Summary: June proposes to Alma a plan to smuggle kids out of Gilead but she refuses the offer. June works to get Lawrence's help for her plan. Fred convinces Winslow to go to Lawrence's household and bear witness to the ceremony since Lawrence has had very unsuccessful records with handmaids. Lawrence begrudgingly does the ceremony to ensure that all of his household isn't killed. Horrified by his experience, Lawrence agrees to get Eleanor out of Gilead and to help June smuggle kids out of Gilead. Serena gets Fred to speak with her contact in Canada.
The Good: The central focus on Lawrence and his household in this episode felt refreshing. He has languished in the background for so long after a hot introduction this season, so it is nice to put him back as the main focus. And unsurprisingly, this led into the strongest episode in a while with a fantastic focus on interesting side characters. The ceremony scene was phenomenal. This scene allowed Lawrence to finally face the consequences of creating Gilead. He expressed clear fear as he desperately tried to find a way out of doing something he doesn't want to do. His entire world effectively falls apart here when he realizes what he has to do and it has lasting effects on his character, which I really like. Eleanor had a stand-out episode as well. Julie Dretzin did a stellar job portraying her heartbreak when she realizes what was going to happen. Couple her fears with the lack of meds and she was utterly destroyed by everything that happened. Her visceral reaction evidently affected Lawrence more than anything else and it added more to the complexity and power of the ceremony scene. The effects of this scene are pretty big. Lawrence comes to a conclusion that he needs to get his wife out of Gilead in a terrific scene with June which allows him to seem more vulnerable and human than before. I particularly loved the line "I'll be a hero" which was delivered perfectly by Bradley Whitford. Lawrence says the line with such disgust that it becomes clear that he is feeling guilty for everything he has done and doesn't feel at all that he has earned the opportunity to be a hero. A fantastic moment. I thought the writing was really strong too. I understood that Fred only chose to go after Lawrence because of June mocking him and he wanted to establish that he still had power over her in a very petty way. While I have my problems with this development (see: The Bad), it makes logical sense and is an easier story to follow than most stories we get in this show. I really liked June telling Janine that her son was still alive in Califronia. It was a nice way for June to spare Janine of some unnecessary misery and also lets us know that Janine's observation that June is selfish is incorrect. Here we see June doing something solely for the sake of a friend. The Bad: I wish the Lawrences had been given a more focused storyline that built up to this episode. A climax can only be outstanding if the rising action before it allows the moment to carry all of the weight it possibly can. Unfortunately, the messy nature of this season detracted from the impact of this episode and made it less evocative than it could have been. The poor set up of this story let down this terrifically executed episode. June still gets too much leniency. After she was caught talking to other handmaids in the store, why is nobody watching her actions more closely? The fact that she can just go back to the store and speak with others in literally the exact same manner is frustrating. June gets far too much plot armour. I was confused by Winslow demanding that all handmaids be given a mouth-ring and veil. Does he really have power to just make this happen? Why hasn't he acted on this earlier then, because there are clearly handmaids in the world that aren't affected by these laws. Is he really so isolated in DC that he is oblivious to the world he is in charge of? Additionally, how does somebody so brutal ascend to a position of power? It's clear to me that most people resent the treatment of handmaids in DC, so how did they let somebody like Winslow gain power when they resent all that he does? I'm very confused by the government system in this show, as per usual. The Fred and June drama has grown bland. There was nothing new explored about them here. Fred is still an obsessive and creepy prick while June still likes to mock him when she can. If the show wants to continue exploring their relationship, we need to get some new storytelling content quick. The Unknown: Will June lying to Janine come back to haunt her? What happens if Janine learns what really happened to Caleb? Will Lawrence actually be able to save the kids? What will happen to him if he does? And how about his wife? It appears that Lawrence will actually get a proper redemption arc unlike Serena, and I suspect that he may be executed at the end of the season. What is Serena's plan? What does she plan to do with her contact in Canada? Does she want Fred to turn against Gilead? Best Moment: The Lawrences have us spoiled for choice here. My pick goes to Commander Lawrence choosing to help June and saying that he'll be a hero. Powerful stuff. Character of the Episode: It's tough to choose between Lawrence and Eleanor. I'll narrowly give it to Lawrence. Conclusion: This episode was really strong because of an excellent story about the Lawrences. But a lot of this season's problems still persisted and that prevents this episode from being one of the show's top-tier efforts. Score: 68
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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