'The Handmaid's Tale' Recap: 'Smart Power'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

When it comes to The Handmaid’s Tale, I’ve said plenty when it comes to how this particular series rewards its audience with only a handful of satisfying moments because that really is so out of place. Because most television series that feature darker storylines find a way to make the audience feel some semblance of joy to give them a break from the horrors they are witnessing, but this series, refuses to get to that point and for some time now I couldn’t tell if it was to just see how far the story could push the envelope or if it was flat out just designed to remain bleak.
 
But as it turns out, there was a rhyme and reason to all of this darkness after all. Because after spending weeks and months enduring incredible hardships alongside June in the cesspool that is Gilead, the right kind of reward finally dropped into the audience’s lap last night. Because ‘Smart Power’ gave us everything we’ve been dying for when it comes to this series; a taste of justice for the women that slave away in this awful place on a daily basis, and sustainable retribution for Gilead and their disgusting commanders, the kind that will likely damage this farce of a nation for some time and all of that was made possible, by a field trip to Canada.
 
Because in this tale, Commander Waterford and his wife, who wasn’t exactly jibing with their marriage after her physical abuse in the last episode, traveled north to make peace with Canada and open up trade negotiations since clearly, the economic vacuum that came about with the fall of the United States was vast and far reaching and well, everything that happened here was just a joy to watch. For the commander and his wife were met with resistance and disdain by the citizens of Canada and at long last, Waterford had to face his actions in the open since both Luke and Moira confronted him at various stages during their trip, but Luke’s verbal assault on Waterford was far more impactful, since he brought a picture of June and Nick saw it and it prompted him to make one hell of a bold move later on in the evening.
 
In fact, he straight up went out in public alone, to the pub nearby where Luke was having a drink and mostly told Luke the truth about his wife and how she was doing back home in Gilead and in a stunning moment, he gave Luke the letters that June had him hold onto, the ones that told the truth about Gilead and well, they had quite the impact after Luke uploaded them onto the web. Because Canada immediately cut diplomatic ties with Gilead and sent the Waterford’s home immediately, and let every last protestor say their piece and damnit, this was the best part of the night, since Waterford could no longer hide behind fancy speeches, he was exposed, his nation was exposed, and the damage from this will likely leave Gilead on an island unto itself.
 
Yet, the joy didn’t end there. Because June got the news that her husband and best friend were alive, and that seemingly emboldened her to escape once again and really, that was the perfect end to a perfect episode, one that finally gave us something wonderful to chew upon and there may be more surprises coming for Gilead in the weeks ahead. After all, June planted the seed with Aunt Lydia that the commander is an unfit father and Serena, may be having second thoughts about the country she helped build and that…is the kind of hope I’ve been looking for when it comes to this story. Because while I’m sure more dark moments are ahead in the coming days because that’s just how this goes, this wonderful reward of an episode, gives me great hope that Gilead is finally heading for collapse, and its end cannot come soon enough.

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