History Recap / TheHandmaidsTaleS2E13TheWord

** Fred gets slapped by June after he hits herl Rita is impressed.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Serena is horrified to learn that it was Eden’s own father who turned her in, essentially sentencing his daughter and Isaac to their deaths.

* FedToPigs: June's opening narration reveals that this is what Gilead does with the bodies of executed people and that it happened to Isaac and Eden's bodies.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: While Emily revels in euphoria in her retaliation against Aunt Lydia, she breaks down soon afterwards at what she had done.

* TheParagonAlwaysRebels: Commander Joseph Larwence is one of the main architects of Gilead. He's also a rebel trying to undermine the very regime he helped forge.

** Harshly averted with Eden's father.

** Fred gets slapped by June after he hits her, Rita is impressed.

* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Fred offers June the chance to remain at the Waterford home to be close to Holly[=/=]Nichole and get ocassional visits from Hannah. When June argues its against the rules, Fred counters that rules can be bent for high-ranking Commanders.

* RealityEnsues:
** A HUGE one for Serena as she learns that the Gilead Regime is truly oppressive towards women (as it costs her one of her fingers), and that Nichole really isn't better off in this world.
** Both Emily and Commander Lawrence realize that the attack on Aunt Lydia is likely a death sentence for Emily in light of the fact that she previously killed the Guardian back in season one. This forces Commander Lawrence to execute his plan to evacuate both June and Emily much sooner than he possibly anticipated.

** Serena ends up getting her pinky chopped off for her defiant reading of the Bible in front of the Commanders as a protest against the women of Gilead being forbidden to read. Subverted in that, like with the strapping earlier, she suffers for a ''righteous'' case.

* TranquilFury: June gets this when it's revealed that Eden's father turned both her and Issac into the authorities and questions Fred about what he'll do when they come for Holly.

* TooDumbToLive: Even though Aunt Lydia knows how aggressive and retaliative Emily can be towards her tormenters, she continues to push her further.

** Serena ends up getting her pinky chopped off for her defiant reading of the Bible in front of the Commanders as a protest against the women of Gilead being forbidden to read.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: With heavy emphasis on ''bitter''sweet. Emily and June get a chance to escape Gilead, but the latter gives her baby to the former and stays behind so that she may save her other daughter as well. As frustrating as it is to many viewers to see June give up that oppurtunity of freedom, the acts of rebellion revealed throughout the series and especially in this episode such as the underground railroad of Marthas helping to smuggle people out of the country and Commander Lawrence's hand in it provides some hope of not only June's escape but the fall of Gilead itself.]]

** Emily believes that she is being transported to a remote area to be executed by Commander Lawrence. It turns out Commander Lawrence is actually one of the good guys, and is trying to secure Emily and June's escape.

* BatmanGambit: The plan to extract Emily and June with her daughter relies on a distraction, namely fires popping up near the Waterfords' home. First responders are too busy dealing with the fires and only Commander Waterford and Serena are aware of what really is happening. Fortunately, Fred is held back by Nick while Serena understands that Nichole can't grow up in Gilead.

* HiddenDepths: June and Rita discover that Eden was literate and secretly kept a bible and journal where she contemplated and searched for the meaning of her faith.

* HeelFaceTurn: Though with Serena we may never now... she allows June to escape with the baby when she finally realizes women don't have any real future to look forward to in Gilead.

* BaitAndSwitch: Emily believes that she is being transported to a remote area to be executed by Commander Lawrence. It turns out Commander Lawrence is actually one of the good guys, and is trying to secure Emily and June's escape.
* BatmanGambit: The plan to extract Emily and June with her daughter relies on a distraction, namely fires popping up near the Waterfords' home. First responders are too busy dealing with the fires and only Commander Waterford and Serena are aware of what really is happening. Fortunately, Fred is held back by Nick while Serena understands that Nichole can't grow up in Gilead.

* EvilAllAlong: Eden's father, Mr. Spencer, is portrayed as a sympathetic and tragic figure who is mourning the loss of his beloved daughter... [[WhamLine Until he reveals he was the one who turned her in in the first place]].

* BookEnds: Early in the season, June was helped to escape Gilead by a group of men and was captured by another. Now, it is mostly women who help her escape and it is her who chooses to stay.

* We last see Nick holding off Commander Waterford after the latter discovers June has run off with Nichole/Holly, and do not know what happened afterward.

* IronicEcho: ''"Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum"'', now carved over the wall instead of painted inside the closet.

* EvilAllAlong: Eden's father, Mr. Spencer, is portrayed as a sympathetic and tragic figure who is mourning the loss of his beloved daughter... [[WhamLine Until he reveals he was the one who turned her in the first place]].

* AmbiguousSituation: We last see Nick holding off Commander Waterford after the latter discovers June has run off with Nichole/Holly, and do not know what happened afterward.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: With heavey emphasis on 'bittersweet". Emily and June get a chance to escape Gilead, but the latter gives her baby to the former and stays behind so that she may save her other daughter as well. As frustrating as it is to many viewers to see June give up that oppurtunity of freedom, the acts of rebellion revealed throughout the series and especially in this episode such as the underground railroad of Marthas helping to smuggle people out of the country and Commander Lawrence's hand in it provides some hope of not only June's escape but the fall of Gilead itself.]]

June finds Eden's bible along with her possessions and realizes that Eden had read the book and written notes in defiance of Gilead Doctrine. She shows this to Serena, who while initially resistant to June's pleas about her concerns for the future of Holly/Nichole, does bring this up with the Commanders. However, when she reads from Eden's Bible herself, she is punished with the loss of one of her fingers. Aunt Lydia is brutally attacked by Emily at the Lawrence household, and soon after, fires start popping up around the Waterford house. Several Marthas use this event to whisk June and her daughter away, and even Serena tearfully gives Holly/Nichole a goodbye. This is soon revealed to be a gambit by Commander Lawrence to get both Emily and June out of Gilead, although June gives her daughter to Emily for safekeeping while deciding to remain behind to locate Hannah.

* AdaptationDeviation: During the final scenes of the 1990 movie, Offred stabs the Commander with a hidden knife before her escape. Here, at the end of this season, it is Emily who wields the knife, but uses against Aunt Lydia a instead. Unlike his film version, Commander Waterford is simply held back by Nick.

* BreakTheHaughty: Serena is completely destroyed by the end of the episode.

* HeelFaceTurn: Serena allows June to escape with the baby when she finally realizes women don't have any real future to look forward to in Gilead.

* WhamLine: Mr. Spencer revealing he gave up his own daughter to the authorities.