The Handmaid's Tale: Train (6x01)

I'm going to try and do three rapid-fire reviews because of the multi-episode drop!

Cons:

This is a small detail but I feel like June walking away from Nicole at the end to hug her mother should have been finessed. She should have brought the baby with her, after all the stress and pain of the past few days, why would she walk away and leave her in the line?

Also, the angry mob was going to tear Serena apart limb from limb, I feel like they wouldn't be placated after Serena's off the train. They would have attacked June, right? It felt like a misunderstanding of the logic of mob violence.

Pros:

I really think it's just the amazing acting of these two women that carry the bizarre twistedness of this relationship. I was really glad one of the other women on the train named the situation, telling June, about Serena, "she raped you." Because yeah. She did. Serially. Among many other tortures and forced imprisonment, etc. I had kind of forgotten that Serena was such a public figure, so it was a chilling reminder that not only us the viewer knows of her crimes, so do the people in this world.

Honestly, as written, I feel like June should be less sympathetic to Serena, but as acted, it's kind of hard to look away from what we're seeing on the screen. I laughed out loud when Serena was so scoffing about June's fear when she woke up and Nicole wasn't there. Like, what a crazy thought, that this woman might kidnap your child! Seriously, Serena? And then I feel like the moment that made the episode for me is when Serena starts spouting her misogynistic world-view to the other women, proving that even though she's humbled, even though she's a refugee, she still has those hateful beliefs at the core of her.

I worry sometimes that this show is going to lean too hard on "June and Serena are bonded now by the sacred tie of motherhood" and maybe we'll have to see if they keep pulling on that thread, but it's undeniable that their relationship is the central aspect of this show. Serena is June's captor and rapist. June is the murderer of Serena's husband. They're... allies? Yeesh.

We get a brief check-in with Nick back in Gilead, and we see that Canada might be recognizing Gilead and de-recognizing the United Stated soon, which would mean the refugees are in big trouble, and Luke, arrested for protecting June from murder, might not have a way out of jail. So that's stressful! Mostly setting up aspects that we'll explore more as we go, I'm sure.

I'm so relieved for June to be with her mom, I'm sure that will be an interesting dynamic. Whenever June reaches some form of sanctuary there's this real weight lifted, but even if Luke gets out of his trouble, there's still Hannah, always Hannah, to remind us that there's no real freedom until Gilead is dismantled. This is our final season, and I truly don't know how they're going to wrap this up in a satisfactory fashion, but my fingers are crossed! 

8/10