There were highly tense moments in “Surprise” starting with Naomi Lawrence almost catching June and Moira in the Lawrence cellar. The Commander whines that his only real choices are participating in whatever Mayday’s crazy plan is, or end up on the wall. I suppose leopards eating his face hadn’t occurred to him. Of course, Lawrence can’t get into Jezebels to get the incriminating papers left in the safe. That means June has to call on Nick for assistance.
Nick manages to purloin the content from the safe, but not before that jackwagon Commander Bell sees him. Watch for Janine to slyly get info on June. Later, Nick plots to have June stay over at his place while his wife is out of town. When they arrive—Rose is indeed gone, but her pops--Commander Wharton is there. And he is most unhappy.
This episode spends a long time reminding us of Nick and June’s early days. Thrown together by Serena and believing her husband to be dead, June and Nick trauma bonded their way into procreation, escape, and espionage. We’ll recall that before the fall of America, Nick was jobless despite being hard working and decent. He was easily swept up in the promise of Gilead. He’s not wrong to wonder where he’d be in a world where he had to compete legitimately with say, women and minorities—not to mention smarter more compassionate people in his own demographic. Still, decent people don’t go fash just because life is frustrating.
Given Nick’s actions with June and Mayday, he could be in real danger if Wharton doesn’t trust him. Being seen at Jezebels is a very big deal, and we wonder how he’ll manage to talk his way out of it. Nick is already under suspicion for shooting two guards and then killing the one who almost lived.
Lydia has baked some cookies—because baking is still considered women’s work in Gilead and New Bethlehem. Everyone’s favorite Aunt tells Janine that she’ll soon be an attendant in New Bethlehem. Still willing to believe the men of Gilead, Lydia buys into the idea that retired Handmaids will be treated with respect. Like Serena, Lydia thinks she can be forgiven with a few simple acts—for ruining the lives of women, for maiming and beating and tormenting them, stealing their freedom, their dignity, and their children.
When June sneaks out to Serena’s, it’s pretty tense. Serena, still oblivious to the damage she’s caused, the things she’s done, she’s angry that June hasn’t forgiven her. After all, she apologized. It’s that common fallacy that making an apology means you’re due forgiveness. The purpose of an apology is to convey sincere regret. No one is obligated to forgive anyone who beat, SA’d, or tortured them.
Just when it seems like things couldn’t get more uncomfortable at Serena’s, Rita and June share a lunch with all the warmth of a snow-covered playground slide. June tells Rita she’s not really in New Bethlehem for Nick (as she’d told Serena) but that she’s there for Mayday. Rita tells June she has no interest in joining, helping, or even knowing about Mayday. What Rita wants is a life, and to protect her family. That’s totally valid.
Rita has a point about how annoying and difficult it is to be surrounded by people doing the bravest thing all the time. We all watched Moira, June, and Luke argue about who got to put themselves in the most danger. Being an American just now, I’m confronted every day with another institution, journalist, or celebrity suddenly deciding to kowtow to the fash. I get wanting to be safe like Rita—to just have a life. But if you have a means to stop the atrocities, don’t you have an obligation to do everything you can? Ultimately it depends on who needs you more—your family or like, literally everybody else.
Meanwhile, June finds Serena’s notebooks full of propagandist nonsense illustrating that she still believes in all that forced incubation crap—she just wants to position herself better than last time. Serena honestly thinks she has that with Commander Wharton. Remember—the worst and most dangerous thing about Serena is that she honestly thinks she is godly and good.
Lawrence is teaching Angela/Charlotte chess, to Naomi’s chagrin. When she warns him that people won’t like that in their social circles, he tells his wife that they won’t have to worry about that soon. That’s all he says, but we know Commander Lawrence is expecting to be the last man standing in Boston soon. That’s bad news given what we learn next.
Nick finally arrives at Serena’s to tell June that she’s “always been” the one, and that he loves her and wants to run away to Paris. He shows up with money and passports and the whole deal. Strange—given that she’s married already and Nick has a baby on the way and he was very into being a commander. But what’s this? Commander Wharton has come to visit Serena while June and Nick hide in a closet. At that moment, June seemed very into the idea of Paris with Nick (and maybe Luke and Holly too?).
That’s when the proverbial bomb drops. Jezebels has been shut down. Janine and the rest of them may go to New Bethlehem, or get shuffled to a different brothel, or who knows what else. Wharton knows about the plan to kill the commanders, and we wonder who could have possibly spilled. Lawrence? One of the sex workers? Naomi? The guard that hit Luke? Anyone might have pieced the plan together, right?
Nope. It was Nick. We don’t even know how much he told them. This could mean all the girls at Jezebel's are gone, everyone at Mayday, Lawrence and Moira, Luke and anyone who was helping him. This an absolute clusterf*ck for the resistance, one they may never recover from. Thanks, Nick. I guess June’s mom was right. You can’t ever trust a fash sympathizer.