THE HANDMAID’S TALE (S3E9) “Heroic”: One Of The Strong Ones

This week in The Handmaid’s Tale we saw June (Elisabeth Moss) on the edge, and she slowly begins to lose herself. You might even say there’s nothing slow about it, that this has been building for a while now, and it’s finally catching. Either way, it’s grueling, claustrophobic, and a terrific episode.

The reason for the push this week is a direct result of what happened last week. She’s stuck in a hospital room, for months-mind you, as her shopping partner lay in a bed. Ofmatthew (Ashleigh LaThrop), after last week’s aggressive outburst, is barely being kept alive, her mind apparently gone, but she’s remaining so because of the baby she carries. Gilead’s most prized possession, of course. And per Aunt Lydia’s (Ann Dowd) personal brand of torment marred with supposed compassion, she has June kneeling in front of her bed until she’s gone.

Toeing The Line

As anyone would, this requirement makes June question reality and her sanity. She hears songs in the beeps, is detailing the scents of those around her, questions the benefit of killing Ofmatthew and Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) when she makes a surprise visit. June holds onto a used scalpel, plotting her vengeance, in essence…giving up. Surprisingly, Serena doesn’t turn her in when she attempts to cut her. Maybe there’s more to the game she’s playing than we know.

She’s unhinged, as we’ve seen before, sleep deprived and uncomfortable. Aunt Lydia insists one her remaining, and when Janine (Madeline Brewer) stays in the hospital for a surgery, after Ofmatthew destroyed one of her eyes, she tries to bring her in on her plans.

June is struggling, and she has been for a while, but for once – I think she’s waking up. By the end of the episode she acknowledges that she needs to save not only her daughters, but the other children of Gilead who have been pulled from their parents. Despite what Serena said (in a very powerful, but ultimately heartbreaking moment) she is one of the strong ones. Even the strongest of us have moments of weakness.

She even draws the viewer into her despair, as the episode opens she mentions hearing Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven Is a Place on Earth,” in the beeping of the machines. She says (in a very fourth wall breaking way), “You’ll hear it.” I know I did.

One of the doctors (Gil Bellows) stitches her up, recognizing her suicidal thoughts. June seems surprised by this declaration, but surely she knows what would happen if she had been successful in any of her impulses, there’s only so much a brain can do in isolation. Your thoughts tend to stray, to a point and degree of near insanity, and June, regardless of how strong she is, is no exception.

He also speaks of her mother, a fellow doctor, of her toughness, and there’s a brief moment where these two aren’t in Gilead, in the trenches of injustice and horror. June is pulled back from the claws of death once again. Their conversation is one of the highlights of the episode, illustrating the skill of the writing team, especially in terms of dialogue. Sometimes, what’s not said, the visual expression, is just as important and The Handmaid’s Tale (as I’ve stated) always excels there.

The performances and the vision of this show continually gets better.

An Intense Psychological Hour

It is a painstakingly repetitive venture into June’s psyche, but it’s still fascinating. Somehow, the show has managed to remain enthralling even in the simplest of moments. A lot of this episode is June sitting on a pillow, narrating her thoughts as doctors and handmaids circle around her, stuck in a perpetual haze of contemplation. She barely notices the time pass, and she’s unsure if she’ll ever see the outside of this hospital.

She actually makes the decision to stay with Ofmatthew longer, to see her to her end, inspiring a thoughtful and proud moment from Aunt Lydia (gag).

I have a feeling you’ll either love or hate this episode. It is delivered in such a way, completely contained, that some might find it languid or others insightful. I found the decision sensible given June’s recent arc. I think she needed some room (or a lack of) to really marinate on her recent behavior and refocus on what she wants. She has been selfish, and she has been reckless.

There are a group of young girls, all in pink, that come through the hospital, and we eventually hear from the doctor that they are nearing their fertility time. I think this is another push that she needed to keep her mind on the right goals: saving the children from their intended fates.

Elisabeth Moss falls apart in this episode, which reminded me of a couple others in both seasons where she loses herself, and she does so fluently.

Despite being an unhurried episode there’s an intensity that’s felt with each comment, each movement, including her dive into the sharp’s disposal container for a used scalpel. There is a pin drop sort of uncertainty regarding how far she’ll go, and if she can come back.

The Handmaids Tale, Episode 9 Conclusion:

Heroic is intimate, dark, and scary in a way that we have seen before, but with more urgency this time. June goes very close to the point of no return. It’s slow, plodding, but tension-filled none the less. In the closing moments I think she’s grown in a way, a clarity she had been lacking as of late. Let’s hope that translates into some decisive action next week.

What did you think? How will June bounce back from this? Let us know in the comments below!

New episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale premiere on Hulu on Wednesdays.