It feels strange spending so much time away from Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale. But with Serena newly assigned as Commander Lawrence’s diplomatic puppet in Toronto, and June and Luke heading towards what looks like a romantic reconciliation, this is where the show lives. now. What used to be a series about escaping from prison has turned into a show about political revolution. This week’s episode, Dear Offred, is mild. Our characters’ circumstances don’t change as much as their points of view.

If the episode has one main point, it’s to show us that the situation in Toronto is more fragile than we thought. Moira calls the city a “crowded refugee city.” A misstep by an asylum seeker, such as in hot June, could have a negative impact on the entire community. We also have an amazing and disheartening view of the extent to which the ideals of Gilead have permeated other lands is correct.

Even  Canadians, swayed by the public mourning that inspired Serena at Fred’s funeral,  agreed to allow the fascist state to establish a “cultural center” in urban heart Ontario. Outside the towering building, aggressive pro-Gilead protesters clash with those demanding an end to his murderous rule. Gilead is not as stable within its borders as outsiders might think. But outside of Gilead, the nation is evidently not as despised as I wrongly assumed.

Hannah’s parents are unraveling, but they are in this together.

Let me tell you, June (Elisabeth Moss) deserves to be yelled at on the playground. Did you notice what a lackluster parable I created with this kid’s swing? He’s lucky Nichole didn’t mutiny. I would think if June’s famous baby had a very public meltdown. Instead, June freaks out.

When a crazy stranger calls her “lucky” to have been to Gilead so  God could reward her with a new baby, June violently pushes her against the swing set. Aside from worrying about June’s sanity, the unhinged interaction made me curious about Gilead’s immigration policies. Surely the state would welcome a new and zealous follower like this woman. She might not be fit for a servant, but she could still bake bread.

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June and Luke’s family therapist attributes the stranger’s onset to contracting infertility delusions, which is such an odd diagnosis I’m glad they didn’t bother to unpack it. And the therapist explains June’s nervous and violent tendencies, which didn’t seem so different from June’s everyday violent tendencies, to mean that Serena is back in Canada. Anyway, it’s nice to see June processing her fully justified anger. brings her closer at last.

When June follows Gilead’s new de facto embassy with a loaded gun, Luke (O-T Fagbenle) is not upset, although his preferred solution is to leave the embassy mired in bureaucracy (something to do with building permits ). In fact, by the end of the episode, he might be the character most anxious for his wife to kill Serena (Yvonne Strahovski). But when June is six feet from her nemesis, she doesn’t pull the trigger. the brutal indoctrination of or the words of that desperate woman in the park still ring in her ears, but June will not kill a pregnant woman.

It takes your wife to work day

Serena begins her first day in the world as a Gilead diplomat and discovers that she is confined to Gilead property without immigrant status in Canada: a church and vicarage that is about to become the “Gilead Information Center.”. And she is still under Lawrence’s (Bradley Whitford) control as he refuses invitations from foreign consulates on her behalf. -addressed to “Offred”. It’s that adorable innuendo that earns her a visit to Luke’s office that breaks her like a pencil.

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It only takes a few comments to get her into his head where I assume she will live until he dies. He manages to call him an inadequate father who let his wife go to any risk to save Hannah, and reminds him that his wife had Nick’s “support,” all in a handful of chilling sentences tone she uses for the jokes. So maybe Serena Joy is an effective diplomat after all. It quickly becomes clear that we may never know.

As the protests outside of downtown Gilead turn violent, June fires a warning shot as Moira (Samira Wiley) is attacked by a rioter and Serena quickly loses her sanctuary. from a wealthy Canadian family that seems to live under the laws of Gilead, down to the woman’s green dress, even without being dictated by a patriarchal state.

The other side of Aunt Lydia

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Back in Gilead, Janine’s (Madeline Brewer) recovery continues. She lost her physical strength when Esther poisoned her, but honestly, she seems spiritually strong. She defends Esther when Lydia (Ann Dowd) calls her a sinner and confronts Lydia about her violent and abusive methods. After Lawrence refuses to let Lydia change the maiden program (she wants the maidens to stay in the red center instead of being sent to the commanders’ homes, where the commanders can be dirty and violent), he at least calls  Janine for help. will train the new maids more humanely.

Read More: The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Episode 5 Release Date and Spoilers