body of the kindly Muslim man who housed her, at least Aunt Lydia says June officially decides its time to shut down. June is trying to preserve the identities of the faceless, nameless handmaids. Image: Hulu When the Commander returns to find what they've done, it's a reminder of just how dangerous it is when women break the law forbidding them from writing and not just to Serena and June. And the idea of attacks on Washington leading to Gilead works well enough for a quick and dirty bit of world building in the novel. But what the novel's epilogue doesn't answer is whether or not Offred survived after recording her story. The words of the women raped, abused, and oppressed by Gilead are proving to be the regime's undoing in other ways too.

SparkNotes: The Handmaid s Tale: Themes

SparkNotes: The Handmaid s Tale

To me, the episode suggested some new (if incredibly dark) avenues for this conflict to take, which is why Im on board. Im just not convinced this show quite knows the answer at this point, despite this seasons obvious interest in untangling the bigger picture behind how Gilead came. It's revealed that the handmaid's tale we just read was originally discovered as a set of audio cassette tapes, hidden in a location on the underground railroad that smuggled women out of the country. Image: Hulu Gilead may have all the power of a heavily armed militia on its side. Right before June's voice-over begins, you can hear a loud "click.". She remembers childrens ballet classes, pretending to be a tree. Everyone who might hear her account of what happened, if the world survives Gilead. Being back in the Waterford house as everyone insists with a placid smile that theyre just so happy to have her back after she was kidnapped is as disorienting as it is infuriating. The epilogue implies that stories like hers are actually what ultimately led to the fall of Gilead. And the camerawork backed up Moss beautifully: There are lots of shots of her tilting her head up and baring her teeth, hollow-eyed, while her face is framed so that she looks as though shes being caged. Nick demonstrates a touch of irreverence by rolling up his uniform sleeves and smoking a black-market cigarette.