With Luke and Moira back from No Man’s Land, June is ready to get everyone back to Alaska. What if not everyone wants to go to Alaska in The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, episode 4?
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, episode 4.
The rebellion is starting. June makes it clear that May Day is made up of people who aren’t trained. I have to question why she has a problem with this, though. She’s also not trained, and yet she has routinely risked her life to help fight against Gilead. She’s worked with others who aren’t trained, and she didn’t once fight against it then.
What’s the big deal now? Well, it’s her family that’s involved. It’s clear that Luke and Moira are ready to put their lives on the line to take down Gilead, and June doesn’t want that for them.
Luke and Moira refuse to back down in The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, episode 4
It’s about time that Luke and Moira stood up to fight against Gilead. The earlier version of Moira was that fighter. She looked for ways to escape, and she tried to get out. Her time at Jezebels certainly affected her, and I understood the initial need to take a breather and be happy to be alive and free, but it was only a matter of time before the fighter came out in her again.
That’s happening in this episode. She’s ready to put herself at risk by going into Jezebels to get things ready for the bombing of it. She will want to warn the women as well, and she has no idea about which women are in Jezebels right now. Moira is the right person for this. As much as June says that she spent time there as well, she didn’t spend as much time there as Moira did.
However, as soon as June finds out that Janine is one of the women there, she has to go in and fight. Moira knows this woman too, but not to the same extent as June. I get why June feels some sort of need to save Janine, but she rushes in like a bull in a China shop far too much. I don’t blame Moira for being so angry when June tries to prevent Moira from going in on the dry run.
It looks like it’s going to be both of them going in, and this could be better. They cover more ground, they get more women to a safe place, and they can look out for each other. That is if Moira can accept that June tried to do a good thing but was just terrible at doing it.
As for Luke, he points out that he needs to do something to save Hannah. Up to this point, he’s stepped back. As soon as he made it to Canada, he put the names of people on his list and waited for a call. That was it. This is a man whose own daughter is in Gilead, and he’s not done anything to risk his life to get to her. I can tell you now that if this was my daughters, I know their dad would look at finding any way to get them out, despite everything that’s happened between us.
So, to see Luke finally step up is a relief. June can sense the guilt he’s holding for not doing anything as well, and look, Luke is good at what he’s doing. He’s been able to put plans together, and he commands the respect of May Day. This is a guy you want going into Gilead for this rebellion.
In the end, there’s a lot of vulnerability between them. They look over things that they’ve been through and how it’s changed their relationship. In the end, they have to fight for Hannah together. They’re just “two lunatics going into Gilead on a wing and a prayer for her.” Sure, they may not get to Hannah, but not trying is worse than trying and failing.
Lawrence gets a promotion as he continues to grieve
Something that The Handmaid’s Tale has overlooked in recent seasons is just how much Commander Lawrence loved his wife Eleanor. We get to see that in this episode, as Angela comes over to show him a drawing that she’s made. While he likely didn’t want a stepdaughter running around, he’s taken her under his wing, and he tells her all about Eleanor, which is just adorable. I’m sure Naomi is going to hate this, but I don’t care for Naomi.
We even see Lawrence bonding with Angela later on, reading The Little Princess to her as it was Eleanor’s favorite book. It’s clear that Lawrence is behind the idea of reform, as well. He tells Angela that she will learn how to read the book as well. Remember, the women of Gilead weren’t allowed to read or write, but the women of New Bethlehem will be allowed to, and Lawrence is starting with Angela.
The artwork is important for later in the story, as well. After he gets a promotion to High Commander due to his work on New Bethlehem, he goes to Jezebels with some of the other High Commanders. Janine is the one that one of the Commanders prefers, and Lawrence decides to save her from the men and wants some time with her. He isn’t going to do anything, though, and this is where I continue to respect Lawrence. I don’t think he ever wanted the Gilead that was formed — he wanted something more like New Bethlehem.
Janine isn’t happy to be around Lawrence, and I can’t really blame her. He needs to step in to protect her in some way. The women are so badly treated in this place. It’s dehumanizing! At least he gives Janine the artwork that Angela did to give her a reminder that there is something to fight for out there. Will this help Janine keep her spirits up, especially as June and Moira get to Jezebels? I hope so!
Serena and Commander Warton continue to bond in The Handmaid’s Tale
We spend more time with Serena and Warton, and it’s very clear where this storyline is going. We don’t even need the trailer with Serena in the white dress clearly getting married to see what is going on here. The two are widowed, and it’s only natural that they should marry each other. Commander Warton is one of the top dogs of Gilead, and Serena is certainly an excellent speaker when it comes to getting people back to Gilead.
We do get to learn a little more about Commander Warton, though. As much as I hate him for creating Gilead, there is a softness to him throughout the episode. He’s not interested in Jezebels, and he deeply loved his wife before she died of an illness. He just wants to protect his daughter, and I think it adds a new layer onto why he thought Gilead was a good idea in the first place.
As the two walk in the street one night, Warton tells Serena that he saw her once before at a dinner, but she didn’t see him. He didn’t even have the guts to talk to her, and she was married to Fred at the time. Now that the two are alone, they can dance. Well, they’re not alone, as Aunt Lydia sees them in the street. With this, I’m sure they’ll need to discuss next steps as Serena won’t want to be caught out like that again as an unmarried woman.
Rita puts her trust in the wrong person
Finally, we see Rita make it to New Bethlehem, and Serena is there to meet with her. However, it’s not Serena who Rita wants to see. Her sister is there, and the two have a reunion that we’ve needed all series.
It’s no surprise when Rita and Nick reunite that Rita decides that she will stay. She only agrees to it on one condition, though. Nick needs to get her family to New Bethlehem. She needs to know that everyone is safe, and Nick agrees to do this.
I get that Nick is still the driver that Rita knew when she was a Martha in the Waterford house, but this isn’t that Nick. He has learned that he needs to do things the Gilead way. The only person he puts his life on the line for is June, and there’s only so much he can do that. She is putting her trust in the wrong person, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she learns that the hard way.
Something I still don’t trust is that New Bethlehem will be this safe haven. There is still oppression there, even if it doesn’t feel like it at first. At least with Rita there, we’ll get to see what it’s really like for the people and not the Commanders and their Wives.
The rebellion is starting, though, and it won’t be long until more people reunite and more lives are on the line. Bring on another episode of The Handmaid’s Tale.
The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 airs on Tuesdays on Hulu.