2x09 'Smart Power'

[DawnFae]

The Handmaid's Tale episode 2x09 - "Smart Power"

Will air on June, 13th, 2018

Synopsis: Offred seeks support from allies, and The Waterfords weigh their options during a trip abroad.

[DawnFae]

The Handmaid's Tale 2x09 Promo

[Lori]

Thanks for keeping us on track, DF! I'm so looking forward to another episode (2X08) tonight!

[Dee]

I will watch tonight too... so excited.

[DawnFae]

Such a powerful and heartbreaking episode! But the spirit of rebellion won't die and the voice of truth and freedom won't be silenced without putting a hell of a fight!

Serena got the chance to escape her Gilead hell but she chose to "soldier on" for now. Perhaps the delusion of having a baby soon, a baby who isn't hers, is keeping her in Gilead and then maybe she is biding her time and will get rid of the commander and flee with the baby.

I guess that we will find our more about it soon.

OMG! It was heartbreaking to watch June desperate efforts in trying to win an ally or partner for the protection of her unborn baby. She even dared to ask Aunt Lydia for help. It was very courageous but also painful to witness!
I thought she did it with dignity and with a lot of skill. Living in Gilead taught June to be a gifted negotiator.

Serena isn't a reliable person. It was a little shocking to hear her decision to "fire" June just after she gives birth to her own baby. How deranged is that? It was unsettling but not surprising. Serena was humiliated in front of June and this was her way of feeling power over someone else. Her only outlet seems to be cruelty.
And June is back!

Eden will be trouble for Nick and June in the next episodes.
The birth ceremony will be interesting to watch. What will June do?

[Dee]

Absolutely loved this episode. So full of the unexpected. One thing after the other. All brilliant.

Serena got the chance to escape her Gilead hell but she chose to "soldier on" for now. Perhaps the delusion of having a baby soon, a baby who isn't hers, is keeping her in Gilead and then maybe she is biding her time and will get rid of the commander and flee with the baby.

This was fascinating. How she dealt with it all. At the very least she must have been just a little bit tempted... but of course she can't accept. At the end of the day she is far too much RESPONSIBLE. She can't just go and expose Gilead without exposing her own part in its creation and being ok with assassinating the entire congress in the name of god. I think it's very much like "I made my bed so I mustlie in it" for her now, and she's choosing to bury her head in the sand of "becoming a mother" and she's fully focused on carving out some happiness for herself with this baby, and fuck everything else, she has passed caring. At least that's how I interpreted her return and mental state.

[Dee]

OMG! It was heartbreaking to watch June desperate efforts in trying to win an ally or partner for the protection of her unborn baby. She even dared to ask Aunt Lydia for help. It was very courageous but also painful to witness!
I thought she did it with dignity and with a lot of skill. Living in Gilead taught June to be a gifted negotiator.

It was both desperate and masterful of June... I agree, DF, she did it with undeniable dignity, and even Aunt Lydia was shaken by it, enough to be just a human being for a moment, connecting with a woman who has just begged for her help to protect a baby that will be ripped out of her arms at the moment she gives birth to it.

Serena isn't a reliable person. It was a little shocking to hear her decision to "fire" June just after she gives birth to her own baby. How deranged is that? It was unsettling but not surprising. Serena was humiliated in front of June and this was her way of feeling power over someone else. Her only outlet seems to be cruelty.

I think that's a fair assessment and interpretation of why she made that decision. I think Waterford knew exactly what he was doing, making June a witness of him whipping Serena. He knew what wedge this would become between the women. It worked like magic.

Any further ideas of bending the rules was nipped in the bud there.

[Dee]

Nick has been an absolute hero in this episode. How he gets away with so much, god only knows. Surely at some point his game will be up, and I fear for his life when it does. The only thing he doesn't get right is not throwing some bones in his little wife's way. I mean, the poor thing is trying to make this work, and it's not her fault they are in this screwed up situation. She's a product of this new world, only a child herself. He should be kinder to her. But everything else... wow, everything else he has done so very well and selflessly. He's gone up in my estimation a huge deal after this episode. He is in just as desperate a situation as June, really.

[Dee]

The look Moira gave the Waterfords. Oh my god.

[Lori]

You all have covered the episode beautifully. Yes, it was fascinating to watch the Waterfords in Canada. Interesting how outdated and odd Serena looked in a 'normal' setting of a bar, etc., while back at the manor she looked elegant and in place right alongside that closet full of green garments. The treatment she received from the woman outside the elevator was telling. Serena has been encapsulated and probably doesn't understand the scope of angst against their fashioning of Gilead. The gentleman who offered her asylum indicated he had read all about her. There is no way Serena can escape her part in Gilead.

I loved the interaction between Nick and Luke - but, doesn't Nick know that Hannah is fine? (Using that term loosely.) If so, why did he not let him know? That perplexed me a bit. Nick has really stepped up as best he can, but it does seem a bit unrealistic that he hasn't been honed in on by the state as treasonous.

Sweet and so very sad June's attempt at asking people to look out for the baby for her. We saw a bit more revealed about Aunt Lydia literally as an aunt in the 'before'. It would be fantastic if the story did result in Serena going rogue and bringing the baby eventually to freedom and to reunite with June.

Loved Luke and Moira giving the Commander his partial due - how they didn't kill him is beyond me. That would not be doing June any favors. I also worried this would be so public that June would suffer. We shall see. So far there is no fallout.

June knowing Moira made it out....pure water in the parched desert! Now she has motivation to do the impossible.

[Dee]

I loved the interaction between Nick and Luke - but, doesn't Nick know that Hannah is fine? (Using that term loosely.) If so, why did he not let him know? That perplexed me a bit.

Yes, very strange. The only way I can explain it is that he took the question literally, and doesn't know if Hannah's ok-ok. I don't think he knows about the photograph of Hannah Waterford has given June, the recent proof she appears to be doing "ok". Still, he could have said to him, "last thing we knew she was well looked after". I don't know. It made me go too.

[Lori]

I suppose they could hire the three of us to look for plot holes! I am so enamored with this series. I hate waiting a week between!