Emily's commander dies of a heart attack. Serena and Fred rape June in order to speed up delivery of her baby. In compensation for that event, Fred arranges for Nick to take June to meet with Hannah at one of the Mackenzie family properties. Afterwards, an encounter with two Guardians results in Nick getting apprehended, and June at the Mackenzie house, all alone.
Tropes
- Abusive Parents: According to Hannah, her new set of "parents" use physical punishment when she misbehaves. It shows as she is initially reluctant to embrace her loving mother.
- Big Damn Reunion: June and her daughter Hannah have one this episode only to be separated again ten minutes later.
- Cliffhanger: This episode ends with Nick seized and seemingly shot by a pair of Guardians and June, nine months pregnant, alone in the woods with no idea where she is.
- Despair Event Horizon: June at the end of the episode.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: June's forced separation from Hannah resembles the controversy of American Immigration authorities forcibly separating children from their parents who are seeking asylum at around the same time this episode was aired.
- Evil Old Folks: Grinnell, an elder commander, who comments that his Handmaid is reaching "her expiration date" as casually as one might regard an old household appliance and not a human being.
- First Kiss: Despite being married to Nick, Eden has hers this episode with Isaac.
- Good Parents: June has ten minutes to reunite with Hannah and she manages to keep it together and ensure that her daughter obeys her "new parents" and keeps herself safe, instead of falling apart at the thought of being separated from her once again.
- Groin Attack: Knowing that her Commander is dead of a heart attack, Emily does this to him post mortem.
- Heroic BSoD: June goes through with this in the aftermath of her rape at the hands of the Waterfords.
- Meaningful Rename: Hannah's new "parents" have renamed her Agnes, most likely in an attempt to erase her identity as the child of "sinful" parents.
- Moral Event Horizon: Both Serena and Fred plunge directly to the bottom after cruelly raping June.
- No Sympathy: Nick doesn't even try to console Eden as she is crying over the realization that Nick is not interested in her.
- Out with a Bang: Emily's new commander has a fatal heart attack during "The Ceremony."
- Pet the Dog: Fred arranges for a visit between June and Hannah, likely to "make up" for raping her.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil : June by Fred and Serena in an attempt to force labor. But it seems more of a cruel punishment for the false labor on Serena's side and the previous confrontation June had with Fred.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!:Serena: We did it Offred. And this is the will of God and we shall rejoice and be glad in it.June: No one knows the things of God.
