'The Handmaid's Tale' Recap: How the Gilead Government Punishes LGBTQ People

Offred was punished for not turning Ofglen in.
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The Handmaid's Tale -- "Late" Episode 103 -- Offred visits Janine’s baby with Serena Joy and remembers the early days of the revolution before Gilead. Ofglen faces a difficult challenge. Ofglen (Alexis Bledel), shown. (Photo by: George Kraychyk/Hulu)Photo: George Kraychyk/Hulu


Whatever glimmer of hope we were left with after episode two, it’s gone now: Offred is sent on an emotional rollercoaster with Serena Joy; Ofglen returns a different woman; Jeanine’s grip with reality continues to slip; and we’re still not sure what to make of Nick.

In a sense, episode three is like a dose of bitter medicine. It’s tough going down but necessary viewing for gaining a better understanding of the historic fight for women’s rights. When Margaret Atwood was writing the novel that the show is based on, one of her self-imposed rules was that she wouldn’t put any events in the book that had not already happened at some point in history. It also worth noting that she was living in West Berlin at the time she wrote the story, at a time when the city was encircled by the Berlin Wall, and the Soviet empire was still in place. Every Sunday the East German Air Force made sonic booms as a reminder of how close they were. With this, brace yourself, because it’s about to get real.

The episode opens to Ofglen being escorted down an institutional-looking hall. She’s being strong-armed by two men, her hands are cuffed, and she wears a red jumpsuit with a mask covering just her mouth. They shove her into a dark cell block with a door like a vault, much like a prisoner who’s been sentenced to solitary confinement.

The screen goes dark and we cut to Offred walking along the street with her new “double.” This new Handmaid gives off an air of superiority, and the two women walk in silence not saying a word. While the scene plays out, we hear Offred’s voice-over: “Now I’m awake to the world. I was asleep before. That’s how we let it happen. When they slaughtered congress, we didn’t wake up. When they blamed terrorists and suspended the constitution, we didn’t wake up then either. They said it would be temporary. Nothing changes instantaneously. In a gradual, heating bath tub, you’d be dead before you knew it.”

This train of thought triggers a flashback to Offred’s past. She and Moira are on a run together, and they pass a woman who is dressed conservatively and looks at Offred with disgust. What’s her problem? After their run they stop at a cafe to order some drinks. Offred hands the cashier a debit card, but it’s declined. She asks him to run her card again but the man behind the counter snaps, telling her to come back when she has some money. He even calls her a slut, which causes her to leave the cafe upset and confused by what’s just happened. Later that day in her office, Offred calls her bank to see why her card was declined but all circuits are busy. While she’s on the phone, she notices a trail of mercenaries with machine guns entering the building. Offred’s boss appears nervous and visibly shaken when he announces that all women are being let go, effective immediately. He assures them this wasn’t his choice, and he doesn’t agree with the decision, but it’s the law now: Women are no longer allowed to hold a job. As the women filter out of the office building, an armed militia stands at attention, prepared to shoot at any moment.

Snapping back to the present day, Offred returns from her trip to the grocery store, and Rita insists she sit down at the kitchen table so she can bring Offred her lunch. Offred is beside herself with this show of kindness and generosity from Rita. As a final touch, Rita places a white rose in a beautiful crystal vase next Offred’s place setting. Sensing her hesitation, Rita explains that Serena Joy has arranged for this special lunch because everyone in the house thinks she’s pregnant — Offred hasn’t asked for her “napkins” this month. Just then, Serena Joy walks in and anxiously asks Offred how she’s feeling, whether she’s nauseous or if her breasts hurt. Before Offred can respond, Serena Joy suggests she join her in a visit to the Putnam household that afternoon to see the baby Jeanine gave birth to. Left with no choice, Offred agrees to go.

At the Putnam house, Serena Joy holds baby Angela, and Aunt Elizabeth mentions that she’s only gained two pounds, which isn’t a good sign, but the Wives in the room pay her no attention. Serena Joy asks Offred whether she’d like to hold the baby, and one of the other Wives questions whether this is a good idea, but Serena Joy says, “It’s OK. Offred has done this before.” Offred is stunned by this; how does Serena Joy know about her past?

All of the Wives sit down to have their coffee and cakes while Offred is forced to remain in the periphery along the wall. Mrs. Putnam goes on about how she’s so tired from taking care of the baby and how she just can’t live without her coffee (even though every other social class in Gilead is forced to live without it). One of the Wives notices that Mrs. Putnam has a bite mark on her hand and it’s turning black and blue. Concerned, she asks what happened, and Mrs. Putnam reveals that Jeanine bit her while she was attending to Angela one day. The ladies gasp, and Mrs. Putnam assures them she’s counting down the days until Angela is done nursing so Jeanine will be out of her hair. At this, Offred decides to pay Jeanine a visit upstairs where she finds her in her bedroom wearing a nightgown and staring out the window. At the sight of Offred, Jeanine starts gushing about how beautiful her baby Charlotte is. Heartbroken, Offred tries to bring Janine back down to earth, explaining that the baby’s name is Angela. She proceeds to ask Janine why she bit Mrs. Putnam, and Janine defends her actions explaining that Mrs. Putnam keeps trying to take Charlotte from her. “Besides,” Jeanine says, “I can do whatever the hell I want now because I had a baby, and she’s a good one, too. I can even have ice cream!” And then she tells Offred she has a secret: “He loves me.” Jeanine, starry-eyed and lost in an alternate reality, is convinced her Commander is in love with her. She tells Offred they plan to run away together. Promises, promises.

Downstairs, we hear echoes coming from the kitchen — the baby is crying and it sounds like Mrs. Putnam and Jeanine are beginning to raise their voices. Offred admits that she thinks Jeanine is losing touch, and Serena Joy acknowledges that this happens with the “weaker” girls. She goes on to say how grateful she is for Offred because she’s strong and what they have to do together is terribly hard. After this slight crack in the ice, Serena Joy tells Offred to head home without her. She’s going to stay and help Mrs. Putnam with the baby.

On the drive home, Nick is dead silent. Offred tries making conversation, first about the Putnams’ baby and then, when he doesn’t respond, about Ofglen’s disappearance. She knows how to get a rise out of him, and Nick’s tone is curt: “You can’t change anything about this. It’s going to end the same no matter what you do, so there’s no use in being brave. Brave isn’t a part of this … everybody breaks. Everybody.”

They pull into the gates of the Waterfords’ home and Offred sees a black van in the driveway. Aunt Lydia is there and so is an Eye dressed in all black. She asks what’s going on, but Nick only offers: “Tell them everything. Whatever they want to know, just tell them. I couldn’t stop them. I’m sorry.”

Offred flashes back to a conversation she had with Moira in the earlier stages of the Revolution. Moira is explaining what has happened to the women’s bank accounts. There’s a new law that says women can’t own property, so what money was left in her account will now be transferred to her husband Luke. If a woman isn’t married, all monies and property will be given to the woman’s male next of kin.

Moira: You know they needed to do it this way. The jobs, the bank accounts … all at once. Can you imagine the airports otherwise? They don’t want us leaving, you can bet on that.

Offred: They can’t just do this.

Moira: Yes they can. We’ve been under martial law since D.C.

Back in the present day, Offred is being interrogated by Aunt Lydia and a detective who works for the Eyes. The detective says he has some questions but the entire process will be painless, if she complies. He starts running through a litany of questions, eventually asking Offred whether Ofglen ever touched her. And with this, we understand why they’ve taken Ofglen away; she’s being discriminated against because of her sexual identity. Then, Aunt Lydia interjects, demanding to know whether Offred was aware of Ofglen’s status as a gender traitor. Defiant, Ofglen responds, “Yes, if you’re asking did I know she was gay, then yes.” And Aunt Lydia zaps her with a taser gun as punishment for using that word. The term gay is forbidden in Gilead.

Aunt Lydia smacks Offred to the ground with her staff and begins zapping her with the taser. Just then, Serena Joy comes home and runs in, telling Lydia to stop because Offred is pregnant. Hearing this, Lydia backs away, stunned.

In the next scene, we see Ofglen, who’s still being held in some sort of correctional facility. She’s alive! Two men drag her into a courtroom where she is forced to stand before a prosecutor and judge. Despite the weighted balance symbol that remains on the door, there is no justice here; she isn’t given a defense lawyer. The prosecutor states what she’s been accused of: “Gender treachery in violation of Romans 1:26.” Hearing this, the judge declares Ofglen guilty, but since she has two working ovaries and is capable of giving birth to a healthy child, she’s granted “redemption,” whatever that means in Gilead.

Later that night, we find Offred in her bedroom. There’s a knock at the door; Nick is bringing her an ice pack for the burn marks on her face and neck. Her looks at Offred with a deep, penetrating stare and says, “I should’ve just driven away with you earlier.” They draw closer to one another as though they might kiss, but they think better of it. Nick exits the bedroom, and Offred drops the ice he brought for her. In the next scene, we see her sitting on her toilet, looking distraught and holding a “napkin” which has blood on it. Her period came late, and she knows this means trouble.

In the final minutes of the episode, we flashback to Offred, Moira, and a crowd of angry protesters marching in support of women’s rights. Although the crowd is peaceful at first, they begin to pushing against the militia that is lined up in front of them, and the mercenaries open fire, shooting the protesters and throwing bombs into the crowd. Moira and Offred duck into a cafe where they hide behind a credenza and watch in horror as men and women are shot and killed before their eyes.

Offred sits reflecting on this memory in the present day until she hears the clock tower ringing in the distance. It’s morning, so she gets up and walks down the stairs to find Nick helping Serena Joy clear out a spare room to convert into a nursery. She tells Offred to come in and see how beautiful the light is in the room, and she begins gushing over her, calling Offred her “beautiful miracle.” She explains that she and Fred tried getting pregnant for years but it never happened for them, and now, Offred has been sent to her as a gift from god. Hesitant, Offred breaks the news that she isn’t pregnant after all. And in this instant, we can see the elation melt out of Serena Joy’s face. She yanks Offred by the arm, drags her up the stairs and throws her against the floor of her bedroom. She tells Offred that she is not to leave this room unless she has personally given her permission to do so, and then threatens to make Offred’s life much, much worse as she slams the door.

In the final scene we see Ofglen in a hospital bed. She stands up, wincing in pain, and peels back her hospital gown to reveal bandages — she’s been operated on. Aunt Lydia walks in the room and informs her that she can still produce children, but they made certain she won’t be tempted to want what she can’t have. They performed female genital mutilation surgery on Ofglen and had her tongue removed. She cannot speak, she cannot feel, she has been rendered moot. The brutes of Gilead have turned Ofglen into a literal womb with two legs. We have no words.

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