The Handmaid's Tale: God Bless the Child (3x04)

Still good!

Cons:

I saw another review talking about June being protected by "plot armor," and I have to agree. I like all the stuff about June playing Fred and Serena off of one another. That's cool. The Waterfords have been through so much and broken so many rules already that it makes sense to me that June could exert some influence. But there's the moment when June, Pocahontas-style, throws herself over Janine to stop Aunt Lydia from beating her. It was a bad-ass and powerful moment, but why on earth was June not at all punished for her insolence? Surely Aunt Lydia could have been chastised for going too far in her punishment, without totally exonerating June for her actions? If she's able to defiantly shout "No!" at Aunt Lydia and suffer no negative consequences, then it starts to make me question the level to which June is actually in danger.

There's a moment when the handmaids are all talking shit about Aunt Lydia, and June's walking companion, whose name I can't remember, is disapproving. I don't like how open and rebellious so many of these girls are being. The oppression they're under is indescribably intense, and I feel like it loses some of its potency when you see the girls talking freely about their dislike for the system, right in a Commander's house. In the early days of the show, every time anyone would say anything subversive, it was a big deal. Now it's starting to become a little too familiar.

It may be a bit too coincidental that Gilead actually found footage of Luke holding baby Nichole. Like... really? How did they even know where to start looking? Maybe we'll get more information on how they pulled that off, but I was a little annoyed at that.

Pros:

I still loved this episode, though. I think this season is really intense and really interesting. Any time the show can zero in on how creepy the rituals of Gilead are, I'm glad to see it. The image of the Handmaids, the Marthas, the Commanders and their Wives, all walking to a group baptism in those lines, all dressed the same... it was so chilling. Through a very effective use of flashback, we also see another baptism, this one intimate and personal and decidedly not ceremonious. June, Luke, and Moira are all somewhat irreverent about the whole thing, although June is the one who wants to do it. There's such a powerful contrast between the joyous family occasion of Hannah's baptism, and the chilling, clinical baptism of the new children of Gilead (sans Nichole, whose absence is noted).

There's one final baptism at the episode's end, where we see Moira and Luke taking Nichole to be baptized, because they know it's something June would want. This opens up a lot of interesting questions about the role of religion in this story. Obviously, Gilead uses the Christian faith as a tool of oppression, but it does not therefore follow that being religious is the same as approving of Gilead. I like the idea that June believes in God and has had that faith twisted up because of everything that's happened, but that there could still be some goodness to be found in faith.

Janine and Aunt Lydia have such a fascinating dynamic going on. Janine has been through incredible trauma, and seems to have difficulty processing the world the way most people do. Aunt Lydia has done terrible harm to her, and yet it seems like Lydia actually has a maternal instinct where Janine is concerned. And Janine seems to be sincere in her care and worry for Lydia. We can never quite know how much of Janine's kindness towards Aunt Lydia here is genuine, and how much is just an attempt to get close to her daughter, but it does seem like at least some of it is genuine.

Like I said, I really enjoy watching June twist the Waterfords up. Her conversations with first Fred, and then Serena, are so delicious and complicated. The fact that Fred would go to her and ask her advice about Serena is just one of those surreal things that's equal parts horrifying and hilarious. And June is using her influence to plant seeds of rebellion. The fact of the matter is, Serena Joy is not just any Commander's Wife. She was a pillar of Gilead from the beginning. Untangling her from that web is going to be a tricky business. But her position within society also means that she could have real influence. Over Fred, and over the other women. I can't wait to see where this goes.

Emily reuniting with her wife and son... oh man. That just punched me right in the gut. I'm glad that things aren't just magically okay. I'm glad we're seeing the slow, painful road to recovery, and the way it doesn't always move in a straight line. Emily is not going to move back in with her family right now. Maybe she never will. She can read to her son but then gets choked up at the very act of it. She can be happy with her wife but also be afraid of touching her. It's all of these things and more. I hope we can stick with this story of Emily reintegrating into life post-Gilead. I think it's an important story to tell, as a counterpoint to June, still stuck in the middle of everything.

That's all I've got for the time being. This show has earned a lot of good will with me. Even an episode with a few more irritations than usual still gets high marks.

8/10