‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Episode Recap: June Seeks Out Revenge
On April 27, Hulu released the first three episodes of season 4 of The Handmaid’s Tale: “Pigs,” “Nightshade,” and “The Crossing.” The fourth season was originally set to premiere on April 28, but Hulu released the new episodes a few hours early.
In “Pigs,” June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) and her friends find refuge at a farm run by a 14-year-old Wife, Mrs. Esther Keyes (Mckenna Grace), as June recovers from a gunshot wound. “Nightshade” continues this storyline, but as June heals she finds herself looking to exact revenge on Gilead.
[Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for season 4 episode 2 of The Handmaid’s Tale.]
June wants to help a Jezebels in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
While on the Keyes’ farm, June, Janine (Madeline Brewer), Alma (Nina Kiri), Brianna (Bahia Watson), and the other Handmaids disguise themselves as Marthas. At the end of “Pigs,” Mrs. Keyes and the Handmaids murder Commander Johnny Pogue (David Thompson).
“Nightshade” picks up with Guardians arriving at the Keyes’ farm looking for Commander Pogue. When the Guardians say they plan to come back to speak to the Marthas, June decides it is best for the group to move on to a new safe house.
Guardian David (Samer Salem) takes June to a local Jezebels to speak with a Mayday contact. While June gets information about the next safe house, she decides she wants to try and help the women at the Jezebels first.
Characters in Canada get some screentime
In Canada, June’s husband Luke (O-T Fagbenle), and her friends Moira (Samira Wiley) and Rita (Amanda Brugel) have started an organization called Angels’ Flight.
At a banquet for the foundation, Luke and Rita both speak to encourage people to donate to help the children rescued from Gilead. While Luke and Moira are both hopeful about the possibility of June still being alive, Rita is less optimistic.
Moira and Emily (Alexis Bledel) find themselves overwhelmed with finding homes for the children that escaped Gilead at the end of the third season. While some have surviving family in Canada, Moira realizes some kids are having trouble adjusting and actually miss Gilead.
June and Esther scheme together in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
Esther finds out the Handmaids plan to leave, and because she has grown attached to June, she begs to go with them. June tears up at Esther’s request, and she agrees. Esther then reveals that she has been slowly poisoning her Commander, and June enlists her help to create a poison for the men at Jezebels.
“Maybe there are no good men in Gilead,” Esther tells June.
June smiles and says, “I think there are good men everywhere.”
Based on June’s response, one can assume that she is thinking of Luke and her lover, Commander Nick Blaine (Max Minghella).
Poison in tow, David takes June back to the Jezebels. She sticks around for a bit to watch the women subtlety poison the Commanders’ drinks.
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ episode has a thrilling ending
Throughout the episode, Serena Joy Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski) works to get her charges cleared. After a meeting with her lawyer, she visits her husband Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) to try and manipulate him into redacting his claims against her.
He refuses, and Serena goes to Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger) to try and separate her case from Fred. She barely gets a word out before Mark tells her that a recent doctor’s appointment confirmed Serena is pregnant.
June and David return to the farm, but they find it empty with bullet casings on the ground. In a split second, David is shot and sniper lasers point at June. Nick emerges from the darkness and demands to know where the Handmaids are.
He walks up to June and quietly reassures her that he is trying to keep her alive, and she surrenders. As soldiers surround June, angst-filled music swells, and June and Nick stare at one another, taking their star-crossed lovers’ relationship to a new extreme.
