Time to get the kids the hell out of dodge
Well, we can all agree that June has definitely jumped on board the crazy train but that's okay because she's planning on using it to bring the children of Gilead on a one-way ticket out of there.
June's plan may have seemed an impossible fantasy at the beginning of episode 10 of 'The Handmaid's Tale', but by the end, that was certainly not the case. 'Witness', as the episode was called, brought back the horror of the Ritual to the show as Fred Waterford decided his best chance at undermining Commander Lawrence's power was to prove he didn't have the "virility" to lead. Queue himself, Serena and Commander Winslow rocking up to the Lawrence household to "bare witness" and make sure the ritual would take place. Also queue that slow-burning feeling of dread that fills our bellies when we know something unspeakable is about to go down in Gilead.
Thankfully, like Eleanor, we were spared the gory details which is no doubt the show's way of responding to criticisms of torture porn that has come its way. The whole encounter was still as traumatic an experience as we have come to expect from Gilead, even leaving the normally unflappable Commander Lawrence shaken. So much so that it was the catalyst he needed to try to get his wife out of Gilead, with June somehow convincing him he should chuck a few kids in the back too. "I'd be a hero", he acknowledges.
Who knows, he may even have the Waterfords as new pals in Canada as that phone Serena got from Mark Tuello a few episodes ago was presented to Fred. However, we cannot see Fred ever betraying Gilead or his beloved Commander Winslow for Nichole.
Whatever happens with the Waterfords, the seeds of rebellion are very much sown and sprouting (into muffins, as it turns out) as June now has recruited an army of Marthas to her side as well as a couple of Handmaids too with Alma and Janine.
A "bigger boat" indeed. Let Operation Save the Gilead Children commence.
Review: 'The Handmaid's Tale', Season 3, Episode 9 - 'Heroic'
Review: 'The Handmaid's Tale, Season 3, Episode 8 - 'Unfit'
Review: 'The Handmaid's Tale', Season 3, Episode 7 - 'Under His Eye'
Review: 'The Handmaid's Tale', Season 3, Episode 6 - 'Household'
Review: 'The Handmaid's Tale', Season 3, Episode 5 - 'Unknown Caller'
TV Review: 'The Handmaid's Tale' - Season 3, Episode 4