Previously on The Handmaid's Tale...
Being in here is a privilege.
Time to go.
I'm sorry.
Can I stay here with you?
Please?
You want to stay?
Kiss me.
Like you mean it.
I can't be here. I can't be here.
If they find us here.
If they find us together, I'm gonna get sent to The Colonies.
You're an Eye.
You're untouchable.
Offred. Don't call me that!
My name. It's June.
Luke.
Do you know a woman named June Osborn?
Yes, my wife.
This is for you.
I love you
so much.
Luke is alive.
I stretch out my arms to him, but he slips away.
Like a ghost at daybreak.
And I am left here.
I wish this story were different.
I wish it showed me in a better light.
In a different story,
So I've gone back to Nick.
Time after time, on my own.
I want to know him,
memorize him,
so I can live on the image later.
I should have done that with Luke
because he's fading.
Day by day and night by night he recedes.
And I become more faithless.
I could say these are acts of rebellion,
a "fuck you" to the patriarchy,
but those are excuses.
I'm here because it feels good
and because I don't want to be alone.
June.
You were at the dealership for...
A month? Five weeks.
I called in a favor to get you that.
Yeah, it wasn't a good fit.
Lot of bad fits.
Two months at Walmart, three weeks' construction.
You know how this looks?
Like I can't hold a job.
Okay.
Honestly, I don't know what else I could do for you.
The economy, you know.
Come on, man. We're waiting here.
I'll take anything. What about retail?
Ann Arbor?
Hey, loser.
You heard the man, time to give up.
Fuck you!
Hey!
Hey, guys, come on! Guys! That's enough!
You! Get out!
Jesus Christ.
Shit.
Easy, easy.
You okay?
You gonna sue me or something?
No.
Let me buy you a cup of coffee.
So, what happened when the steelworks closed?
I tried to find something else.
Joshua just gave up.
He's my brother, Joshua.
What'd he do?
Uh, he scammed a few months' disability,
Idle hands are the devil's workshop,
as the Good Book says.
Yeah...
You know it's not actually in the Bible, right?
No, it's not.
But there is a verse about idleness making the house fall apart.
Sounds about right.
He takes off a lot.
Disappears. Weeks, sometimes.
It's hard.
You're a good soul, Nick, helping him.
Taking time out for family,
it makes it hard to work a schedule.
Bosses don't like that.
Mmm.
I mean, we all have our stuff, right?
So, what are you going to do now?
I'll find something.
It's hard making it in a society
that only cares about profit and pleasure.
No wonder God has turned His back on us.
No wonder there are no children.
He doesn't want them to grow up in this
Who can blame Him?
There's nothing you can do about it.
Now, there you're wrong.
There's this group
that wants to set things right,
clean up this country.
We have chapters in 30 states.
I head up one of them.
We're called the Sons of Jacob.
Come with me to a meeting.
I think you'll like what you hear.
Who knows, maybe there's a job in it for you.
You're not alone, Nick.
Hi.
How's my fair little one this evening?
Fine, thank you.
Up for some excitement?
I thought maybe we could do something different tonight.
Monopoly?
No guessing.
Now, first,
we're gonna have to do something about those legs.
Once a month, Rita waits outside while I shave my legs in the tub.
We're not to be trusted with razors,
not for longer than necessary,
for obvious reasons.
This must be a special occasion.
Hold still.
Doesn't that feel nice?
Yes.
He's good at this.
He's done it before.
You'll need this, too.
You remember how?
I guess we'll find out.
Beautiful.
What is that?
I hope it all fits.
I had to guess the size.
You
look
stunning.
But just one thing.
What is this all for?
Tonight, I'm taking you out.
Shall we?
You have her pass, too?
Yes, sir.
Mrs. Waterford went to visit her mother.
She won't be back until tomorrow.
Where are we going?
You don't want me to spoil the surprise, do you?
All along there, you can see the improvements we've made.
We took down the tenements, put up a park.
The whole grid's solar now.
It's amazing.
Coming to the checkpoint, sir.
Pull up your hood, Mrs. Waterford.
It's okay, you're with me.
Hold.
ID?
Evening. Evening.
How are you? Commander Waterford.
Mrs. Waterford.
Have a good night, sir.
Clear. Let 'em go.
Let 'em through.
You're very quiet.
Aren't you enjoying yourself?
I was just... It's so beautiful at night.
I don't usually get to see it like this.
Ah, but tonight you aren't you.
Sir, we're almost at the river.
I'm gonna have to ask you to get down.
Past the gateway, wives aren't even allowed.
Women aren't allowed.
We must be crossing the Charles into Boston.
Or what used to be Boston.
All clear, sir.
Under His eye. Under His eye.
I've never been out this far.
Not since before the Red Center.
It's all clear.
There now, was that scary?
A little exciting though, too, right?
There is much more excitement to come.
Can't wait.
We must treat these girls respectfully, in a Godly fashion,
despite the moral stain from their lives before.
Pryce, ease up.
We can't afford all that window dressing.
The human race is at risk.
What is important is efficiency.
So, what do you propose?
It's not rocket science.
All remaining fertile women
should be collected and impregnated.
By those of superior status, of course.
You're talking about concubines.
I don't care what you want to call it.
The wives will never accept it.
No, we won't succeed without their support. You know that.
Maybe the wife should be there
for the act.
It would be less of a violation.
There is Scriptural precedent.
"Act" may not be the best name
from a branding perspective.
The "Ceremony"?
Sounds good. Nice and Godly.
The wives would eat that shit up.
Commander Pryce, Commander Guthrie.
This is you.
We'll bring this to the Committee, then, after lunch.
Run it up the flagpole.
This is all very promising.
Sorry.
Guthrie's a great field commander.
He took New York.
He has God in his heart, even if his mouth is sometimes a bit blasphemous.
Hadn't noticed, sir.
What's your opinion about all this?
About the Handmaid issue.
I think you're right, sir.
It's better not to form attachments.
Better for whom?
Everybody.
What's your name, son?
Nick Blaine, sir.
Pleasure to meet you.
This is the back entrance.
Can't exactly use the front door.
You're contraband.
Sir.
Let's take this off.
Almost forgot.
There. Doesn't she look beautiful?
Yes, sir.
This way.
Here we are.
Don't gawk. You'll give yourself away.
Try to act natural.
It's like walking in the past, don't you think?
I thought these kinds of places were forbidden.
Mmm, officially.
Unofficially?
Oh, we turn a blind eye.
Everyone's human, after all.
Now, let's get you a drink.
One won't hurt.
It wouldn't look right if you didn't.
What'll it be?
Hmm...
Manhattan, please.
Mmm, sophisticated.
Manhattan and a Scotch, neat.
Give us another round here.
Who are all these people?
Oh, officers, senior officials.
And foreign visitors, of course, to stimulate diplomacy and business.
I meant the women.
Hey, sweetheart. What can I get you?
Oh.
All women who couldn't assimilate.
Some were working girls before.
That one there, she's a sociology professor.
Or she was.
We've got lawyers, a CEO, a few journalists.
I'm told you can have quite a good conversation with some of them
if what you feel like is talking.
We've got quite a collection.
They prefer it here.
Where's the ladies' room?
Just round the corner.
Will you excuse me?
I'm so sorry I left you at the train!
That's okay, it's okay.
I didn't... I didn't know what else...
I know, I know, I know.
I know. It's okay. Okay?
It's okay. I know.
Oh, my God, Janine...
Janine said you were dead.
And you believed that crazy bitch?
God, I can't believe you're here.
What'd you do wrong, laugh at his dick?
It's just temporary.
The Commander smuggled me in for the night.
Some of them do that.
It's just another shitty power trip.
Hey.
You were just here.
You know the rules. Get back out on the floor.
Find me later.
In the dorm. Mezzanine level.
Okay.
And fix your face, girl.
You're a mess.
There's brandy, Scotch, vodka...
It's good stuff, too. Courtesy of our Russian visitors.
You got hair dye.
Their wives do like their illegal chemicals.
Speaking of...
It's all here. Um...
Oxy, Percocet, speed, pregnancy tests.
What's the ketamine for?
Some of the guests have Sleeping Beauty fantasies.
But the girls use it, too.
They'll spike the guys' drinks,
go through their phone after they pass out.
The Eyes thank you for your service.
Are you okay? Yeah.
Oh.
Ah, thank you.
Yeah, it's from the mistress' garden. It's fresh.
Stick around, I'll make you that pesto that got me a James Beard nomination.
Another time.
Okay.
Not tonight.
Okay.
Pleasure doing business with you.
All sorted?
Hello, there.
I haven't seen you before.
Davidson.
She's with me.
An evening rental.
Of course, sir. Excuse me.
Outstanding work with the Mexico delegation.
Thought I'd lost you.
Here I am.
No! Help! Please!
Help, please!
Please, don't!
No.
No. Please.
What did you think was going to happen?
He's that way with Pryce too.
Goes where the wind blows.
I can't trust him.
We've been hearing things from other districts.
Purges. Could just be rumors, I don't know.
No one's made a move yet here,
but I can't help feeling there's a target on my back.
Well, I suppose that's what happens when you're the boss.
You do understand me, don't you?
So...
What do you think of our little club?
Why did you bring me here?
I thought you'd enjoy it.
I thought
we could just be, together.
Do you like that?
Yes.
You don't need to be quiet.
Yeah. Oh!
Oh! Oh! Oh, yeah. All right. Let's...
Yeah. I told you.
Yeah.
So annoying, though.
Ow.
Oh, godawful.
You look like the Whore of Babylon.
What, isn't that the point?
Take a hike, will ya?
Did you pick this out?
Government issue. Why, isn't it me?
Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm great.
What about you?
How's Waterford?
Forget him.
I just want to hear about you.
Tell me everything.
I took the train into Boston, like we planned.
I remembered a safe house.
Quaker family. They about lost their shit when they saw an Aunt at the front door.
I got lucky.
They knew someone in the Underground.
What's the Underground? Femaleroad.
Cute, right?
They're smuggling Handmaids out of the country.
Trying to, anyway. I didn't get that far.
Office park outside the city.
They shot the guy who helped me.
What happened?
Never found out.
Not like it matters anyway.
God, Aunt Lydia must have...
She must have shit a brick when you got back to the Red Center.
They didn't take me back.
I was a "corrupting influence."
They took me somewhere else.
After they finished their questions,
they gave me a choice, The Colonies or Jezebel's.
It's a few good years before your pussy wears out.
All the booze and drugs you want. Food's good.
We only work nights. I mean, it's not so bad.
We're gonna find a way to get you out of here, okay?
June, I know the way out.
Black van, feet first. That's it.
Look, forget about escaping.
This is Gilead. No one gets out.
Luke got out!
Yeah.
Thank God.
But he isn't us, and he isn't in here.
We're alone, June.
Just take care of yourself.
You need to go.
Come here.
I love you, okay?
Me, too.
So fucking much.
Don't worry. We'll get you home before you turn into a pumpkin.
Commander Guthrie's been sleeping with his last two Handmaids,
according to his Martha.
His aide tells me he's skimming from the transportation budget.
Excellent.
All of that should be simple enough to verify.
The uniformed corps of the Eyes is our most visible face.
But our best intelligence comes from our plainclothes operatives.
Anything I can do to help, Commander Pryce.
You do understand that, as an Eye,
you'll chiefly be reporting on the activities
of your own Commander, Fred Waterford.
Yes, sir.
A sad business, the loss in your household,
the Handmaid.
I only hope
Commander Waterford has better sense when the new one arrives.
Well, no one's above the law, Commander.
We are going to clean up Gilead, son.
You're back.
Yes.
So, how is she?
The same. How were things here?
Oh...
Lonely.
Nick, would you grab my bags?
They're out the back, please.
Of course, Mrs. Waterford.
She home? Yup.
Nick.
I'll see you later?
Nick?
We can't do this anymore.
Nick.
You know I had to go with him last night, right?
You know I didn't have a choice.
I don't have any choice.
Why?
You're gonna talk to me?
Talk to me.
Talk... Talk to me, Nick.
I don't know anything about you, you know.
Nick, you won't tell me anything.
So, I don't know anything.
I don't know who you are.
Jesus, Nick.
Fuck, is this it?
Is this it? Is this enough for you, this bullshit life?
Is this what you want?
You want to polish his car
and once in a while just try to get a Handmaid pregnant?
Is that enough for you?
We're being stupid.
You know we're being stupid.
It's too dangerous.
No, it isn't.
You could end up on the wall.
But at least...
At least someone will remember me.
In this place...
At least someone will care when I'm gone.
That's something.
That is something.
Hey.
Wait. Wait, wait, wait.
Hey, hey.
What?
My name is Nick Blaine.
I'm from Michigan.
Well, under His eye, Guardian Blaine.
Offred.
Welcome home, Mrs. Waterford.
Thank you.
I brought you something.
I had it in my bedroom, growing up, as a child.
I thought you might like it.
There's a key.
Thank you.
The perfect gift.
A girl trapped in a box.
She only dances when someone else opens the lid,
when someone else winds her up.
If this is a story I'm telling,
I must be telling it to someone.
There's always someone,
even when there is no one.
I will not be that girl in the box.