2x07 'After'

[DawnFae]

The Handmaid's Tale episode 2x07 - "After"
Air Date: May, 30th, 2018
Synopsis: The rebellion is in full force in Episode 7 of Season 2.

[Dee]

Well, I take my proverbial hat off to everyone who was involved in making this episode. Ladies, and gentlemen, this is how great television is made. A masterpiece of tv drama.
I don't even know where to begin with the praise, because I thought everything was in its right place here. Every single word, look, sigh, smile and tear. And it was gripping tension, heartbreaking revelations, a beautiful celebration of the human spirit.

The theme was definitely 'names' today, as a means of giving people back their identity, their dignity. The process of identifying the dead... and the living. The Handmaids' seemingly tiny but really huge rebellion by sharing their names. And it was all our June starting it... And it was wonderful that Ofglen got finally identified by her true name as well, in her death. What an arc within the episode from the funeral to the calling of the real names. And the return of Janine and Emily as Handmaids!

I was practically sobbing watching the tragedy of the sweet young doctor's fate unfold, and her connection with Moira was so tangible, so delicately portrayed. Moira's grief destroyed me. I adore this character, and the actress was extraordinary in every single scene today.

We have finally learnt how come Moira ended up in the Red Centre, and how she met the love of her life. And now she knows Odette is dead, and will have to pick herself up, again. Again, and again, and again.

The scene when June lightened the mood with rolling her eyes at the idea of a perfect marriage, calling Luke an infant, making Moira laugh... so brilliant. What a wonderful supportive friendship these two women have.

The creepy new guy in charge and how Serena has dealt with him. What a wonderfully smart woman she can be, and just for this once, thank god for her ruthless devious ways, for how she dealt with that monster. And June was so clever to get Serena on the case.

The moment between Nick and June. Finally it felt so true, so electric, so passionate. Beautifully sad and tragic.

The funeral at the beginning. How stunning was that? The horror that followed in the steet, the crippling fear... all so powerfully done.

Honestly, I could just list everything that happened in the episode. One thing after the other, with a huge wow factor. And then...
SERENA ASKS JUNE TO EDIT.
WHAT SERENA WROTE.
AND JUNE ASKS FOR A FRICKING PEN.
ALL THIS IN FRED's OFFICE.
THE WOMEN ARE TAKING CHARGE.
TOGETHER.
!!!!!!!
And this exchange is like they are both revelling in every tiny second of this blatant breaking of rules and regarding each other with some due respect, and touching that pen like it was the ultimate forbidden fruit, which of course it is.

Oh dear Lord, this was just Something Else.

[Lori]

I cannot agree more!!!! Incredible. Every moment. May I add that the ending click of the pen was reminiscent of the pushing in of the grenade pin in the last episode? "The pen is mightier than the sword." The two ladies of the household at polar odds are uniting in this thing.

What has started here, I wonder? Where will this thing lead? I cannot begin to fathom where Serena sees this society pivoting next. I trust her not, yet she fit the executive chair nicely. I want my hands on those documents, dammit!

For a moment, I thought June would refuse, knowing that to have a hand in any edict of this society is wrought with landmines. We are awash with unintended consequences as grave examples already.

The opening sequence was such stark beauty. The red coffins...Could they at least let these poor women rest in eternity in something other than red?

The theme was definitely 'names' today, as a means of giving people back their identity, their dignity. The process of identifying the dead... and the living. The Handmaids' seemingly tiny but really huge rebellion by sharing their names. And it was all our June starting it... And it was wonderful that Ofglen got finally identified by her true name as well, in her death. What an arc within the episode from the funeral to the calling of the real names. And the return of Janine and Emily as Handmaids!

It is further heartbreak to bury these women with their assigned and not given names. Not understanding that indeed quite a few Handmaidens had perished, I feared those red coffins were for each woman standing at the head.

The song lyrics nearly destroyed me from the inception. The music selection in this series is exquisite.

My Life ~ Iris DeMent

My life, it don't count for nothing
When I look at this world, I feel so small
And my life, it's only a season
A passing September that no one will recall

But I gave joy to my mother
And I made my lover smile
And I can give comfort to my friends when they're hurting
And I can make it seem better for a while

And my life, it's half the way traveled
And still I have not found my way out of this night
And my life, it's tangled in wishes
And so many things that just never turned out right

But I gave joy to my mother
And I made my lover smile
And I can give comfort to my friends when they're hurting
And I can make it seem better
I can make it seem better
I can make it seem better for a while



But, oh yes! The whispered names in the market...I got goosebumps raging from my head to my toes. Oh, these small victories. What do we make of the little wife witnessing? Trouble or Training?

I was practically sobbing watching the tragedy of the sweet young doctor's fate unfold, and her connection with Moira was so tangible, so delicately portrayed. Moira's grief destroyed me. I adore this character, and the actress was extraordinary in every single scene today.

We have finally learnt how come Moira ended up in the Red Centre, and how she met the love of her life. And now she knows Odette is dead, and will have to pick herself up, again. Again, and again, and again.

This was all so very tenderly rendered. I love Moira - that hard little shell and soft loving insides. Survivor's guilt abounding. I've a feeling she will be a warrior in the final rescue efforts.

And oh the ending with two women at the helm of this ship gone astray, with pen in hand. Again with the rockingly appropriate ending music: "Venus" The early version by Shocking Blue (not the Bananarama version) celebratory and in your face, and oddly very contemporary sounding - I thought it was a retro remake.

"Her weapons were her crystal eyes
Making every man mad
Black as the dark night she was
Got what no one else had"

[DawnFae]

The women are taking charge or almost...

Serena has become a rebel herself. The men in Gilead are waging war against all women including "their wives". They became Gods so to say.

An intelligent woman like Serena will wake up to what actually happened to her too: the abuse is incredible!
She is a wife and has a lot of material privilege but when all is said and done, she is nothing in the Gilead's pyramid of power, at least not directly.

It looks like the commander will be in a vindictive mood when he'll return home (next episode).

Moira's story was a surprise! She got a boy and gave him away...
At least she had known love with a beautiful soul. The grief was tangible on all fronts. All people are suffering, the ones that got away are not happy either and how could they ever be when they left their loved ones behind in the clutches of the monster Gilead.

Would Serena join the revolution or would she be the undoing of the monster she helped create from the inside. Is she persuasive enough to win some of the other wives to her cause.
I believe that whether she is aware of it or not, she's got a cause of her own as a woman who wants to be free too. I don't think she ever knew to what extent the Gilead horror will grow to be.

Enlisting June's help for such a power move definitely changed the dynamics in the story. Perhaps Serena will over power her monster of a husband, one day...

The funeral scene in the beginning was charged with all kinds of terror and horror but the grief over the departed handmaids was more powerful. Death has its own power to change things and people in the process. In this episode the revolution dealt Gilead a huge blow by taking away from them what they value most: the wombs of the handmaids...

Sadly, winning this one battle came at a huge cost to the handmaids themselves. On the other hand, dying might be the only way out of hell for the enslaved handmaids, for now.
Their sacrifice will not be for nothing.

Gilead will lash back in even more brutal ways. The new monster commander really meant business with the way he "punished" the suspected rebels. Luckily, Serena neutralized him before he inflicted more damage to her household. Serena wants June's child so badly that she would probably do anything to protect them both.

[Dee]

Thank you, Lori, for highlighting the music in the episode. You're so right about the choices being exquisite throughout, and this episode was a prime example. 'My Life'... what a gorgeous and perfectly fitting song that was for the funeral.

I too thought the coffins were for the Handmaids standing next to them. This time for real. From the closing scene of the previous episode, it looked like all the Handmaids were standing outside and ran. I was surprised to learn so many of them died, whilst so many of the commanders inside seem to have walked out unscathed.

May I add that the ending click of the pen was reminiscent of the pushing in of the grenade pin in the last episode? "The pen is mightier than the sword."

YES!!! Very well pointed out, Lori. How fantastic was that? It really felt like "right, it's time we bring out the big guns". There was so much power surging in that room... Like these two women could take on the whole world if they wanted to with the click of that pen.

And those documents? We have to wait a whole WEEK to find out what was in them? Serena in that chair!!! My goodness she is just revelling in this unexpected break of her husband debilitated, and so smoothly she slithered into the role of puppet master! Which way is she going to try to shift things at this point? You're so right, we cannot trust her in the least. But perhaps she has learnt a few things in the past few years of being forced to live in the shadows. I can't imagine her giving up on the baby just yet though. So how will she keep June close and still justify in her mind taking her baby? She knows by now that she can't expect to build real happiness on someone else's sorrow. But she might still settle for this tainted version, in her fixation of becoming a mother jo matter what.

The Little Wife witnessing the name sharing in the market: trouble or training, you ask? I fear trouble, Lori. She's the child of the new law and order. But who will she actually turn to report this? The leadership is in utter chaos.

You've described Moira so brilliantly as "the hard little shell and soft loving insides", and yes, I think you're right there too, we are seeing a warrior being made here. It's interesting to note the contrast between Luke's resigned attitude, "we just need to wait it out" and Moira's building urgency to act.

And hell yes to the choice of the closing song. I've never heard this original version before, and instantly prefer it to the Bananarama remake.

So excited for the next episode. What a gripping story!!

[Dee]

I believe that whether she is aware of it or not, she's got a cause of her own as a woman who wants to be free too. I don't think she ever knew to what extent the Gilead horror will grow to be.

Thanks for your thoughts, DF. I think this is the crux of it and what makes Serena's story so interesting and exciting. This is certainly not what she would have wanted for herself.

There must have been so many more humane ways of adopting babies for these privileged women who couldn't have children of their own. Somewhere along the way Serena's longing for a child has blindsided her from whatever the men were brewing up pushing Gilead towards this horror state.

I'd love to know what Serena's full vision was when she was speaking about women's biological destiny. How did she think it was gonna work? Perhaps we will find out now?

[Lori]

Off to break my own rule and watch the intro to episode 8. I was thinking that perhaps Serena gets a taste of a Commanderless household and somehow neutralizes him without killing him.

I do feel she has the ability to influence the other wives - it is a matter of fear once again. How far can they go without losing everything?

The delicate hierarchy with June is an issue also. I also cannot fathom how Serena thought this would play out. Surely with all of her supposed intellect she could see the writing on the wall.

This story is so deliciously complex, isn't it?

Love watching this together and your brilliant perceptions!