Diksha Sundriyal
As the final season of Hulu’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ inches towards its finale, the characters start taking bolder risks to get what they want. The eighth episode of the season follows up from the betrayal that June received from Nick in the previous episode. Her desire to hit back at Gilead is even stronger now, and with Serena’s wedding with Commander Wharton on the horizon, the Handmaid’s feel like the only option she and Mayday have to get rid of the Commanders. This episode feeds on the tension of June and Mayday’s new plan and all the ways that it can go wrong. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Serena’s Wedding Gives a Chance to the Handmaids to Fight Back
At the end of the previous episode, Moira and June returned to Gilead with the intention of gathering the Handmaids and everyone else who has been harmed by the cruel, misogynist laws of the authoritarian regime and giving them a fighting chance against the Commanders in the hopes of toppling the regime. This episode begins with June speaking about the red color of the Handmaids’ uniform and how the color meant to represent blood and birth is now the representation of their rage. With the help of Aunt Phoebe, she and Moira mingle with the rest of the Handmaids and start distributing knives to them as Serena and Commander Wharton’s wedding ceremony proceeds. One of the Handmaids accidentally drops a knife, but she is able to hide it before anyone else can take notice.
The distribution of the knives continues over the reception as everyone else enjoys the banquet while the Handmaids sit on one side and watch. Serena takes a moment to chat with them, where she tries to convince them that she is working to help them. She even talks about her and June’s tumultuous relationship, and how they have turned from enemies to friends. Meanwhile, June worries that Serena might see her and ruin everything. Luckily, Aunt Phoebe, who is also working with the rebellion, brings Rita in just in time to get Serena back to her table and away from the Handmaids. And then, the cake arrives. It is distributed to everyone, even to the Handmaids, but none of them eats it.
The problem occurs when Aunt Lydia arrives at the wedding. In the last episode, Lawrence had tried to send her away in the pretence of having the committee listen to her idea of reforms, but it seems that she ditched that in order to attend Serena and Wharton’s wedding. In a worse turn of events, she sees June and follows her, but the former Handmaid escapes just in time for Lydia to believe that she has been mistaken. Lawrence and Phoebe try to calm her down as food, drinks, and cake are put in front of her to calm her nerves. At the dinner table, when almost everyone else has left, Lydia notices something interesting. She discovers that none of the Handmaids ate the cake, which they had hidden under their chairs. This confirms for her that something untoward is going on, and she decides to look into it immediately.
Serena’s Wedding Night Turns Into a Shock
Unaware of what June and the Handmaids are up to, Serena and Commander Wharton reach their house. For her, this is a happy day as it is supposed to be the beginning of something new, but then, she sees a Handmaid in the house. She is shocked to discover that her new husband asked for one even when he knew that Serena would not approve of it. He reveals that the woman is there for them to expand their family. When Serena mentions that she herself is fertile and there is no need for a Handmaid, he counters that she would not be enough to fill their house with children. Serena asks the Handmaid her real name and tells her to run away as far as possible, but her husband seems irritated by her actions.
Wharton shows his true colours as he tells Serena that he has indulged her liberal ideas so far, but he will not turn his back on his duties. This opens her eyes completely as she accuses him of being just like every other Commander, which is what June had warned her about in their last meeting. Refusing to spend another minute in his presence, Serena takes her child and leaves. At first, Wharton stops her by having the door blocked by a Guardian, but eventually, lets her leave with her child. Meanwhile, June visits Commander Bell’s house, where he is passed out on the sofa. It seems the cake has started to show its effect. He is awoken by a call where he is given an alarming update. Before he can get to his feet and do something about it, June stabs him in the eye, and he dies on the spot. A few minutes later, Janine arrives at the scene to find Bell dead at the hands of her friend, June. Finally, she knows she has been saved.
Aunt Lydia Almost Unravels Mayday’s Plan
Having discovered the uneaten cake, Aunt Lydia is convinced that the Handmaids are up to something bad. She immediately makes her way to their rooms and notices that all the guards and aunts are asleep. Aunt Phoebe intercepts her on the way, and when it becomes clear that Lydia is not ready to drop the matter, she pulls out her knife, ready to kill Lydia, but has to stop when a Guardian shows up. Now, Phoebe is forced to open the door where Lydia expects to find the Handmaids missing, but surprisingly, they are still there. Still, she is not convinced and pulls off the cover of the woman to find her fully dressed with shoes on, which shows that she leapt into the bed moments before Lydia shows up.
All the Handmaids and Aunt Phoebe are huddled together and held at gunpoint as Lydia threatens them to tell the truth. Phoebe is pulled forward to be shot, which forces Moira to reveal herself. However, Lydia does not recognise her. Moira identifies herself, which convinces the aunt that June was at the wedding and has been planning something nefarious. She asks Moira to tell her where June is, and her question is answered as June shows up at the place herself. She calms down Lydia by talking about the injustice that has been wreaked upon them, and how, in her heart, Lydia, too, must recognise that they have been raped and abused in the name of the greater good.
To drive the point home, Janine shows up and completely disarms Lydia. She is happy to see her girl safe and out of Bell’s hold. By this point, she has given up any desire to stop the Handmaids, and she lets them all go. As the Handmaids, led by June, run to their freedom, we get flashbacks from earlier in the night where the Handmaids used the knives given to them to kill their Commanders. What remains to be seen is how many of the Commanders they killed and if Commander Wharton is one of them.
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