NOTE: This post contains spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale season 5, episode 7, "No Man’s Land." Read our previous The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 episode 6 recap.
The Handmaid's Tale season 5 has been building to a June (Elisabeth Moss) and Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) showdown. "No Man’s Land" delivers — quite literally — a stunning two-hander that digs deep into how this dynamic has both shifted and stayed the same. This pair, their history and opposing outlooks are the focus, with all other storylines hitting pause. Some logistical questions about the area between Gilead and Canada need answering. Yet, the moments between the two women stand out beyond matters of geography.
Last week ended with a cliffhanger pushing Serena and June together. The circumstances are fraught as June thought she was about to die before Serena forced her into the car at gunpoint. They are still in No Man’s Land and Serena has no intention of returning to the Wheelers.
However, when Serena accidentally fires her gun and shatters the windshield, June uses this moment to flee this new predicament. "F*** this," she tells Serena before running to the nearby woods. When Serena crashes the car shortly after, June returns to the site and realizes Serena has gone into labor. "Of course you are," is June’s exasperated reaction. June spots a nearby barn that will have to be turned into a makeshift delivery room as her instincts kick into gear.
Serena reveals that her contractions have been happening for a while. No doubt, this medical situation, coupled with her desire to escape the Wheelers, fueled her choice to save/kidnap June. Later, Serena notes she sees parallels between her current situation and the past. She thinks the Wheelers want to turn her into their handmaid: "It’s like I’m you." Still, it's hard to feel sympathy for Serena as she inflicted so much pain on June and her first handmaid (who died by suicide).
Flashbacks of June’s early days at the Waterford house intercut with present-day scenes; it's always jarring to see the former handmaid back in red. Here we witness June experiencing her first birthing ceremony that begins with a lighthearted glance between wife and handmaid. It is also an emotional reminder of handmaids who have since died, as Alama (Nina Kiri) and Briana (Bahia Watson) are present.
The first flashback’s friendliness between the two women is immediately juxtaposed with Serena pushing June away and accusing her of trying to kill her baby. All June tried to do was check where the baby’s head was, but June did vocalize her wish that the baby would die inside Serena last season, so this reaction is hardly unwarranted. June mentions she gave birth to Nichole alone and leaves Serena to do the same.
Trying to get the car out of the ditch is no easy feat. June’s efforts are interspersed with another flashback to the birthing ceremony as the labor deteriorates. This memory of the handmaid, Ofclarence, dying in childbirth motivates June. Moving the vehicle is her ticket to freedom, but the sound of Serena’s guttural screams pulls her back. Despite everything that has occurred between them, June cannot let either mother or baby die. It isn’t in her nature; ultimately, she uses her personal experience not as a reason to get revenge but as motivation for helping.
Though it's hard to feel anything for Serena after the pain she has caused, between the score, the dappled sunlight and Strahovski’s performance, it is impossible not to get emotional — Moss is also brilliant. "He’s perfect," June cries and smiles. She adds "praise be," which might be a betrayal of all June has done to escape, yet it fits the situation that has played out.
Serena names him Noah ("the savior of humanity") and the baby latches relatively quickly. June mentions that Hannah was tongue-tied and still has residual guilt relating to the early moments in her daughter’s life. This heart-to-heart turns darker when Serena asks why June didn’t kill her as she had done Fred. "I didn’t want to," is her simple answer. Bringing up the dead commander leads to Serena mentioning the controlling nature of the Wheelers and how she doesn’t want to return.
Options are limited as Gilead won’t have her either and the new mother can’t stay in this barn. They have no food and Serena has a fever, which indicates a medical emergency. Through her haze, Serena thinks it might be better if June raises her baby. She suggests that maybe June’s role is an avenging angel and Serena was only a vessel to bring Noah into the world. In a flashback, Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) uses this word to describe the dead handmaid as if that were her only purpose.
June rejects Serena’s offer, speaking up for the dead handmaids: "We mattered. We were… we are people. We have lives. And that’s why I am going to save yours, Serena." She also ignores Serena’s pleas that "I don’t deserve to be saved" because there is a baby to consider and this isn’t Gilead. For all of June’s anger, it's far more striking she forces Serena to live with her choices. Luke (O-T Fagbenle) does not share this viewpoint.
At the No Man’s Land hospital, Serena comments about the antibiotics she is prescribed (this goes against Gilead medical practices). Luke arrives to pick June up (what happened to him at the border?) and he has reported Serena to the authorities. Serena is undocumented and will be detained, but the detention center does not have facilities for a baby.
Luke takes great pleasure in watching Serena scream with despair. This isn’t justice to June and it's unclear if this will cause a rift between husband and wife. Not that June is suddenly Team Serena, but their dynamic is layered. In "No Man’s Land," all bets are off.
New episodes of The Handmaid's Tale release every Wednesday on Hulu for US audiences.
