'The Handmaid's Tale' episode 11 pivots season 3 as June rids Gilead of Commander Winslow and Serena surmisedly of Commander Waterford
Spoilers for 'The Handmaid's Tale' season 3 episode 11: 'Liars'
Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) and June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) may have parted ways when it comes to working together, but it looks like the two women are aiming for the same thing - a safe future for the lost children of Gilead. 'The Handmaid's Tale' season 3 episode 11 finally saw the two women make pivotal moves.
It is evident that June's metamorphosis at the Jezebel will play a huge role in helping her plans in the future. After all, she did take out one of the most powerful commanders in DC - Commander George Winslow (Christopher Meloni).
June's rage, when she stabbed Winslow with a pen, is something that has built over days beginning from the time when she witnessed Ofmatthew's (Ashley Lathrop) passing. Even the beginning of episode 11 sees her violently throw things in the library because of Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) and his wife Eleanor (Julie Dretzin).
After Eleanor pointed a gun at Commander Lawrence for forcing himself on June, she convinces Eleanor to give the gun to her and step away. When things calm down, she tells Commander Lawrence the number of kids that need saving has just gone up to 52. She received 52 muffins from the Marthas and handmaids.
Commander Lawrence gathered she was crazy and the next day, he leaves with his wife, hoping to cross the border on his own. After all the hard work that went into convincing the Marthas of the movement to not interfere with her plan, she was left empty-handed.
Of Course, the commander is unable to even cross the checkpoint on his own, let alone the border so he returns. June, however, realizes then there is no one, not one individual in Gilead that can be trusted. This is probably why she plays hardball with Commander Lawrence when the two realize there is no truck that can take them to Canada anymore.
She gets Commander Lawrence to take her to the Jezebel because she wants to meet Martha Beth's friend who may be able to help her get the children out of Gilead without the truck. It is here that she comes face to face with someone unexpected - George Winslow.
Her excuse for being at the Jezebel is Commander Lawrence's kinky sexual interest which leads to Winslow taking her to a bedroom and trying to force himself on her. Initially, June tries to be logical about it all, she tries to remove herself from the experience, something she was able to do with Commander Lawrence at the Ceremony.
With Winslow, however, she is unable to reign in her rage and ends up attacking him, trying to run away from him and in the process, she stabs him multiple times with a pen. When this doesn't stop him from pursuing her, she takes a statue in the room and wacks him on the head. And just like that, she erased one of the most powerful commanders out of existence. This is, of course, going to create a vacuum in the DC political circle.
Coming to Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes), who started off as Winslow's lackey, we saw how he ended up in handcuffs on the other side of Gilead. Serena in episode 10 had convinced Fred to make the call to her American friend Mark Tuello in Canada to bring Nichole back and he does the same.
The couple heads out in episode 11 to make it to a liaison, but it turns out to be a trap and Waterford is arrested as a war criminal. He is read his rights, the charges against him and the entire time, all we can do is look at Serena. Did she plan this out?
There are many incidences in past episodes that have hinted at her true intentions, but with Serena, one can never be too sure. She looks shocked initially at how things have turned out but once she is away from her husband, she seems relatively calm. Did she orchestrate the downfall of her husband? Is that why she helped June who had almost killed her in a fit of rage and desperation? Is this why she pretended to join hands with her husband?
One thing is certain, Serena's behavior changed entirely not after she met her baby in Canada, but after she heard Mark's promise that he can give her a safe passage to Canada to be with her baby. Things have just begun to get interesting this season, and we are only two episodes away from the finale.
'The Handmaid's Tale' season 3 episode 12 will air on August 7 on Hulu.