‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Recap: ‘God Bless the Child’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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I’ve always found it fascinating how sometimes, darker stories, are able to pose important questions to their audience. Because by all means, these stories should be focusing on the harrowing events happening within the framework of said story, not challenging the reader or the viewer, yet the best ones out there still find ways to make us think about the world and our lives and the challenges we sometimes face and it just so happens that the next episode of The Handmaid’s Tale felt the need to pose an important question to the audience, one that we ponder upon when we’ve reached an important point in our lives. Because when we are dealing with a personal crisis, the kind where the odds seem to be or are in fact, outright against us, there comes a point where we finally start to see a way forward, where we start to put our life back together and we are forced to asked ourselves, what comes next?
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Because now we have to start thinking about a future that is free of darkness and pain and what our lives will look like without those problems, and this question was explored by way of two key characters in ‘God Bless the Child’, June and Emily. Granted, June’s story was a touch more direct in answering this question because for her, what comes next, is to work to get a fight against Gilead going and work to bring it down from the inside and she accomplished that particular feat, by playing Commander Waterford like a fiddle. After all, he was still lost without his wife at his side and June took the opportunity to put it into his mind that perhaps giving Serena some freedom and some power in this nation, might bring her back around to his side once again. Of course, to ensure that such an idea came to fruition, she took the time to encourage Serena to return to her husband and make use of her newfound power to do a little good in Gilead for a change and this, was just downright brilliant. For not only did June get to manipulate the manipulators, she indeed has an ally in Serena and if she plays her cards right, Mrs. Waterford can do some serious damage to the Republic of Gilead.

However, I made mention of Emily’s story also taking the time to address what comes next for us when trauma and disaster have come to a close and in her case, the answer to that particular question, is to pick up the pieces, one day at a time. For this story saw her return to her wife and child in Canada, a move that quite frankly, was no easy task. After all, years have passed since this family interacted with one another and of course, Emily had experienced horrific trauma while in Gilead, and that void and Emily’s PTSD left her distanced and concerned that this would go poorly. But family always reminds us that we belong, and in a series of touching and beautiful moments, a true rarity in this series, Emily came to realize that fact as her wife and son accepted her and were gentle and gracious with her mental status and once again, this was poignant and important to the future of the story, for we once more felt a sense of hope that maybe, just maybe, things would work out in this world for the better and that decency can in fact, win out.

But while it was fascinating and beautiful to see that all important question answered in fascinating fashion. Gilead still stands, and bad things still happen there and once again, we were privy to its cruelty and its power. For we once more saw the fire and fury that resides within Aunt Lydia’s heart since she took the time to savagely beat Janine at the reception when the broken girl begged the Putnam’s for another chance to be their Handmaid once again, which was, a devastating moment to say the least. And the power in question was put on display when a Guardian showed the Waterford’s and June, video footage of Luke and Nichole, meaning that the republic is fully aware who is in possession of Gilead’s ‘lost daughter’, and that of course could be dangerous in the long run since this nation has proved itself to be ruthless and cunning when it comes to its warped and twisted beliefs and one can only hope that this revelation ends peacefully.

However, despite the chills those two events sent down my spine, credit is due to the series for putting some humanity on display in regard to those moments as well. After all, we did see genuine joy and care from the Waterfords, a rarity in its own right for certain, and we even saw Aunt Lydia weep over the cruelty she imparts upon others and well, it’s nice to know that there are still people hiding behind such dark veneers and I am hoping that seeing this isn’t a one off, that it’s something important that the show will revisit down the line because these people do need to be aware of the horror of their actions. But in the here and the now, this was, a supremely satisfying episode when all is said and done, because it was just a delight to see June working to sow discontent and insurrection at the highest levels and everything involving Emily was just beautiful and heartbreaking and powerful all at once and I really do love where this season is headed and how it is telling such fascinating and magnificent stories and it should be interesting to see where this saga takes us next, now that the Waterford’s know exactly who is in possession of Nichole. Until next time.  

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