NOTE: This post contains spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 episode 9, "Allegiance." Read our previous The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 episode 8 recap right here.
Loyalty is a slippery concept when Gilead is involved, with June (Elisabeth Moss) finding this out the hard way. Last week ended on a rare hopeful note that, in classic Handmaid's Tale fashion, is quickly snuffed out before getting stomped all over during the climatic scene. Considering there is still one more season to go before this story concludes, it's not surprising that things go wrong. What is fascinating and thrilling about this penultimate episode is the precarious position nearly every character has found themselves in and what this means for their future.
"Gilead’s gonna Gilead" was Lawrence's (Bradley Whitford) matter-of-fact answer when he told June in episode 8 that he can’t stop Hannah (Jordana Blake) from being married off. This barbaric practice means the tempting offer of New Bethlehem is something June cannot accept. Instead, she aligns with Tuello's (Sam Jaeger) plan to raid the school Hannah is attending. However, once the commanding officer mentions he has a daughter, it's clear this mission will fail and he will not return. After all, Gilead will always Gilead.
One interesting aside during this operation is seeing Hannah play the model student, but her mother’s rebellious streak lives on. She pulls a hidden drawing out of a book and signs it with her real name, Hannah. What this means for the long term is unclear, yet it offers hope that not all stolen children have forgotten their pre-Gilead identity.
Tuello agrees to let June and Luke (O-T Fagbenle) watch the live feed of the operation, which is one of his most perplexing decisions so far. Tuello finds it hard to say no to June even though the other girl's parents are not allowed this access. Sure, she has personally risked a lot for the cause and was the source of the intel, but he could push back.
Ultimately, Gilead is prepared for this secret operation and shoots down all three planes before they reach the school.
Commander Lawrence phones June the following day and maintains his pragmatic perspective, saying Americans forced the Gilead military response. He again mentions New Bethlehem and how symbolic it would be for her to return, which is why he also cannot let Hannah leave. June's fury bubbles beneath the surface and she explodes when Lawrence uses Nick (Max Minghella) being her future neighbor as an incentive: "Do you think you can just dangle Nick in front of me, and I’ll do whatever the f*** you want?!"
June’s whole body vibrates with anger at the suggestion she publicly denounces the American operation. When Lawrence mentions trying to make Gilead better because he promised his now-deceased wife Eleanor, a long-buried secret is shared.
"I watched her die, and I did nothing," June tells Lawrence. Eleanor died by suicide, but June could have intervened. Rather than push the commander away, he says he still wants to help — but on his terms. It's an extraordinary two-hander, as Whitford also wears the director’s cap in an episode that excels at cutting to the intimate core.
The call ends with June screaming for Lawrence to "go f*** yourself" before trashing the garden she has spent months cultivating. When she sees Tuello, her rage has significantly cooled. The next course of action is approaching Nick (again).
June is surprised Nick previously turned down an offer of immunity if he defects. She agrees to set up a meeting; it would be unlike her to turn down even the shortest of reunions.
Initial prickliness differentiates this secret rendezvous from last season's Nick and June catch-up. Both wish the other had taken the offers by Tuello and Lawrence, and June comes in hot about Nick having to get a handmaid.
Her demeanor softens when Nick mentions his wife is pregnant, though jealousy doesn’t come into play. After all, June is also married and this romance with Nick has never been within normal parameters. "I wish the world would just go away," June tells Nick, as wistful regret is a continuous theme whenever they talk.
Nick repeats some of Lawrence's talking points and they are stuck at an impasse. Unlike previous encounters, there is no physical intimacy, but their tight bond remains. Each says, "I love you," and June’s response when Nick leaves is like she has the wind knocked out of her, mixed with a smile and tears.
Meanwhile, Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) is trying to make the best of her horrible scenario, though Mrs. Wheeler (Genevieve Angelson) has become more tyrannical, echoing how the Waterfords treated June. Serena tries every trick in June’s playbook, but it turns out that Mr. Wheeler (Lucas Neff) is more subservient to his wife than Fred, which only increases Mrs. Wheeler’s rage — Serena earns not one but two slaps across the face.
Serena uses a brief window to escape the Wheelers’ during the fertility center’s opening day. The new mother is so desperate she stands in the middle of the road. Luckily for her, the woman who stops agrees to drive her to a destination unknown. Where will Serena go?
Back in Gilead, there is a small gathering of commanders and wives, with Lawrence trying to keep a grip on power. To get men like Commander MacKenzie (Jason Butler Harner) on his side, he has found himself a new wife — even if she hasn’t agreed to this union. The recently widowed Mrs. Putnam (Ever Carradine) is his intended bride, with Lawrence laying out this offer like an ideal scenario. Sure, it's a marriage of convenience and she won’t have to sleep with him, but she doesn’t seem too thrilled.
MacKenzie makes it clear he wants June dead for their act of aggression. Lawrence tries to brush it off, but the shooting at the vigil for those who died in the failed mission suggests June was the target. Luckily, she got out of the way, but her little allegiance to anyone in Gilead is slipping and Hannah has never seemed further away.
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