June attempts to contact Commander Lawrence to plead him to use his power to release Hannah from Gilead. Lawrence refuses, saying that the only thing that Gilead will accept in return for Hannah's release is the return of several children taken by June to Canada. Nearly out of options, Luke and June ask for Nick to visit so he can at least see his own daughter in return for any information regarding Hannah. Nick agrees and provides recent information on Hannah to June while reuniting with his own daughter. The Putnams also visit the Waterfords and they separately tell Fred and Serena that Gilead will not be taking any action on their behalf as the Commanders believe it weakens their position in the world. This enrages the Waterfords to the point where they decide to take a plea deal with the Americans for Gilead state secrets in exchange for their freedom. When June hears about the deal, she physically threatens Mark Tuello. In Gilead, Esther is revealed to be "in training" to become a Handmaid and catches the attention of Janine.
Tropes in this episode include:
- All for Nothing: June's testimony and actions against the Waterfords was all for naught, as the Waterfords agreed to a plea bargain deal in exchange for their freedom.
- Brutal Honesty:
- June begs Lawrence to help her find Hannah, but Lawrence harshly breaks it to her that whatever she offers won't work: the Americans don't have a pot to piss in.
- Warren tells Fred there is little negotiation on his behalf, because it'll embolden more action against Commanders and weakens Gilead's modern position.
- Call-Back: Aunt Lydia tells Janine "God loves us for our labors" just as she told the Aunts.
- One of the Aunts bring up the Magdalene colony, and the plan for Janine to be sent there when she was recaptured.
- Aunt Lydia recalls how thanks to Janine's intervention, Angela/Charlotte survived.
- Esther is imprisoned in the same room June and Ofwyatt were chained in.
- Janine references her time in Chicago while talking to Esther.
- Naomi observes Serena using a pen and paper, recalling how Gilead women are not allowed to read and write.
- Continuity Nod: June discreetly calls Lawrence, just as she was made to call Luke in "Unknown Caller."
- Crazy-Prepared: Nick reveals that once word got out that June got out to Canada, he pulled in a few favors to get information about Hannah that he can send to June and had brought this info to Canada. He promptly gives June this information no more than 5 seconds after June requests it.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?:
- Continuing from last episode, Fred and Serena have made an impact on Canadians who support the Gilead regime, with the support they receive bearing similarities to right-wing groups such as the Proud Boys or QAnon.
- Aunt Lydia and the other Aunts sitting around the table at dinner brings to mind Da Vinci's "Last Supper."
- Warren says the Commanders send their "thoughts and prayers."
- Fallen Princess: Esther is revealed to have lost her status as a commander’s wife and has been forced into becoming a handmaid.
- Foreshadowing: Fred inquires if Gilead is doing a prisoner exchange to get him out Canada. Such a prisoner exchange does occur in the next episode.
- Hollywood Law: In reality, Mark Tuello would have no authority to release the Waterfords in return for their intelligence. They were being tried in the International Criminal Court, not in an American one, and Tuello is a representative of the American Government. There is also the fact that June's testimony is now a matter of court record, as is Fred's outburst where he admitted that he raped her. June should still therefore be able to press charges against both of the Waterfords. Even with this, it is possible that the ICC is more involved in trying to help the Americans and it is possible that the plea deal is between the Waterfords and them, with Tuello having made the deal which the prosecutor agreed with. For instance, the ICC may realize that with a new source of intelligence like Waterford, they can possibly help bring down the Gilead regime and do far more than just the conviction of one Commander.
- I'm Not Hungry: Esther refuses to eat anything, throwing her plate of food on the floor in defiance. The Gilead conflict of the episode involves the Aunts trying to get her to eat.
- Internal Reveal: June learns Janine is still alive, albeit a captive at the Red Center.
- Morality Pet: Janine has become a much more twisted version to Aunt Lydia, acting as a servant around the Red Center, and impressing Aunt Lydia for "trying". It's implied that Aunt Lydia is attempting to justify keeping Handmaids (specifically, Janine) around to help at the Red Center as a way to keep her from having to go to another household, which is something Janine absolutely doesn't want.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: The Putnams break it to both Fred and Serena that Gilead won't be doing anything to get them out of prison, as it would just encourage more people to break the law. This breaks all their loyalty to the country, and they make a plea deal to take down the whole government.
- Pet the Dog:
- Joseph tells June to move on at the end of their call, despite previously acting harsh.
- Naomi offers to raise Serena's son in the event Serena and Fred aren't released.
- Precision F-Strike:
- Joseph, always the charmer.Joseph: "Your love fucks people up."
- Later, Luke calls Lawrence a "fucking asshole."
- Moira calls Fred a "fucking piece of crap."
- Joseph, always the charmer.
- Rage Breaking Point: June assaults Tuello, who reluctantly agreed to release Waterford.
- The Reveal: Hannah is in Colorado, while Lydia is trying to make Esther a handmaid. Also, Nick may have been assigned a new wife given that he puts on his wedding band after his meeting with June.
- Sadistic Choice: Lawrence offers to return Hannah to June and Luke... on the condition June return ten of the kids she broke out of Gilead. He tries to level it down to five, but June obviously refuses.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Lawrence being harsh over the phone to June is because his phone line is almost certainly being monitored by the Eyes on his end, and is shown to be monitored by Tuello on her end. He couldn't promise to help her if he wanted to without immediately alerting the eyes, with his position already being precarious.
- Gilead's non-action towards the Waterfords should not be surprising considering that they are having a lot of trouble dealing with the resistance and believe that the Waterfords' incarceration is a needless distraction that anyone against Gilead can capitalize on.note
- The Americans have so far been unable to do anything significant against Gilead other than orchestrating Fred Waterford's capture on behalf of the International Criminal Court. So when Fred offers to turn over state secrets against Gilead for his and Serena's freedom, the Americans and the International Criminal Court are not in a good position to deny Fred's request, especially since Gilead has no interest in negotiating for the fate of the Waterfords. Not only that, since Serena is about to give birth, forcing Serena to give birth while in captivity is not a good look for the Americans trying to take back their country.
- June's reaction to the news of the plea deal should surprise no one, including Mark Tuello, considering all the years of abuse she has been through.
- Take That!: The Canadian Gilead supporters sending baby gifts to the Waterfords are also Toronto Maple Leaf fans.
- Tranquil Fury: June, right before she confronts Tuello.
- Wham Episode:
- Esther Keyes is alive, and she's in "training" to become a Handmaid.
- The Waterfords agree to a plea bargain, acting as an informant in exchange for their freedom.
- Wham Line: When asked who the source of the new information from Gilead is...Mark Tuello: Fred Waterford.
- Wham Shot: The Putnams arriving in Canada to see the Waterfords.
