'The Handmaid’s Tale' Season 3 Episode 11 Promo Has Fans Worried For Commander Lawrence
The Handmaid's Tale Season 3 is pushing into the final three episodes, which means the action is getting ready to kick into high gear. Season 2's final episodes included June having her baby, the death of Nick's wife, and Serena Joy losing a finger. Will the last three hours of Season 3 be able to compete? If The Handmaid’s Tale Season 3 Episode 11 promo is anything to go by, some of the violence in the final episodes will come from a surprising quarter.
Season 3, Episode 10, "Witness," proved that even Gilead's white men aren't immune to the fascist police state of big brother. This time, Commander Lawrence was "Under His Eye," with a demand to prove he was having sex with his Handmaid.
Lawrence passed the test, thanks to June engineering the household's first "ceremony." But the experience left him shaken, finally accepting his position as "The Architect of Gilead" was not enough to keep him above the fray. If he wanted to keep himself and his wife safe, they were going to have to defect to Canada.
At first glance, this seems like the ally June needs. Her plan to ship the "Lost Children of Gilead" stolen from Handmaids to Canada needed Lawrence. But the trailer for Episode 11, "Liars" suggests things will not go as smoothly as June hoped.
The synopsis for Episode 11 is as follows:
A return trip to Jezebels puts everything in jeopardy. Serena Joy and Commander Waterford take a clandestine trip.
It's interesting to learn there's a trip to Jezebels. There's no sign of that in the trailer, but Jezebels was the place Mayday used to pass packages back in Season 1. So it's not all that surprising that June's new plan, to move actual small children, would need to communicate through this channel.
What is concerning is the passel of Marthas poo-pooing the idea though. The baskets and baskets of muffins at the end of "Witness" signaled a willingness to help in spirit. But moving children in practice is far more complicated, not to mention extraordinarily risky. It's dangerous to the children if they get caught, or worse, shot. Not to mention the backlash from Gilead's ruling class, and the hangings that would follow would be terrible to behold.
If that weren't enough the fallout from Lawrence and June doing the ceremony is also a bump in the road. It may have cemented them in cause to get to the safety of Canada. But Eleanor's horror and rage that June was "brutalized," is going to be hard to manage.
On the one hand, Eleanor is right. June was forced to have sex with her commander, due to a system he thought up. But in another way, Eleanor is wrong. June consented because lives were at stake, including Eleanor's. And Lawrence didn't want to have to do it any more than June did.
How Lawrence and June calm Eleanor down to get her out is a whole extra problem. Hopefully, "Liars" will find a way to make these truths go down easier.
