Cons:
The problem with this episode is... well, it's June, isn't it? I've talked in previous reviews about her plot armor, and that comes out in full force here. She's so lucky that Mrs. Lawrence is docile and nonthreatening. She's so lucky that nobody figures out what she was up to at that school. She's so lucky that when it comes down to it, the Martha helping her is the one who gets punished, even though she was the one pushing.
And what are we meant to make of the ending of this episode? June participates (is forced to participate) in the execution of various subversives, including the Martha who was helping her with the chance to see Hannah. Is her look of disgust and vindication aimed at Lydia for forcing her to do this, or is she pissed off in that moment at the Martha, for failing her? And then she goes apeshit on Ofmatthew when she realizes that her companion is the one who turned on the Martha... which is just... I mean, again, the plot armor is unbelievable, and June's attitude is kind of abhorrent here. There's this moment when she's sympathizing with Ofmatthew over her complex feelings over being pregnant again. But when it comes down to it, June seems to have forgotten that anybody else in this society is suffering. She's not the only one who has been removed from her child, and yet she's acting like she's the sole victim in this scenario.
And there's the elephant in the room... race relations in Gilead. I read another review recently that talked about how we've all been giving this show the benefit of the doubt, waiting for them to start having nuance as related to race in this society. The show seems to have some crazy idea that they can get away with ignoring the issue entirely. Are we meant to believe that Gilead is a 100% color-blind non-racist society? That's some crap. You can't get away with that. In this episode you have the Martha that June is partially responsible for killing, and also Ofmatthew, both black women who are basically victims of June's personal crusade, and is the show grappling with the effects of that at all? Nope, of course not. I feel incredibly under-qualified to talk about this subject, and others have said it better than me, but the point is... they need to get some coherence in the way they regard race in Gilead. Ignoring it isn't working for them.
I really like Mrs. Lawrence and I want to talk about that in a second, but first I need to complain just a little bit more about June, because... what was her plan, here? She wanted to see Hannah at the school, so she drags poor Mrs. Lawrence into it? And then she screws it up and freaks everyone out and doesn't even get a glimpse of her daughter, so... what was the point of all of this? I can understand the desperation angle. June will do anything for her daughter. Okay, fair enough. But this didn't read like the actions of a desperate mother. This was a calculated move by someone who appears to be really bad at being a rebel.
Pros:
Mrs. Lawrence, though... she's interesting. We're not given a clear understanding of what exactly is going on in her head. She's clearly got some PTSD or mental illness, but we're not being given specifics. Unlike the way race is dealt with in Gilead, I do think there's some real thought and cleverness to the way neuro-divergent behavior is treated by the narrative. Because... Gilead ignores it. They push it under the rug and just keep pretending everyone can fit into their assigned roles. Janine is an example of this, and so is Mrs. Lawrence. As long as Commander Lawrence can keep her behind closed doors and keep her calm, nobody needs to be bothered about what's going on with her. The fact that June exploits what she sees as a weakness with this woman is troubling, but in a way I think the narrative is aware of. She's willing to manipulate her in order to get to Hannah, but she also feels a connection to her, and recognizes her as a fellow victim of this system, despite Mrs. Lawrence's privileges as a Wife. I continue to be intrigued by the Lawrences, and I want to see much more.
I debated about whether to put Serena and Fred in the "Pros" or "Cons" section, because it depends hugely on where this is going. If, in future weeks, we see that Serena finds out that Fred is keeping Nichole in Canada for political reasons, and that causes a final rift between them, and Serena becomes a full-on rebel... well, I don't think I'll be happy with this. I think it'll be a lazy excuse to avoid further examination of Serena's culpability. But if instead, we continue to see Serena being seduced by the possibility of life in D.C., if we see that she's okay with Handmaids being literally silenced... and then Fred betrays her, and she tries to have it both ways? Yes. That's the story I want to see. Serena is a villain. She's a villain played by an incredibly talented actress. She's a villain who really does long for a child and would probably be a very doting mother... but she's a Bad Guy. I have my fingers crossed that the show isn't going to forget that moving forward. The sight of the Commanders and their Wives having a lovely little party, of Serena giggling with the ladies and sharing a romantic dance with Fred... that's chilling, and I think it's meant to be. Serena is seduced by the privilege of her position. That's the person she really is.
The best thing about this episode was the stuff with Emily and Moira. I was just complaining about Moira not having enough to do this season, and while I still wish we could have even more, it was so fun to check in with her and see that she is adjusting pretty well to her life in Canada. Emily is also trying to adjust, but she's having to come to terms with her behavior while in Gilead. She killed people. Yes, in the context of her life there, she was doing what she needed to do to survive. But still...
And then there's Moira, who has also killed. These two women don't have a lot in common, which I thought was adorably demonstrated when Moira remarked in frustrated amusement that they're the only two lesbians ever to have nobody in common. They end up going to a protest, to try and hold Canadian officials accountable for negotiating with Gilead. Things get heated, and Moira and Emily are both arrested.
There's something so great about seeing this moment of resistance and response. Because of course it would be scary to be arrested, no matter the circumstances, but there's such a clear-cut difference between how Canada responds to this kind of behavior, vs. how Gilead does. Emily and Moira are chatting casually in their cells, waiting for Sylvia and Luke to come pick them up. And they're angry about what's happening in Canada, but they're allowed to be angry out loud. I love watching these two women bond. They have so many life experiences in common, but they are fundamentally different people. Watching them play off of one another teaches me so much about both of them as individuals. I particularly like the way Moira is putting in this extra effort to make sure Emily is adjusting.
And did anyone notice the heart-stopping plot moment that happened during that protest? Emily says, out loud in front of Canadian officials, that June gave Nichole to her. Obviously we the audience knew that, and Serena and Fred knew that, but the world at large technically doesn't know that June was in on the plan to smuggle Nichole out of Gilead. I'm not sure if they are going somewhere with this, but when Emily said that, I literally said "oh, shit" out loud to my TV screen. This is the kind of good plotting that has always excited me about this show. This season has been lacking in genuinely intriguing "oh shit" moments, because a lot of it is the same horrors we've seen before. But this one? Dang. I'll be keeping my eye out.
So that's that. This episode was definitely a weak point, but a weak point in this show is still definitely worth watching for so many reasons. I still have faith that we've got more good material ahead of us.
6.5/10
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