The Handmaid’s Tale Premiere Recap: Fred’s Dead, Now What?

The last time we saw each other The story of the maid‘s June Osborne, she had led a pack of former maids to aid her in the assassination Commander Fred Waterford in the woods. With Fred’s blood dried on her hands, she returned home and snuck into her daughter’s nursery to hold little Nichole for the last time before she went on the run or surrendered to the authorities — it wasn’t sure what. Either way, June knew it was on.

So in the season 5 premiere, she’s shocked to find out that the jig is actually going to go ahead as planned! There is nothing to see here!

Meanwhile, in the first part of the two-episode premiere, Serena learns of her husband’s death and immediately knows who is responsible, and Emily finally finds peace. Read on for the highlights of “Morning,” then see what Executive Producers Warren Littlefield and Bruce Miller have to say about this shocker at the end of Episode 2!)

‘FROM YOUR F KING HAND!’ | We jump straight back to June in the house, avoiding Luke and Moira’s increasingly concerned questions about what happened. She sniffs Nichole one more time and accidentally smears blood on the child’s face before grabbing her coat and heading outside. “I did it. I killed him. I killed Fred,” she tells Moira and Luke, euphoric as they watch in horror. “By her hand. By her f—king hand!” she adds before jumping in the car and drives away while yelling for her to stop, she doesn’t.

Instead, she makes her way to a diner full of women who helped her take down Fred. They eat with gusto—pancakes, eggs, a milkshake—because, as one of the women remarks, “Everything tastes better when Fred’s dead.” Outside, one of the women opens the trunk of her car to reveal a large bag full of guns to June ; She gives June a gun and promises she can get more. It’s becoming clear that these women viewed Mission: Wipe Out Waterford as the first of many murderous operations, and they expect June to help them the way they helped her. Except that she’s not interested and is more worried that Emily seems to be missing.

This annoys the former maids. “We all went to the woods because of you, June,” says one. “He was your monster and we tore him to pieces for you. Now it’s my turn,” emphasizes another. June explains that neither of them will likely get the justice they deserve and the situation escalates until one of the women points a gun at June and then fires her multiple times in the air. Knowing the police will be on their way soon, she grabs a gun and then quickly gets into her car. The others hurry away with her.

ADIOS, EMILY | June then goes to Emily’s house, where Sylvia informs her that Emily has returned to Gilead “to fight, I think. To find Aunt Lydia if she can. That’s what she had to do.” Because June has June, she immediately decides it’s her fault. But Sylvia is done with it and doesn’t want to discuss it. “She was gone, and then she was here. It’s more time than I ever thought. We’re lucky in a lot of ways,” she says. And when June asks if Sylvia will let her know when Emily gets in touch, Sylvia says no.

After she leaves, our girl gradually recovers from the adrenaline rush that ended her rapist’s life. Eventually she lands at the edge of a body of water and washes her hands, which are still quite bloody. She thinks of Hannah, both before and after Gilead, and she weeps. She looks distressed enough to arouse the suspicion of any cop who happens to be passing by, and pretty soon Luke comes to pick her up at the train station.

The thing is, June doesn’t want to come home. She knows the police will be looking for her, and “I can’t wait for the boots on the stairs.” She also admits that she “loved” watching Fred die, and that’s probably not the best of energy that you wish for a toddler? And when Luke tries to figure out how to get through to her, she makes a decision: she confesses the murder to a Toronto cop and is taken to a back room. Luke frantically yells, “Don’t do that!” as she is led away, but June has never looked so composed.

Well, that was unexpected | This peaceful attitude continues when she is questioned. “He raped me and held me captive. He was a monster and he deserved to die,” she says, waiting for the officer to arrest her. But – ROTATE! – that will not happen. The event June confessed to did not occur on Canadian soil and is therefore “of no concern to The Crown”.

June is taken aback and insists such an act must be punished? But her questioner insists Canada “has no quarrel with you” and she can go. While I’m glad June won’t take her time, it feels insulting to the point of injury how even the END of her years of torture goes unrecognized and dismissed so easily.

Luke takes her home, where Moira is uncomfortable with June taking care of Nichole. “You scare me,” she says. “Me too,” June replies, on the verge of tears. “I thought I was in jail.” They exchange “I love you,” and then Tuello shows up to let June know that both Serena and Gilead are a little intimidated by what she’s been able to accomplish. “I just wanted to say, well done. You did something terrible that had to be done. I understand what that costs. May he burn in hell,” Tuello tells her. And when she replies, “Praise,” he advises her, “Don’t let the bastards wear you down.”

Later, June joins Luke and Moira as they bathe the little girl. After that, June cuddles with her daughter and cries, and once again I’m amazed by the little actresses playing Nichole. So soulful!

THE WIDOW WATERFORD | What is Serena up to all this time, you ask? After June’s care package shows up, Mrs. Waterford is taken to a safe place and informed of Fred’s death. She doesn’t believe Tuello when he shows up and says he’s not sure what happened after he dropped Fred off at the border, and she blames him directly for Fred’s death. This annoys him, but after freezing a bit, he tells her about the FingerGram and shows her a photo of the Commander hanging on the makeshift wall with the inscription “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum” underneath. Serena asks and is told that it was Fred’s left ring finger in the envelope. “That wasn’t Gilead,” she says angrily. “It was June Osborne.” Tuello says that’s not possible. “You don’t know what she is,” Serena snaps.

She is even more angry later, after seeing Fred’s body truly destroyed, when she finds out that Canada is not prosecuting because the crime took place in no man’s land. “As such, June Osborne broke no law,” Tuello tells her, adding that she can seek asylum once her own charges are settled. She’s like, I don’t think so.

They exit the morgue to find a long line of pro-Gilead Canadians holding a candlelight vigil for Fred. You can see Serena’s wheels turning as she slowly walks between her pendants, so it’s not much of a surprise when she announces that she’ll be bringing the Commander home to bury him. “I will make sure my husband gets a proper burial in the nation he founded,” she says. “The Waterford name has power, and that will be respected and remembered.” A stunned Tuello says that probably won’t happen, but he will make a few calls.

THE NEW MRS. BLAINE | Back in Gilead, Nick is at home with his new wife, who walks with a cane and seems to know at least a little what he’s really up to. And she seems supportive, which is a nice change! After asking if he saw June, she wonders, “And what she had to do got done?” When he says yes, she seems to like it. “Maybe June can find some rest now,” she says.

Now it’s your turn. Rate the premiere via the poll below, then post your thoughts in the comments!