Mark’s taskforce intends to launch in three separate aircraft. They have a clear flight path to the school, and they’re going to parachute in. They have plans to kill anyone who gets in their way, with Commander Elijah leading the force.
June convinced Mark to let them watch the broadcast as he sees it that night, pointing out that unlike the other parents, she actually gave them intel to work with. ..
Meanwhile, Serena continues to hold her nerve as the Wheeler’s wind up and encourage her to pump her breasts so Mrs Wheeler can feed Noah instead.
Serena swallows hard and forces a smile as she approaches the Wheeler residence. She also attempts to get out of the residence and wants to be at the upcoming rally with Noah to encourage more women to come into the fertility center she pitched. Mr Wheeler agrees to consider it, but he’s pretty dismissive in his reaction. ..
Naomi Putnam is brought before Lawrence, who suggests they get married to settle any unpleasantries that may arise. It’s actually her choice too, and Naomi won’t be bound for the colonies if she refuses. Mrs Putnam is stunned into silence, while Lawrence is clearly uncomfortable with this arrangement too. ..
June is there to watch the raid take place. “You’re coming home.” She whispers. Unfortunately, en-route the planes come under attack. Gilead anticipated their mission and they moved their anti-aircraft guns, smashing through all 3 planes. There were no survivors – including Elijah.
Lawrence rings June the next day and continues his pitch for her to be in New Bethlehem. He also brings up Nick being there too and claims it’s a good deal and she should take it. However, he has terms. He wants June to go public and call the mission a “foolish act of aggression.” June refuses, realizing it would paint Gilead as the victims in all this. Lawrence has tears in his eyes as he tells her about how much he loves her and how much he wants her to be a part of this family.
June heads over to see Mark and tells him that she’s done with Lawrence and won’t even entertain the idea of engaging with him in the future. She’s intent on continuing and attempting something different, so Mark suggests using Nick to be their inside man. While he was spooked before, June could be the decider here and convince Nick to play ball. ..
June heads over to meet Nick and asks why he didn’t take up the offer. It turns out Rose is actually pregnant, and he sees Gilead as making progress and changing. “I wish the world would just go away, just for a little bit.” June laments, going on to tell Nick she doesn’t want to make trouble for him. The pair linger, with both expressing their love, before parting ways. ..
Mrs Wheeler wakes up early and slaps Serena several times in the face, telling her to stay away from her husband and calling her a whore. However, Serena is allowed to go to the meeting, but she won’t be alone – she’ll be watched carefully by Mrs Wheeler.
Serena was belittled by the other girls and not allowed to attend any upcoming meetings. Serena is allowed to head into the back unsupervised and feed Noah, given she intentionally chose not to take a bottle with her. Serena runs for it. She manages to hitch a ride from someone who speeds away.
Some of the Commanders decide that it’s time to take care of June and end the threat she poses. Others feel that June is too valuable to kill and instead leave her alive so she can continue to pose a threat. Ultimately, the decision is made to leave June alive, but with some restrictions in place.
As the crowd of protesters pays their respects to the fallen soldiers who lost their lives in Gilead, someone in the crowd opens fire. June grabs Emma, Elijah’s daughter, and protects her while diving to the ground. Bullets symbolically rip through the American flag.
The Episode Review
The season has been full of surprises and it’s hard to know where things are going to lead next. Many people are wondering if the show can keep up with the high level of quality that it has shown this year.
Despite the fact that though, The Handmaid’s Tale has been a decent watch this year, and the ending hints that next week’s finale is going to be quite the shocker, it looks like the show is moving into tying into The Revelations. This means that there is a good chance that The Handmaid’s Tale will end with a bang.
In the meantime, we get some closure between June and Nick, while the series continues to deliver symbolic visuals, especially that ending with bullet holes ripping through the US flag. This hasn’t been the best season but it’s been a decent one all the same. ..
