The Handmaid's Tale Season 6 Episode 8 recap: The war against Gilead is finally on

The moment of truth has finally arrived in The Handmaid’s Tale as season 6 episode 8 finally shows the attack against Gilead by the handmaids that the whole season has been hinting at. While June and Mayday’s original plan for the Jezebel's attack could not be carried out, they found another target, which was Commander Wharton and Serena Joy’s wedding.

The way the Handmaids prepared themselves with knives hidden under their red dresses and their costumes, a sign of oppression, finally coming in handy in their moment of liberation, The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 8 might as well remind the fans of Game of Thrones' historic episode, The Red Wedding. While intent and outcome are completely different, the thematic similarity between the episodes is unavoidable.

Let us now explore in detail what happened in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 8.

The following article contains spoilers.

The entire Handmaids’ army carries off the rebellion in Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 8

While June’s previous plan did not involve the entire Handmaids’ army, due to it not working out, her next plan involved all of them. As June and Commander Lawrence realized that Commander Wharton and Serena Joy’s wedding would be a good time to spill blood in Gilead, June and Moira easily snuck into their traditional wedding, as all the Handmaids were already present there.

Once inside, June loops the other Handmaids into the plan. Their costume of long robes and hats like bonnets helps them to hide the knives that June gives them. She also tells them not to eat the wedding cake, as that has been drugged. Once the wedding is over, with Aunt Phoebe’s permission, the handmaids go to the commanders’ houses and kill them as they sleep.

The plan was going perfectly fine till Aunt Lydia started to suspect that something was not right. She has been suspicious for a while, and in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 8, she finally forces Aunt Phoebe to let her look into the room of the Handmaids.

As their plans become clear to her, she threatens to kill any traitor along with Moira. However, June and Janine appear there at the same time and they tell her how she has been the one who allowed the Handmaids to be abused.

The realization finally hits Aunt Lydia as she comes to accept that she is also no better than the oppressors at Gilead. This ultimately marks a shift in her character as she lets the Handmaids go without giving them up.

Also Read: The Handmaid's Tale Season 6 cast and character guide: Meet the new and returning actors in the final installment of the dystopian series

Serena Joy refuses to have a handmaid after her wedding with Commander Wharton in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 8

Serena Joy and Commander Wharton’s marriage also takes an interesting turn after they come back home. Serena Joy finds to her shock that there is a handmaid present, and she questions Wharton sternly about the reason behind it. She always believed that her present husband was a better person than Fred Waterford, but this proves that maybe she was wrong after all.

Since Serena Joy has shown a lot of character development throughout the series, it is only natural that the concept of Handmaids now does not sit well with her. Therefore, while Wharton is only doing what Gilead asks them to do, Serena Joy is not okay with it. Moreover, she herself is capable of conceiving a child, and therefore, having a handmaid seems even more unnecessary to her.

Commander Wharton is shown to have a rather surprising reaction to his fight with his newlywed wife. He lets Serena Joy go, and that is suspicious, as it is not clear if he has indeed become a better man or if he has something more sinister and bigger planned.

The Handmaid’s Tale can be streamed on Hulu.

The Handmaid’s Tale can be streamed on Hulu.

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