Everything that has been threaded through this final season of The Handmaid’s Tale has been building to this point. This is the moment at which the guerrillas of Mayday and the defiant Handmaids and Aunts of Gilead attempt to deliver an audacious and deadly assault on the Commander class, and shatter the regime’s sense of invincibility forever. For the showrunners, the dramatic stakes could scarcely be higher at this moment of grand jeopardy. Exodus needs to land some killer blows. And thankfully, it does.
While Exodus is far and away the best episode of Season Six to date, its ability to deliver payoff after payoff relies on the careful build-up of the endgame jeopardy across the season in less explosive stories. June’s and Moira’s return to the battleground of Gilead is the latest and most high-risk underground action in a campaign they’ve been waging for months now.
The settings in Yahlin Chang’s beautifully crafted script give accomplished director Daina Reid some extraordinary visuals to work with. Exodus is full of stunning imagery, with the motif of a sea of Handmaids’ red dresses and white hoods transforming a symbol of subservience into a signifier for a rising tide of an insurgency against it. It’s a joyous subversion of the original, oppressive intent. And Reid also knows how to wrangle the psychological tension of a “mission” episode, to encourage the audience to invest in those heart-stopping moments when everything the rebels are attempting is at risk. She also cleverly juxtaposes the very different musical sounds of Radiohead and Al Hazam with the unfolding action to highlight the cultural chasm the rebellion confronts.
Opting to deliver their strike while Gilead is celebrating its self-righteous certainties is an inspired choice. The marriage of Serena (a repentant would-be reformist) to Commander Wharton (the embodiment of Gilead orthodoxy) is an alliance rich in unresolved tensions. These contradictions are symbols of the wider pressures straining the unity of Gilead, and it’s already clear that the regime’s centre ground cannot hold. A successful attack by the rebellion could force Gilead to fragment. It helps the rebels’ cause that they are able to hide in plain sight as unwilling wedding guests, herded into the pews. But security surrounding the ceremony heightens the risks of discovery and defeat, in the knowledge that retribution by Gilead’s rulers would be severe.
The unintended consequence of the lovelorn Commander Nick’s rebuke of Rita in Shattered is that it removes any doubt on her part about fully committing to the cause. As she wins the commission to produce Serena’s wedding cake, the rebels secure the advantage that will allow them to bring the war home. It’s great to see the story arcs of supporting characters like Rita threaded through multiple episodes in this way in the final season.
One of the vulnerabilities in the rebels’ armour is the probing of the ever-suspicious Aunt Lydia, who has ignored Commander Lawrence’s efforts to send her far from the action. As Lydia’s faith in her religious mission has eroded under pressure, she’s leaned more into her pastoral rather than her punishment mindset. That means that it’s entirely in-keeping that she fusses, in an over-inquisitive way, about the appearance, behaviour and tasks of “her girls” at the wedding. But Lydia’s damaged social status means that Lawrence can close her down when she sounds the alarm at the ceremony about June’s presence – at least until everyone else has their cake and sits down to eat it.
The way the first phase of the uprising then plays out is best experienced entirely spoiler-free, so we’ll keep schtum for now about the rebels’ righteous revels. Suffice it to say that the action is intense, thrilling and full of moments in which collective retribution is exacted against the fully deserving. There’s an intense emotional finale in which Lydia comes face-to-face with June, Moira and Janine, in full knowledge of what they have done. It’s a showdown that concludes with a breathless flight into the night as Gilead wakes up to the punishment that has been served on it.
Exodus is a compelling, superbly executed day of reckoning that begins the long-overdue process of payback and might just herald Gilead’s demise. In story terms, it’s a moment of release that’s been hard earned over many seasons and episodes. What’s fascinating is the showrunners’ decision to deliver this explosive catharsis with two full episodes remaining. It will be fascinating to discover what the series’ settling of accounts now involves.
Episodes of the sixth and final season of THE HANDMAID’S TALE screen weekly on Channel 4 in the UK
Read our previous reviews of the sixth season of THE HANDMAID’S TALE below:
Season 6, Episode 1, TRAIN
Season 6, Episode 2, EXILE
Season 6, Episode 3, DEVOTION
Season 6, Episode 4, PROMOTION
Season 6, Episode 5, JANINE
Season 6, Episode 6, SURPRISE
Season 6, Episode 7, SHATTERED
