Confined in a hospital, June’s sanity begins to fray. An encounter with Serena Joy forces June to reassess her recent actions.
Tropes:
- All There in the Manual: Dr. Yates is not explicitly referred to by name in the episode; his name is shown in closed captioning.
- Alas, Poor Villain: June is apologetic that Natalie will now die once her baby is born and promises to help him get out.
- The Atoner: June deciding that one way to do right by Natalie is to free the children of Gilead, knowing that Natalie would not want her baby boy to grow up in Gilead.
- Bottle Episode: The entire episode takes place at the hospital Natalie and June are sequestered at.
- Call-Back: When June is faced with Rose, the stolen Gilead child, she has a placid disposition not unlike the late Eden.
- Did Not Think This Through: Dr. Yates had specifically told Aunt Lydia that forcing June to maintain a vigil is not good for June's sanity.
- Driven to Suicide: Feeling she has nothing more to lose, June acts in ways that could get her executed, including attempting to kill Serena.
- Due to the Dead: June makes her peace with Natalie, acknowledges her as a "fighter", and talks to her about her son.
- Filler: Subverted. Not much happens throughout the episode that affects any of the ongoing storylines. Until June discovers her new purpose.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Aunt Lydia is still the cruel, controlling keeper of the Handmaids, and confines June to what is essentially solitary confinement with her vigil over Ofmatthew. However, her calling June heartless when she makes a biting joke at the braindead Ofmatthew's expense does affect her; ironically, it's part of what leads June to forgiving Ofmatthew and making peace with her.
- It's a Small World, After All: Dr. Yates apparently knows June's mother, Holly Maddox, although this may be based on her reputation. It also likely means that Dr. Maddox was also an obstetrician, given that is the most plausible way for Dr. Yates to know about her.
- Loophole Abuse: Dr. Yates invokes that his patient is Natalie's baby and not Natalie when June reminds him of the "first, do no harm" part of a physician's oath after Dr. Yates cuts Natalie's leg to keep her from having seizures by reducing the fluids in her body.
- Mercy Kill: June tries to do it to the brain-dead Natalie in order to end the vigil. Janine manages to convince her not to do it.
- Nobody Poops: Invoked for dark comedic effect, while Ofmatthew has a seizure in the hospital.June: (to Aunt Lydia) "If you're lucky, you might get to see her shit herself."
- Only Sane Man: It is implied that Dr. Yates was the only man who thought that forcing June to maintain vigil over Natalie was a terrible idea.
- Pet the Dog:
- Aunt Lydia allows June to accompany the dying Natalie and gives Janine a red eyepatch to cover her injury. The two even share a laugh after Janine jokes she looks like a pirate.
- Serena doesn't rat out June for trying to assassinate her (which would almost assuredly warrant execution), and instead tells Dr. Yates that June cut herself without revealing the context. Then again, she likely had plans of her own, as revealed in the next episode.
- Dr. Yates assures June that he will not tell anyone about her confession as he knows her actions are the direct result of her forced vigil. While he's no rebel, it's implied he's taught himself to be surface-level Gilead-loyal and is happy to offer counsel in confidentiality.
- Rewatch Bonus: If you watch this episode again after watching Episode 11, you'll wonder if June's frayed mental state had an effect on Serena and convinced her to turn against Fred. Or had she already turned against him and was trying to protect June? And what was her real reason to come back to the Boston area after spending time in Washington D.C.? Bottom line: how else does one explain her not telling the authorities after June tries to kill her?
- Sanity Slippage: June's forced vigil nearly causes her to break and try to kill Serena. She even confesses this to Dr. Yates, mentioning that she has lost hope she will ever see her daughters again.
- Sound-Only Death: Variation- the machines monitoring Natalie's vital signs begin to slowly show her body shutting down during the credits after the life support system is switched off.
- Suicide by Cop: Dr. Yates asks June is she's suicidal after she admits trying to kill Serena and planning to kill the Calhouns, Dr. Yates, and Natalie, which would result in her getting executed.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Constant kneeling in a forced vigil will really screw up your knees and is enough to affect June's walking ability at the end of the punishment.
- Being stuck in a punishment akin to solitary confinement is enough to drive anyone insane, as evidenced by both Serena and Dr. Yates. Dr. Yates even mentions that he was against this from the start, for a very good reason.
- Rummaging around for discarded sharp instruments gets June poked with a needle and potentially exposing her to a possibly deadly viral or bacterial infection.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Aunt Lydia, of all people, does one of these to June when the latter makes a snide joke about Ofmatthew shitting herself in the midst of a seizure. Janine does this to her as well when June tries to convince her to go along with killing Natalie.
