'The Handmaid's Tale' Recap: 'Seeds'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

I have to admit, that I was a touch hesitant to watch this week’s episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, but not for the reasons that most would expect. Because I already know this show is going to sock me in the stomach with some kind of disturbing or shocking moment that will leave me shaking my head in disgust at the joke that is Gilead. No, instead, my concern here came from the fact that the only reason to watch this show might be fading away because June is why we tune in, and her desire to fight this twisted system and everything it stands for keeps us going.
 
But last week, it seemed as though June was slipping into Gilead’s waiting hands as we watched her fight and drive disappear in the closing moments of that tale and wouldn’t you know it, things went from bad to worse when it came to her mental state in this week’s episode, ‘Seeds’. If anything, this change in her personality, wherein she was about as obedient as they come, truly did make this episode difficult to watch because it allowed for us to finally see Gilead for what it is…a bland and vapid place, one devoid of anything that makes our lives worth living.
 
Yet while that proverbial pulling back of the curtain made me squirm in my seat as more atrocities unveiled themselves during the course of this episode, like watching women die in the Colonies from radiation poisoning, or the fact that marriages in Gilead are arranged and involve underage girls because only a twisted Theocracy would be cool with something as disgusting as that…there was a rhyme and reason for all of this. Granted, it feels strange to type that and for you dear reader, it’s likely awkward to scan over with your eyes, but the point was subtle in this tale; in that when the odds are against us and it seems as though the situation is hopeless, that sometimes fighting and believing in something more, is all we have to keep us going.
 
All of that was evidenced by Emily and June’s plight because both of them…let this world bring them down, and quite frankly, there’s no shame in that. Because a world like this would be beyond difficult to function in, which brings us to a concurrent theme present in this tale as well, in that…people in this world often see making it to tomorrow as a grand reward, which is disheartening to say the least. But, eventually, Emily and June found their way since Emily came to discover that there is beauty still left in the world and June came to realize that potentially changing the course of a young life would help to make a difference and be worth fighting for and that seems to have given them motivation to go on and resist as best they can.
 
Of course, we all want more than that, a battle, a fight, something or anything that shows people fighting against Gilead. But sometimes joy and happiness are a form of resistance, especially in a world that outright tries to suck the life out of you and those two things are dangerous for Gilead. Because they lay the foundation for something more, for the fight to come and it’s wonderful to see that these two women have bounced back from their darker moment. Because they inspire the audience as we wait for the all-important moment when their fight finally pays off in spades, and they can be free again in a world without Gilead. Until next time. 

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