<i>The Handmaid’s Tale</i> Season 6, Episode 8 Recap: Dread Wedding

Spoilers below.

June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) hasn’t worn the crimson uniform on The Handmaid’s Tale since season 4, and it seemed unlikely she would ever put on this garment again—unless forced. However, fate has a strange way of bringing things full circle, as the robe becomes vital in executing the Mayday plan to kill Gilead’s warhawk commanders. Joined by Moira (Samira Wiley), the pair wear the red clothing that represented their imprisonment, turning it into a weapon to wield at Serena’s (Yvonne Strahovski) wedding. June and Moira smuggled knives for the other handmaids, with Aunt Phoebe (D’Arcy Carden) standing by to handle potential obstacles.

Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) has been sent to Washington, D.C., on business to ensure everything goes smoothly. Unfortunately, the lure of the grand ceremony ensures that Lydia doesn’t adhere to Commander Lawrence’s (Bradley Whitford) instructions. Hell, even pious women like Lydia get FOMO. With so many different moving pieces so close to the final episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, it is safe to say that last-minute adjustments are a must. Luckily, June and Moira are used to pivoting. They aren’t the only ones who have to rethink their options, as Serena quickly learns that her new husband isn’t the man she thought he was.

The handmaid outfit is a paradox: the color is impossible to ignore and erases the wearer’s identity. Only their eyes are visible, meaning that, at a distance, June and Moira can blend in with the other handmaids and take their position at the back of the church. June tenses when Nick (Max Minghella) walks down the aisle with his wife Rose (Carey Cox);little does he know that June is watching from the pew. Nick makes his way to the front of the church, where he does the first reading after Commander Wharton (Josh Charles) and Serena have made their grand entrance. Meanwhile, the handmaids slyly distribute the knives to each other, and there is a nail-biting moment when one drops to the floor, causing a guardian to come over. Luckily, there is nothing to give the game away.

The rest of the ceremony is skipped in favor of the reception. Unsurprisingly, a Gilead wedding is not popping off with an open bar and loud DJ. Phoebe brings all the handmaids together to share the remaining weapons with the rest of them. Meanwhile, other attendees hit the sedate dance floor after the happy couple’s entrance. Nick sits to the side, nursing a large whisky while others like Commander Bell (Timothy Simons) dance. Suffice it to say, Nick looks miserable.

Serena asks Lawrence why he’s so nervous, and that he doesn’t have to worry about her, as she is committed to reforms, even though she is now married again. I believe her to be completely sincere as she has zero desire to be a regular wife who has no say in how this society is run. Serena excuses herself to talk to her “most important guests,” who happen to be the handmaids. June realizes Serena is coming over and moves to the back of the group with Moira. But June is in danger of giving herself away as she can’t help but roll her eyes at Serena’s platitudes, including that change is coming. June’s eyes get more animated when Serena speaks about a former handmaid (a.k.a. June herself) and that they both could’ve been kinder to each other. She can call her ex-handmaid a “good friend” and knows this woman has forgiven her.

Don’t worry, June doesn’t yell out “bullshit” even though it was only two episodes ago that June said she could not forgive Serena. Disaster almost strikes as Serena wants to see their faces. But it is time for cake, or so this is what Rita (Amanda Brugel) tells Serena.

Rita has outdone herself with a five-tier red design, which adds to the “dread wedding” vibe. Unlike the poisoned pie that killed Joffrey at the Purple Wedding in Game of Thrones, this dessert will send everyone to sleep within one to two hours of eating it. The strong sedative is key to the plan, and people like Lawrence skip the cake (though they encourage everyone else to eat).

The handmaids slip their slice under their seats just before they leave. June goes to exit in a different direction from the other girls (because she is going on a separate mission), and stops dead in her tracks at the arrival of Aunt Lydia. June has to turn to avoid discovery, but Lydia recognizes the ex-handmaid (I guess from her walk or silhouette) and follows, calling out her name. Lawrence intercepts, calling Lydia crazy for thinking June is there, as he knows that June is in Alaska. Aunt Phoebe defends Lydia, saying she is tired and coming across as compassionate, but is figuring out the next moves now that Lydia is back.

The newlyweds arrive at their Boston home, and Wharton is told there is a gift from Commander Bell Sr. in the parlor. I bet it isn’t something from the registry. Wharton carries Serena over the threshold, and she thinks everything is perfect. But the romantic glow quickly changes to anger when Serena sees a handmaid in her house (the gift from Bell Sr.). Wharton explains that Ofgabriel is the most fertile handmaid in Gilead. “But I’m fertile,” Serena answers.

Serena immediately refuses to be in a house with a handmaid and addresses the trembling woman by her real name. Serena says Christina is not a vessel but a human being and wants her to leave, run, and “don’t ever come back.” Serena wasn’t just putting on the act of a liberal woman (well, liberal for Gilead) and is sticking to her guns about handmaids. The change of heart cannot make up for past crimes, but Serena is not who she was when she married Fred (Joseph Fiennes).

“You’re just like the rest of them!” yells Serena. Suddenly, everything June said to her about whether Wharton was different is shifting into focus. Wharton did love-bomb her with the gift of a library and false promises, and he thinks he did everything he could to bend her liberal attitudes. It is Wharton who thinks Serena has deceived him. Baby Noah’s cries give Serena an additional wake-up call. She also has her son to think about.

Wharton blocks her exit, forbidding Serena from leaving this house. Serena isn’t scared of his threats as she has already endured and survived many horrors (like being beaten with a belt and having a finger cut off). “I’m not something to survive. I’m a good man and a good husband,” Wharton replies. Serena says this is impossible because he is a commander. At this, Wharton lets her leave. This two-hander between Strahovski and Charles made the hairs on my arms stand on end. Do they do annulments in Gilead?

After the wedding, the handmaids return to either the Red Center or their commanders; June takes the latter option. Or rather, she goes to Commander Bell’s home to rescue Janine (Madeline Brewer). A snoozy Bell answers the phone and tells whoever is on the other end to “repeat yourself.” We don’t find out who was on the other end as June makes her presence known.

Bell recognizes June and quips that it is nice to meet her. June then stabs him in the eye before sitting down and drinking his whisky. It is a fitting end for a vile man. Janine enters the room, finding Bell dead and June waiting. A relieved Janine thanks her friend for making good on a promise.

After everyone else has left the reception, Lydia stays to eat. Just before she takes a bite of cake, she spots something strange about where the handmaids were sitting. Lydia gets down on her knees, discovers the uneaten cake, and immediately knows there is a larger conspiracy. It was either tiredness or paranoia that made her think she saw June.

Back at the Red Center, Lydia spots several guards and Aunts have passed out, and when she runs into Phoebe, Lydia won’t fall for her attempted diversion. Lydia wants to see the girls, and Phoebe pulls a knife behind her back, but quickly hides it when a young guardian walks in. Phoebe does everything she can to stall unlocking the door to where the handmaids are sleeping, and they are all in their beds. Lydia still knows something is amiss and pulls the covers back on one girl to find she is fully dressed (including her boots).

With everyone kneeling on the floor, Lydia preaches about punishing the wicked, which in this case means Phoebe, and this punishment is death. Before the guardian can pull the trigger, Moira tells Lydia to “get the fuck away from her.” Lydia seemingly doesn’t remember Moira, and Moira refuses to reveal her name. “Why do you care when you stole it from me?” Lydia demands to know June’s location.

“I’m right here,” says June. Talk about perfect timing. June gives Lydia the credit for what they have been planning because she trained her girls to be like this after all the horrors she inflicted on them. June appeals to Lydia’s moral core. Despite everything Lydia has facilitated in her role training handmaids, June believes that Lydia knows “rape is rape” (even within a Gilead ceremony). Handmaids are not the “fallen women” that Gilead has deemed them to be. She uses the language of the Bible to hammer home her point: “Is there a God that would empower a woman like you to stand up for us? To arc toward the light and to finally declare enough?” It is a convincing argument, but Janine steps in to finish the job. “He hurt me, Aunt Lydia. They hurt us. They raped us. You gave us to them,” Janine says.

It is a dynamite scene with everyone in the room giving Emmy-worthy performances. Lydia says she only meant to save her girls, and for a brief moment, I wondered if she would relent or if another bloodbath was about to take place. “If you want to save us, let us go. Please, Aunt Lydia,” says Janine. With that last plea, Lydia gets the guardian to lower his gun. She hugs Janine, and Phoebe guides everyone else out of the room. As the last to leave, June nods at Lydia. “Oh God, help me,” Lydia says over and over.

Across the city, handmaids kill their abusive commanders, and the women from the Red Center are now free to finish the job. “The dress became our uniform and we became an army,” says June. Soon, the bombs will go off, and with only two more episodes left, Gilead will have to reckon with the women it has wronged.