‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Episode 2 Recap: How Do You Spell “Disaster”?

The second episode of The Handmaid’s Tale shows us a world where the “miracle of birth” is, truly, miraculous.

As the episode begins, June and Ofglen walk together and discuss their former lives. June worked at a publishing house, Ofglen was a professor who lectured on cellular biology. It’s clear that there was a time when they were much more than just mothers, or potential mothers. Their conversation is halted when they see a man grabbed by Eyes on the street and pulled into a black van. “There’s a way to help him,” Ofglen tells June. “Join us.”

June says that she’s “not that kind of person,” but as Ofglen urges her to pay attention to Commander Waterford, she concludes “There is an us?…now there has to be an us. Because now there is a ‘them.’”

Back home, Nick warns June about becoming too close to Ofglen. He’s probably the Eye Ofglen thinks is in the house, because of course he is. Nick proceeds to inform her that the Commander wants to see June that night in private. This is forbidden, but it’s not as though there’s much of a choice.

As June considers this, the Handmaids are summoned to go watch one of their number give birth. It is, as June thinks in the car, “One eyed, batshit crazy Jeanine.” It’s revealed that only one in five babies are born healthy, others are called “unbabies.”

June recalls her own birth, and we see a slew of people praying desperately for healthy children outside the hospital.

Inside the home of Jeanine’s Commander, people are not praying quite so fervently, but there is coffee – a rarity – and an assortment of pastries so colorful they would impress Marie Antoinette. The scene pans to reveal Jeanine’s Commander’s wife lying in the living room, surrounded by the other wives, shouting with labor pains. It’s confusing until the Handmaids go upstairs to see Jeanine, who is actually in labor. The wife is merely pretending, as a child might. It is both comic and tragic to see these barren women who are meant to do only one thing – give birth and become mothers – try to fulfill that role regardless.

June recalls holding her child for the first time. When she’s informed her daughter is healthy she declares,“Thank God.” The nurse replies, “Praise be.” It’s striking to hear those phrases said with genuine joy, rather than as rote formalities the way everyone uses them in the future. The nurse then reveals that all the other babies born during the night have died.

So, the stakes as Jeanine gives birth seem very high. As she does, her Commander’s wives straddles Jeanine and pretends she’s giving birth herself. She does this in the same way as the wives straddle the Handmaids as the Commanders have sex with them. The horror of the Handmaids is clear, but it’s scenes like this that make clear that the wives’ lot in this new world also seems pitifully undignified. Even if they do get coffee.

But, despite all the odds, Jeanine gives birth to a healthy child.

June recalls once more the time after she had a healthy child. At the hospital, her baby briefly disappears, snatched by a woman who can’t believe her own baby has died. The woman is wrestled to the ground by the police at the hospital. Her baby is given back to June unharmed, but the desperation a childless world has induced in people becomes clear.

Back in the house, June meets with the Commander alone. As she goes, she tells us that “she keeps thinking of the girl in the horror who goes down into the basement when the light is out.” It’s a striking comparison only because this whole world is a horror movie. You might wonder how she thinks things could possibly get worse. Then you realize that, in this world, there is nothing to stop things from getting worse.

They do not, remarkably, get worse. The Commander wants to play Scrabble with June. In this world, where the Commander can absolutely rape this woman, this is what qualifies as illicit. It’s hard to pity the men in this, but insofar as it is possible, how terrible that the Commander created this world of clearly defined boundaries, and now just longs to play Scrabble and have a conversation with a person. So, the kind of activity that only men like Mike Pence hesitate at today.

They also score 368 and 383 – June lets him win – which, it feels worth noting are incredibly high Scrabble scores. Either this is meant to indicate that these people are very well versed in the Scrabble dictionary, or the writer does not know how many points people generally get at Scrabble. This has nothing to do with the show in general, but I felt it was important to mention.

The Commander concludes the session telling June that he’s going to DC but they’ll play again upon his return. “It’s a date,” he says. The notion of a date, like everything else friendly between men and women, has become an antiquated idea. Once she leaves, June cries and laughs at the absurdity of this situation.

As the episode concludes, “Don’t You Forget About Me” plays in her mind as June recounts her “journey into the illicit world of triple world scores.” She wonders if Nick, the driver, knows what she did. As June approaches Ofglen, waiting for her at the gate for their daily shopping excursion, she is happy that she’ll be able to tell her that The Commander is going to Washington.

But Ofglen turns, she sees that it’s a new woman. When June asks if Ofglen has been transferred, the woman replies, “I am Ofglen.”

Damn those patronymics.
Jennifer Wright is the author of It Ended Badly: 13 of the Worst Break-Ups in History and Get Well Soon: The Worst Plagues in History. Follow her on twitter @JenAshleyWright. 

Stream The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu