As episode three opens, we haven't woken up from the nightmare yet. Ofglen is being led, handcuffed, into an institutional room of some kind, and Offred only knows a little of what happened. Offred recalls the last days of "normal," when she and Moira went jogging and were refused service (and rebuked as "sluts" for wearing perfectly acceptable workout gear). When her debit card is declined, she and Moira leave. Unable to get through to her bank due to high call volume, Offred goes to work to find out it's getting worse. All the women are dismissed—at gunpoint.In the present, Serena Joy invites June to visit baby Angela.
This episode provides examples of:
- Adaptation Expansion: Including Ofglen being led away, whereas she hanged herself in the book.
- And I Must Scream: The face mask Ofglen wears.
- Country Matters: After biting her, Janine refers to Mrs. Putnam as a cunt.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Aunt Lydia viciously tortures June with a cattle prod during her interrogation by Burke.
- Disproportionate Retribution: This might well be Disproportionate Retribution: The Series. Some examples include: Ofglen receiving a clitoridectomy as "redemption" for her crimes, and her lover being hanged in front of her; peaceful protesters being shot and blown up; and Serena Joy locking Offred in her room. Her crime? Getting her period.
- We don't know any details about Emily's lover, but the fact that both Emily and Moira (and to some extent, Janine) have had quite a lot of Plot Armor during subsequent episodes (and the presence of the Colonies in Season 2) seems to indicate that Emily's lover did much more than just have an affair to warrant immediate execution.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?:
- The hanging of Martha 6715-301 (Ofglen/Emily's lover) using a crane brings to mind the mass hangings of homosexual men commited by ISIS using the same method.
- "Clitoridectomy" is a nice, clinical term for the real practice of female genital mutilation. Often done in unsafe, unsanitary conditions (fatalities occur from bleeding or infection), with no anaesthesia whatsoever. Some societies have traditionally done this to all girls. Ofglen's case, horrible as it was, is mild by comparison to real life...
- Fate Worse than Death: Ofglen.
- Forced to Watch: Ofglen has to watch as her lover is hanged for "gender treachery." Ofglen is spared by her viable ovaries, but receives a clitoridectomy as punishment.
- Groin Attack: Ofglen receives a clitoridectomy as punishment for her "gender treachery."
- Innocently Insensitive: Serena Joy in the present, saying it's okay for Offred to hold a baby because "she's done it before."
- Insistent Terminology: The women are "let go" from their jobs, not fired. A curious version, as that usually implies a layoff...which means they can come back if the position opens up. Gays and lesbians are "gender traitors" and Offred gets beaten up for saying otherwise. And Ofglen's punishment is "Redemption."
- Kangaroo Court: Ofglen and the Martha are convicted and punished based on "laws" from Bible passages. They have no legal counsel, no-one speaks in their defence, and apparently the only evidence the court requires is the prosecutor's statement that they are guilty.
- No Periods, Period: Averted. Rita (the Martha) and Serena Joy are inordinately interested in Offred's time of the month.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Offred's reaction to getting her period.
- Aunt Lydia has this reaction after Serena Joy tells her that Offred, whom Aunt Lydia was torturing, is pregnant.
- Police State: They're already living under martial law, in response to "terrorism" when the government is overthrown and the new Gilead system set up.
- Spared by the Adaptation: In the novel, Ofglen hanged herself when she heard the sirens and the trucks coming for her.
- Suffrage and Political Liberation: In a flashback, there are shown protests and a huge demonstration that came after the government of The Republic of Gilead has declared it illegal for women to hold jobs, money or own property, and LGBTQ+ have been stripped of their rights as well. The demonstration is violently suppressed by the police.
- You Are Number 6: Ofglen and her lover are referred to as their position followed by a string of numbers. Subverted when, as a Mind Screw, Aunt Lydia refers to Ofglen by her real name, for the first time in the show.
