Lawrence gets double-crossed, Serena gets a proposal, and Nick nearly gets caught.
In New Bethlehem, Nick (Max Minghella) is dealing with a complex relationship of his own.
Wharton wants the rebel terrorists held accountable.
Josh Charles.Credit:Disney/Steve Wilkie
But Wharton has good news: One of the guardians survived the attack, and is clinging to life.
He may even regain consciousness and identify the shooter.
The uncomfortable personal exchanges continue at Serena’s (Yvonne Strahovski) New Bethlehem home.
Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) has arrived asking why her handmaids have been posted at Jezebel’s.
She suggests opening a fertility center in New Bethlehem, where the retired girls can work as attendants.
Lydia loves the idea “That is a divine calling!”
Things turn awkward again, however, when an obscenely large bouquet of flowers arrives for Serena.
An aunt unexpectedly interrupts June and Moira, asking what they’re supposed to be doing.
The pair think fast, claiming they’re on their way to clean the penthouse for the coming guests.
They feed the same story to a guardian upstairs that doesn’t want to allow them access.
Their ruse works, so they begin pretend-cleaning while looking for Janine.
After taunting her a bit, Lawrence comes to the rescue.
But the young patrolman already has a visitor, his worried mother.
The woman is honored that Commander Blaine has come to see her son.
She asks Nick to just find the person responsible for shooting him.
“Yes ma’am,” Nick says while struggling to look her in the eye.
He then offers to let her get some rest while he sits at her son’s bedside.
When she leaves, her son suddenly wakes.
A look of fear sets on his face when he sees Nick looming over him.
But it’s a false alarm.
Nick asks him some questions, but the barely-conscious man only mumbles something about his dog.
Seeing his victim as a beloved son rather than a ruthless Gilead guardian clearly weighs on Nick.
He quickly returns to the room, however, and forebodingly locks the door behind him.
Things are about to get violent when Lawrnece steps in.
He pulls rank, telling Bell he’s taking Janine for himself.
“Watch yourself,” he finishes while leaving with Janine.
Janine escorts Lawrence to a private room, where she shares a secret with him.
Lawrence leans in and listens as the other commanders disparage him and his ambitions for a reformed Gilead.
They call him a “fool” before detailing their plans to shutter New Bethlehem and reinstate Gilead tradition.
But it gets much worse.
Janine soon arrives, and the three women have a more proper reunion.
In a moment of weakness, June offers to take Janine with them that night.
But Moira knows it’s a bad idea, while Janine refuses to leave the other girls behind.
With the promise of Mayday returning in a week to rescue her, Janine says goodbye to her friends.
June and Moira then get into a vicious argument over the former’s suggestion of taking Janine with them.
Just as they realize they’re being petty and begin apologizing to each other a guardian enters the room.
Upon making them remove their masks, he gets inappropriate.
As he begins raping her, June and Moira share a knowing glance.
Per Wharton’s earlier request, Serena is meeting the High Commander ahead of his return to D.C.
He has a surprise for her.
He plans to name the facility the “Serena Joy & Gabriel Wharton Library.”
He then gets down on one knee and asks her to marry him.
Shocked and flattered, Serena throws every excuse in the book at him.
But he has a response for every single one of them.
She finally insists that she needs to focus on following God’s calling to change the country.
“Let’s change it together,” he replies, sealing the deal.
He slides the ring on her finger, kisses her hand, then her lips.
They’ve moved the body to a laundry cart, which they stealthily wheel through the building.
At the same time, Luke returns in the delivery truck to pick them up.
He tells him to come back tomorrow, but Luke insists he needs to pick up some items.
Things escalate when, in response to the missing guardian, the facility goes into full lock down.
June and Moira manage to get rid of the corpse, and head out to meet Luke.
Before they reach him, however, they see him arguing with the guardian.
The armed man refuses to let him stay, knocking him to the ground to get his message across.
Just then, June spots Lawrence leaving Jezebel’s.
As he begins to drive away, June jumps in front of his vehicle, begging for his help.
He’s initially reluctant, especially when he discovers June’s not alone.
With security alarms blaring, Lawrence opens the car’s trunk “Get in.”
