Handmaids Tale Season 1

a flashback starts with June, Luke, and Hannah at a carnival, happy and not a care in the world.

present time,

Offred is banished in her room, not allowed to leave. 13 days she has been in there. She lies on the floor closet and notices Latin writing on the bottom where only she can see. A previous handmaid must have written it.

“nolite te basterdes carborundorum,” is what it says.

flashback to the red center with June and Moira,

They are hiding in a bathroom stall, Moira is cutting into the stall wall writing. “aunt Lydia sux”.

the Waterford are talking, free Waterford says an aunt had escaped and told news reporters the truth on what happens there, which Waterford said she was lying.

Rita comes into offred’s room and gets so scared seeing offered laying on the floor she drops offred’s breakfast. Rita asked her what she was doing in there, which offered replied that she had “fainted”.

Rita asked Mrs. Waterford to schedule offred a doctor’s appointment, and that she has the ceremony later that night. Mrs. Waterford objected to the appointment at first until Rita said the ceremony was later so she told her to make the appointment.

offred was so excited to get out of her room, she wanted to walk, but Mrs. Waterford said she had the car ready for her.

flashback to the red center,

aunt Lydia is teaching them the ceremony procedures.

once a month on fertile days, the handmaid will lie between the wife’s legs while the husband seeds her.

Moira asked aunt Lydia hesitantly and scaredly if that is what she’s saying to which aunt Lydia says some fake scripture.

Offred is now in the hospital for her doctor’s appointment. The doctor asks if she has any other symptoms but she says no. he checks her cervix and says everything looks fine but it doesn’t matter since Waterford is most likely sterile.

Offred says in a voice-over that that word is forbidden, there’s no such thing as a sterile man. The doctor says he can help her with her situation by insinuating that he could get her pregnant so that way she won’t be blamed for not getting pregnant. The doctor said they wouldn’t blame Waterford, they’d blame her. She told him no, it’s too dangerous.

Offred is in the car and starts freaking out and crying. Nick apologizes for everything that’s happening to her.

Offred walks over to Mrs Waterford, and she asks offred with a smug, irritated tone if she’s dying, to which offred replies she was just dehydrated. Mrs. Waterford says she needs to take better care of herself.

offred fake apologizes to Mrs. Waterford stating that she knows she failed her and herself and asked to please be let out of her room to which Mrs Waterford said to go back to her room.

back at the red center,

June lies to aunt Elizabeth that one toilet is overflowing. Moira was there waiting, throwing her head against the wall. She threatens to cut her neck if she makes a sound and they take Elizabeth downstairs and tells her to take her clothes off. Moira puts on the aunt’s clothes to pose as an aunt.

present time,

Waterford came into the ceremony room early just to say hi to offred. he asked her if she wanted a rematch of scrabble that night. She nods her head yes. Waterford had problems trying to do the ceremony, so Mrs. Waterford offered to help, but it didn’t work.

Moira and June are trying to escape, but they took all the street signs away so they’re having a hard time getting to the train station. As they are walking, they see dead bodies hanging on the wall, dead bodies in wheelbarrows, and workers throwing books and art into a fire pit.

They make it to the train station but not sure which train goes to Boston so Moira asks for help but they’ve realized they are caught. Moira is hesitant to leave June behind but she gives her a nod to leave her behind and they drag away June while Moira is on the train.

present time,

Offred goes into the commander’s office and they play scrabble. He asks her to grab a dictionary for him, to which she goes and grabs it for him.

the past.

The aunts have got offered, laid her on her belly on a flat table. They tied her hands and feet to it. Aunt Lydia tries to make her feel guilty for leaving and then calls her an adulterer, a worthless slut. God found her useful.

It terrified June. They took off her socks and beat the bottom of her feet with a belt continuously until they bled. They eventually dragged her back to her bed, unable to walk with bloody feet.

present time,

Offred asks the commander what the Latin word she saw meant. he says it is a joke if you are a 12-year-old boy studying Latin. it means “don’t let the bastards grind you down”. the commander asks her where she heard it from to which she replied, “a friend”

Offred asked him what happened to the girl before her. He said she killed herself because she couldn’t handle life.

Offred can finally leave the room. She is outside and happy to get out of the house.

a brief clip of the past showed the other handmaids handed offered fruits they didn’t finish as a way of saying “were in this together”