Fairytale

Fairytale
Season 5
Episode 5
Air date	October 5, 2022
Directed by	Eva Vives
Episodes
Previous	Dear Offred
Next	Together

Fairytale is the fifth episode of the fifth season of The Handmaid's Tale. It aired on October 5, 2022.

Synopsis

June and Luke embark on a dangerous quest. Serena gets to know her new hosts.

Plot

June wakes up to a call from Lily. She tells June that a Guardian is coming across the border with information about Gilead’s wife schools. While Moira, Luke, and June drive there, they see Canadian protestors who want Americans to leave Canada.

Ezra gives Serena flowers left for her by a supporter. Serena asks him where Mr. Wheeler is; she still has yet to meet him and thank him. Ezra says he’s usually busy. During breakfast, Mrs. Wheeler effusively praises Serena, and Serena thanks her for her generosity. Serena says they are trying to re-open the Center, despite the regulations that may shut it down.

Luke, Moira, and June arrive at Lily’s camp. Lily she tells them that the Guardian they’re waiting for can’t get across because the Canadian border patrol has increased. Lily apologizes that they made the trip for nothing. Luke sees June staring into the woods toward the border, and he says he’s going across. He feels he can't go home and sit around when information on Hannah is so close. Lily tells him that she can tell someone he’s coming and that they have a meeting spot in No Man’s Land. June tells Luke she’s going with him, and Luke doesn’t object. Lily gives Luke a bag with supplies to bring as well as a map of trails to take to avoid the patrols to get to the meeting spot. Moira says goodbye, and Luke and June head off into No Man’s Land.

While walking through the woods, June is overcome by flashbacks of their initial escape attempt, when Gilead forces captured them and separated her from Hannah. Luke suggests they take a break, but she’s determined to keep moving.

Back at the camp, Moira worries about her friends. She tells Lily that Luke and June keep fighting for each other despite everything that’s happened. Moira talks with Lily about where the Mayday outpost is going next, but she’s drinking and they start to joke around.

June and Luke encounter a man hanging from a tree with “rapist” written across his chest, June tells Luke that wasn’t Gilead; Gilead doesn't use words. She insists they have to keep going.

Mrs. Wheeler introduces Serena to a group of other women. They are all in awe of her "miracle" pregnancy; some of them are unable to conceive. When the baby starts kicking, they all put their hands on her stomach and praise her.

In a flashback to the early days of Gilead, Serena and Naomi watch a group of children who have been taken from their "unfit" mothers. They talk about how they need to be put in "good" homes away from their "unfit" mothers. Serena asks Naomi if she’s considered having a Handmaid, but they both say they haven’t. Serena tells Naomi that she and Fred are going to keep trying as she knows they will someday be blessed with a baby.

June and Luke find the meeting spot. A Guardian with a gun appears, and they give him the safe word. When June attempts to trade the supplies for the information about the wife school, the Guardian urges them to follow him to a more discreet location. Luke objects because nobody said anything about going anywhere else. The Guardian tells them it’s unsafe during the day to talk, and he has to go. With no other option, Luke and June follow him.

When Serena is about to get on a call with Gilead, she invites Mrs. Wheeler to join in on the call, too. Mrs. Wheeler says wives shouldn’t be a part of business, so she excuses herself. Serena calls Lawrence, and Commander Putnam is also on the call. Putnam calls out Serena for not doing her job of showing Gilead’s “true purpose,” especially after the incident at the Center. Serena suggests that someone should deal with June, because she’s the main cause of it all.

Serena tells them focusing on Gilead at the Center may be the wrong call. When Lawrence is confused, Serena clarifies they should focus on fertility and conception. Those are are primary purposes of Gilead and what people want to hear about. She claims that a center focused on Gilead will always be a magnet for attacks, but a fertility clinic open to all is a more welcoming place. Lawrence thinks it’s an interesting idea. Putnam interrupts Serena to say they’ll consider it, talks over her, and hangs up on her as she’s mid-sentence.

Putnam mentions New Bethlehem, a new plan of Lawrence’s. Putnam thinks that it’ll be the death of them all and Gilead; welcoming people back to Gilead would mean "terrorists" would return to their soil. Putnam says the Commanders wouldn’t go for that because they can’t have the whole world poking around in their business. Lawrence objects, saying Gilead will die if their walls stay up and borders stay closed, and all of this would have been for nothing. Putnam laughs it off, saying his speech won’t work, but that he’s welcome to try it.

June and Luke follow the Guardian to an abandoned bowling alley, where he says he spends his shifts when it’s too cold outside. They trade backpacks full of supplies. The Guardian says the wife schools for the Plums are guarded. The girls don’t stay there long; it’s a quick process so they can get matched up and married as soon as possible. The Guardian says he doesn’t know where the schools are as it’s a new system. He gives them a flash drive and says it’s everything that they do know. June and Luke prepare to head out. The Guardian stops them; they shouldn’t cross during the day. He says he’ll help them get across the border once the sun sets. June and Luke talk it over, and they agree to wait until it’s safer.

Luke and the Guardian have fun bowling. However, the mood darkens when the Guardian talks about the past. He thinks he used to like bowling, but can’t remember much before Gilead. He says it’s not so bad, but when June reminds him that he’s working to take it down, he says that people should be able to see their families and do whatever they want. June and Luke agree, and June tells Luke she’s shocked because she’s never seen anyone in Gilead as pure as this Guardian. He reveals his name is Jaeden.

Jaeden grabs them all beers, and Luke starts playing on the keyboard. Luke serenades June with Al Green's "Let's Stay Together". Jaeden asks if Luke wrote the song, and Luke says he did. Luke then brings June into a dance. Jaeden shines a light on the disco ball as they dance.

Serena meets Ezra at the gate to the house. The guards are turning away a supporter bringing Serena flowers. Serena just wants to talk to the woman, claiming she’s harmless, but Ezra tells Serena that Mr. Wheeler gave him specific instructions to not open the gate.

In another flashback, Serena meets with Aunt Lydia to discuss having a Handmaid posted at their house. Aunt Lydia brought several hand-picked profiles of Handmaids for Serena's consideration. Serena only looks at two before picking one.

Mr. Wheeler finally meets Serena and wants to follow up about her proposal to the Commanders. He tells her they will move forward with the fertility center and compliments her idea. When Serena says she’s eager to help and get to work, Mr. Wheeler says they have plenty of people already on it. Serena says it was her idea. Mr. Wheeler says while she will have input, but it's more imperative she does not exert herself as her pregnancy requires bed rest. He says her baby’s needs come before any ambition or initiative of hers. Mr. Wheeler hands her water and vitamins, and he watches her take them. Before he leaves, Serena asks if she can at least have a cell phone so she can conduct business from there. Mr. Wheeler says she can't as there are too many security concerns.

Jaeden leads June and Luke through the woods, but stops suddenly when he realizes he stepped on a mine. Jaeden assures them it’s okay, but seconds later the mine goes off, knocking them all down. Jaeden is still alive, and when Luke and June get over to him, they see his leg has been blown off. Jaeden tells them they need to run, but June stops the bleeding from his leg. They see flashlights and hear yelling from other Guardians, so June and Luke have to leave Jaeden. They take off toward the border. When they come close to crossing back into Canada, a car pulls right up to them and people start chasing them. June has flashbacks of all the times she ran for her life. However, they’re not fast enough. The Guardians get a hold of both and drag them away from each other.

Quotes

“A significant quote, characteristic for this episode”  — Describe here.

Trivia

• The profiles of the photo shots taken from Serena resemble those of the Handmaids in Aunt Lydia's files from the flashback.

Cast

Starring

• Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne
• Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Waterford
• Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia
• O-T Fagbenle as Luke Bankole
• Samira Wiley as Moira Strand
• Bradley Whitford as Joseph Lawrence

Guest Starring

• Stephen Kunken as Warren Putnam
• Ever Carradine as Naomi Putnam
• Lucas Neff as Ryan Wheeler
• Jordana Blake as Hannah Bankole

Additional Cast

• Genevieve Angelson as Alanis Wheeler
• Christine Ko as Lily
• Owen Painter as Jaeden
• Rossif Sutherland as Ezra Shaw
• Feaven Abera as Housekeeper
• Ramona Gilmour-Darling as Abbie
• Malaika Hennie Hamadi as Maid
• Avery Star Pryce Tibayan as Drawing Kid
• Blythe Wilson as Female Acolyte
• Joe Drinkwalter as Guardian 2
• Stephen Alexander as Guardian 3

Music

• "Let's Stay Together" - Al Green, during end titles. The song is also performed by Luke in the bowling alley.