Both of them appear in their element; it’s enjoyable, even, for us to watch.
And indeed, Serena does get a little too comfortable with her rebellion.
Serena goes alone to assess the situation first, leaving June alone, to worry.
Credit: George Kraychyk/Hulu
Understandably, Janine is heartbroken.
The “new” Serena pops out again.
“There might be something that could help,” she tells June, determined.
“It might mean bending the law.”
She asks June for her opinion, and she inevitably assents.
It’s a small but potent reminder of Gilead’s self-sabotaging tactics of oppression.
It’s cowardly, and Serena refuses to abide by the sentiment.
Serena and June are acting in-sync here, leaning on one another to advance their moral and personal agendas.
Lydia escorts Janine to the hospital, and pulls June aside.
“If this breaks her, I will hold you personally responsible,” she tells her.
June responds, “I will too.”
She stays strong, loving with the baby, even as the worst news comes in.
The doctor suggests they unhook Angela from the machines, let her feel “warm” and safe."
Janine is given the chance to hold her, finally, and it’s a stunningly beautiful moment.
There’s humanity in the scene, which contrasts sharply with June and Serena’s return home.
The Commander hadn’t been blind to changes in his wife’s behavior, her empowerment.
He’d perused June’s room, noticing the gifts, the life, in evidence.
And he calls them to his study promptly, with Nick delivering the message.
She promises she didn’t read them, but Nick is hardly convinced.)
He tells her they must “make amends.”
It’s brutal and unyielding, Serena’s punishment for trying to reclaim a little bit of herself.
Serena is alone in her room crying in the next scene, utterly broken.
June knocks and asks what she can do.
June then goes downstairs, seemingly distraught, to venture to get something out of Fred.
She knocks on his study door and apologizes profusely.
He doesn’t bite, closing the door back on her.
June finally breaks down on the other side of the door.
What a relief, then, that it provides a little levity at the end.
The final scene opens on the sound of Janine gently singing a lullaby.
Lydia is overjoyed, stunned.
