Another Name Theft. The episode opens on the sounds of a baby cooing and the idyllic scene of a baby being washed in clean water and soft light. Whose baby is this? The shot reveals: oh no, it’s Serena Joy. She’s beaming with happiness, glowing at her realized dream of finally holding a baby. Once again, the handmaid’s role in creating the baby is erased with the change of name by the adoptive parents. “God bless you, my angel. My sweet Nicole.” Ugh. Nicole. “Holly” had the old-school charm of an outdated name on the brink of cyclical revival and the connection to June’s mother, while “Nicole” sounds generic. On the plus side, Serena is far more tender and physically connected to Holly/Nicole than Naomi Putnam was with Charlotte/Angela. The Perfect vs. The Good. Cut to Offred pumping breast milk into mostly empty bottles in the gray, sterile light of a empty Red Center dorm hall under the supervision of several Aunts. Mrs. Waterford, true to her word, isn’t letting the handmaid nurse her child. June reminds Aunt Lydia that she promised to protect her baby; Aunt Lydia counters that “one can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” It’s jarring and ironic to hear an extremist zealot Aunt Lydia say that line. “The perfect is the enemy of the good” is typically, in 2018, a line spoken by centrists to urge extremists to adopt a less strident attitude in the name of real-world feasibility, not by extremists to urge capitulation from, well, normal people. It felt jarring to hear it coming from Aunt Lydia’s mouth. New Office Humblebrag. The good news is that Nick is unharmed following his encounter with the two violent Guardians two episodes ago. However, there are no real details on precisely how he handled the situation. Fred, ever frail in his masculinity, can’t resist humblebragging to the two other commanders that he doesn’t really need an office this big. It’s noted that he’s now “running point on media expansion,” which could become relevant in subsequent seasons. After the two men leave, Waterford has Nick hang a family portrait of the Waterfords with Nick and June’s baby. No direct threats are exchanged, but the intent of their deeply coded conversation is to undermine Nick. Spontaneous Lactation. The sight of Holly in the church causes June to spontaneously lactate. For once, Aunt Lydia does something good in negotiating for Offred to return to the Waterford house. But this small point is won based on Offred’s value as a vessel, a cow, to be used for her milk: “If you keep the infant separate from the source, we’re going to have to repeat this whole process.” This scene is the sole moment all episode where we see Fred holding Nicole. When Fred reintroduces them, “Nicole, this is Offred” it’s with the baby’s assigned name, and in a role as “Offred,” not “your mother.” He never says “Daddy’s here,” or shows any physical connection to the baby. Serena Joy doesn’t actually have any say in whether Offred can come home to pump for the baby, however furious she is. She’s back to her old tricks. Serena doesn’t have the power to keep Offred away, so she uses her small amount of power to make Offred unhappy, not allowing her any contact with the baby. So much for “domestic feminism.” Finally, Bradley Whitford. Aunt Lydia tells Emily, “You’re running out of chances. You must behave.” But Emily has already been sent to the colonies. What else can they do to her? At no point are the handmaids offered any carrot, only sticks They enter the house of her new assignment, a red Victorian gingerbread manse. Her new Commander is Joseph Larwence, the economic mastermind behind Gilead, in a long-anticipated appearance by Bradley Whitford. Perhaps he’ll explain how their economy functions now that all of the American corporations seem to have disappeared, but that does not happen in this episode. Emily still has a hard time saying what others want to hear, pondering aloud, “I’m wondering why such an important, brilliant man would take in such a shitty handmaid.” The Martha has one eye and a foul mouth, the first clue that there is something off about this household. The second clue is that there is a Basquiat on the landing. Most of the art in the Commanders’ homes in Gilead is pre-20th century and leans towards landscapes, portraits, and sedate, aristocratic themes. Aunt Lydia’s mouth drops open. This is a household with a knack for taking in misfits. Best of all, Commander Lawrence brusquely ushers Aunt Lydia out the door. The Lawrence Collection. The Lawrence household is full of art world Easter eggs: two Basquiats, plus works in the recognizable style of O’Keefe, Matisse, Cezanne. If Gilead ever falls, the Lawrences’ art collection will hopefully make a nice foundation for the reconstituted modern wing of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A copy of Art Spiegelman’s Maus I lies open. Perhaps Lawrence appreciates Spiegelman’s work, but there’s the more sinister possibility that he’s studying how populations react to authoritarian takeover. A Sale at Old Navy. In normal times, a girl like Eden would be at the mall, not married off to a stranger. Eden is missing, following a brief conversation about love with Offred the night before. The only noticeable change in her since her confrontation with Nick is in her wardrobe: her corset-like peasant bodice and puffy-sleeved blouse outfit this week is more figure-defining than the aprons and lumpy gray sweaters we’ve seen her in before. Nick and June have their first moment alone since the baby was born, and playfully contemplate running away to Hawaii together. It’s brazen of them to be speaking in the Waterford kitchen. They’re about to kiss when they are interrupted by Commander Waterford. That could have been a close call. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It appears that Eden and Isaac have run off together, but that’s the least of Serena’s worries: despite a plentiful milk supply, baby Holly/Nicole won’t stop fussing, from morning to night. Serena attempts quiet the child by offering her breast. The infant latches and calms for a moment, and Serena Joy is in heaven at getting to pseudo-nurse. But then the baby pulls away in disappointment and starts to scream again, and Serena apologizes, helpless to calm it. Serena is a monster. But the conceit in “Postpartum” that nothing but real breast milk from a baby’s biological mother can truly sooth and comfort the child is insulting to loving adoptive parents everywhere, not to mention biological mothers who can’t nurse. Scrabble? It is disgusting that June has to flirt with her rapist. Commander Waterford expects her to be grateful to him for arranging the visit with Hannah, and to want to be in his company. It’s remarkable how quickly they’re brushing aside that fact that he raped her. At least, she seems to be getting better at manipulating Fred, suggesting that they could resume their old Scrabble games. The Yellow Wallpaper. If episode 4 reflected '60s era horror, Emily’s journey in episode 12 is a tour of full-on Victorian gothic, complete with elaborate, crazily patterned yellow wallpaper (a la Charlotte Perkins Gillman) and a hidden madwoman in the person of Mrs. Lawrence, first glimpse through her ghostly appearance in Emily’s bedroom mirror. Mrs. Lawrence demands Emily’s real name, and appears to be a more sympathetic Mistress than the “sane” wives in Gilead. Hollow cheeked and wild-eyed, she tells Emily, “Don’t tell Joseph that I came in. He doesn’t like it when I talk to the girls.” Girls? Why is it plural? Do handmaids keep disappearing from this eccentric household? Mrs. Lawrence does not have any information on state of the DJIA or the NASDAQ, but she is eager to divulge her husband’s role in turning dissenters into a disposable slave labor force to deal with the radioactive wasteland problem: “The colonies. He planned everything. He figured it all out. And I said, ‘Real people are digging up that dirt, and it’s poisoned.’” When Lawrence finds them, she screams at him, “You’re a monster! You’re disgusting!<doc-sep>Season 2, Episode 12: ‘Postpartum’ You don’t see a lot of warm colors on “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a show in which columns of harsh white light are always slanting into dark and shadowy chambers. But “Postpartum,” the penultimate episode of Season 2, opens with a closeup of baby Holly in the bath, her peachy skin illuminated by golden sunshine. The bliss ends quickly, as the face of the woman bathing her enters the frame. It’s Serena, looking uncharacteristically happy. Holly’s name is Nicole now. And her real mom is at the Red Center, hooked up to a giant breast pump. Motherhood has always been among the central concerns of this show. The rise of Gilead was an extreme response to a collapsing birthrate, and the handmaid role was supposedly created for the sole purpose of redistributing fertility. (Never mind that these unfortunate women are also an outlet for the lust of patriarchs who might otherwise commit adultery.) The current season, however, has focused particularly on mother-daughter relationships. Offred has made big promises to Holly, and she is briefly reunited with Hannah. Flashbacks have provided insight into the tensions between June and her career-oriented, feminist mom. Janine seems to have brought her daughter, Charlotte, back from the brink of death, purely through the power of a loving embrace. These are bonds that can’t be broken, the show is arguing, even if they (and the individuals involved) are deeply flawed. But where does that leave Serena, who is playing house — complete with some intensely uncomfortable fake breast-feeding — with a child who has been ripped from her healthy, adoring real mother’s arms? “Postpartum” moves beyond motherhood to question the definition of family in Gilead. Serena, Commander Waterford and the baby they call Nicole may seem to be a perfect nuclear unit at first glance — or by glancing at their glossy new family portrait — but previous episodes have revealed how tortured the couple’s relationship is. And Holly is still reliant on her birth mother’s milk, a biological reality that punctures Serena’s mommy illusions and (along with his apparent obsession with Offred) leads Waterford to bring the handmaid back into his home. Serena is so threatened by Offred’s presence that she not only bans her from interacting with Holly, she also forces her to pump in her bedroom.<doc-sep>As viewers of Hulu’s dystopian series The Handmaid’s Tale are by now fully aware, Gilead’s authoritarian regime is not without its public displays of human suffering. From the Wall to bodily mutilation and every imaginable horror in between, the show’s shocking atrocities are part of what makes the series feel at times like intellectual masochism. Season 2’s twelfth episode offers an even closer look at what befalls those who refuse to denounce their crimes under the Republic’s archaic and wildly oppressive system of rules. There’s certainly plenty to unpack in “Postpartum,” the series’ penultimate chapter before its Season 2 finale, but one of its most horrific incidents underscores Gilead’s penchant for sadism and its apparent disregard for the lives of its women — even children. Season 2’s slow burn in fleshing out Eden’s character finally came to a head in “Postpartum,” wherein it flipped all early assumptions about her role in the Waterford household. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it had everything to do with the family’s Guardian Isaac. Spoilers for Episode 12 of The Handmaid’s Tale follow below. Hulu Eden and Isaac’s Relationship on The Handmaid’s Tale Eden’s marriage to Nick — the true father of June’s daughter Holly — during the Prayvaganza in the second season’s fifth episode rocked the already delicate interpersonal relationships between the show’s central characters. For Nick, the shock of his new child bride brought on potentially deadly challenges in concealing his ties to the resistance. For June, the union further complicated her own forbidden relationship with the father of her child. Eden’s budding relationship with Isaac was perhaps necessitated by her husband’s own hatred of his forced union with a teenager. While Nick became increasingly distant, the Waterfords’ Guardian Isaac extended kind remarks and no doubt heartening coquetry for the 15-year-old. Their attraction culminated with a stolen kiss in “The Last Ceremony,” an incident to which Nick was witness and largely apathetic. Hulu Their Punishment on The Handmaid’s Tale, Explained When both Eden and Isaac go missing, the insinuation that they’ve fled together is unambiguous. And when Gilead officials do finally find the pair, Nick pleads with Eden to repent and save herself by whatever means necessary. When Eden refuses to denounce her love for Isaac, a tender moment between Nick and Eden paints a tragic portrait of a 15-year-old girl who only wants to be loved — even if it means certain death. Walking a metaphorical plank high above a gymnasium pool, Isaac and Eden are found guilty of infidelity in violation of Exodus 20:14 (“Thou shalt not commit adultery”) for which the punishment is death by drowning. Just over the diving board’s edge, a collection of weights litters the bottom of the pool. Both are asked to renounce their sins and “plead for His mercy,” but they hold steadfast in their silence before Eden begins reciting the popular 1 Corinthians verse on love. It’s as she’s citing the Bible that she and Isaac are pushed to their deaths. It’s difficult to know what would have happened if Eden had indeed repented or betrayed Isaac, as Nick suggested. It was revealed in “Unwomen” that a Wife was sent to the Colonies as punishment for her own affair, though little information about her sentencing revealed whether she also faced death by drowning — a daunting ultimatum considering the Colonies mean slow and assured death for all who are sent there. But with Eden’s execution, it’s clear that Gilead cares little for the lives of its people, perhaps least among them young girls.<doc-sep>
The Handmaid’s Tale season 2 The Handmaid's Tale: First look at episode 12 WARNING: This article contains spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale season 2 and potential spoilers from episode 12 One of the most controversial new characters in The Handmaid’s Tale this season was Eden (played by Sydney Sweeney). The 15-year-old character was introduced early in the season when she was married off to Nick (Max Minghella). Having grown up under the Gilead regime, she is extremely pious and appears to be a true believer - spelling trouble for June (Elisabeth Moss) and Nick and their secret relationship. However, Nick’s increasing disdain for his young wife has led her to become dissatisfied with her life. THE HANDMAID'S TALE: WHAT DOES THE WOLF SYMBOLISE? She craves love and affection and Nick will hardly even look at her. So it wasn’t surprising when she and a young guardian at the Waterford household Isaac (Rohan Meade) started to develop feelings for each other. Nick even caught them kissing, but his apathy enraged Eden further. In the promo for episode 12 - titled Postpartum - Nick was asking if June had seen Eden with hints that she'd run away with Isaac. Shots from the promos for the season and upcoming episode, as well as endless fan speculation, have viewers wondering if Eden will actually end up contributing to the fall of Gilead? THE HANDMAID'S TALE SEASON 2, EPISODE 11 RECAP Eden and Nick Will Eden bring down Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale season 2? Having initially been painted as a huge threat to June, it now seems that Eden might actually end up being a martyr in The Handmaid’s Tale season two. Although it’s just speculation, shots from the season two trailer may indicate her fate. The shots in question depict two people being drowned in a pool, a man and a woman, with weights chained to their ankles. Though no faces are shown, it’s a pretty safe bet that it is Eden and Isaac, based on their clothing and on other evidence that has surfaced online. IS THIS HOW JUNE COULD HAVE ESCAPED GILEAD? A shot from the main season 2 trailer The Russian and Israeli trailers provide even more detail which pretty much confirms this devastating outcome. So if indeed Eden is punished by drowning for love essentially, then it may inspire change among some Gilead elite - Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) in particular. In the Russian trailer, Serena Joy is seen looking on distressed and in tears and clearly not in agreement with what is happening. Gilead values children so much yet they could be wilfully killing Eden who is still a child herself. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO JUNE'S BABY? Isaac The Handmaid's Tale: First look at Russia's episode 12 Could this be the thing that prompts Serena Joy to try and initiate some change? Fans have been taking to Reddit with endless theories about what will happen to Eden in the next episode. One user IAG_123 said: “I think she's going to die for love and possibly make a speech about it. There's a ton of Catholic symbolism on this show and we love martyrs.” Another said: “I think Eden is lonely and feels left out and when Isaac shows her love and affection, of course she goes for it. And love will make her (idiotically) bold.” THE HANDMAID'S TALE SEASON 2, EPISODE 12 PROMO The Handmaid's Tale: season one recap Wed, April 25, 2018 Handmaid's Tale: season one recap. Play slideshow Hulu 1 of 18 Offred is a Handmaid, one of the few fertile women in the oppressive Republic of Gilead