killing them. She chooses not to and they leave. Offred gies birth alone in the house.
The Good: As the summary demonstrates, this was a really basic episode which fixated purely around Offred's birth. That's not a bad thing though as it did allow her birth to feel important and powerful, while also fitting the show and the character of Offred. The focus on Offred benefitted the episode for sure. It allowed Elisabeth Moss to put in a killer performance, carrying the episode to higher qualities than it would have otherwise reached. Moss is extremely talented and breathed life into this episode. The episode was really tense at times, especially when the Waterfords arrived. There was the initial tension of wondering if Offred was going to get caught, but that was one-upped by the much better tension regarding if Offred was going to go to extreme lengths to get her revenge by killing both of the Waterfords. The tension was very significant and added a lot to the episode. The Waterfords were stellar in this episode though. They finally blew up at each other and the scene was absolutely tremendous as the both of them blamed each other for all of the awful things they did to Offred. I particularly loved how Serena openly admitted to building Gilead for the sole selfish purpose of getting herself a child, showing how selfish, narrow-sighted and downright awful she is. It honestly makes me wonder why the show tries to garner sympathy for her. I am very fascinated by the relationship between Serena and Fred, so I hope that this episode is a sign for things to come in their relationship. The Bad: Unfortunately it seems that Fred actually wanted to give Offred something nice bysending her to see her daughter, which is stupid. Why would he do that? We get no satisfying explanation here. It's a really forced decision which makes no sense in any context, proving that Fred's decisions aren't based on character, but rather what the plot demands. I don't like how repetitive the show appears to have become Once more we see Offred feeling alone because the world is cruel and she has to go through something tough because she is tough, while there are also teases of escape. While this episode was enjoyable overall, the show's inability to change and adapt is hurting it and is preventing it from achieving its potential. Offred was holding a shotgun. No chance she does any major damage to either Waterford from that distance. The Unknown: So America still exists. What is the significance of that? Will it come into play ever? So what actually happened to Nick? Why are the Mackenzies not at the house? Did they betray the Waterfords? Will there be consequences coming for every character in the final two episodes? That could set up the major change which I've been waiting for to freshen up the show. How will Serena take the fact that Offred already had her baby? I'm sure she will be less than pleased, and it should be interesting to see who she blames for it. What was the significance of the wolf and why did it have to appear three times? I thought it was a bit too ont he nose with how many times it showed up. Best Moment: The actual birth of Holly was a spectacular moment. Moss' screams felt so real, and I thought that the flashback sequence did a great job of demonstrating how Offred had to draw into the past to get the willpower and grit to push through the birth. It was artful, powerful and satisfying to watch and delivered a great climax for the episode. Character of the Episode: Offred. Conclusion: This was a fine episode, but there really wasn't a whole lot to it, barring the Waterfords. This review is shorter because of that. While I did enjoy myself watching the episode, it does feel like a lot of wasted time as similar themes were retreaded and there was a ton of downtime here. In the end this is a middling episode. Score: 63
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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