A flashback to when Luke, June, and Hannah were trying to escape Gilead. Luke was shot and captured by Gilead forces and was on his way to a hospital when the ambulance got turned over and the soldiers within died. Luke escapes and tries to find medical care for himself when he runs into an underground railroad group trying to help smuggle defectors out of Gilead. Luke escapes and is in Canada for three years with another escapee when he gets word that his wife June, now Offred, is alive.
This episode provides examples of:
- A Day in the Limelight: This whole episode is about Luke.
- Dramatic Irony: It appears June believed that Moira made it out. We know from the first episode this was not the case, to highlight the extent of Gilead's control. Moira's escape wouldn't come until a few episodes later.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: In a flashback, the homes and businesses of "gender traitors" in one town have been vandalized by having their windows broken and homophobic graffiti painted on them, reminiscent of Kristallnacht during the period leading up to World War II. One of the hanged people on the wall has the customary bag over his head, with the Pink Triangle, a symbol that was first used by the Nazis in World War II to identify gay men.
- The Exile: Luke and other American emigres who fled to Canada. They had to flee persecution and cannot go home. A "Little America" has been set up in Toronto by the refugees.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Luke tries to hold off the soldiers while June and Hannah run, with just a revolver. He's quickly shot, but manages to survive and escape into Canada.
- Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits: The people who find Luke consist of, in their words, "an army brat, two strays, a gay and a nun."
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: In both shock and guilt, Luke is really determined to go back into dangerous territory for June and Hannah, but he's persuaded to go to Canada where he could do more good trying to track his wife and child down.
