The Handmaid's Tale: Mayday (3x13)

Well, this was an undeniably intense and breathtaking finale. Let's talk about it.

Cons:

They should have just killed June. I really thought for a moment there that she was going to be killed off, and I was so excited. Not because June has been annoying me this season, although that's certainly true. I just thought - if they actually do this, if they actually kill off their protagonist, then the story opens up. There are so many other stories to tell, so many other things we could explore. June is a complex character, certainly, but the fact that she's still alive means that next season, they will probably find some way to set up a new status quo, and then June will... what? Keep trying to get kids out? Try to find Hannah? The one major obstacle this show has always had is that it might become stale, and I thought killing June off would have been a very refreshing way of avoiding just that.

At the same time, even without killing June off, there was a lot of savior imagery here. The other Handmaids and Marthas coming back to make that stand with June, so the kids could get out, was certainly an awesome moment, but there was this strange vibe to it, like they were coming back because of June. Because she inspired them. I've expressed my slight discomfort with this idea before. What makes June so special? Why is she the leader of this little rebellion? I always liked how in the books, she was just... a woman. One of many, forced to do what she had to in order to survive. The longer this show goes on, the more special and significant June needs to be come, to justify her role at the center of the story. I really don't know how I would fix this, but I am identifying it as something of a problem.

Pros:

But okay. Obviously this episode was pretty awesome, and I'm very pleased with it. The big thing is this: the plan worked. The kids escaped. This is so important. If the big rescue operation had failed, and we were back to more tragedy with no sign of hope, I would have been very frustrated. Last season ended with Nichole and Emily getting out. And now, one season later, we have more than 52 kids, along with some Marthas, making their escape from Gilead. It was an incredibly powerful moment. All of the treading water that's been going on this season became worth it, because finally the good guys won an important victory. Kids were rescued. Action was taken, and it paid off. This is the kind of catharsis that is so desperately needed in a show like this one.

Commander Lawrence is so fascinating to me. That scene of him reading to all of the kids was one of those complicated moments, equal parts heartwarming and uncomfortable. Because throughout it all, I can never once forget who this man is, and the way he helped to orchestrate the torment of so many innocent people. It's interesting that the loss of his wife has made him a softer, kinder person. It would be easy to imagine that the reverse might happen, but I like this way better. He's crushed by loss, but he isn't defeated. When it looks like the escape plan won't be possible, he does try to pull the plug. But when June stands her ground, Joseph doesn't turn her in. He could have blown the whole thing up, and instead he lets his home continue to be used as a base of operations. He reads a forbidden story to a bunch of little girls, a story about adventure. The final goodbye, when he calls June by her full, real name, was very powerful. You can't exactly forgive Commander Lawrence for all he's done, but you can still be grateful for the choices he's making now.

There was a lot of excellent tension and action in the scenes where the large group was making their way through the woods towards the plane. I really wasn't sure whether they were going to be successful or not, and my heart was in my throat the whole time. It just seemed so unlikely that they could really pull it off. When the women threw rocks to cause a distraction, and were shot down for their trouble, it meant that the kids could get free. It also meant that a lot of women were willing to give up their lives to pay for that freedom. They were true heroes. Every one of them. As I said, I kind of wish that they would have killed June, but I like that this episode kept me on my toes enough that I thought she might actually die. When she got shot, I winced. When we saw her lying on the ground, staring up at the sky as the plane took off, I wondered - is this it? Does June die, secure in her final moments that she succeeded? That's good story-telling. I really couldn't be sure where they were going with this.

Jumping to the subplot for a moment, we see that Serena continues to enjoy visitation privileges with Nichole, while Fred is questioned about the inner workings of Gilead. Serena has been given immunity in exchange for her cooperation, but Fred tells Mark Tuello about Nick, about how Serena had June sleep with him to get pregnant. Serena is arrested for facilitating this rape.

At first I was a bit unsure about this development, because Nick and June's relationship was hardly the worst thing Serena had a part in. But looking at the larger political reality, it makes sense. Serena gets immunity for stuff that Gilead forced her to do, and what happened with Nick and June was outside of that scope. The fact that Fred told Tuello about this is just huge. He was looking to hurt Serena, to punish her. But he also may have severed her last tiny sliver of hope of being any sort of mother to Nichole. Not only because she's under arrest, but because Fred has just confirmed that Nichole is not the product of the Ceremony at all. Any legal right that Serena may have tried to claim to her daughter, is moot. Even by Gilead's standards. I really want to see what happens with the Waterfords next season. It should prove to be very interesting!

I also want to talk about the little girl that June talks to, about what her life will be like outside of Gilead. For now, this girl is our proxy for all of the girls being smuggled out of Gilead. We don't know how all of them are going to react - for most of them, this life is the only one they know. I can imagine that next season, we're going to see some difficulty in assimilating. Some of these children will want to go back to their families, the only families they've ever known. But for now, we get to see the hopeful side of things. June tells this girl that outside of Gilead, she can be whoever she wants to be. She doesn't have to be a Wife or a Mother. She can wear whatever she wants. Then, as the plane lands in Canada, she asks Moira timidly - "is this the place where I can wear whatever I want?" It's such a simple thing, such a child-like example to hold on to. But it also means everything. The choice of what to wear may seem inconsequential, but it is one of the biggest ways that Gilead has to control its people. To go from a place where people are uniformed according to their function, color-coded according to their fertility and status as a woman, to a place where you can dress however you want? That's not trivial at all.

I'm so glad that we got to see the rescue through to its conclusion. Moira, Emily, and Luke are all there, along with lots of other volunteers, to see to the children as they are welcomed to Canada. There's so much going on in such a short amount of time in this final scene. Rita and Luke meet and embrace, and Rita tells Luke that this miracle is all thanks to June. We also see Luke watching the kids get off the plane, hoping against hope that he's about to be reunited with Hannah. That was heartbreaking, and makes me excited to see what happens next season. I want that reunion so bad, but I know it's not going to be easy.

This finale was pretty damn wonderful. Sure, I have the same complaints I've had all season about June's characterization. Obviously she was very brave and very much a bad-ass here, but what happened with Mrs. Lawrence is still difficult for me to accept, and the same goes for the other deaths she's helped to cause this season. All that said, I'm hopeful for what we might be getting in Season Four. I want to see more of the fall-out from this daring rescue mission. I want to spend much more time in Canada with all of our escaped characters - now including these new kids and Rita, along with Moira, Luke, and Emily! I want to see the political implications of Fred and Serena's imprisonment. I want to know what the hell is going on with Nick! There's a lot more of this story to tell, and I hope Season Four can tell it well.

9/10