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 up with the Commanders the possibility of women being allowed to read the Bible. 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 afer taunting her, 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.
Tropes
- Adaptation Deviation: 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 instead. Unlike his film version, Commander Waterford is simply held back by Nick.
- Ambiguous Situation:
- 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.
- Aunt Lydia's fate is also left unclear.
- Asshole Victim:
- Aunt Lydia learns the hard way that when you give someone a forced cliterdectomy, it's not wise to mock them about it to their face.
- 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 cause.
- Fred gets slapped by June after he hits her. Rita is impressed.
- Bittersweet Ending: With heavy 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 see June give up that opportunity 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.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- We meet Eden's father and condolences are given by the Waterfords. Mr. Spencer almost appears to be grieving the loss of his daughter, until he admits that he was the one who turned her and Isaac in to the authorities.
- Emily believes that she is being transported to a remote area to be executed by Gileadean authorities. It turns out Commander Lawrence is actually one of the good guys, and is trying to secure Emily and June's escape.
- Batman Gambit: 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 the Waterfords 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.
- Book Ends:
- 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.
- Season one ended with June getting into a black van to face an uncertain future; season two ends with June getting out of a van to face an uncertain future.
- Break the Haughty: Serena is completely broken after Fred allows the regime to mutilate her for the crime of reading the Bible.
- Bullying a Dragon: Aunt Lydia does not know when to stop tormenting Emily.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- Eden's bible is revealed in front of the Commanders.
- Emily's hidden knife.
- The Dog Bites Back: Emily finally snaps when Aunt Lydia makes a snide reference to her cliterdectomy (and Lillie’s cut out tongue) and attacks Aunt Lydia with a knife she had hidden.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Serena genuinely tries to comfort Eden's father about the loss of his daughter and is subsequently horrified to learn that he was the one who turned her in, essentially sentencing his daughter and Isaac to their deaths.
- Evil All Along: Eden's father, Mr. Spencer, is portrayed as a sympathetic and tragic figure who is mourning the loss of his beloved daughter... Until he reveals he was the one who turned her in in the first place, knowing that she likely would be killed.
- Fed to Pigs: June's opening narration reveals that this is what Gilead does with the bodies of execution victims and that it happened to Isaac and Eden's bodies.
- Fingore: Serena loses her pinky after defiantly reading to the Commanders as forbidden by Gilead Doctrine.
- Good All Along: Commander Lawrence turns out to be part of Mayday (or at least associated with it) and helps Emily escape Gilead with June's baby.
- Heel–Face Turn: Though with Serena we may never know for sure, she does allow June to escape with the baby when she finally realizes women don't have any real future to look forward to in Gilead.
- Hidden Depths: 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. Downplayed as the rise of Gilead happened only a few years ago and Eden likely received a decent education before that event.
- Honor Before Reason:
- June gives baby Holly/Nichole to Emily as the latter makes her escape out of Gilead, but decides to stay behind to find Hannah.
- It is revealed that Mr. Spencer turned in his daughter and Isaac over to an oppressive regime, knowing that they may be killed.
- Internal Reveal: When June sneaks a chance for Nick to hold baby Holly in front of Rita, it's implied Rita deduces Holly's parentage as well as Nick's status as an ally.
- In the Back: Emily attacks Aunt Lydia in this manner.
- Ironic Echo: "Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum", now painted over the wall instead of carved inside the closet.
- Laser-Guided Karma:
- Serena gets mutilated by breaking one of the laws she herself helped create and enforce.
- Aunt Lydia gets brutally attacked by one of the Handmaids she abused the most.
- My God, What Have I Done?: While Emily initially revels in euphoria in her retaliation against Aunt Lydia, she breaks down soon afterwards at what she had done.
- Rita also feels guilt for mistreating Eden instead of being kind and trying to educate her.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: Name-dropped by a tearful Eleanor, who runs into Joseph and Emily while the former is escorting the latter out of the house. All Emily can do is shout over her shoulder, "It was nice knowing you!"
- No One Gets Left Behind: June turns down an opportunity to escape in order to go underground and locate Hannah. As she is assured of Holly/Nichole's safety, she can track down Hannah unencumbered.
- Offing the Offspring: An indirect example; Eden's father turned her over to Gilead authorities knowing full well that she could be executed, and she was alongside Isaac.
- The Paragon Always Rebels: Commander Joseph Lawrence is one of the main architects of Gilead. He's also a rebel trying to undermine the very regime he helped forge.
- Parental Betrayal: Eden's own father turned Eden and Isaac in after they were found in the Spencer family residence. This likely influenced June's decision to stay behind and find Hannah.
- Papa Wolf: Nick holds back Commander Waterford to ensure June and his daughter's escape.
- Harshly averted with Eden's father, who is revealed to have been the one who turned Eden and Isaac over to the state for execution.
- Precision F-Strike: "Go fuck yourself, Fred."
- Replacement Goldfish: In the aftermath of Eden's death, Fred proposes to June that they stay together as a family, while heavily implying that his wife would be dealt with. June is having none of that.
- The Reveal: Eden and Isaac were betrayed by Eden's father. June is quite shocked by this, while Serena now becomes concerned that Fred could do the same for both her and Holly/Nichole. This convinces her to talk to the other wives about her concerns.
- Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: Fred offers June the chance to remain at the Waterford home to be close to Holly/Nichole and get occasional visits from Hannah. When June argues its against the rules, Fred counters that rules can be bent for high-ranking Commanders.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The fellow Wives start to abandon Serena when she starts reading, eager to not share the same punishment that awaits her.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: Commander Joseph Lawrence has an uncanny ability to play the happiest songs during the darkest points.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- 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.
- Sympathy for the Devil: June has this for Serena after the latter loses a finger for her defiance. This allows her to convince Serena to let Holly/Nichole escape from Gilead.
- Too Dumb to Live: Even though Aunt Lydia knows how aggressive and retaliative Emily can be towards her tormentors, she continues to push her further.
- Trailers Always Lie: The fire in the trailer for this episode would make the audience think the Waterford home is on fire. It is actually several houses around the Waterford home in a carefully planned distraction.
- Tranquil Fury: 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; also later when she finds out that Fred commanded for Serena to get her finger cut off.
- Underground Railroad: A number of Marthas, including Rita, coordinate one with Commander Lawrence (presumably via Cora) to help June escape with Holly/Nichole.
- We Need a Distraction: A carefully coordinated arson strike at various targets near the Waterford home allows the Marthas to smuggle June and her daughter out.
- Wham Line: Mr. Spencer revealing he turned in his own daughter to the authorities.
- Would Hit a Girl:
- Fred strikes June only for June to strike him back.
- Fred allows Serena's little finger to be forcibly removed.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Commander Lawrence initiated his plan to get Emily and June out sooner than anticipated after Emily's attack on Lydia with the aid of a number of Marthas, including Rita.
