‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Recap: ‘Milk’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 404 of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’.

It is definitely safe to say, that the first three seasons of the Hulu series, The Handmaid’s Tale, have been a masterclass in showing us the horrors that humanity is capable of. Because we’ve been privy to some genuinely harrowing moments, the kind that have left the audience silent and stunned over the nightmares they’ve just seen behind the borders of the all-powerful Republic of Gilead. But while that has made for powerful television through and through, regardless of the emotional beatdown it provides us with, there is one thing that each and every fan of this series has been clamoring for since the show’s inception… the downfall of Gilead. Because seeing that place collapse and burn is the only way we can walk away from this feeling fulfilled in regard to the journey, but even that has been elusive in its own right.

For the series has only flirted with the possibility of giving the audience what they want since June consistently finds herself trapped in Gilead or struggling to find a way to inspire a fight against tyranny. Leaving all of us to wonder when the day will come when we see this series finally take the fight to Gilead and well, it would indeed seem that season four is finally going to bring that to fruition, after the show explains why exactly it has taken so long to get to that point. For the first three episodes of this new season, took the time to show us that revolution is a slow burning process, one that takes time to scrape together and even then… getting it rolling is no easy task since the government that needs to fall is often quite powerful to say the least, and it just so happens, that the next episode in this series, spoke to the fact that revolutionaries need to be mentally ready to fight before the battle in question can begin.

A notion that ‘Milk’ explored, by showing us what that mental process looks like. For some, it comes quickly, as it did for Rita in this tale. For Serena and Fred tried desperately to bring her back into the family fold with a new baby on the way and hearing their old and familiar words and seeing how quickly Serena thought Rita would simply defend her, finally helped Rita to realize that she needed to stand up to them and put them in their place to finally be free and she sure did that in fine and satisfying fashion. Whereas her journey was bookended by Janine’s in this tale, since she helped us to understand how when you’re in the thick of it, suddenly realizing you need to fight is no easy task. Especially when you’ve been mentally and physically abused to your breaking point, which sadly happened to Janine well before the formation of Gilead and well… her actions here speak volumes to the fact that she has a long way to go, as does the fight, and it will take something quite inspiring to finally get so many to achieve Rita's epiphany before they rise up against this awful nation. 

But while that alone could have carried this episode through and through, there was a little more for the audience to chew upon. Because for the first time ever, we finally got to see what the remnant of the United States looks like in this broken land and well… that made for quite the sobering experience. For the city of Chicago, once a shimmering and bustling metropolis, is now nothing more than a skeleton of skyscrapers. One where the fight for the territory appears to be endless and well, the show deserves serious credit for finally getting us far away from Gilead to show us what the world is really like at the frontlines. Since now we know that the fight for freedom is happening in principle here, and that real leadership is lacking at the moment, since the fighters we met just seem interested in doing just enough to survive and it will be quite interesting to see if Chicago is going to become ground zero for the revolution to come or if it too will fall under the pressure that Gilead creates.

If anything, this was simply a quality transitional episode. One that is clearly setting the stage for the future of this season and the fight to come and that’s not a bad thing at all. Because taking the time to explore the difficulties of revolution and how hard it is to commit to bloodshed adds realism to this story and raises the stakes for sure and truly, it does compel one to continue the journey. Because at long last, we’re moving beyond the horrors of the colonies and Gilead itself and being free from that nightmare and in the thick of the fierce fight for freedom, should finally allow for June to find her real purpose in this mess and hopefully she will become the leader of this Chicago resistance and inspire others to fight against the nightmare that is Gilead. So that at long last… this madness can end and those who formed this wicked and hellish nation, can watch it burn to the ground. Until next time.    

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