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“The Handmaid’s Tale” S1.E5: ‘Woman on Top’

In episode five of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” we start with Offred playing Scrabble with the Commander. They’ve obviously become much more comfortable with each other: her boots are off and she’s sipping some amber liquor while the Commander lounges in a black polo shirt. She’s beaten him handily, and he suggests she’s found his weaknesses.

Offred flirts with him coquettishly. In the voiceover narration, we see that far from being smitten with the Commander, Offred is actually being strategic: in the 34 games of Scrabble they’ve now played together, she’s learned that he likes when she flirts. She likes when he lets her win, but she adds that they fit into each other like “a hook into an eye.” A fish hook into an open eye, that is. So much for a budding romance.

The Commander has a present for her. It’s a “Beautify” magazine, possibly the suckiest, most tone deaf present anyone could give a sex slave. Are any Handmaids sitting around thinking how if they had one wish, that’s what they’d use it on? Some may be, but not Offred, who would have rathered a flame thrower to torch this new world order. Offred says she thought that all magazines like that had been destroyed, but the Commander intimates that those with “an appreciation for the old things” keep things like that. Weird pervert.

Offred reminds him that it’s not allowed, but he says it is with him, so she begins thumbing through it, remembering how she used to buy them in airports to read when getting her hair colored. Now looking at the women, they’re like zoo animals about to go extinct. She starts to ironically read through “10 Ways to Tell How He Feels About You” and apply them to the Commander (Tip #1: He brings you small gifts). The Commander wants her to be pleased by this present, so Offred plays along. “That look on your face is thanks enough,” he replies, cementing his total creepy and patronizing status. As Offred “reads,” she has to keep reminding herself to look up and smile, but we see it’s both calculating and forced.

In a flashback, Offred and Moira are standing outside a food truck looking at Offred’s Tinder account. Moira is panning a guy in a fedora, and grabs Luke (oooh, their first meeting) to get his opinion on what about Offred’s profile keeps drawing what Moira calls “chumps.” Luke, who is in a beanie and looks hipster, thinks Offred’s profile looks “nice,” which to Moira is bad news. Nice is a boring adjective. Luke takes Offred’s phone to find pictures of her that she can add to her profile, smiling as he looks through them. In the one he likes, he says she she looks “invincible.” (Remember that word for later.)

Back in the present, Offred is slowly eating cereal in the kitchen. Nick comes in and makes uncomfortable eye contact, which brings an almost smile to Offred’s lips. Rita asks if he has somewhere to be and he says no. Tip #2: He keeps finding ways to accidentally run into you. Tip #3:…Offred can’t remember what number three is.

Serena Joy calls her outside to help with gardening. Offred is afraid that Serena Joy has found out about her time with the Commander. Or the writing in the closet. Or the magazine. “Either way, I lose a hand,” she thinks. She thinks the black van is coming to get her, so she starts considering what it would be like to murder Serena Joy with her gardening shears.

Serena Joy asks if Offred has experienced any symptoms of pregnancy, and when the answer is no, comments that it’s bad luck. Offred’s time with the Waterfords is running out, and then she’ll be sent to the Colonies (remember, where you die because toxic waste makes your skin slough off?). Then Serena Joy says something unexpected: maybe the Commander is sterile. They could try with another man. Offred notes this is forbidden, but Serena Joy knows it happens all the time. Offred admits she’s heard “about doctors,” but Serena Joy wants it to be with someone they trust: Nick. What’s more, he’s already agreed. Plot twist!

When Offred asks about the Commander, Serena Joy snaps, “Forget about the Commander.” She’s clearly not happy with him right now, and she has more pressing concerns. She wants that baby at all costs. Offred agrees, but her face says that it’s just another form of rape to her. Whether it’s Nick or the Commander, her consent is never really freely given. She’s still a sexual slave. Nick, who she for reasons unknown seems to consider decent, should have asked her consent before agreeing to this, making it a particularly painful betrayal. Serena Joy, gladdened by Offred’s consent, says they’ll do it this afternoon after the shopping. Strike while the iron is hot, she says, like it’s totally not just another rape.

At Loaves and Fishes, Janine is telling her fellow Handmaid about Angela. The other Handmaid is bored by hearing about it constantly and tells her to stop, to which Janine retorts, “Hater.” The modern reference is humorous, but then we see Former Ofglen lurking in the produce section. Offred immediately goes to her. Former Ofglen is Ofsteven now (so I guess we’ll just call her that now, too…), and though she says she’s alright, she looks like she was run over by a truck (foreshadowing). She looks, to quote “Lord of the Rings,” “thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”

She confirms the Eyes took her, but won’t say much more. It’s too dangerous to be part of the Resistance now, so she won’t confirm if it was, in fact, Nick who is the Eye in the Waterford house. She does say, however, that the Resistance is called Mayday before the new Ofglen swoops in. So ends the reunion between Offred and Ofsteven. Snippets of conversation gleaned in the produce aisle.

As Offred and New Ofglen walk home, bodies hang like scarecrows from scaffolds, swinging in the wind. Morbid. A yellow lens was used so everything is tinted slightly yellow. New Ofglen rounds on Offred, demanding she not talk to Ofsteven again. She doesn’t want Offred to “mess things up for her.”

Aren’t things messed up enough as it is, Offred asks. New Ofglen has attitude, and a point: Offred comes from rich white people privilege, the kind that lets you go to spin class or yoga for exercise and shop at ridiculously overpriced stores like Anthropologie. This new state of Gilead and servitude as a Handmaid, to Offred, is suffering, but for New Ofglen, who turned tricks behind a dumpster to feed her oxycodone addiction in the old world, it is freedom. She’s off drugs now, has a place to sleep, and is treated well. It’s a brilliant critique of the obliviousness of young, urban professional privilege, and it’s wonderful.

Later, Serena Joy comes to get Offred for the illicit insemination. They sneak through their own grounds, Offred’s breath strained. It feels like cheating on Luke, she thinks. This sends her back into a flashback of a lunch date with Luke (which for the record, is 900% super yuppie and privileged, exactly as New Ofglen said). Luke asks if she and Moira ever hooked up (uuuuuuuuuugh boys whyyyyy), a question Offred throws back at him. Their conversation is light and flirtatious, and then we discover that it’s technically not a date. Luke is married and has been lying to his wife about his lunch dates with Offred. Things take a turn for the serious when Luke suggests they rent a hotel room for an illicit rendezvous. A line has been crossed and both know it. But both want it, too.

Back in the present, Serena Joy ushers Offred into Nick’s apartment. The scene is awkward: Nick is expected to act as a stud horse to Offred while Serena Joy stands in the background. This is just as bad or worse than The Ceremony. We’re back to the past again, where Offred has brought Luke back to her apartment.

They’re both nervous but giddy. It’s a very different scene from the scene in Nick’s apartment. It’s erotic and playful. Offred likes to be on top. Back in Nick’s apartment, Offred is on her back with her knees up. Nick is humping her the way the Commander does. It must be painful for both, and they try to avoid eye contact. After, Serena Joy asks if Offred feels any different and Offred snaps back at her that a woman doesn’t feel pregnant 30 seconds after a man ejaculates inside her. She then tries to placate Serena Joy, who she assumes will be mad at the outburst, but instead Serena Joy puts her hands on Offred’s stomach and begins to recite Scripture.

Elsewhere, Ofsteven is throwing a ball for a German shepherd. Steven’s Wife comes out and says the dog must be happy to have her there. Ofsteven’s face is still crumbled. Showing empathy, the Wife says she must be getting the flu, and perhaps they should cancel the Ceremony that night. Ofsteven reminds her she can’t be sick every month. Still, there are at least a few good souls in Gilead.

Back at the Waterford house, Serena Joy is morose as ever, but the Commander is staring Offred in the eyes as he thrusts. This is terrifying to Offred, who knows that she is dead if Serena Joy catches on to what the Commander is doing (also, he looks creepy). After, Offred goes to the Commander’s study uninvited to chew him out for it.

He apologizes, claiming he finds the whole thing “impersonal.” “You think?!” Offred retorts. He tries to placate her, offering her first a drink, then another beauty magazine. He flips through the magazine, commenting how magazines like this had a pernicious influence on women in the old system, making them believe they were never rich enough, good enough, pretty enough, etc. The Commander and Offred then share the following chilling exchange:

Offred: We had choices then.

The Commander: Now you have respect. Protection. You can fulfill your biological destinies in peace.

Offred: Biological destiny?

The Commander: Children. What else is there to live for?

Of course, the exchange reveals the fundamental hypocrisy of Gilead: women who are enslaved are not respected. Women who are systematically raped are not protected. Caging women does not give them more liberty. Offred answers that there is love to live for, but the Commander dismisses the idea of love as nothing more than lust turned into a marketing campaign. Offred replies that may be the case for him, but not for her. Awww. This prompts the Commander to tell Offred what happened to Ofsteven. Her “unnatural urges” must have felt like love and should have gotten her executed, but they let her live. Give that man a medal for his compassion!

Offred braves a question about what they did. They “helped” her. They “saved” her, the Commander replies. “Every love story is a tragedy, if you wait long enough,” the he sighs while Offred cries. As Offred goes to leave, he adds, “We only wanted to make the world better…Better never means better for everyone. It always means worse for some.” This idea appears to be the motto of many political parties the world over, and for this reason these lines are probably the best lines of the episode, and ones worth remembering.

In the kitchen, Offred vomits, remembering the Commander’s words about inequality being inevitable (and somehow intuiting Ofsteven’s fate). Nick, lurking in the darkness, asks if she’s sick. Offred asks him if he knows what was done to Ofsteven, if he is an Eye. He refuses to answer and orders her away, but she begs him not to order her around. She needs some sort of agency in this world, and a shred of hope that not every male in Gilead is awful. Understanding Offred’s other unspoken question, Nick explains that he couldn’t say no when Serena Joy asked him to try to impregnate her and apologizes. Offred begs him to tell her if he’s an Eye. Yes, he is. Now go to bed.

Back in the past, Luke is leaving Offred’s apartment. Offred asks him to leave his wife, and he says “Okay” as though she’d asked if he wanted coffee, or to watch Netflix. He’s in love with her; what else is he going to do? Back in the present, Offred and New Ofglen are walking to the market, which is kind of like a post-Apocalyptic farmer’s market. Ofsteven is there too. Offred ditches Ofglen to meet up with her. Mayday can’t use her anymore, Ofsteven tells her, but they can use Offred. Offred asks how to find them, but Ofsteven doesn’t say. Ofsteven says her name is Emily, but Offred is led away by Now Ofglen before she can say her name is June.

Then Ofsteven sees the open door of a car a Wife just left. She rushes inside as the Handmaids watch and drives off. But not far. She circles back and runs donuts around the market, her face both worried and exhilarated. When she’s blocked by men with assault rifles, she hits one, then makes eye contact with Offred, who smiles at her. Then she runs over the man again and his head literally explodes. The men drag her out of the car and into a waiting SUV. I am reminded of a quote by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius: “Death smiles at us all, but all a man can do is smile back.” Ofsteven smiled back from behind that wheel.

On the walk home, it’s raining again, and Now Ofglen tells Offred everything will be okay. They’ll look out for each other. Whatever, not-Ofsteven.

In the house, Serena Joy is painting. She asks about the “trouble in town.” As Serena Joy talks about some women being unable to handle “the requirements of their position” and “what needs to be done,” Offred looks at the gardening shears that Serena Joy has left on the marble table behind her and probably imagines using them for things that are definitely not pruning.

She leaves without being dismissed. In her room, she muses that “They didn’t get everything. There was something inside her they couldn’t take away. She looked invincible.” She goes to Nick’s apartment…and humanizes herself. She takes her bonnet off and lets down her hair, then she starts to strip him. She is taking back agency. She is taking back control. The two kiss passionately, and have real, non-rigidly controlled sex. Offred even gets to be on top. Offred is going to smile too.

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