I may have defended June against charges of rape, and I did think her testimony was powerful, but her involvement in a support circle run by her dear friend Moira is where I draw the line. The Gilead Survivor's Support Group (Photo by: Sophie Giraud/Hulu) I find the idea that there are pro-Gilead sympathizers in Canada quite believable and just as troubling, but this moment felt like the wrong one to introduce them, and the entire scene felt perplexingly staged. He sounded flimsy and ludicrous next to June, though her ultimate comeback-“I’m done!”-wasn’t particularly riveting either. Fred’s “impassioned” speech wasn’t that passionate. People knew who Fred was, what he represented, what Gilead stood for and its “accomplishments.” Why no adoring crowds until now? Why wait until after the (also apparently publicly broadcast) testimony of June, in which she repeatedly describes the rape and abuse the Waterfords meted out to her, to rally? Accepting that there are awful people out there who will use religion to justify their awful notions, it’s still weird timing. What I don’t really get here is why there weren’t these pro-Gilead crowds before. I guess the American and Canadian governments decided that allowing them to walk without an escort in broad daylight in public for all the world to see makes lots of sense. I guess the entire thing is televised because later, as the two leave the building (with no guards or police escorting them for some bizarre reason) a crowd has gathered, not to protest the Waterfords but to cheer them on. After June’s testimony, Fred makes an impassioned speech defending his and his wife’s rape of June by proclaiming that “it works!” and that he and Serena have been “rewarded by God” with a baby of their own. The Handmaid's Tale (Photo by: Sophie Giraud/Hulu)Įverywhere else in this episode, contrivance rules the day. I’ve discussed this at length on YouTube. There’s been a lot of debate over whether or not June raped her husband and I think this episode offered up a great deal of evidence that she did not, though perhaps you will disagree. We set the record straight on last week’s episode, for one thing.

I also thought the emotionally charged interactions between June and Luke were quite good.

She sets the perfect tone in many ways, which makes Fred’s response (and later events) all the more preposterous. Moss once again brings her A-game (serving as both star and director once again) and manages to convey her testimony coherently and emotionally without coming off as hysterical or overly aggressive. It serves as a surprisingly tidy recap of some of the atrocities June faced in Gilead, largely at the hands of this despicable couple. June testifies in the pre-trial hearing of Fred Waterford and her testimony is not only cathartic for June, it’s both cathartic and helpful for viewers.

House of cards season 4 episode 8