‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Recap: ‘Heroic’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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Whether we like to admit it or not, each and every one of us have a breaking point. As to what brings us to that point exactly, is up to the individual. But much like anything else in life, some reach that point quickly, while others take their time in getting to the finish line. But when we cross that line, our psyche is shattered, and we are rattled in ways we never thought possible. And this is on my mind today simply due to the fact, that after watching June endure incredible and harrowing horrors over the past few years in Gilead, and staying strong the entire time, we finally saw her come to her breaking point in last night’s episode of The Handmaid’s Tale and well, it was fascinating to learn exactly what could shatter a woman that seemingly can endure anything that comes her way.
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But ‘Heroic’ finally let us know that the only way to rattle this dynamic woman is to isolate her and keep her away from the world, and such a feat was accomplished by way of one twisted punishment from Aunt Lydia. Because she didn’t forget about all the trouble and heartache that June caused Natalie prior to that epic breakdown inside the store last week. Which meant the only proper penance in Lydia’s eyes, was for June to stay with her walking partner in the hospital until she either woke up or gave birth, and when we catch up with June in this particular tale, she’s been in the hospital with Natalie for over a month. And clearly, being forced to sit on her knees and pray for hours on end with minimal human contact devastated her mind.

Granted, she tried her best to hold on, since she used music to try and maintain a grip upon reality, but the loneliness got to her, and it warped her mind into thinking that maybe, just maybe, there was an ugly solution to her situation after all, since it was clear that there was no escaping this room and she outright tried to kill Natalie, and Serena for that matter in the hopes of finally being free. But, a gentle moment from the doctor in this hospital, gave her pause and helped her realize that her recent attempts to sow insurrection were a dangerous path, one that could potentially leave her in a place where she would never see her daughter’s again, or worse, dead. And that epiphany prompted her to show a little decency once more and ponder upon a fascinating idea/plan that might do some serious damage to Gilead after all.

Because for the past three seasons, we’ve been hoping for a traditional revolution to take hold, one that would see the nation of Gilead burn as the people take to the streets to resurrect the United States of America. But perhaps that simply isn’t the answer, perhaps the only way to defeat and destroy this vile place is to rob it of the fundamental reason it believes it exists, which is to populate the world with children once again. So, if June can pull off this mass exodus of children after all, she may just bring this country to its knees and honestly, I’m all for it. Granted, I’m down for whatever destroys this place, but there’s real potential that such a move might devastate the psyche of this country’s leadership and that somehow, seems like it will do far more damage to this awful nation than say burning down the bastardized version of the Washington Monument, since that can be rebuilt…

But, all plot points aside, let’s not forget to acknowledge the fact that this was… a supremely dark episode. In fact, I would venture to say this was the darkest that season three has offered to date and really, what made this episode so compelling, was Elisabeth Moss’ powerhouse performance in this tale. Because she was able to take us on a painful and harrowing journey with June, one that saw her sink to the darkest recesses of the human mind before coming out of the other side whole again and while I’m sure some will lament the dark nature of this tale, I applaud it. Because sometimes, we have to lose ourselves in every way imaginable to find the right path in our lives since somehow, sorrow gives us clarity and that’s precisely what happened here and it should be interesting to see where a centered June goes from here, and I’m quite curious to see how she will execute her plan to rob Gilead of its most precious resource. Until next time. 

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