The Handmaid’s Tale launches a line of wine, and yea, we need a drink

THE HANDMAID’S TALE — “Unwomen” –Episode 202 — Offred adjusts to a new way of life. The arrival of an unexpected person disrupts the Colonies. A family is torn apart by the rise of Gilead. Dan (John Carroll Lynch) and Ofglen (Alexis Bledel), shown. (Photo by: George Kraychyk/Hulu)

Emily/Ofglen – Rogue Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

A rebellious Handmaid like Ofglen deserves a wine that is daring and dominant. Pre-Gilead, Emily was a college professor in a same-sex marriage, with an adorable little boy in her family. Post-Gilead, she’s stuck in this terrible new terrain after her wife and child fled to Canada, spared only due to her ability to give childbirth. Now a member of the resistance group Mayday, Emily (now Ofglen) works to find like-minded individuals, like Offred. It is fitting that her wine would be described as being “a “daring testament” — there’s nothing Emily wouldn’t do to snap back at Gilead and its leadership.

Suggested food pairing: Short rib bolognese, because carbs are needed to get through this show

Suggested episode: “Unwomen” finally gave us a look into Emily’s life before Gilead, as we only heard bits of it during the first season. While “Late” was a revealing episode for Ofglen, we find “Unwomen” to be the most powerful depiction of who Emily was, and still is underneath those Handmaid robes. She taught cellular biology. She was married. She had a son. Emily was proud of who she was and worked hard to move forward in her career. We see how Gilead slowly stripped her down: first by invalidating her marriage, second by destroying her with female genital mutilation surgery, and finally, Emily — now Ofglen — working with other “sinners” to clean up toxic waste in the Colonies. Despite the gut-wrenching pain that is this episode, we get a glimmer of hope. Emily helps other women in the Colonies, and despite everything she’s experienced, she still finds a way to fight for what she believes in.