First Blood

First Blood
Season 2
Episode 6
Air date	May 23, 2018
Runtime	58:15
Directed by	Mike Barker
Teleplay by	Eric Tuchman
Episodes
Previous	Seeds
Next	After

First Blood is the sixth episode of the second season of The Handmaid's Tale.

Synopsis

Offred finds unexpected allies and obstacles in her search for a way to protect Hannah. The Commander prepares for the dedication of a new Red Center. Nick struggles with his new assignation.

Plot

During an ultrasound, the doctor tells Serena that Offred's bleeding was due to a subchorionic hematoma and she should be fine now, adding the baby "needs harmony within the household". Back at home, Serena has Offred move in the sitting room so she doesn’t have to go up and down the stairs. In a moment alone with Offred, Nick points out he was given no choice about marrying Eden and still thinks about "the three of us".

Fred Waterford inspects the almost finished construction site of the new Red Center, along with Aunt Lydia and Commanders Pryce, Putnam and Cushing. Aunt Lydia is pleased about increasing the number of "girls" they "can process here". Waterford assures a suspicious Pryce that the "finishing touches" on the site will be done within two days.

That night, Nick and Eden have dinner at their apartment, where she tells him that her mother taught her "about everything" that would be expected of her as a wife. Nick steps outside to smoke.

Serena sits by the couch while Offred gets ready to go to sleep. When Serena asks what it's like to have a human life inside of her, she lets Serena put her hands on her belly. She awakens to get a drink and finds Fred in the kitchen. She asks if he's mad at her but he dismisses her concern, saying he has a lot on his plate; then gesturing to his actual plate and asking if she wants anything to eat. They joke about Aunt Lydia's strictness with Offred's diet and he says that pregnancy suits her.

The next day, Eden looks for Serena but only finds Offred. She talks about her concerns regarding Nick's ongoing aloofness and fears she is too ugly or even that Nick is a gender traitor. Offred reassures her he will be a great father for her children.

Serena invites four handmaids for a surprise lunch with Offred who finds Alma, Ofglen, Oferic, and Ofsamuel waiting for her in the servants' dining area. Serena awkwardly tries to get the girls to talk and feels left out when the baby begins to kick so she leaves, going to the greenhouse where she tends to her plants.

Conversation in the nursery (Relationships/Serena and June)

Later, Serena takes Offred up to the nursery to see how she’s decorated it. Offred tells her it's beautiful. Serena promises to be the best mother possible, making Offred uncomfortable. She tells her about Hannah's room. When Offred asks to see Hannah, Serena sternly refuses and tells her to get her things out from downstairs to go back to her old room. Both women cry as Offred leaves.

As Offred comes in, she runs into Nick. She explains what happened with Serena Joy and tells him he needs to sleep with Eden who'll probably report him for gender treachery if he doesn't consummate their marriage soon. Nick protests that "she's only fifteen" but Offred says that he must because she can't lose him too. He tells Offred that he loves her, but she curtly answers "she's your wife."

Back in Nick's home, he recites Genesis 1:28 and asks Eden if she's sure. Before they begin, she says he'll be a great father. He inserts himself through a hole in the specially embroidered ceremonial sheet and quickly finishes. He asks if she's okay and she says she hopes it worked and that, if not, they'll have to keep trying.

Fred finds Serena in the greenhouse and says that Rita said she'd been there all afternoon. She tells him that Offred wanted to see Hannah and calls her devious. After she cuts herself while pruning her roses, Fred is conspicuously sentimental to her, saying that she is strong and he prays to be worthy of her.

In a flashback, Serena nervously prepares to speak in front of a crowd on a college campus to promote her book "A Woman’s Place" where the audience is already booing loudly before she even gets to the podium. When someone throws a water bottle at the stage, the organizers hustle her out, with Fred loudly protesting that she has a right to speak, because "This is America".

On her way out, she shouts that they're living in a privileged bubble and tells the women to embrace their biological destiny. When heading back to the car, Serena's manager is shot in the chest and she is shot in the lower abdomen by a sniper.

As Serena recovers at the hospital, she and Fred write her next speech. Fred appears remorseful, saying that he shouldn't have allowed her to speak in public, but Serena pulls her hand away and tells him to be a man.

Fred and some Guardians later capture the sniper who is held in a forest clearing where he is bound and gagged. Fred recites Ecclesiastes 3:17 while the man's wife is present. Fred asks the man if he knows what it's like to have to pray to God for his wife. He draws a pistol, briefly aims it in the direction of the sniper but then shoots his wife in the head, coldly saying that now he knows how it feels. They drag him away leaving his wife's lifeless body on the ground.

In the present, Fred sneaks into Offred’s room while she sleeps and shows her a Polaroid photograph of Hannah in her pink Subservient-in-Training uniform. Offred thanks him and cries as she stares at the photo. He says that he missed her and begins groping her. They start kissing and he says that he wants her but she stops him, saying that she's worried about the baby. She grabs his hand, thanking him, and he says that it's their little secret. He leaves the room and she cries, still looking at the photograph.

To the opening of the new Rachel and Leah Center, Commanders from all of the districts are there. When Nick sees Commander Pryce, he begs for reassignment and says there's a lot he hasn’t divulged about Fred. He then asks Pryce to promise to "protect the handmaid" to which Pryce replies he has his word.

Offred sits at the dining table, looking at a full plate of food, and says that she is not hungry. Serena asks Rita to take it away and says that Offred will eat it all later. Eden arrives and offers to help in the house; Serena replies that she wishes Offred was as dutiful.

To make the point, Serena throws a knitting needle on the floor but as Eden moves to pick it up, she orders Offred to do it instead. Offred picks up the petulantly discarded knitting needle and graciously hands it back to Serena who then tells Eden to do the same, claiming it's so she can learn how to run a household. Uncertain what to do, Eden looks awkwardly at Offred who nods almost imperceptibly to her to do as she is instructed. Offred looks at it but instead of picking it up a second time she announces she felt a cramp and does not want to hurt the baby. She marches away to her room and looks at the photograph of Hannah.

As Commander Fred addresses the men who have gathered for the opening of the new Rachel and Leah Center, handmaids line the auditorium's back wall and balcony. Ofglen steps out of line and turns to face her fellow maids, raising one hand so the handmaids can see that she is holding a detonator. The women start to run. Ofglen runs into the assembly hall, holds up her hand once more and presses the button. As the handmaids on the ground floor run for safety, a huge explosion rocks the center.

Trivia

The Red Center symbol in Holly's apartment (see "Baggage" at 13:16) and in the opening ceremony.

The Red Center symbol on the big poster in the hall could already be seen in a flashback of Baggage, on a wall in Holly's apartment. (Symbols)

Quotes

“My mother taught me how to cook and keep house. She taught me all about marriage. About everything. I know what's expected of me. What God expects of me.”  — Eden to Nick

“This is my house. I hoped that she could manage things at home, but I see now I have to step in and keep the peace. I have something for you. ...It's good to see you happy again.”  — Fred Waterford

Cast

Starring

• Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne
• Joseph Fiennes as Fred Waterford
• Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Waterford
• Amanda Brugel as Rita Blue
• Ann Dowd as Lydia Clements
• Max Minghella as Nick Blaine

Guest Starring

• Kristian Braun as Doctor
• Robert Curtis Brown as Andrew Pryce
• Greg Bryk as Raymond Cushing
• Stephen Kunken as Warren Putnam
• Sydney Sweeney as Eden Spencer
• Tattiawna Jones as Lillie Fuller
• Nina Kiri as Alma
• Jenessa Grant as Dolores
• Bahia Watson as Brianna

Additional Cast

• Elise Bauman as Jenny
• Adrian Falconer as College Dean
• Allie Dunbar as Student Host
• Karina Bradfield as Heckler #1
• Luc Trottier as Heckler #2
• Yasmijn Nicole as Heckler #3
• Christopher Thompson as Gunman
• Caitlin McConkey-Pirie as Girlfriend
• Kevin Herod as Red Center Commander

Gallery

Music

• "Oh Bondage! Up Yours!" — X-Ray Spex.