The Handmaid's Tale: 6x07 Shattered.
If there is one noticeable difference in tone since previous seasons of this show, it’s that we’re naming things as they are: in this episode alone, Luke calls Nick a “Nazi” and questions how June could fall in love with one, and Commander Lawrence, now a more reliable contact to the inside of Gilead because it’s in his self-interest to support Mayday, has the word “fascist” thrown at him, immutable in spite of his cooperation. A lot has changed since this show started in 2017, with the rise of the extreme right being the most horrifying monster to rear its ugly head. Since the first season, religious extremists have forged a happy and fruitful alliance with these groups, and it has altered the language of the show accordingly.
June’s faith in Nick has destroyed Mayday’s plans to kill the Commanders at Jezebel’s, and it has cost the lives of the women forced to work there, who are all shot, with the exception of Janine, who is taken away. It’s Nick who is responsible for these deaths, but June is culpable as well, because she trusted him with information that she should have never given him. These women were meant to be rescued, and now, they have died – as so many others have who followed June. Nick argues what we already know about him, that the only thing he has always reliably done has been saving June, that he has never shown any dedication beyond protecting himself and her – but she loved him, and she thought he was someone he wasn’t, because what does it say about her now that she could have loved such a man?
June: You gave up those women to save yourself.
Nick: We all want to save ourselves. We’re fucking human, that’s what we do.
June: You’re just like them.
Nick: And you love me. So what does that make you?
I think the twist that Lawrence goes to Mayday straight away to ensure that other plans are in motion to kill the warhawks who have already planned his death is interesting: here is a man who has never, by anyone, been considered as more than self-interested. He is reliable because he is predictable, because nobody expects him to do more than look out for himself. That makes him a better ally in this case, because what could be a greater motivator than saving his own life by ensuring that his enemies die? And what better occasion to hit as many influential people in Gilead as possible than Serena’s wedding, which has now been moved to Boston because in her meeting with other, proper Gileadean wives, it has become obvious that her plans for reform are falling on deaf ears. All these wives – these women in green, facing a woman who no longer wears that colour and is not one of their own anymore – have no interest in reforming a system that benefits them. They so easily fall into a rhythm of “my husband says” without holding a thought of their own, revealing to Serena that her plans – and what she considers Commander Wharton’s plans for now, as well – are doomed to fail without a show of power. With the wedding being back in Gilead, it also means that Handmaids will be present, forced to witness a ceremony so connected to their own subjugation, never meeting the bride’s eyes. It’s already a concession that Serena has to make, but it’s also the weak point, because Mayday can use them to infiltrate the ceremony. Lawrence also knows exactly how to hook June on his plan, as she’s packing up to leave a place that is no longer welcoming to her: would she want Serena to win in the end, to have her move up in the world while June’s legacy will be defeat?
On the sidelines of these plans developing, Luke and June once again reaffirm that they will continue to support each other, that their love still exists in spite of everything that happened, not just because of Hannah. Luke is furious, but he can’t stop loving June (June asks him to not pity her, and gives him an out, but he doesn’t take it). I wish that Luke had gotten a bit more to do this season, that he was more than just a mirror for June to reflect her own weaknesses back at her, but at least his bombs are still in play: with Serena requiring more Guardian support at her wedding, all those precious buildings will be unguarded. If anything, this plan feels more solid than the original one did, except it comes at the cost of all those lives lost at Jezebel’s.
Janine, meanwhile, is once again taking the brunt of all the horrors, perhaps, as Commander Lawrence suggests, wishing she had died at Jezebel’s instead. Commander Bell has saved his favourite and taken her on as a Handmaid, and as much as Aunt Lydia is overjoyed to her that she is still alive, she realises what that means for her instantly. She is not “presentable” enough to attend Serena’s wedding, because Commander Bell and his wife seem to take joy in abusing and beating her (the cold shiver of “we’ve been working on her adjustment all morning”), which thankfully happens off screen. June has her own plans to save her, but I hate that the show keeps falling back into its favourite habit of torturing Janine, who has survived so much. If she had left with June and Moira, she’d be safe and sound with Mayday now, but she made the selfless decision of staying behind, and is paying for her courage now.
Moira and June sneak into the Handmaids training centre while Lawrence gets Aunt Lydia out of the way, offering her the opportunity to speak to the birthing centre plans in D.C. Aunt Phoebe is in place – a resistance mole, placed perfectly for this mission – to prepare the Handmaids for their mission. Before the shit hits the fan, June offers a prayer that ends with “Give us the strength to murder those goddamn motherfuckers.”
Random notes:
What an absolute treat to have D’Arcy Carden join the revolution, even if it’s almost the end. There should have been many more seasons of A League of Their Own, but I’m always happy to see her. I wonder if her character will carry through to The Testaments.
Nick, being revealed as who he truly is to the only person whose opinion he cares about, now takes it all to the obvious conclusion: he no longer has to pretend to care, he can do the easiest thing in the world after proclaiming that it’s all just about saving his own skin, and step back from his promise to Rita to help her find her family. Which brings Rita back into the Mayday fold, ready to deliver for them.
I really like June and Moira’s little conversation, where Moira is all too ready to forgive June for trusting Nick: she says that if a Commander had saved her life, she might have fallen in love with him too if he was “Angelina Jolie hot” (June, in what is a funny moment in a very dreary episode, says that Nick is definitely not that).
“Her narcissism brought down one nation, now it’s going to bring down another.”
Moira: Say something leaderish. Leadery.