Aunt Lydia is pissed. We are here for it. She’s making no secret of the fact that she was straight-up lied to. Lydia used barbaric tactics because she believed in the promises of Gilead. Meanwhile, Serena is still pretending to be decent. It’s wild how once again we see that the people who suffered the most are the ones still grappling with their actions—while perpetrators like Serena wish others could understand the mild inconveniences they’ve suffered.
The big news is that “fertility centers” are about to become all the rage. “The Handmaid’s brand is fertility” is one of the most terrifying phrases we’ve heard yet. The commanders are still pretending New Bethlehem is real, when in reality they plan to clamp down once the town is expanded and full of people who can’t leave. Meanwhile, Commander Wharton is in want of a wife.
Jezebels was harrowing to see, even knowing everything we know so far. I’m curious to know how one of the women had tan lines. That seems impossible for a number of reasons. Commander Bell is an important man, and also a narcissistic sadist who torments Janine in particular. His squaring off with Lawrence is not unexpected. Bell seems almost offended that the other men don’t get off on tormenting the women like he does. But when Lawrence tells Bell that he’s neither liked nor respected, that he has no skill, talent, or personality—it all goes south for Lawrence.
You know how in movies one character will call another and tell them “turn on the TV,” only for the news to show exactly the necessary information? That’s how it felt when Janine showed Lawrence the peephole, only for him to immediately discover the commander’s plan to screw over New Bethlehem, blame Lawrence for it, and then put him on the wall. How fortuitous that he found out in time!
It’s about then that we remember that the episode is called “Janine.” I felt pretty sure that meant she was gonna die this week—and am thrilled to report that she didn’t. She’s right about Lawrence—he’s not a good guy. He’s just good compared to the worse ones. Had the other commanders not just affirmed their plan to frame and then kill Lawrence, he probably wouldn’t have helped June and Moira escape.
Turns out, Nick didn’t kill both guards in No Man’s Land. One of them may recover. Nick visits briefly and it seems that Toby won’t be recovering after all. Wharton is intent on finding the rebels, but how can they with no remaining leads?
With all the tension building up between Moira and June, they picked a highly inopportune time to discuss it. June suggesting they take Janine out was stupid, and Moira was right to point it out. The whole conversation was infuriating until Moira finally said “I love you all the time, even when I don’t feel like it.” We’ve all been there with a friend, just with (hopefully less PTSD all around). But nothing brings two friends together like killing a man and hoisting his corpse into a furnace. Yikes!
June and Moira do escape with their lives, thanks to a last second save from Commander Lawrence. However, a supervising martha found them suspicious, as did a guard. In a safe in a private room, are Maydays plans for attack, and a stack of letters from Jezebel slaves to their families. Eventually someone will find it—but who knows if it will be soon enough to foil Mayday’s plan to blow the whole place up after the women escape.
So, by the end of “Janine,” June and Moira, plus Luke and his traveling companion, have all escaped Jezebels. Serena and Commander Wharton are engaged with the promise that boys and girls will be learning to read—unless that was just a setup for the marriage proposal. Wharton tells Serena that she can still write, still organize, still be an activist. But how long will that last? Especially once the other commanders turn New Bethlehem into Gilead II.
This was a harrowing episode full of emotional catharsis, infuriating men doing awful things to women we love, and everybody feeling like they’re not being careful enough. Luke never should have escalated to the point where the guard socked him one. Ouch. Overall though, an excellent episode. 10/10