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‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 2 Headed Towards ‘Satisfying’ end

Caution: The article you are about to read may contain spoilers of season two episode 12 of the “Handmaids’ Tale”

Eden Blaine may have been too innocent and too well meaning to have ever survived in Gilead. The young girl, played by Sydney Sweeney, met her demise in episode 12 of The Handmaid’s Tale‘s second season on Wednesday. As the audience and characters realize the horror of what is about to take place, we also realize that the end of season 2 is drawing closer, and things are still very grim.

Eden’s death was cemented when she, devoit of love from her arranged marriage, runs away with hr new beloved Isaac, a guardin she met while living at the Waterford house. The two are found, and after given the chance to plead their innocence and fail to. Nick realizes that she’s made a fatal mistake and begs her to plead her innocence and make up a fake story. Tied to the honesty of Christ, she is adamant about her lve for Isaac and refuses.

Eden and Isaac are publicly executed for infidelity in a horrific way, with the entire family and her own mother watching in horror. Eden and her beloved her tied to metal weights and thrown into a swimming pool that was probably once used for high school swim meets. Offred, played by Elizabeth Moss and Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) sat on bleachers looking ahead. Offred’s baby whom Serena calls ‘Nicole’ lay in her basket-witness to the whole thing, which makes the situation even more horrific. Tears even streamed down the face of the usually cold hearted and emotionless Serena Waterford as Eden meets her demise. It’s clear that although her dedication to being young wife and naivety became slightly laughable and annoying, Eden made her mark on those that she met.

As “Postpartum,” comes to a close, Offred walks past Serena and the baby, and Serena lets her beliefs down and allows Offred to come and hold her baby and even nurse her. The two have once again found common ground and a connection, the connection which Serena struggles to block out constantly. This time she seems to be completely defeated by the death of Eden, and realizes their shared love of the baby.

In another house down the road, Emily (Alexis Bledel) meets her new commander, Joseph Lawrence (Baradley Whitford). At first he seems strict, but she realizes that he is very artistic and may be conflicted with what’s going on in his own right-even if he was the one who had a large hand in creating it. THR spoke with the episode’s writer and producer Eric Tuchman, who had this to say of this new household:

It’s messy, it’s eclectic, there are books everywhere, there’s risque art on the walls. Lawrence himself dispenses with the usual formalities. He has a wife that doesn’t even show up to greet the handmaid. We don’t know until later in the episode that there’s a wife who has some troubles of her own being kept upstairs.

Fans are left wondering what the arrival of Commander Lawrence means for the future of the series, how Blaine’s death will affect Offred and Serena’s live, and how the two will protect Holly from Gilead’s wrath. Tuchman had this to say about the finale:

We’ve laid the groundwork for everything that comes to a head in the finale, and I think it’s a very surprising, powerful and emotional experience. Our audience will see things and confrontations they have been hoping for, and in the end, I think it will be very satisfying. I hope our fans agree.

 

This will all be revealed in the season finale, which will air Wednesday on Hulu.