Spoilers ahead for the latest episode of The Handmaid’s Tale“No Man’s Land”.
The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 has been a doozy so far, bringing those with a Hulu Subscription return to the dystopian world of Gilead and strike out Emily by Alexis Bledel In the process. While plenty of action has taken place in Toronto and No Man’s Land, so many characters have escaped the authoritarian society. Episode 7 was a capsule story for June and Serena Joy, and the Handmaid’s Tale The author explained the “horror” of Ms Waterford’s cruel cliffhanger.
The last Handmaid’s Tale the episode “No Man’s Land” was written by Rachel Shukert, who was a newcomer to the writer’s room in season 5, helping to move the story of the returning characters forward and intriguing newcomers. In this episode, we saw June help Serena Joy give birth, and the two women connect and reconcile in ways we’ve never seen before. But the other shoe falls when The character of Yvonne Strahovski was turned over to Border Security and had her baby Noah taken from her shortly after becoming a mother. It was a scary moment orchestrated by June’s husband, Luke (OT Fagbenle), and will no doubt greatly affect their relationship going forward. Shukert spoke to TV line about that horrible moment of revenge, saying:
Well, June’s conflict and horror at that time with Luke is that we saw her leaning on Luke to be the thing that held back some of her worst impulses, the most reckless impulses and avengers. She can be as crazy as she wants [about] wanting to kill people because she always knows Luke is there to be reasonable. He’ll say, ‘OK, but you’re not really going to do that.’ And so, I think part of her horror in that moment is that she kind of made Luke into her, didn’t she? Saying to Luke, ‘No, no, you have to be tougher on these people. You have to do this, you have to do that,’ she recreated the worst moment of her life for Serena, which was having her child taken away.
Talk about some serious consequences. During most of The Handmaid’s Tale June Season 5 struggles to control its violent tendencies. And while her husband Luke previously helped her come to grips with reality, he seems increasingly invested in them getting their own justice. Unfortunately, her decision against Serena Joy came after June had a closure with her and was a really tough scene to watch.
Rachel Shukert’s comments highlight the change we’ve seen in Luke over the past two seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale. And while he and June have been a united front and regained their spark, Elisabeth Moss’ character may have negatively impacted her husband forever. And as a result, she and Luke did to Serena what Gilead did to them: take their child. And the results were truly frightening.
The Handmaid’s Tale is known for its terrifying and emotional streaks, but in Season 5, I was perhaps most scared of June herself. Indeed, there were several times in “No Man’s Land” where I was afraid that she would harm Serena’s baby. But instead, the protagonist found a way to find common ground with her former abuser, which made Serena’s fate and her cries for help all the more tragic.
While Serena Joy is generally a character we love to hate, The Handmaid’s Tale again found a way to turn his relationship with June on its head. The flashback to Gilead showed how they could have had a friendship if they hadn’t lived in this cruel and unforgiving society. And in the process, we also got to see the late maids Alma and Brianna who were killed by a train last season during an escape attempt.
The Handmaid’s Tale has two more episodes this season, airing Wednesdays on Hulu. In the meantime, check out the List of television premieres to plan your next binge watch.
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