June and Janine are able to escape on a train to Chicago. During the trip, they get into an argument over June admitting that she revealed the location of the safehouse Janine and the other Handmaids were hiding. When they arrive at Chicago, they are rescued by a resistance group headed by Steven, who (despite expressing his disgust of Gilead using handmaids) pressures June to have sex with him in order to stay with his resistance cell. When June is unable to go through with it, Janine does so instead. During this period, Janine reflects the time before Gilead where she was a single mother to Caleb and pregnant again, this time seeking an abortion. Meanwhile in Canada, Serena requests an audience with Rita where she tells her about her pregnancy and wants her to testify against Fred on her behalf. Rita, seeing through her ruse, refuses and instead tells Fred about the pregnancy.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Bait-and-Switch: It at first seems that Janine is pregnant with Caleb, and thus the crisis center's pressure on her to keep her pregnancy succeeded. Then Caleb is revealed to already be a toddler at this point, and Janine goes through with the abortion.note
- Believing Their Own Lies: When Rita visits Fred, he seems honestly confused about why she obviously despises him, considering he was "Never cruel to (her)". This from the man who helped create the system that enslaved her, and possibly led to the deaths of her entire family (or at the very least her 19 year old son, who was killed as a soldier in his war).
- Blatant Lies: Everything the volunteer at the crisis pregnancy center tells Janine.
- But We Used a Condom!: Janine invokes this when inquired by the fake nurse, telling her she got pregnant because the condom broke.
- Character Development: Janine has evolved from her ditzy and submissive personality enough to openly call June out on not really having a plan of what to do, and trying to just keep Janine in the dark and feed her shit "like a mushroom."
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: Janine is having a hard time breaking out of this mindset. June is visibly disturbed that Janine does not seem bothered at being sexually extorted by the rebel leader.
- A Day in the Limelight: The episode provides much focus for Janine, giving flashbacks to her life before Gilead and her current role as June's only friend/partner she has left.
- Drowning Pit: Onboard the train, June and Janine end up in a car full of milk, and nearly die of drowning and hypothermia. They only survive after June is able to kick open a vent and force it out. Even then, June has to keep Janine awake until they get to Chicago, since they still risk dying from the cold.
- Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Zigzagged. Janine's first attempt to get an abortion sees her accidentally visit a crisis pregnancy center, whose volunteer tries to get her to keep her pregnancy, telling her there's a high chance she'll end up infertile, and that she'd make a great mother, along with demonizing abortion in general. She goes to a proper gynecologist who tells her about what actually happens on getting pregnant again. That time, she does abort.
- Hypocrite: Steven laments the fact that Handmaids are used as sex slaves, but he has no problem extorting sexual favors from June and Janine in order to let them stay.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction: Done intentionally by the gyno Janine visits. She recites the warning (required by the state) that abortions can lead to an increased risk of infertility, depression, and breast cancer, but then immediately admits this is actually bullshit and truthfully tells Janine that the procedure is basically harmless.
- Just Following Orders: Unspoken, but Tuello is clearly not happy about requesting Rita be a part of Serena Joy's defense. He makes no attempt at all to charm her or convince her, just gives her a half-hearted rundown of the situation and tries not to impose on her time. From the usually suave spy, it's quite noticeable.
- Loophole Abuse: Just because the gynecologist must recite by law mistruths about abortion doesn't mean that she cannot say that those statements themselves are untruthful, much to Janine's relief.
- Manipulative Bastard: Serena Joy tries to use her pregnancy to guilt Rita into being her "friend" who will help her protect her unborn son. It takes Tuello telling her that Serena Joy wants her to testify that Serena's innocent (claiming that all of her crimes were done under pressure by her husband) for Rita to realize Serena is just using her.
- Mundane Luxury: Rita takes time to enjoy some takeout sushi, alone in her apartment, and absolutely savors it.
- Mythology Gag: In the original novel, Janine got pregnant as a result of her gang rape, but her mother made her have an abortion. She tells this during testimonials, where she is promptly slut-shamed by the Aunts and the new Handmaids.
- Sexual Extortion: The rebel leader who June meets makes it clear he'll only let her and Janine stay if one of them pleasures him. June tries to give him a blowjob but can't go through with it. Janine later does instead, offscreen.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Janine and June jump into the titular milk cart, and nearly drown. Even afterwards, June has to tell Janine to stay awake, because of the risk of dying of hypothermia.
- In a flashback, Janine goes to get an abortion and ends up at a crisis pregnancy center, where the nurse warns her abortion will require surgery and there's a high likelihood she'll end up infertile. However, Janine is still early in her pregnancy and isn't showing any signs. When she goes to a proper doctor, she's merely given a prescription and told to call if she notices any complications. Lampshaded by Janine.Janine: That's it?
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Janine's supervisor, when Janine requests some time off to see a gynecologist. She clearly doesn't like covering for Janine, but is rather understanding of Janine's situation.
- They Died Because of You: Janine hits June with this after June admits she gave up the location of the safehouse, saying that had June not disclosed the location of the safehouse, Brianna and Alma would still be alive.
- Wham Line:June: You're not Mayday.Steven: What's Mayday?
- What the Hell, Hero?: Janine gives one of these to June when she finds out June told Gilead the location of the safe house.
