Author: Katherine B. Shelor

In this episode, we learn a bit more about Nick and sense the awakening of his moral compass through his compassion for June. As the episode opens, June is sitting on Nick’s bed, feeling guilty because Luke is alive but she goes back to Nick frequently—because it feels good. We then flash back to Before, and see Nick at a career counseling place. He apparently has a hard time holding down a job, and when he’s heckled in line he punches the man who heckled him. Rather than chasing him off and telling him not to come back, the...

In the previous episode, June learned that Luke was still alive—the episode ended with a visiting Mexican diplomat pressing a notebook into her hand so that she could write her husband a note. It follows, then, that this episode focuses entirely on Luke’s story. We learn that he was, indeed, shot when they were trying to flee to Canada, but that he survived and later escaped from a crashed ambulance. We also learn how the family came to be traveling on that remote road. They had previously escaped from the city and were living in a cabin owned by...

In this installment, Gilead prepares for a visit from the Mexican ambassador. The handmaids are tasked with scrubbing bloodstains off of the walls where dead bodies are usually hung as examples of what will happen to those who misbehave, and Jeanine comments on how it looks strange without the bodies—people can get used to anything. At the Waterfords’ house, tension is high because the Ambassador will be coming over for dinner, and life in Gilead must be shown in the best light. Mrs. Waterford warns Offred to speak wisely to the visiting diplomats. For the first time in the...

Episode 5: Faithful In this week’s episode, some time has passed. Offred has, at this point, played 34 games of Scrabble with the Commander, and is feeling comfortable enough with him to share something approaching real opinions. He gives her a gift—a fashion magazine a la Cosmopolitan—and although she says it is not allowed, he says, “It is with me.” Offred—hereafter referred to as “June” in flashbacks for the purposes of these summaries—recalls when she first met Luke. She and Moira are waiting at a hot dog stand, looking through Tinder, and lamenting the string of bad dates June...

Episode 4: “Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum” In this episode, the character of Commander Waterford is developed further, and we gain insight into his behavior toward Offred. A lot happens in 50 minutes, so bear with me. At the start of the episode, Offred is still locked in her room (having failed to become pregnant the previous episode) and the Commander learns that an Aunt (leader/instructor of the Handmaids) escaped from a Red Center and made it across the border to Canada, where she gave an interview to the Toronto Star. The Commander calls her tales hyperbole, yet it’s clear...