Last week’s first two episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale immersed us right back into the dark world of Gilead, as it seeks to extend its talons into Canada and other safe harbors. June struggled with PTSD, while celebrating Fred’s death, and Serena sought a way to emerge victorious again. Now fans can’t wait to see what happens next on The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Episode 3 on late Tuesday night or Wednesday. The official Hulu trailer and other details have released, so we have some spoilers and ideas on what to expect, which are shared in the story below.
The New Episode Is Called ‘Border’
The next episode is called Border. The official synopsis, which has been released by Hulu, reads: “June and Moira join a rebel outpost. As a pregnant widow, Serena tries to restore her status. Aunt Lydia questions her strict methods of dealing with Handmaids.”
This is an interesting description, to say the least. It looks like the words that one former Handmaid said to June about continuing to fight after Fred’s death really hit home. However, the fact that Moira is joining with her (after how Moira really challenged June in Episode 2) is surprising to me. I wonder if this storyline was originally envisioned for Emily, who took part in Fred’s killing, but since Alexis left the show, they moved the storyline on to Moira?
I’m also uncertain what “Serena tries to restore her status” actually means. What status is she restoring if she’s still a prisoner in Canada? How much wheeling and dealing can she actually do right now?
The small photo that Hulu has used for the new episode also features Serena chatting with Commander Lawrence, interestingly:
Is Serena still in Gilead after the funeral? And if so, how long is she going to be allowed to stay there?
The part about Aunt Lydia is by far the most intriguing. It looks like whatever happens to Janine is going to be a turning point in how she views and works for Gilead.
Trailers for Season 5 Episode 3
The Israeli trailer that fans love to watch doesn’t seem to have been released yet, but we have other trailers to view.
This one was a Season 5 Episode 3 teaser short officially released by Hulu.
In it, June asks how she can possibly keep her daughter, Hannah, safe (especially after seeing Serena with Hannah at the end of Episode 2 on international TV.) We hear snippets about Gilead opening its doors. Luke tells June that he plans to go across (supposedly into Gilead) and June says she’s going with him.
Of course, we’ve seen from previous trailers that sometimes things are edited misleadingly to make us believe one thing is going to happen, when it’s something else. I’m hoping June doesn’t go back to Gilead!
Hulu also officially released a preview for the next episode. You can find it by going to the “Extras” tab, where you’ll find “Next on: 503 Border.” This is the publicly released trailer.
In this trailer, we see a Commander insisting to Lawrence that June is a “cancer” that needs to be cut out. This isn’t really anything new. Gilead’s been wanting to get rid of June for some time.
June repeats the same line we heard in the short trailer about keeping her baby girl safe. Then we get a glimpse of June visiting the rebel camp mentioned in the official synopsis, where it seems they might be able to get a message to someone on the other side of the border. This kind of confuses me, because I thought she already had a way to get messages to Hannah through Nick. Is it possible she’s trying to get a message to Emily?
Then we see Janine in the hospital (apparently still alive) and Aunt Lydia crying out, “Please do not punish her to teach me a lesson!” Is she speaking to someone in Gilead or praying to God? I really think Lydia’s going to have a big shift in motivation this season.
Serena can be heard saying that she wants to accomplish many things, and Tuello is asking someone (presumably her) if they really want to throw everything away now that they’re finally “a free woman.” But this could easily be a question asked of June too, especially if she’s considering returning to Gilead.
We also hear June presumably talking to Nick, asking the meaning of the purple color that Hannah was wearing. That’s been the source of a lot of speculation among viewers.
Based on these official trailers, it looks like some really intense things are about to happen next on the show.
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