The Handmaid's Tale: Liars (3x11)

Well. I certainly can't complain that we're stuck in limbo, can I? Some stuff happened in this episode. Oh boy.

Cons:

Hmm. For the first time in a long while, I don't have much to say in the "cons" section. I suppose I should lodge a complaint that it's been way too long since we've checked in with Moira, Luke, and Emily up in Canada. I understand the instinct to focus on one singular character or plot thread in order to make the episode feel more cohesive, but even with the cut-aways to Fred and Serena, this episode did drag at some moments because there wasn't a lot of variety. But honestly, it was still pretty great, especially compared to the past few weeks.

Pros:

Let's start with that Fred and Serena subplot, actually. See, I was almost ready to put their plot in the "cons" section, because it felt like more treading water. Sure, they're on their way to a clandestine meeting with an American to get Nichole back, but mostly it's just the two of them feeling their way through their awkward relationship. And like... that's boring to me, because I think Serena and Fred are both awful people, and Fred had Serena's finger cut off, and watching the two of them reminisce about being a happily married couple is disturbing, and not in the way I enjoy watching. But then... then.

As this episode ends, Fred is tricked into driving himself and Serena over the border into Canada, following Serena's contact Mr. Tuello. And Fred is arrested for war crimes, and Serena is taken away from him. This is such a refreshing status quo change. For so long, Fred has been our stand-in for the Commanders - he is the typical example of a man in power. He's mentally weak in many ways, but still has so much control over the women in his household. He helped create this system and reaps the benefits of it. And now, he's a war criminal, in the hands of the Canadians.

One thing I absolutely loved about this sequence was Serena. She tells Fred that she trusts Mr. Tuello. When they get there, and they are surrounded, Fred immediately starts trying to defend Serena, saying that she did nothing wrong, and that they shouldn't touch her, etc. And Serena just tells Fred to do whatever they say, and she lets herself be dragged away. She seems upset, of course, but... but does anyone else think that she may have been in on this? Or at least known it was a possibility? Is she willing to hand herself and Fred over to the Canadians, for the possibility of eventual reunion with Nichole? If that's the case, then it puts all of her interactions with Fred into a different light. Has she just been pretending to reconcile with him? Has she been biding her time, pretending to be the docile wife who had forgiven her husband, all so that he would fall into her trap?

That's another thing that this plot thread made me think of. There's a moment early on, when Serena seems to be saying a tearful goodbye to Rita (another hint in the theory that Serena knew exactly what she was doing), where Rita asks if this is what's best for Nichole. In that moment, I realized the obvious. If Serena really is a doting and selfless mother, there's a clear answer to her problems. Instead of trying to get Nichole back to Gilead, Serena can leave Gilead and try to get to her daughter that way. Give up everything. Her comfortable but oppressive life, the chance of advancement for her husband, her reputation... everything. I don't know if Serena has done this on purpose or not, but I'm really interested in where this is going, no matter what.

Okay, but moving on to the main story. In some ways, the plot only moves forward very slightly. June makes promises about her ability to get the kids out of Gilead, only to hit a roadblock when she learns that Commander Lawrence is unable to help because they've taken away some of his credentials. So then she goes to Jezebel's, and makes a new contact who has a plane making a delivery. This sets up the next puzzle piece, as we wait to see if June's "rescue the kids" plan will be successful. As the episode ends, the status quo has barely nudged forward - June has a plan in place, she is in league with Commander and Mrs. Lawrence and the Marthas, and we'll have to wait and see if the plan succeeds. That's all.

Oh, and also she kills Commander Winslow.

Talk about a shot in the arm! (Or a pen in the chest, as the case may be). This is what I'm talking about. This changes so much and we don't even know what the full ramifications are going to be, and I'm just... all about it. I was just talking last week about how I appreciated this show's restraint in not showing the rape scenes on screen. For a moment, I was worried I was going to have to eat my words, as it appeared that we were about to see Commander Winslow raping June. But instead, June snaps and attacks, and kills him. It was gratifying, in a very disturbing way, to see June fight back in a physical, tangible manner. As frustrating as the show has been over the past few weeks, it felt like such a catharsis to see her finally act. I think about the abortive attempt she made to attack Serena a few weeks back - how weak, and unmotivated, her attack was. And then this time, she has this man approaching her. She needs to submit to him in order to protect herself. But she just can't submit. Not this time.

One thing that The Handmaid's Tale has always done very well is manage the pressure. There's a lot of buildup in this show. A lot of slow sequences that grow, and grow, until finally the snap comes. One of the problems with this season thus far is that we've seen a lot of building, but then the pressure valve is released very slowly, and we are brought back down without a satisfying moment of catharsis, only for the pressure to start building again. In this episode, we get that catharsis. We see June trying to make herself numb, and then we see the snap. And the struggle. And June kills her would-be rapist. Meaning that instead of seeing an on-screen rape, we're seeing June take control and put down a man who is one of the key perpetrators of all of the horrors of Gilead. It was bad-ass and awesome and also terrible, because of what it did to June. This is good drama.

This is a narrative that prioritizes women's voices, because it's a story about women being silenced. I love how June's plans to rescue the kids is opening her up to a world of more and more women who are rebelling against the system. The Martha who discovers June with Winslow's body decides to help her escape, and then she, along with other women working at Jezebel's, cleans up the evidence and incinerates the body. We see the group of Marthas who are clearly important figures in the resistance, agreeing to let June try her mad escape plan, as long as she doesn't interfere with their own plans. Seeing how these women work together gives me hope that June's plan might actually work.

I must turn to a brief discussion of Commander Lawrence, as well. His wife holds a gun on him in this episode, which is obviously traumatic for him. Just as Fred is facing consequences for his own involvement in Gilead, now Joseph is having to face those consequences as well. No matter how twisted and terrible his actions, you can tell that Joseph genuinely loves his wife, and is flat-out devastated by how much pain she is in. Also, I'm always a sucker for a good alliance-of-convenience plot, and we have that with Lawrence and June. They have no personal affinity for one another whatsoever, but their goals, for better or for worse, are aligned. All season, I've felt like Commander Lawrence was a bit wasted as a character. But now, things are really ramping up in an interesting way with him.

I could go on, but I think I'll limit myself and wrap this review up. I might be praising it beyond what it deserves, but this episode was honestly such a refreshing change. Stuff happened. June murdered Winslow, which is a Big Deal. Serena and Fred are in the Canadian's custody, which is a Big Deal. Things are happening. Things are changing. I'm really excited to see where the end of this season takes us!

9/10