In old enemies, June Osborne finds friends, while those closest to her stab her in the back. The most controversial episode of the final season of 'The Handmaid's Tale': who decided to turn the game around?
The final season is racing toward its conclusion! Read recaps of previous episodes to stay up to speed:
New-Old Alliances
Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) once again bails June (Elisabeth Moss) out of trouble: after delivering her and Moira (Samira Wiley) to a safe place (away from the brothel and the Guardians), the commander unexpectedly reminds June of her past mistakes and recalls his deceased wife Eleanor. Clearly, the character has never recovered from this event; his wife's death constantly underscores for Lawrence the utter wretchedness of the project now called 'Gilead.' He admits he expects to be executed soon, and this fact once again turns Lawrence and June into allies.
It would seem that all that's left is to cross the Gilead border, but not so fast: they need to retrieve from the brothel those very letters from former handmaids and the map of the commanders' route, as that was the mission. Unsurprisingly, June again turns to Nick for help (p.s. this is a very bad idea). Nick (Max Minghella) successfully retrieves the papers from the brothel and meets Janine (Madeline Brewer) there – their veiled dialogue about June and Moira's fate deserves top awards. Then comes another highly emotional and anxious meeting between the two former lovers, who inevitably find themselves on opposite sides of the barricades. Nick takes June to his home so she can spend the night, but they find Commander Wharton (Josh Charles) there. With no other option, Nick suggests June hide in the neighboring house. By a stroke of luck, it belongs to Serena (Yvonne Strahovski).
A Rare Flashback
At this moment, we are unexpectedly taken back to events of the first season, with an off-screen scene of romantic conversations between Nick and June during their time serving the Waterfords. This episode is very telling, as it reminds us of the strong feelings the characters have for each other. It all looks terribly sweet, especially their dreams of a trip to Paris together.
Commander Wharton arrives in the night for a reason – apparently, he suspects Nick is playing both sides and forces him to confess. But to what? We'll only understand for sure at the end of the episode.
June asks Serena for shelter, who is both glad (!) and anxious, and keeps trying to draw Osborne into some frank conversation. The women once again have a confrontation, old grievances and wounds resurface. Serena has a strong desire to befriend everyone to drown out her own conscience and guilt for everything she has done over the years. June understands this and doesn't give up her position easily. Nevertheless, Serena shelters the fugitive. 'You owe me' – June says like Moriarty in the third season of 'Sherlock,' and not without reason: it was thanks to June that Mrs. Waterford survived the first episode by jumping off a train.
Masks Off
In all fairness, it seems the entire episode was directed toward the moment that follows. In the morning, Serena brings Rita (Amanda Brugel) to her house so they can meet June. Then follows an extremely awkward conversation about Serena's wedding and the bride's preparations (June's face in this scene is priceless), culminating in Nick's arrival. Extremely agitated, he suggests June run away to Paris (as they dreamed), abandoning everyone and everything. In the heat of the moment, Osborne seems to agree, but they are forced to hide behind a closet door – Serena has a guest, her fiancé Commander Wharton. Wharton shares his joy: he has uncovered the plan of the 'Mayday' group. They were going to blow up the brothel, but now they won't succeed. And how fortunate that Nick shared this information with him.
June looks up at her beloved, in whom she now recognizes a traitor. The episode ends, and the finale is simply spine-tingling. How events will unfold further, why Nick decided to do this – we'll find out in the next episode!
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