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The Handmaid's Tale expanded its world as it premiered the first two episodes of season 5 on Hulu on Wednesday, September 14. As opposed to the series so far, the new season will be a head-on collision between two women who have catered to the needs of the society for so long.
In the aftermath of Commander Fred Waterford’s death, things take a turn after June (played by Elisabeth Moss) realizes the need to get back to normalcy, while Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) has just started the process of inflicting damage on the former in any manner possible.
Based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, and adapted for television by Bruce Miller, The Handmaid’s Tale has always been a commentary on how women have been the flagbearers of patriarchy as much as they have resisted it.
The new season of The Handmaid's Tale further builds on this theory, where chances are that Serena might take over the reigns of power riding on the sympathy of her husband’s death, and to defeat whom? Another woman.
Read on for a detailed review of episodes 1 and 2 of season five of The Handmaid’s Tale.
The Handmaid's Tale season 5 episodes 1 and 2 review: Serena and June reach an even start
Episode 1 of season 5 of The Handmaid's Tale, titled Morning, takes place the morning after June, along with members of the Resistance, kill Commander Fred Waterford, who was handed over in a prisoner exchange settlement in season 4.
June does not wash her blood-caked hands. Instead, she drives off to a café while her husband Luke and Moira inquire after the splotches of blood all over her to prevent her from leaving.
At the café, June is greeted by other former Handmaids, including Danielle and Vicky, who helped June kill Fred. After June arrives, all the women order food and the scene captures every word of Vicky, who says, “Everything tastes better when Fred’s dead.”
It was almost as if June and the others were breaking a fast, and every pore of their tongues could grasp every iota of taste that could be extracted from the pancakes, scrambled eggs, and vanilla milkshake.
But things soon return to the dreaded reality when other women express their desire to kill their tormentors, who in some cases are the Commanders, while in others, their Wives. That's when June backs off. She is called a coward and she leaves. But returning to corporeal reality is not enough.
The realization of murdering Fred hits June like a storm. A fast for revenge suddenly turned into an unconscious reckoning for the doomsday that June is certain, has arrived. Her first resort was to frantically wash the dried blood off her hands, but that did not make her feel any better.
She visited Emily’s (essayed by Alexis Bledel) wife Sylvia (played by Clea DuVall) and learned that the former had returned to Gilead to find Aunt Lydia, the trainer and handler of all Handmaids, and get her revenge.
While Bledel’s exit from the season (or the show) of The Handmaid's Tale was no mystery, no closure was given in the first two episodes regarding her absence. June seems to be the only one worried about her. She is also unable to extricate Gilead out of her veins, which contributes to her relationship turning sour with Luke, Moira, and even Nichole, and thus can empathize with Emily.
After June disclosed to Moira about Fred’s death, and that she killed him with her own hands, Moira said, “You scare me.”
Moments like these in The Handmaid's Tale made June question if she had wronged those around her in a bid to avenge the wrongs done to her.
The only way out, she thought, was to be punished, and June surrendered herself to the Toronto Police as the only suspect in Fred’s murder. But she has to be on her own because (i) the show has just begun (literally and metaphorically), and (ii) she is yet to witness Serena’s rise.
That’s why, no charges were filed against June, in addition to the fact Fred’s murder was carried out in still-disputed territory between Canada and the Republic of Gilead. June is devastated at the idea of not being able to pay for her sudden realization of sins.
Not the sin of killing Fred, but that of entangling other women into it. She is guilty, but not wrong. However, the idea of having done the right thing does not take away the guilt.
Moss’ expressions that pendulum between her obsession with Gilead and the fact that she needs to get over it in order to lead a normal life are tormentingly beautiful. One moment she is provoking someone by recalling the days in Gilead, and just the next moment, she's in regret over her actions.
Meanwhile, a pregnant Serena is devastated at her husband’s death, but not enough to not see through it all and realize who the perpetrator is. Fred’s severed ring finger hints at June’s participation in her husband’s death, but she has a trump card that she keeps for the end of episode 2 of season 5 of The Handmaid's Tale.
Fred’s death also acts as an equalizer in terms of women’s position in the repressive regime of Gilead. A widow, let alone a woman, has the sympathy of the Commanders but not the words to extract anything more. Strahovski's eyes are forever brimming with tears in the current season of The Handmaid's Tale, but they are not her weakness, because she wields them in private.
Serena uses the sympathy to return to Gilead. But the respect of a late Commander’s Wife stopped at the title. The tides a woman has to fight to be a woman are reflected in the first two episodes of season 5 of The Handmaid's Tale. Lawrence rightly puts it when he gets Serena’s offer to hold a public funeral for Fred approved, and says that he got the job done by “not being a woman.”
A public funeral for Fred is held that is broadcast across the globe to portray a human side of the Republic, as well as open up relations with other countries. This is also probably the only time that Serena gets to lead Gilead on the streets in The Handmaid's Tale series. Strahovski is elegant but brutal. Serena is afraid of June, but is also a willing challenger.
While June almost made up her mind to return to normalcy, Serena hit her with a wave and a personal humiliation that the former is yet to deal with in the remainder of The Handmaid's Tale.
Episodes 1 and 2 of The Handmaid's Tale have a little gore, and a lot more character to it – a reason to watch out for the upcoming episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale, in addition to developing parallel storylines - thanks to Moss, who also directed them.
The Handmaid's Tale features actors Sam Jaegar, Ann Dowd, Madeline Brewer, and Samira Wiley, among others. Season 5 will also see actors Jordana Blake, Christine Ko, and Genevieve Angelson become significant to the expanding storyline.
The first two episodes of The Handmaid's Tale are streaming on Hulu.
