More ponderings ...
Gilead is big on major punishment for minor offenses as well as punishment by association (Cmdr. Glen’s entire household was executed after Lillie’s suicide bombing).
We don’t know how much of it Fred is aware of, but Nick has committed some major Gilead offenses: He’s June’s lover, he assisted in…

My apologies if this observation has been posted before. It occurred to me that last episode’s “Nick. My name is Nick” both echoed “June. My name is June” from an earlier episode, and foreshadowed this one. In 2-7, “After,” the sharing of names was triggered in part by the ‘remembrance’ of the dead handmaidens by…

Any thoughts of the young man of color who was promoted to Commander, apparently on the basis of his wife getting pregnant? I haven’t read the book and I was curious if that was an new angle (and possibly a way to introduce some themes addressing the racist aspect that hasn’t been part of the televised story).
And have…

It could be a bit of guilt as well as a trap. I also think Fred was still resentful of June’s “if you have it in your power” plea and wanted to demonstrate how far his power extends. “Love me! Fear me!” So he sets up matters to both grant her wish and remove what he now perceives as the threat and rival posed by Nick.

What a beautiful performance from (and direction of) the little girl (Jordana Blake) playing Hannah. I’d been afraid that Hannah would be too brainwashed to acknowledge or accept June as her mother, and it appeared that’s what the show was going for, at first. But even children in Gilead have learned to be guarded and…

Janine: “We’re having a conversation!”

One more thought - it might’ve just hit home to Nick that he cannot make a legitimate claim to either the baby or to June. He lied to Luke for any number of reasons: He has to keep up the pretense of Fred being the father, he doesn’t want to hurt Luke further or to deal with a mutual pummeling in the bar, he wants to…

I also liked Serena’s little shudder of revulsion when she opened her closet to hang up some clothes after the trip. Yes, she should be revulsed about a lot more than that, but it was a reminder of how far down the rabbit hole she had willingly traveled.

There was also the moment when Lydia froze when June said (paraphrasing): A man who will harm a woman will harm a child. Either that brought a situation too close for comfort to mind, or she hadn’t thought of Fred Waterford in those terms and was realizing she had misread the dynamics in the house, or both. I think…

Aunt Lydia’s “It wasn’t my fault” ... there was no reason to add that. Perhaps the death of the godchild at four days was not her fault, but I’m convinced that she thinks it was, and her zealotry is one way she atones for it. Ann Down swung so smoothly between hostility over the perceived “insolence” to understanding…

It’s both sad and skeevy. As was noted, he’s also a teen and, in another world, the interest wouldn’t be inappropriate.

Spanking is done with the hand, fingers extended. That wasn’t a spanking, it was a whipping.

Dr. Hodgson effectively diagnosed “Failure to thrive due to neglect. ” She could not afford to be more specific; her diagnosis was correct and she delivered it in a way that would preserve her own life. She could not in any way suggest the Putnams were responsible, which is what your (2) is proposing.

The actress’s name is Karen Glave (and yes, she was great). I also appreciated that it was clear the attending physician was in awe of her and eager (honored, even) to have her consulting.
I was suspecting that Naomi might be guilty of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, but neglect was more likely. The Putnams seemed to be…

I was also reminded of a comment I read in response to “Thoughts and prayers ... thoughts and prayers ... thoughts and prayers ...”
The writer said that those who think that they’ve met their moral obligation by sending thoughts and prayers, don’t understand prayer; that prayer should be for the wisdom to see the right…

My apologies, Cate - I missed your post and asked the same question.

As for Eden, she’s old enough that she would have been taught to read before it became illegal. But if she’s as pious as she is purported to be, then reading the letters would be a sin. She did volunteer that she had reorganized the trunk and she had placed the letters in plain sight. She didn’t surreptitiously check…

So ... what is June’s mindset at the end? My take is that she was schmoozing Fred because she knows he’s easily manipulated and she wants to stay in his good graces -but I also think she understands that he felt threatened by the alliance between herself and Serena, and she wants to have him see that threat as…

Dr. Hodgson’s diagnosis was correct. She couldn’t outright say “failure to thrive due to neglect” but she said there was no external cause and the best course of action would be to unhook all of the machines and show the baby she is loved. So I will give credit to Serena for that; she not only got Dr. Hodgson there,…

This is one of the rare episodes I was able to bring myself to rewatch.