The Handmaid's Tale Season 5 Episode 6 Review: Together
Carissa Pavlica
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Did they just Thelma and Louise that bitch, or what??
The Handmaid's Tale Season 5 Episode 6 was one of the most disturbing hours to date because the wheels are starting to come off the wagon, and the more it pulls, the higher the stakes.
June Osborn's constant meddling has planted seeds of doubt across several countries, and they're just beginning to take root.
I'm almost high on how the hour played out, but I'm also highly aware of the fact that I will be blindsided by the ending no matter how long and hard I think about it.
No matter how many times you think about your own death, I don't think it happens the way that you expect. There's always a curveball, some strategy you didn't fully think through, an enemy you didn't see in time. No matter what you do, the end is always a surprise.
Juen
June was spot on in that assessment of death, and it fits here, too. We can theorize nonstop, but what the writers have planned will come no matter how much thought we put into it.
Aunt Lydia has had a change of heart. After years of following whatever the Commanders set out for her, she's started fighting back. She's started to stand up for the girls.
She still considers them God's vessels, but she's firmly entrenched in the pomp and circumstance of the religion they've created in Gilead. Under God's eye, Handmaids are taken during a focused and purposeful ritual.
Young women are not raped willy-nilly. Well, they always have been, but Aunt Lydia's head was too far buried to admit the truth.
Aunt Lydia: I've just heard this morning's surprising news. I wonder if you could help me to get to the bottom of something. Three weeks ago. That was Commander Waterford's funeral, was it not? You remember that, don't you? Mm-hmm. Now, I want you to be honest with me. Do you understand me? Esther, do you understand?
Esther: Yes, Aunt Lydia.
Aunt Lydia: On the day of the funeral, you had a private audience with Commander Putnam. [Esther nods] Now, you can tell me the truth. There is nothing to be ashamed of. I need to ask you. Did you behave in a way that might have, even unwittingly, invited his attention?
Esther: No.
Aunt Lydia: God knows our truths.
Esther: I didn't do anything. He raped me.
Aunt Lydia: That's terrible. That's terrible! Oh, I'm sorry, dear. I'm sorry.
Esther: No, your not.
Aunt Lydia: I'm what, hun, I... what?
Esther: They all do it. You know they do. You're not sorry.
Part of her always knew the truth, but to admit it would be to acknowledge the magnificent flaws in their plan, making babies by making birthing women nothing but cattle with as many rights as their bovine equivalent.
Nick and Joseph have been and remain the commanders of the people. Regardless of how they came to their positions as commander or their position on how Gilead should be managed, they're on the side of good, even if Rose might wonder if they're more on the side of June than goodness, for goodness' sake.
You know, I just wonder, if you never allow yourself to enjoy the spoils of your position, why seek it in the first place?
Commander Putnam
They still have to put on airs. They still have to play the game, and that means acting crass about the rape in mixed company and reminding Aunt Lydia to mind herself as she makes demands by suggesting Commander Putnam face justice.
But they did it. We have no idea how they pulled it off, but I'd venture to guess that with all the ruckus that handmaids have caused over the years, the last thing anyone needs is for the handmaids to believe they're unsafe and lacking protection.
We've seen how they operate, and they can be deadly. It's better to keep their only hope for another generation at arm's length, and to do that, the handmaids have to feel safe. And they need the ritual to be the only kind of debasement they face.
We've watched Serena experience a fraction of what the handmaids do as a rule. She finds it very unpleasant.
From women fawning all over her as if having a baby is all she can offer to society to that incredibly awkward physical with Dr. Landers, you could see the wheels turning in her mind.
For a brief time, June and Serena found themselves circling a strange sort of friendship. Both women were in impossible circumstances. It was a time of confusion for Serena, who founded Gilead only to suffer from its misogyny, such as when Fred cut her finger off.
As unpleasant as it could be with June around their house, June was far too intelligent for Serena to ignore. And she could only look past Fred's part in their strange menage a trois for so long.
Serena's attempts to leave the house were thwarted at every turn, and the safety of her baby eradicated any common sense concerns for her mental well-being.
Dr. Landis took an already creepy situation and made it creepier.
So, you're at the place right now where perineal massage is going to start being very effective for ya. Tearing is no picnic, so anything to get that tissue more flexible will be a great benefit when the time comes. Avoid the gels. Just stick with essential oils, witch hazel, that sort of thing. They've got it all stocked here.
Dr. Landers
When he mentioned that, I was holding my breath, waiting for him to either offer to show her how to do it or just to start doing it. That entire conversation was surreal, but he surprised us all by asking her on a date instead.
By that point in their appointment, he would have been wise to read the wide-eyed reaction he was getting from her, but instead, he doubled down and admitted the Wheelers were farming her out to the good doctor.
As if that wasn't bizarre enough, Alanis put her foot down with Serena.
Go to your room. [Serena goes]
Alanis [ to Serena]
When Alanis admonished Serena, following her demand that the baby not be raised by a single mother, Serena broke. By the time she was called into Wheeler's office, she was ready for more of the same, but she got an out when she learned that he'd captured June.
Yvonne Strahovski was a marvel of emotion during that scene, briefly showing her surprise and disappointment that June, her arch-enemy, had been caught.
Part of their dynamic requires deep respect on either side and with what Serena's been experiencing firsthand, she's feeling more for June than she'd likely care to admit.
Before reaching that literal fork in the road, June shouldered the burden of their capture for Luke, who was falling apart at their predicament.
Luke was bordering on a mental break as he screamed, "that's crazy," and "that's insane," just thinking about how alone she must have felt when she was first caught and held against her will.
But June's salvation was in her unending hope and how she made survival her top priority. She never wavered from the fact that she'd suffer whatever was put before her and would conquer it with her family in mind.
Now, she was trying to instill some of her magic into her frightened husband.
June's strength is the stuff of legend. Her name is known worldwide, yet she still blames herself for getting Luke into an untenable position. She shoulders his burden because she knows she can hack it.
June stumbled not when pressed but when she was finally allowed to relax. That's when she fell apart. When she lost the capacity to fight for her family and for what's right, she floundered in the madness of being free when others weren't, Hannah included.
Luke: Last time. Last time, we didn't get to say goodbye, and I don't want that to happen again.
June: Nah. Fuck that.
Luke: Why?
June: Because we're gonna stay alive.
Luke: June, when we get to Gilead, they're gonna execute us, alright?
June: OK. You listen to me, OK?
Luke: OK.
June: OK. Last time, when we were apart, no matter what happened, I never gave up hope, and you never gave up hope because we knew, we just knew that we would find each other again. So, we're just going to do that again, right?
Luke: I love you.
June: I love you. And we are gonna do that again. Do you understand?
Luke: Yeah, right. We're gonna stay alive.
Luke thought he held her up during those times until he got sucked in by Serena's games on the jumbotron. He slowly got pulled into reality again.
Canada and freedom, using building codes as weapons -- that was fantasy. Reality is being caught, caged, and beaten, your life on the line.
The weight of it almost cracked Luke. Hell, it still might. It depends on how long he's alone. They said he'll be dropped over the border. How will he handle knowing that June could be held accountable for her crimes against Gilead?
While he's concerned with that, we're concerned with what's next for June and Serena.
As June mentioned her thoughts on dying, I understood where she was coming from because I was actively banging my head on the belief that Serena was going to turn, that she wanted to accompany Ezra not to kill June, as she claimed, but to enlist her help.
For all their words to the contrary, June wouldn't have killed Serena. Not because Serena was carrying a child, of course, but also because June has eternal hope.
It's the same hope I felt watching Serena process her brief encounter akin to a handmaid, a loss of freedom more significant than she felt as a Commander's wife at a time when happiness at her impending motherhood should have carried her over the moon.
As June prayed that their children would grow up without the hatred tearing them apart, I was screaming for Serena to spin around and fire at Ezra.
If they could find common ground as they did once before, June and Serena could change the world. Can they find it? Could they stand to compromise for the future's sake?
Would The Handmaid's Tale creatives allow for a win like that? Even if they wouldn't move mountains, for them to find a way to work together for the greater good would feel like a win.
"Together" was a fantastic episode that deserves discussion. It seems like the writers might have something good in store for the finale. It's little wins like finding common ground or stomping out a bad apple like Putnam that gives hope flight.
Shoot over your thoughts on what happened. Is there optimism for the future?
I'd love to hear from you!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
