Spoilers below.
Getting into Gilead as part of a Mayday plan was easy. Getting out is what causes issues for June (Elisabeth Moss) and Moira (Samira Wiley) in the aftermath of the lockdown at Jezebel’s. Crossing paths with Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) is a surprise that pays off as it turns out he also has a target on his back and can get the pair across the border before dawn. However, the letters and map detailing their plans, which are still in a Jezebel’s safe, are a ticking time bomb that could sabotage their entire operation.
At this halfway point of the final Handmaid’s Tale season, there are still plenty of twists and turns, with season 6, episode 6, “Surprise,” delivering a devastating personal blow to June. A night in New Bethlehem offers a chance for some revelatory conversations with Nick (Max Minghella) and Serena (Yvonne Strahovski), leading to an unexpected betrayal that will change June’s entire outlook. Nothing about standing up to Gilead has ever been easy.
Commander Lawrence Assists
While hiding in Lawrence’s trunk, Moira and June discuss how dangerous it is that evidence of their assassination plan is in a Jezebel’s room safe. Moira asks if they can trust Lawrence, and June admits they don’t have a choice.
When Lawrence lets them out, it is clear they are not at the border. Before they can figure out their next moves, both Lawrence and June bring up unresolved grudges. Lawrence reiterates that he didn’t have anything to do with the failed plan to rescue her daughter Hannah, but June thinks he could’ve stopped it. “You could’ve stopped Eleanor,” Lawrence responds. June has previously admitted to Lawrence that she watched his wife Eleanor die rather than stop her death by suicide. Lawrence admits he cannot forgive himself for the role he played in his wife’s death: “I built this miserable hellscape and trapped her here.”
Lawrence also ruminates on what he overheard the other commanders saying at Jezebel’s. “They want to put me on the wall, June,” he says. June sees this as an opportunity, and despite Moira’s protests, tells him about their plan to kill the men who are plotting against Lawrence. It is a plan that will leave Lawrence the most powerful commander in Boston.
To figure out their next steps, they head to Lawrence’s house, where they are nearly caught by Naomi Lawrence (Ever Carradine) in the basement. It is amusing to see June’s reaction to finding out who his new wife is. But there isn’t much time for chatter as Lawrence needs to get to the border. The letters are still an issue, but Lawrence has no way into a locked-down Jezebel’s, as he has zero connections to the Eyes. However, June knows someone who does!
Nick and June’s Past and Present
Before he picks up the phone, Nick is thinking about the young guardian he killed to protect himself in last week’s episode, and when he hears June’s voice, it is a lifeline. He agrees to get the letters, telling June, “I need to see you.”
At Jezebel’s, Nick sees evidence of the fight (including a tooth on the ground) in the room and retrieves the letters and map that would blow the whole assassination plot. However, he runs into Commander Bell (Timothy Simons) and Janine (Madeline Brewer) on his way out. Bell calls him a “Boy Scout,” making fun of him being on Commander Wharton’s (Josh Charles) leash. Luckily, Janine covers for Nick, saying he often stops by late at night. Janine recognizes Nick, and through coded language, Nick makes it clear that June is safe.
Nick meets June at Lawrence’s place (Lawrence has already taken Moira) and says they can go to New Bethlehem as Wharton and Rose are on their way to DC. When Nick hugs June, she senses that something is wrong. “Sometimes I think you’re the only good thing in my life,” he says.
Cut to a flashback to season 1 and the first time they slept together when June was the Waterfords’ handmaid and Nick was their driver. This time we see the morning-after conversation beginning with June saying she doesn’t want to go back to the Waterfords. They switch between fantasizing about going on a date in the before times and visiting Paris, and the harsh reality of their situation. When June asks what he studied in school, Nick admits he didn’t attend college and that his mother left when he was 11. This scene provides additional insight into his path toward Gilead: “I didn’t have much of a life before this. I wasn’t anyone,” says Nick.
Nick thinks June would not have noticed him pre-Gilead, to which she disagrees. “You’d be you. You’d be good, kind, brave, and very, very handsome,” she says. The scene is sweet, but it increases my dread levels, as the only reason to include something like this is that something terrible is going to happen. It is The Handmaid’s Tale after all.
Wharton Demands Answers
Well, so much for Nick and June getting a night together. When they arrive at Nick’s home, he sees his father-in-law hasn’t gone to D.C. yet and is waiting up for him. Nick tells June to go to Serena’s place down the road if he isn’t back in five minutes, and June is surprised to learn that Serena is a New Bethlehem resident.
The reason Wharton delayed his trip is that he received a call at the airport stating Nick was at Jezebel’s (did Bell snitch?) and confronted his son-in-law about being unfaithful. Wharton also brings up the “coincidence” of the guardian’s death in the hospital while Nick was visiting. The walls are closing in, and Wharton doesn’t buy Nick’s excuse that he was at Jezebel’s as part of the investigation.
Wharton threatens that Nick’s lies are going to land him on the wall, and his son will grow up without a father. Wharton says he can’t help unless Nick is honest, but how much truth will Nick spill to save his neck—and June’s? How much will Nick’s daddy’s issues influence his choice?
Aunt Lydia and Serena Want Forgiveness
It’s a busy night for visitors at Jezebel’s, even with a lockdown, as Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) stops by with some homemade cookies and good news for Janine. However, Janine is not interested in the fertility center because the notion of being a free woman is impossible in Gilead. “There is no way out,” Janine tells the aunt. Lydia responds to Janine’s defiance by slapping her and immediately regrets striking Janine.
Janine says she will only forgive her if Lydia can reunite her with her daughter. “You stole my child,” Janine reiterates. Lydia can’t oblige and so Janine tells her to “get the fuck out” before trashing the dressing room.
Nick doesn’t return within five minutes, so June heads to Serena’s home. Of course, Serena is surprised to see June and asks why she is there in a Martha outfit. June lies about asking Nick to move to Alaska, and that he said no. June isn’t particularly convincing, but Serena buys this lie and seems touched when June says she needed someone she could trust.
It helps that June saved Serena and Noah on the train, for which Serena is grateful. However, Serena points out how selfish June is for trying to break up Nick’s family. June reminds her frenemy that her relationship with Nick began because of Serena. “I had to pay for your love affair,” says Serena about her time in prison in Canada.
“The two of us keep getting thrown back together,” Serena observes. She also tells June about her recent engagement to Commander Wharton, and June can’t help but mention that Serena will be Nick’s mother-in-law. Serena wants to make clear that Wharton is not like Fred. “Was Fred like Fred in the beginning?” asks June. We got a glimpse of Wharton’s vicious temper when he confronted Nick, proving Serena doesn’t know every side of her fiancé. Serena argues that New Bethlehem is not like OG Gilead. Once again, Serena is making a choice that benefits her while also subjecting herself to a man.
There is a great deal of history between these two women, and Serena thinks she can wave a wand and make the past disappear. “I know I was awful once,” Serena says. Understatement of the year! Serena thinks trying to make amends is enough and wants June to forgive her. “I can’t forgive you. You don’t think I wish I could. If I could, I’d finally get rid of you,” says June.
In the morning, Serena acts as if none of this conversation had happened. Instead, she reveals that Rita (Amanda Brugel) is living with her. When Serena goes to tend to the baby, June tells Rita she is there for Mayday, not Nick. June says they could use Rita’s help, but Rita wants to focus on keeping her family safe, and June respects her decision. “You deserve peace,” June says.
A Horrifying Betrayal
When Nick arrives, he has an almost manic energy, telling June to forget Mayday as he has papers for them to leave together. He wants to take her to Paris and make the fantasy a reality. Nick says he wants to be a family with her and Holly, and that he is no good for Rose. “It’s always been you,” Nick says. That part is genuine, but alarm bells start ringing because he is so cautious; however, between kisses, June agrees to this plan.
A knock at the door from Wharton interrupts this spontaneous gesture, and they have to hide in the closet. Wharton is in a great mood as he finally shut down Jezebel’s and credits “God and my son-in-law” for providing the reason. Wharton found out about the planned massacre because Nick told him everything—or a version of the Mayday plan.
June looks like she has been punched in the gut. No wonder he wanted to get on the plane to Paris as quickly as possible. It is going to be challenging for Nick to come back from a betrayal where he damned the women at Jezebel’s to a likely death. We don’t know the fate of these women (including Janine) but it can’t be good. Either way, Mayday will have to regroup and rethink where to strike next, and June has suffered another devastating loss.
