The Handmaid’s Tale
By Chelsea SteinerMay 27th, 2021, 2:12 pm CONTENT WARNING: This post discusses the plot of season 4, episode 7 “Home”. This post also discusses rape and sexual assault.
After 7 years of suffering at the hands of Gilead, after near-escapes and last-minute reprieves and a boatload of God-tier plot immunity, June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) finally lands in Canada. It’s an optimistic and hard-fought ending to the character’s long-suffering journey that sees her reunited with her best friend Moira (Samira Wiley), estranged husband Luke (O. T. Fagbenle), and her baby daughter Nichole.
It’s a moment of great catharsis for viewers, who have been frustrated by a show that has kept June on a hamster wheel of suffering and torture for four seasons now. Many fans (myself included) have criticized the series for dangling the promise of Canada one too many times so that June can reject it and return to the Waterfords for more punishment.
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Juneâs arrival in Canada is also a bit of an eye-opener for U.S. representative Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger), who has a complicated relationship with Serena. But now, heâs hearing the other side, Juneâs side, firsthand, which changes things for him.
âHe has to navigate a lot of relationships and the more he learns about them, the more he admires June for what she did. But he also knows that she has come through a horrific experience and he has to tread lightly with all these dynamics,â Jaeger says. âI think heâs trying to hold on to some semblance of control and navigate to the benefit of what he thinks is right on the whole in the world: to rescue as many people from the oppression of Gilead as possible. What lengths he goes to make that happen, I think he even questions in himself by the end. We see more of Mark struggling to do whatâs right, even though heâs going to have to take a couple of steps under the dark side to do it.â
The Handmaid’s Tale “Vows” was written by Dorothy Fortenberry and was directed by Richard Shepard, whose other credits include
Girls,
Criminal Minds, and
The Twilight Zone. This episode ends with the unthinkable – June (Elisabeth Moss) makes it out of Gilead. It’s not hard to realize that her ability to do anything from within Gilead is really over, so it was time for this new chapter. I am a bit surprised that we didn’t get at least a short stint of her with the Nighthawks, however. The episode also features more flashbacks of June and Luke’s (O-T Fagbenle) early relationship, emphasizing how important Hannah was to them both.