The Handmaid's Tale, Episode 6
A WOMAN’S PLACE
The episode opens with Aunt Lydia supervising the Handmaids cleaning the wall aka Not-the-kind-with-coffee-and-Wi-Fi Hanging Out Spot. Some foreign government officials are visiting, and suddenly the God-fearing-and-prayer-before-rape Gilead is conscious of what looks good and what doesn't. If this is all mandated by God, what is there to cover?
We've watched too many shows and news about imprisonment, kidnapping and abuse. At a glance, is the way Serena treating June the worst on the list? No. We’ve seen Silence of the Lambs. And yes, there shouldn't be a ranking here, they are all horrendous. I just want to describe Serena’s superpower: Being Abusive and Condescending While Still Thinking She's a Good Person. (Sure, it's not really foreign in real life.)
In a previous episode, she handed June cookies like she was a three-year-old and told June that she was “a smart girl” like June had been raised in a cave and just got out; in this episode, she inspects June head to toe to make sure she’s clean before their visitors arrive.
June is then introduced to the Mexican ambassador, who's curious about the Handmaids' “sacred position” (the Commander’s words). The ambassador is also in awe of their huge sacrifice when told that they choose to be a Handmaid and June has “found happiness”. LOL. Of course, this interview is done in a room full of Commanders.
We also learn that Serena wrote a book Before, A Woman’s Place, where she had a line that says “never mistake a woman’s meekness for weakness” when she was fighting for domestic feminism, urging women to reevaluate their role and stop abandoning their families, which is all confusing because she loved having a career and is also now trapped in a prison she helped build.
A flashback goes to Serena and Fred’s old life, back when she didn’t wear her blue uniform. Both of them were part of the early Gilead movement, and they learned how the US was going to be brought down -- three attacks in three weeks -- while they were at a movie. Once Gilead was in power, Serena accepted their decision to sideline her.
Back to the Mexican guests, the Handmaids are taken to a dinner (with their own tables!) the following night to honour the delegates, but not before being lined up where the “damaged” ones (Serena's word), the one-eyed Janines, are excluded, because optics.
While the whole room is applauding the Handmaids and the foreign delegates are being presented with the Children of Gilead, June learns from Alma the purpose of the delegates’ visit: to trade. Not the oranges, but the reds: the Handmaids.
The next day, when the ambassador is at the Commander’s house again, June tells her the truth about the Handmaids in Gilead, but the ambassador apologizes for not being able to help because her country is also in a dire situation. The assistant, however, reveals to June that he knows who she is and that Luke is still alive. He then asks June to quickly write a note that he can pass to Luke. Homaigod. One tiny dot of light at the end of the tunnel after six episodes!
Image: Hulu via Vulture
The episode opens with Aunt Lydia supervising the Handmaids cleaning the wall aka Not-the-kind-with-coffee-and-Wi-Fi Hanging Out Spot. Some foreign government officials are visiting, and suddenly the God-fearing-and-prayer-before-rape Gilead is conscious of what looks good and what doesn't. If this is all mandated by God, what is there to cover?
We've watched too many shows and news about imprisonment, kidnapping and abuse. At a glance, is the way Serena treating June the worst on the list? No. We’ve seen Silence of the Lambs. And yes, there shouldn't be a ranking here, they are all horrendous. I just want to describe Serena’s superpower: Being Abusive and Condescending While Still Thinking She's a Good Person. (Sure, it's not really foreign in real life.)
In a previous episode, she handed June cookies like she was a three-year-old and told June that she was “a smart girl” like June had been raised in a cave and just got out; in this episode, she inspects June head to toe to make sure she’s clean before their visitors arrive.
June is then introduced to the Mexican ambassador, who's curious about the Handmaids' “sacred position” (the Commander’s words). The ambassador is also in awe of their huge sacrifice when told that they choose to be a Handmaid and June has “found happiness”. LOL. Of course, this interview is done in a room full of Commanders.
We also learn that Serena wrote a book Before, A Woman’s Place, where she had a line that says “never mistake a woman’s meekness for weakness” when she was fighting for domestic feminism, urging women to reevaluate their role and stop abandoning their families, which is all confusing because she loved having a career and is also now trapped in a prison she helped build.
A flashback goes to Serena and Fred’s old life, back when she didn’t wear her blue uniform. Both of them were part of the early Gilead movement, and they learned how the US was going to be brought down -- three attacks in three weeks -- while they were at a movie. Once Gilead was in power, Serena accepted their decision to sideline her.
Back to the Mexican guests, the Handmaids are taken to a dinner (with their own tables!) the following night to honour the delegates, but not before being lined up where the “damaged” ones (Serena's word), the one-eyed Janines, are excluded, because optics.
While the whole room is applauding the Handmaids and the foreign delegates are being presented with the Children of Gilead, June learns from Alma the purpose of the delegates’ visit: to trade. Not the oranges, but the reds: the Handmaids.
The next day, when the ambassador is at the Commander’s house again, June tells her the truth about the Handmaids in Gilead, but the ambassador apologizes for not being able to help because her country is also in a dire situation. The assistant, however, reveals to June that he knows who she is and that Luke is still alive. He then asks June to quickly write a note that he can pass to Luke. Homaigod. One tiny dot of light at the end of the tunnel after six episodes!
Image: Hulu via Vulture
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