3x11 "Liars"

[DawnFae]

The Handmaid's Tale 3x11 Promo

[DawnFae]

This is my short review of episode 3x11 WOW!

Spoiler:

Episode 3x11 is such a bomb! I don't know where all the twists and turns came from but WOW!

Serena isn't as stupid as we thought her to be. She delivered an arrogant but stupid Fred to the American authorities in exile. He's been arrested as a war criminal and will stand trial for what he did to others in Gilead.

June went to the Jezebels to try and convince Billy, someone who's been helping the Resistance in exchange of money. There June met Commander Winslow who was prompt to take her upstairs with him in order to rape her. But June fought back and what a battle Royale this was! June killed the commander and the Marthas who work at the Jezebels helped her escape and get rid of his dead body.
Before he died he shouted "my children" ! It looks like the higher the rank of a commander is, the more corrupt and perverted he can be.

Commander Lawrence is no longer all powerful. He tried to escape with his wife but could not pass the checkpoints and returned home. It is only a matter of time before he loses all power and might even get executed.
It is obvious that the commanders in Gilead eliminate the competition and get rid of their rivals when they get the chance to do so.

June is "safe" for now but as commander Lawrence told her, they will be coming for them.

It was a shocking episode because June took her own power back and killed commander Winslow and Serena betrayed her bastard of a husband and he didn't even see it coming!
Probably when commander Winslow will not go back home, his wife will lose all her privileges and perhaps even "her children". All other commanders were allowed to have one child but the Winslows have 5! So we'll see or hear what the implications of that will be.
Serena learned some "Ninja" skills from June after all.

[Dee]

It’s interesting how differently we interpret the events here. I thought Serena was just as shocked as Fred about the arrest. She’s also restrained and will be questioned. I thought Serena made a decision on the trip not to bring Nichole back but to stay in Canada with her, and she was hoping Fred would stay with her too. I felt she was trying to manipulate him into leaving Gilead with her by rekindling their relationship like it was before Gilead, and somewhat unbelievably it seemed to be working. I didn’t think for a moment she had any part in laying this trap for Fred.

This was a huge surprise for me, I had no inkling Fred and Serena’s story would go this way.

Fantastic episode again. So hard to watch though. Good lord.

I think this season needs to end with this mission succeding, rescuing the children.

[DawnFae]

It’s interesting how differently we interpret the events here. I thought Serena was just as shocked as Fred about the arrest. She’s also restrained and will be questioned. I thought Serena made a decision on the trip not to bring Nichole back but to stay in Canada with her, and she was hoping Fred would stay with her too. I felt she was trying to manipulate him into leaving Gilead with her by rekindling their relationship like it was before Gilead, and somewhat unbelievably it seemed to be working. I didn’t think for a moment she had any part in laying this trap for Fred.

Serena had to offer the American government in exile something solid to get what she wants: her freedom and perhaps Nichole or the chance to be with Nichole we don't know for sure yet.
There were very subtle clues in this episode: "how could you take that away from me?" and he hurt her too much, he'd gone too far in humiliating and disrespecting her for her to just take him to Canada and start a new life with him there. I guess that she understood that Fred is power sick and would never want to leave Gilead for that very reason so she acted for her own future and benefit. I am sure she either guessed or got information that commander Winslow and Fred would never give her Nichole because they act in their own best interest and that she Serena was nobody in Gilead, nobody without Fred so she knew she had to "sell" him to get her freedom and leave Gilead imho.
What still bugs me is why did Fred go along in the first place? How did he think he would hide Nichole from commander Winslow? Maybe he thought that he and Serena would stay away from the main power spots and be on their own like that family they spent the night with before crossing the border? I am not sure what Fred really wanted? He somehow was hung up on Serena and thought by giving her what she wanted (Nichole) everything will be okay. Maybe they will show us more in the last 2 episode of this season...

This was a huge surprise for me, I had no inkling Fred and Serena’s story would go this way.

Fantastic episode again. So hard to watch though. Good lord.

I think this season needs to end with this mission succeeding, rescuing the children.
ABsolutely! AFter all the shit that went down and all the sacrifice this mission has to succeed. Maybe even commander Lawrence and his wife will escape with the children. Will June take the chance and leave Gilead or will she stay once more to save Hanna? It will be a painful decision to make and a bitter ending to watch for this season full of fireworks and twists.

[Dee]

Well, I never. You're right, DF. Serena did set Fred up, though I don't think she knew the exact details and extent of what was going to happen. Maybe she was thinking he could turn round repenting ("how could you do this to me?") and providing intel on Gilead himself. But maybe she really was over and done with him. Still it is confusing. She really seemed to be so affectionate with him the past few episodes. So if she did indeed set him up, like how you suggested, she found out how Fred was lying to her all along about getting Nichole back, then she was sort of saying goodbye to him, I don't know. She didn't seem like she wasn't faking it, that's what bothers me in this scenario, that she was setting him up.

And what you said:

[What still bugs me is why did Fred go along in the first place? How did he think he would hide Nichole from commander Winslow? Maybe he thought that he and Serena would stay away from the main power spots and be on their own like that family they spent the night with before crossing the border? I am not sure what Fred really wanted? /color]

This is super confusing. Why on earth would Fred go along with this trip and what was he expecting to happen? Because the last thing we knew he wanted to move to DC and climb up the ladder. Something is not adding up in this whole thing.

[Dee]

Do you think Serena is still in love with Fred or at least in love with what she thought they had prior Gilead's BS and his betrayal?

I don't know, DF!!!! It's so confusing! Because she really looked like she was trying to rekindle some romance. And it was creeping me out. Because how on earth could she??? We didn't get to see any looks on her face when Fred couldn't see that would give her pretending away.

She manipulated him, that's clear now. But her emotional involvement is a mystery to me now. I thought I understood her earlier this season, how she despised and hated him, but then there was this huge turnaround in her behaviour when Fred promised her to get Nichole back. It was sickening, but it felt genuine to me.


There again, she's a very complex woman.

[DawnFae]

Something doesn't add up with Fred easily going along with Serena's plan to "accept" the help of the exiled American Government and get Nichole back.
What if the whole thing is a much bigger setup from commander Winslow?
He orchestrated this whole "get back Nicole" show and told Fred that "not getting the child offers more leverage". What if Winslow wants to infiltrate the enemy's camp to neutralize them? He must know that they work with the resistance inside Gilead.
Perhaps this was Fred's mission to be able to climb the ultimate ladder to more power?
The trouble is, Fred could never have predicted the death of Winslow at June's hands and neither could Winslow himself. Did anyone else know about this mission?
This is just an idea because all the conflicting messages and events did not add up.
Why on earth would Fred accept Serena's plan without much resistance and would just go along with it? Hmmm, I guess this will be a question season 4 could or would answer, maybe...

[Dee]

This is a very interesting theory, and you're absolutely right that we have some major piece missing from the jigsaw here. Why did Fred go? What on earth did Serena tell him to make him agree? What was he hoping to achieve? Why would he have risked everything for Serena and the baby? What the heck was he going to offer to the Americans? Because surely the plan was to give them something for Nichole, and Fred had to agree to this proposal, otherwise he wouldn't have been on this trip at all. And whatever Serena asked him to do, did Fred report back to Winslow?

I have never felt so confused about this show.

1. Serena genuinely seemed to give him another chance. She was affectionate. Makes no sense, how she could love this monster again. But there was no indication this was just pretending, because everytime we saw her she was looking at Fred like they were just falling in love for the first time.

2. It was clear from this episode that she had no intention returning to Gilead. But did she plan for Fred to be with her and Nichole ... eventually? Did she think Fred would willingly dish out on Gilead to the Americans for his freedom? Did she think that away from Gilead Fred would shed his monstrous side and again become the man she once fell in love with? Or did she seriously sell him to the Americans as she finally figured out he was nothing more than a piece of shit? Was it all calculated to the last detail?

I feel if this is the case, they overdid the affectionate stuff, to make the arrest feel more of a shock.

3. What on earth could convince Fred to go on this trip with Serena? What was he prepared to offer to the Americans? What was he hoping to get out of this besides making Serena happy? What did Winslow know of the arrangements?

Whatever way I look at what's happened, things don't add up and don't make sense. A lot of explanation is needed in the next episode, not in Season 4!

[DawnFae]

HAHA! Yes!
We will probably get some answers in the next episode but if this is a major plot for season 4, they will not tip their hand completely so we will end season 3 on a huge cliffhanger.

It makes sense that commander Winslow did know about this save Nichole plan by working with the exiled competition.
I don't think that Fred has changed much and his love for power is greater than his "love" for Serena. Fred is also a divided character in that he is probably still dreaming of the time he and Serena were a power couple working for the Gilead vision but the real Gilead turned out to be a prison even for him. Sure, Fred has some power but it is never enough: after seeing Winslow's display of power and privilege, he must have become really envious and was ready to do anything to have a piece of that Winslow cake and eat it, with or without Serena.
Maybe Fred is double crossing his wife to infiltrate the resistance from outside Gilead.
It is an idea that makes sense otherwise Fred must have been the dumbest Gilead commander in history but it might be wrong...
When I think about how envious Fred is and how low he can stoop to satisfy his sick ego (the "Witness" ceremony he put June and commander Lawrence through), I can't imagine that he just fell for Serena's display of affection. He overdid it in my opinion when he told Serena that he would give up everything to live with her in the wilderness . She showed a bit of her intention to sell him when she told him "how could you take that away from me". Serena never signed up to be a docile, obedient wife in Gilead, she surely wanted some of the power for herself. Her mother confirmed to her that she is basically just a privileged, spoiled wife and nothing without Fred. He let Gilead cut her finger for God's sake not to mention all the other humiliations he put her through.
Serena must have some regrets and attachment to old dreams as a power couple with Fred. She has been disappointed on so many levels and Fred made it clear that he would not share the power with her. Sometimes he throws a bone in her way but I think that the official "get Nichole back" is Winslow's plan to achieve something of greater value to Gilead and himself not for Serena.

The season has become more electrifying. I wonder whether the Gilead "police" would eventually find out what happened to commander Winslow? They will surely torture everybody in Jezebels to get to the bottom of his disappearance. Things will toughen up for June and her helpers...