Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale features many characters, each with their own complex, interwoven narratives. The longer the series goes on, the further back into each character’s past we go. This serves to further complicate our consideration of the characters in the present and leaves us trying to unravel the reasons behind their behaviors and interactions with one another.
Some instances are easier to understand than others, and considering the context of most of the show–living in a dystopian America–some confusing behavior is expected. Some character behavior, however, is harder to brush off and leaves us wishing for closure.
June Names Her Baby Nicole
June suffers every day at the hand of the Waterfords. Serena constantly terrorists her, making her life difficult beyond the standard pain incited by her role.
Yet, after all of this, when June finally has the chance to escape Gilead and take her daughter with her–the daughter she was forced to have and hand over to Serena as soon as she was born–after such turmoil and anguish, June chooses to give the baby the name that Serena chose for it. We witness frame after frame of June’s angry, determined face staring into the camera, promising revenge on those who have wronged her–and this is what she does?
Serena Shares a Cigarette With June
Serena’s regular occupation is insuring the misery of June. She detests her, treating her like a sub-human creature undeserving of basic physical and mental care. She repeatedly fails to show any sympathy for June and is the reason commander Waterford rapes June to incite early labour of the baby– torture beyond even the abhorrent laws of Gilead.
Then in season 3, Serena is sulkily sitting around feeling sorry for herself once again when June appears and (once again) treats her kindly. Serena sits with June and offers her a cigarette. They, quite absurdly, sit and smoke together, like two equals.
June Misses The Waterfords
Serena burns the house down in Season 3, causing June to be relocated to commander Lawrence’s house. During this time of the series, June becomes increasingly drawn back to the Waterfords.
Whenever she is out in public and catches sight of them, she appears to be yearning to talk to them. At one point she sees commander Waterford at a party and shares an almost friendly conversation with him. After all the strife she endured under their roof, she spends an awful lot of time pining to make contact with them again.
Nick Betrays June
Throughout the series, Nick undergoes little to no speculation from members of Gilead. He simply drives commander Waterford around, and this, for some reason, gains him trust and respect. Nick exists in supposed opposition of Gilead, fraternizing with June and showing concern for her ill-treatment.
It’s implied that he is involved in the resistance, but we never quite see proof of this or hear him speak much of it. The ambiguity surrounded Nick comes to a climax in season 3 when June asks him to speak to international authorities in order to protect their daughter, and she finds that he has refused to. She goes on to hear that Nick was, in fact, a leading originator of Gilead. So why did he empathize with June?
Aunt Lydia Bonds With June
June travels to Washington, D.C. with the Waterfords, and during this trip she realizes that handmaids in D.C. have different rules than those where she is from. All handmaids must wear a red cloth neck-piece which extends to cover their mouth. It isn’t until she tries to speak to one of the handmaids that she realizes beneath the cloth their mouths are bolted shut.
Aunt Lydia enters a scene bearing the cloth mouth covering for June to put on. In a teary encounter, June asks Aunt Lydia if she wants the handmaids silenced, to which Aunt Lydia emotionally replies that she does not. But putting their fingers in toasters doesn’t bother her?
Commander Lawrence Tortures June
We are introduced to commander Lawrence through his interactions with Ofglen. Ofglen is skeptical of him, but he eventually proves to be the person who sets up her escape. Someone who would help a person escape Gilead must see the horrific reality of the place, right?
Once June goes to live with commander Lawrence, he shows no such understanding. Commander Lawrence shows no kindness to June when she first lives with him, and his only explanation is that Ofglen was smart, June is not so valuable. To prove how little he cares, he sets June the task of picking four women to live out of a group of hundreds, effectively torturing her.
Mrs. Lawrence Snaps At June
Mrs. Lawrence displays general guilt and sympathy toward the handmaids and servants of the house. She hates Gilead, and she hates what her husband has to done contribute to it. If she feels such guilt, one would think that she would treat the Handmaids and Marthas as equals.
However, even Mrs. Lawrence is seen to talk down to the women as if they are below her. On one occurrence when they have visitors to the house, she appears at June’s door and snaps at her to go help the Marthas serve the guests. She acts like its obvious that June should know to do this.
Rita Likes June Once She’s Gone
Rita is never all that nice to June when they live together. She is snippy and usually wants June to stay out of the kitchen and leave her to her own job. As soon as June has left the Waterford house, Rita displays more camaraderie towards her–smiling at her in the supermarket and even reaching to hold her hand when she is proud of her for her plan to get children out of Gilead.
Relationships in Gilead are always under stress and so some inconsistency makes sense, but it seems asinine to show someone affection after the fact of them really needing it from you.
Ofmatthew Feels Guilt
Ofmatthew is June’s walking partner in season 3, and she is a constant annoyance to June. She is a pure loyalist to Gilead, and speaks horribly of anyone who challenges it, approving of the grizzly deaths allotted to those who do. But after June jumps on her for her snitching the Martha who helped June see her daughter, Ofmatthew’s demeanor shifts.
There is a period of time where she behaves as if she is afraid of June, and looks sad when June treats her rudely. It doesn’t make much sense with Ofmatthew’s usual callous manner.
Commander Lawrence Submits to June
By the end of season 3 June has convinced commander Lawrence to aid her in her plot to evacuate children from Gilead. The plan comes to a head, though, when commander Lawrence decides he wants to back out. He confronts June, telling her it’s his house and that the final decision of what happens is his.
June looks him in the eye amusedly and says, “you really think this is still your house?” While this is a big power move, commander Lawrence technically could still call off the plan…at the least, one would think he’d be quite miffed at such a comment. But at the end of the episode, we find him sitting reading to the children and then wishing June well before she leaves.
