The Handmaid’s Tale briefly slows down to take a closer look at June and Moira’s friendship
TV Reviews Moira
In an episode about the holy unions we create with others, it’s fitting that the whole aesthetic is a marriage between two disparate genres: the quiet drama about adult life and a heart-racing action film. “Vows” is by far one of the most easily digestible episodes of the series, in terms of plotting, backstory, and its central focus on one type of love story: the friendship between Moira and June.
Let’s focus first on the pre-Gilead section of the episode, which felt more like scenes from the excellent Once And Again, or the very much less excellent This Is Us. June and Moira are roommates, tight as can be. Their main source of tension? The impending wedding between June and Luke. As June gets ready to move out so she can shack up with Luke, she is chattering away about how this life-altering decision will have zero effect on their friendship which is, of course, bullshit. We all like to believe that friendships can remain intact after a massive personal change like marriage, babies, hell sometimes even a new job comes in the picture, but that is simply not the case. The force of their impact is too big for one person to control. Plus, many of these require either a public or personal promise to put this new relationship in your life first. In some cases, even a VOW. (Gasps!)
Moira is less convinced. In part, because she is less likely to indulge in this optimistic, impulsive, follow-my-heart-attitude that permeates June. Mostly because she is wary of Luke, a man who cheated on his first wife who he was having marital trouble with over her infertility. So really the tension, as with all things Gilead, is babies. And because she is straight shooter, Moira flat out tells June her concerns and plants that seed of doubt in her brain, just as she’s about to embark on her version of domestic bliss.
There are many reasons why I appreciated this little slice of life in the episodes, beyond the fact that I will never get bored of the kind of small, petty, tiny flare-ups that occur in everyday life. I’ve been starving for low-stakes gossip since the pandemic began and this mundane spat between two roomies was really pumping out the endorphins. Man, if we had seen even one passive-aggressive discussion between June and the accountant in her editing job over things like missing expenses, I might have spontaneously combusted from too much stimulation.
However, the more important aspect of this storyline is that it reminds us of 1) June and Luke’s own scandalous origins and 2) that June’s drive is underpinned by more than survivor’s guilt or a mama bear’s indefatigable fighting spirit. It is also fueled by a deep fear of having failed so catastrophically as a wife, that she has no chance for redemption. That she has broken a sacred vow.
On the flip side, it also highlights how Moira’s commitment to June is akin to that of a mother and child, or a life partner. Or really of the kind of friendship that is closer to that of chosen family. Moira’s warning about Luke isn’t about jealousy, not really. She is just better at analyzing the aftermath of a decision. June is acting more like a flashing “Warning! Warning! Warning!” sign. It’s the role that she plays out in this friendship, a foil or a break to June’s stubborn, leap-of-faith defiance. In short, she slaps her back into reality, a skill that proves crucial when we jump into a bombed Chicago, a concussed June, and a Moira hellbent on getting her out of Gilead. She knows how to handle her. She guides her to a medical truck with the suggestion that Janine might be there. She tempers a massive freak-out by telling June she’ll take care of her. She convinces her to become a stowaway on the Canadian boat by pointing out a very real truth: Hannah is safer without her. For a brief moment, June believes that the best way to fulfill her vow as a mother is by getting on that damn boat.
Also, because viewers will riot if we YET AGAIN live through another season of June deciding to stay in Gilead. Blessed be.
All the footage that takes us from the ruins of Chicago, to a humanitarian relief camp in chaos, to a boat crossing the Great Lakes with a smuggled Handmaid and Gilead officers not too far behind is taken from the action-thriller playbook. The pace is frenetic; the sounds are jarring and disruptive, the cameras pan on a trio of menacing coastal patrols following their trail. We get whatever score is titled “Ominous, JAWs-inspired Symphony”. It’s all very summer blockbuster extravaganza, a genre I tend to loathe, but kept me gripped in this very small dose. Plus, the tension spilled over onto the dynamic between each character. Bonds are tested. Moira is in deep doo-doo with the rest of the crew, who now have to decide between saving one human life or trying to save the thousands of lives they left behind in Gilead. For Oona, who has devoted her life to a mission larger than herself, it’s a break-up worthy violation. June offers to give herself up, which throws Moira into a tailspin.
It’s so much harder to honor your promises when you have the upper hand in a situation. As Oona tells Moira, “the hardest part is when you’re the one with the power.” And though I have spent many years in therapy to realize that a healthy relationship doesn’t involve power battles, that doesn’t mean the negotiation of our desires, boundaries, and responsibilities isn’t always there, nagging in the background. And vows are meant to be non-negotiable. Therein lies the tension behind Moira’s reckless attempt to save June, June’s maniacal insistence on saving Hannah single-handedly, Oona’s disappointment with Moira.
On the other hand, vows are also a reminder of choice, an act of faith not only in yourself but in another person. A promise that your flaws will be accepted, maybe even cherished. When June breaks down in front of Moira and finally divulges what’s really tormenting her, it is her best friend’s unconditional love and support that gives her the strength to let go of Hannah, at least in one way. And it also gives her strength to finally face Luke who, as Moira points out, hasn’t given up on her.
Stray observations
- There were also two small glimpses into other genres. The first, Oona’s brief role as the most depressing RuPaul impersonator with a steely “Don’t fuck it up.” (I’ve been watching too much Drag Race lately and that’s what immediately came to mind.) The second, June channeling her best Jack Shepard, by mumbling “we have to go back, we have to go back” as she tried to steal a lifeboat.
- Actually, the final montage of June and Luke’s brief, happy homelife also had big La La Land final sequence energy. Except the one in Handmaid’s tugged at my heartstrings while the one in La La Land made me roll my eyes. (What? Am I supposed to think that their boring suburban life would have been more meaningful than them actually achieving their dreams?????)
- The most Canadian Thing to Happen this week was definitely all the discussion about the ethics of humanitarian relief efforts while wearing thermal clothing.
- Eyebrow Watch 2021: As much as I enjoyed wading in the emotional waters of the Luke/June marriage, do you think that backstory also set us up to understand why their love might not last post-Gilead?
- What do we think happened to Janine? Did she go the way of Mr. Darcy? Or will she rise from the ashes, Italian beef sandwich in her hand?
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janine’s really screwed if she survived and gets caught by gilead but then again handmaids are vip now and they’ll be kept alive and the show wouldn’t kill off janine.
Something happened to me in mid 2019, i no longer need to finish every show i began. I stopped Man in the High Castle, i stopped this one too, a few others. It’s like, i suddenly didn’t have to… and i found i didn’t want to. and during lockdown, i found myself staring out the window, and not watching this. It was nice.
So what’s going on, now? What did i miss these last couple seasons?
In the words of the last season of the Walking Dead I ever watched: “things and stuff”
I would have tapped waaaaaay out in Season 3 if it wasn’t for my wife. Seriously, that was your master fucking plan that had to be scored to “Burning Down the House”? Just get caught and glower again?S4 has been an improvement on plot momentum alone, but it’s still the Elizabeth Moss close-up show, with her Angry Stare lasting way longer than any character would ever find comfortable to linger in the silence of. She’s a great actress who is practically demanding to be turned into a parody with this stuff (she’s an EP after all).
i watch because it is time with my Wife. I would happily quit. The show seems to try to out wierd itself each episode. Date night was a fizzle after binging the first 3 episodes this season.
Angry Stare lasting way longer than any character would ever find comfortable Some of the directing and editing choices feel like the equivalent of triple spacing a high school writing assignment and narrowing the margins just to make it to a 43 minute run time.
I stopped Man in the High Castle, i stopped this one too, a few others. YouTube is now a useful resource for people who just want to see the five crucial minutes in each of the three crucial episodes of the final 10 episode season.
You can search “character X death scene” or “character Y final scene” and see that, oh yes as expected the big bad did get ironically served a comeuppance. Then if that’s interesting you can use the Recommended list to see the four or five scenes that set up that finale.I did that with Man in the High Castle. Actually spent probably two hours or so on YouTube just watching all the cool bits. Totally out of order but piecing it all together was fun, like a sort of journalism! Spoilers? No way man, this is historical research!
Dunno if that helps, but he final season of The Man in the High Castle was more enjoyable (and more sci-fi) than all its previous seasons combined.
I was kind of okay with June not getting on the plane at the end of last season. Annoyed, but I felt like there must be some greater purpose. But now… what the heck was the point, narratively, of her not just getting on the effing plane 6 episodes ago?? And how is June going to live with the intermediary consequences of that decision?
She couldn’t get on the plane. She needed to stay behind to distract the Guardians who had posted up at the fence where the group was going to enter. Keeping them occupied by throwing stones, and eventually having one Guardian run a ways after her, allowed Rita and the other Marthas and Handmaids to usher the children through another fence opening and onto the plane.
“what the heck was the point, narratively, of her not just getting on the effing plane 6 episodes ago??”All I can think of is that now, June knows that Hannah doesn’t recognize her and is literally afraid of her. If she had gotten on the plane at the end of last season she would have landed in Canada still believing that Hannah knew who she was and missed her.
Oh, Janine will be back. The show has invested too much in her so far for her to simply disappear now.
Janine died on the way back to her home planet.
Yeah, plus usual tv rules apply. If you don’t see a body, then they aren’t dead.
She’ll be back as a force ghost.
The Walking Dead had a lot invested in Glenn and Rick, but it didn’t spare them from being taken out (although, to be fair, Andrew Lincoln may have been ready to go of his own volition). Being a beloved or popular character on a TV show doesn’t guarantee that character’s survival anymore if their death advances the story or can be made into an “event”.But if Janine is really gone, some confirmation and closure would be nice. The character deserves a proper sendoff.
Let’s be glad it at least isn’t Moira. Having Samira Wiley die twice in the midst of a series would really be too much…I think it’s fair for the narrative for Janine to be dead, though the lack of a body may very well mean we will see her back (yay as I love the character/actress, nay as I think it’s a cop-out).
I’m still smarting from OITNB.
Emily’s marriage suffered big time post-Gilead, so yes, I think Luke and June’s will too. There’s too much trauma associated to Gilead to just move on from it all. I really hope Janine is not dead but last week’s really had a farewell tone to it and maybe not actually showing her dead was a kindness to fans.I’m more curious to know if the show will shift from being June-focused and will split more time between Gilead (and other handmaids) and Canada because I don’t think they’ll just rid of Ann Dowd, Bradley Whitford and Max Minghella.
Yeah at this point they’re aware June can’t just fly and be recaptured once again (at least I hope). But I kinda fear what those last episode have in store. At least we get some kind of a fresh start (or the end of the show it’s not clear at this point).
“do you think that backstory also set us up to understand why their love might not last post-Gilead?”Spoilers for The Testaments, which the show may or may not follow, so indulge at your own risk:It’s unlikely that it does. Nichole is raised by a married hetero couple in Canadian witness protection that definitely does not include June, as June is not reunited with Nichole and Hannah until much, much later- thanks to the “real” insurgent that topples Gilead, who I won’t mention here. Instead judging by the presence of the blue packet Serena gave Luke, Nichole is likely raised by a) a divorced and remarried Luke, b) a divorced and remarried Serena, c) a remarried Rita, or d) two people we haven’t met.
OK, but I am having trouble connecting where the show is with what happens in Testaments. I feel like they are on an alternative timeline.
Yeah, even just with Aunt Lydia’s backstory, the show definitely seems like it’s on a different track than the book (though I haven’t quite finished reading it yet). I don’t know what the writing schedule was like for the show but the Testaments has only been out since late 2019 IIRC. Seems like a stretch that they were writing the show to tie to it directly.
I hope you enjoy the book! I felt very satisfied with how the story was wrapped up.
Thanks! I got it last year but had to take a pandemic break. Looking forward to seeing how it ends.
That was an incredibly tense and moving 40 minutes. I just wish I could get a better sense of how people perceive June. Here I was thinking that she was one of Gilead’s greatest threats and basically a de facto leader of the resistance, but the people on that boat seemed to barely even know who she was. Seems like, at least after crossing the checkpoint, the vibe would turn more to a, “well, at least this will be a very large symbolic victory, if nothing else”, but not really. They seem wholly uninterested in her and basically leave her on an empty boat on the docks with Moira. There didn’t even seem to be any Canadian or American government people there to meet her. Just kind of odd, but I guess it was an attempt by the writers to dial in on the emotion of the situation without getting bogged down by logistics.
June’s extraction is a major propaganda victory. Nobody accuses North Korean defectees of abandoning millions to the work camps.
I thought the point was to not advertise the fact June got away on a humanitarian boat; specifically because of the reasons discussed in the episode; that Gilead would deny further international aid if it was known she was “smuggled” away with the boat. Although they could always invent a cover story if they want to make this public; but there’s a war brewing; so maybe Canada is not so keen on making it public at all to not excite Gilead further.
That was my understanding too. June probably needs to stay hidden for a while. As Oona said, Gilead will stop allowing humanitarian missions as soon as they find out she’s in Canada.
If I remember an earlier episode, isn’t Gilead thisclose to attacking Canada and was about to use the plane-full-of-kids as an excuse to engage? If Gilead finds out that June was somehow smuggled to Canada, then all sorts of hurt will be coming (very likely due to embarrassment).There’s been a couple of excellent episodes this season. Much better than last season’s misses.
I haven’t seen any episodes past this one yet, but after this episode I thought the Canadian government would have to create a fake escape for June to explain why she’s suddenly in Canada. Otherwise why would Gilead ever let any Canada humanitarian groups in ever again? It wouldn’t surprise me if the Canadian government actually faked some footage of June wandering across a fence/river/etc to say “Here’s how June escaped Gilead, all on her own, our humanitarian groups didn’t smuggle her out at all.”
I thin June’s persona and, well, any plot point in this story depends on who was writing on what day of the week.
I think where this will get interesting is watching June’s “re-entry” into non-Gilead. She’s different than even when Moira last saw her, and had experiences and committed acts that Luke won’t even begin to be able to understand or fathom from the June he knew, and, as this reminds us – married “no matter who you turn out to be” – in the pre-Gilead times. Janine was the closest person to a “Moira,” that she last had, which says something about how she now understands power and agency now, and, lack thereof. Some of the most powerful moments by far last season was watching Emily’s return to her wife and son – what happened in Gilead doesn’t stay there.
I was 100% convinced June was going back in after all Moira did for her. I’ll give the show some credit for not going there though I still fully expect that’s how the season will end– she can’t take normal life in Canada and goes back to the front.
Did anyone else notice the weird/bad CGI on the left side of the screen of people walking to the fence when they first showed the chaos of the relief camp? Was thinking that might show up in stray observations lol
I’m very confused about what kind of aid Oona’s group was providing in Chicago because it looked to me like all they did was gather people up, put them in cages, and leave. The didn’t appear to be giving much medical aid, I didn’t see any food/resource distribution going on. What the heck were they doing?
They were giving aid to people on the truck when they were taking those wounded people back to their camp. But then they were told that Gilead was going to start bombing again, so they had to leave sooner than they had planned.
Great episode. I’m glad I stuck with this series because this season has been a pleasant surprise. Elisabeth Moss is simply amazing. She’s the ‘86 Jordan to this show.
One thought that has come to mind and made me excited: the possibility of June meeting Fred Waterford with the power dynamic shifted (I didn’t read the book. No spoilers please). The potential scenery chewing alone should be fun.
Don’t worry, we’re far, far past anything from the original book. And far, far too early for the recently published sequel.
Here’s what’s bugging me about the episode. I understand that they needed to smuggle June out, rather than openly extract her. But now that she’s out, couldn’t Canada keep that fact quiet for a few weeks, then have her lie and say that she escaped on her own — thus leaving them able to continue the humanitarian missions?
Also. What damn good is the humanitarian mission if they have to leave people behind like they did ? Jesus Christ, that was hard to watch.
June is apparently not as important as she thinks she is.
Of course. That made absolutely no sense.
If you refer to the refugees camp, it did made sense. Gilead was bombing the site and the NGO was forced to leave in haste.I agree with the first part. I guess Canada assumes Gilead has a lot of spies and it would be difficult to keep June under wraps, but yeah. Send her abroad with Luke and Nichole, for all that matters…
Haven’t seen any subsequent episodes yet, but the Cdn. government definitely should fake an escape days/weeks later of June getting out of Gilead on her own. Otherwise, if June suddenly appears in Canada the day after a Cdn. humanitarian group returns, Gilead will know how June got out, and will never let another Cdn. humanitarian group in.As far as “what damn good” the mission was, they were only there to provide medical assistance, which we saw on the truck when they were treating the wounded they were taking back to the camp. But then they had to leave because they were told Gilead was going to start bombing again. So they weren’t able to offer all the medical assistance they wanted to.
If June had gotten on the goddamn lifeboat I would’ve flipped. It really is the little things and ‘small’ relationships that make this show go. As our dear author pointed out, hitting the same beats about June’s shit-eating kid motivating her endless, torturous stay in Gilead does not make for interesting fiction. I’m glad the show has finally moved on from June’s flagellation.
Interesting to see what Palestinians are going through now that Israel is bombing their cities to rubble… oops, I meant June and Gilead! My mistake.
If this is in reference to the recent conflict there was significant damage to Israeli cities also from 5000+ Hamas rockets.
I hope June doesn’t end up with Nick. I don’t understand the appeal of Nick as a character to June.
For what it’s worth, I think the little bit of tenderness, oxytocin release and private time Nick and June shared when Serena Joy was trying to get her baby under any means necessary is what may have created a bond between Nick and June.
I get why she is close to him but I still don’t like the character!
She missed her husband, and Nick was the only man who actually liked her and wanted to help her. Pretty much every other man she interacted with was awful.
I admittedly haven’t watched since the first 10 minutes of season 3, after I found out they had 6 seasons planned. But the mere thought of it slowing down even more than it was made me fall asleep.
This was the closest the show has gotten to Lifetime. I really didn’t need the General Foods International Lost flashbacks. Literally all that happens is Moira gets June on the boat. They go to Canada. That’s all. Ludicrous moments are added. What kind of rescue or relief effort doesn’t involving actually rescuing people? Why are there Gilead checkpoints for a rescue and relief effort? Why would Gilead even permit rescue and relief operations?What information is on the clipboard? I don’t understand. Are these rescue and relief workers listed? Moira, herself, is an escaped handmaid. How is she any different from June? I have to assume a number of these people are escaped handmaids and possible refugees. Why are they debating whether or not to turn June in? Why aren’t there any real (read: brave) men in Canada? When did this become such a legal tangle when all Emily (and the baby) had to do was nearly drown and then get rescued, or Moira would just slip past the border? Ludicrous is the only word I can come up with describe the logic of this show.
“What kind of rescue or relief effort doesn’t involving actually rescuing people?” The Cdn group wasn’t there to rescue anyone. They were there to offer medical assistance and humanitarian aid. There are humanitarian groups that do this sort of thing in the real world. They aren’t trying to sneak anyone out – just offer medical aid. “Why are there Gilead checkpoints for a rescue and relief effort?” Um, to prevent these humanitarian groups from trying to sneak anyone out of Gilead? That is a no-brainer.“Why would Gilead even permit rescue and relief operations?” This was explained in the previous (?) episode when Lawrence suggested the idea to the Commanders. It was a public relations ploy to make the rest of the world think better of Gilead.“Moira, herself, is an escaped handmaid. How is she any different from June?” At this point I assume Moira is an official Canadian citizen, and Gilead would not legally be able to arrest her. Gilead has agreed to let members of this humanitarian group into Gilead, provide help, and leave.
I’m thinking the writers have an in-joke going, and whoever can make June the most un-likable doesn’t have to pay for lunch for the rest of the season, or something like that.
My guess, Giliad will offer to trade June for her daughter, and she’ll accept Aunt Lydia made a big point of asking to take charge of June if she ever gets caught again, so I’m sure that’ll happen at some point.
I wish they’d switch her eye patch back and forth just to f*** with us some more.
Did this episode have the longest “Previously on The Handmaid’s Tale” segment in the show’s history? I checked my PVR and it was 5 minutes by the time it was over.
I was surprised that this episode wrapped up much sooner than I expected. I had recorded this episode, and my PVR said it was 1 hour 20 minutes. So when the episode was over in under 1 hour I was a bit confused.
While I sympathize with Moira, she basically put all of the humanitarian crew at danger of being arrested and imprisoned by Gilead for trying to smuggle June out.I know this was Moira’s first humanitarian mission, but how dumb is she that it doesn’t occur to her that Gilead is going to inspect and search the boat before letting them leave and go back to Canada? This never occurred to her? That was so dumb of her.I wasn’t really interested in the Moira/Oona relationship, but I hope this event ends it and they don’t have Oona forgive Moira. Moira put Oona and everyone else on that boat in danger, and Moira made that decision for all of them without consulting any of them. I actually laughed when Moira asked Oona about going on future humanitarian missions. I wanted Oona to say “Girl, you are so fired! There is no way this group is ever going to let you go on any future missions. No one on this boat would ever trust you again with their safety. You not only put all of us on this boat in danger, but all future humanitarian missions to Gilead too.”While Moira *was* trying to save June, it was a very selfish decision.