‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Recap: ‘Fairytale’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 505 of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

Each and every one of us out there… have a particular goal or a cause or a person that we are fighting for hard in life. Simply because we know what that goal will bring us if we can hold it in our hands, or we know that making our cause known and part of the fabric of the world will make the world a better place. And those of us fighting for a person in any capacity, are either trying to help them find agency when they’ve had that stripped from their lives or we are doing everything within our power to keep them safe and secure. But regardless of which category you fall into it, there is a fight on your hands, one so intense and so important that sometimes… we lose our way in the fight. 
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Simply because it is easy to get lost as we move from moment to moment and of course, life and its little twists and turns, helps to distract us and draw us away from the fight at hand. Which is why sometimes, we simply need a moment. A moment to reflect upon the journey and a moment to reflect upon what it is we are fighting for and why we need to stay true to the cause and well, that particular moment is top of mind today… simply because it was put on full display in the next episode of The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu. A feat that ‘Fairlytale’ accomplished… by way of having some important news delivered to June and Luke. In that, a guardian that worked with Mayday had critical information on the Wives program in Gilead.

Which would of course, give Luke and June information on their daughter and her standing and her future. The only catch was they had to race to Mayday’s HQ on the border and sadly… once they got there… things became quite complicated. For it was revealed that Border Patrol was upping their game courtesy of recent immigration protests, and if they wanted the intel, they were going to have to venture into No Man’s Land and retrieve it from the guardian in person. Which of course… these two were quick to agree to. Because this is Hannah we are talking about, and she is part of what they are fighting for and being able to get news on her fate, would indeed refocus them on the fight ahead and they quickly headed out into the wild to gather intel. 

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While they were on their journey however, and looking for a refocusing moment, Serena Waterford was in the midst of her own moment of inflection. Since she came to know the Wheelers and of course, ran into her now usual fight of trying to have agency and purpose, only to be denied it because she’s a woman and the hellscape she created denies her such matters. But despite seeing her suffer just a touch (which is ALWAYS nice), she did come to remember what she thinks is the good cause she is fighting for, children and the future of humanity. And she of course convinced the Commanders to focus on that in Toronto. Not to mention, this storyline dropped an interesting conflict within Gilead into our laps, in that, Commander Lawrence has a plan to make Gilead a more welcoming place. Simply because he knows that isolation will be the end of this idea and well… it would seem not one of his peers agree with that in slightest, and it will be quite interesting to see what comes of this since this story never wastes a single moment or idea it introduces to us. 
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However, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, there was mention of Luke and June finding their purpose and focus regarding the fight for Hannah once again and they did indeed find it through that guardian. For Jaden was able to teach them about the process in brief and since they had a little time to kill in his bowling alley safehouse, they were also able to let loose and enjoy the moment and all of that… reminded them of why they fight. So, they can be free in this manner and not worry about anything but the moment… with their family, where happiness and joy and everything we love about family life would surround them. But of course, since this show is set in a miserable world where ugly reigns supreme, those good feels were dashed in the closing moments of this tale when Jaden stepped on a land mine on the way back to Canada and alerted other guardians to his location.

Which of course brought forth a harrowing chase, one that ended in terror and sorrow. Since our heroes were captured by the forces of Gilead once again. Leaving their future uncertain in a manner that shocked us all. Because they were out, they were thriving and now… they may be back in the thick of hell on earth once again. But… it wasn’t all for naught. For they did remember why they fought in the first place, and why they were so eager to go back and risk this possibility. All because they wanted a better tomorrow for their child, and that’s noble for certain and they will obviously need that rediscovered ferocity in the days to come. For a return to Gilead as public enemy number one, will bring forth some ugly and scary times and it is likely best we brace ourselves for the return of terror, come next week.

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