‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ EP Says June Faces ‘Impossible’ Choices in ‘Motherland’
In The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5, June is still as determined as ever to free her daughter Hannah from Gilead. In episode 8, she is given a very different option. Commander Lawrence offers her a way to be with her in New Bethlehem — a part of Gilead without hangings and handmaids. Though the situation is not at all ideal, June begins to wonder if it’s the only way she can be with her daughter.
[SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers ahead for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Episode 8, “Motherland.”]
June and Luke have never stopped trying to get Hannah out of Gilead
June has never given up on her determination to get her daughter Hannah out of Gilead. Even when she had the opportunity to escape, she stayed behind in Gilead to try to find Hannah. However, eventually, June got out of Gilead, and she harbors a lot of guilt for not having her daughter when she arrives in Canada.
It’s been a slow process for June and Luke as they try to trust Mark Tuello to get Hannah out. As time goes by, June begins to lose hope that Tuello will come through for them. Then Commander Lawrence offers her a different option.
June is faced with an impossible choice in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5 Episode 8
Lawrence plans to create a Gilead settlement called New Bethlehem, which will welcome back Americans who have fled and hopefully reunite them with their families. Lawrence tells June that after Hannah gets married and runs her own household in New Bethlehem, he could move June and Nichole to the settlement so they could all be together.
Of course, Lawrence is skirting around the obvious pitfalls. His offer involves Hannah becoming a child bride. It also has no guarantee of June’s safety. She could be executed as soon as she crosses into Gilead or trapped in the Republic again. For these reasons, Luke rejects the idea.
Still, June struggles with guilt from leaving Hannah behind, and this may be the only opportunity she has to be with her daughter. “I like when you place characters in essentially impossible situations with impossible choices,” executive producer Yahlin Chang said in a featurette. “Because then you really see what a person’s character is made of.”
It’s also worth noting that Lawrence has his own reasons for wanting June to live in New Bethlehem. “If June was to agree to come back, it would validate to the world the legitimacy of what I am attempting to do,” Lawrence actor Bradley Whitford added.
Mark Tuello finally finds Hannah
Luckily for June and Luke, the couple has their first stroke of luck in their search for Hannah. June receives a mysterious video that shows Hannah in the Wives School. When she turns it over to Tuello, he is able to use it to find Hannah’s location. He tells June that they plan on doing a raid and getting her daughter out, and June, Luke, and Moria celebrate in the kitchen.
Don’t miss new episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Wednesdays on Hulu.
