“May the force be with you!”— Janine greets June in traditional Gileadean style
Janine Lindo, also known as Ofwarren, then Ofdaniel, and recently Ofhoward, is a main character in The Handmaid's Tale. She was inducted as a Handmaid at the same time as June and several other women at the Red Center. In the television series, she is portrayed by Madeline Brewer. In the television adaption, Janine is initially somewhat more rebellious.
Story[]
In the past[]
Before Gilead[]
Janine's mother was a Methodist, but the family was not religious and they rarely went to church.[2] Janine worked as a waitress at Denny's and a bartender, and was once gang-raped[3]. She had a son named Caleb.
A few years after Caleb was born, Janine unexpectedly found herself pregnant again due to condom failure with a fling. She had to reschedule her work shifts to make a doctor's appointment at an abortion clinic, though in actuality, it was a crisis pregnancy center. At the clinic, Darla talks to Janine about her options, offering support due to the controversy over the low birth rate. She says that abortion is her first option, as the pregnancy was unplanned, and says that nobody knows, and that she is pregnant by a fling. Darla said that the father might want to raise the baby with her, but Janine said that it was not a good idea. The nurse then asked if Janine is religious, but she questioned the appropriateness of the question before divulging her religious history. Darla cautioned her that she believed abortion is dangerous, and that she did not want Janine to go through with it. Janine said that it is her choice, but the nurse informed her that they do not perform them at the clinic. The nurse told Janine a horror story about abortion, fabricating lies about how often it renders women infertile. Janine is brought to tears and tells the woman she knows nothing about her, but the other woman said that Janine will be a wonderful mother, and that she should make her own decision.
Janine returned home and looking through the brochure before she gets Caleb into bed. She rocks him to sleep with the Bob Marley song "Three Little Birds." Janine returned to a different clinic and met with the doctor, and said that the nurse has talked her into keeping the pregnancy. The doctor said that she is required to warn against the dangers of abortion by law, but then secretly tells Janine that it is all made up, and gives her pills to terminate.[2]
Caleb was taken away when Gilead rose to power, and later passed away in a traffic accident while adopted by a Gilead couple.[4].
At The Red Center[]
Janine is taken to the Red Center and is immediately rebellious toward the Aunts, refusing to remain silent and expressing sarcasm and vulgar language which is forbidden in Gilead. She is punished by having her right eye removed, a typically brutal example of the Gileadean justice system which is based on the creative misinterpretation of Biblical passages, in this case Matthew 5:29: “if thy right eye offends thee, pluck it out.” When she returns, meeker and more compliant, she is forced to 'confess' her sins and tell the story of her gang-rape. Aunt Lydia explains that Janine brought the rape upon herself and the other Handmaids are made to shame Janine[3].
Janine cries in the night and suffers a complete psychological breakdown, believing she is living her old life as a waitress and asking imagined customers for their orders. Her distressed, noisy chattering prompts Moira to slap her face, bluntly telling her that she needs to snap out of it because if Aunt Elizabeth overhears she will show no mercy.[3]
Present time, season one[]
At a Particicution, Janine claims Moira is dead.[3] Her reasons for doing so are not entirely clear but she is still recovering from her psychological breakdown at The Red Center during which her grip on reality became tenuous.
Janine is assigned to Commander Warren Putnam and Naomi Putnam and gives birth to a daughter she calls Charlotte but who the Putnams have named Angela.[4] Due to an affair with her Commander, she believes he is in love with her. She claims he promised her they would run away together and be a family, which she says is a lie so he could persuade her to do sexual activities with him that his wife wouldn't do. She clearly dislikes Naomi, both personally and due to her obvious inexperience with children; she even bites her at one point when she tries to take her child.[5] When June calmly explains that biting people is generally viewed as something of a faux pas, Janine retorts that Mrs. Putnam tried to grab Charlotte in the middle of the child's breastfeeding.
“Please remove the damaged ones”:
Janine is ushered away.
The handmaids are taken to a banquet to honor Gilead and show the foreign delegates their success, including a presentation of the children of Gilead. Serena instructs Aunt Lydia to "remove the damaged ones" from the group of Handmaids who were to attend the banquet: she doesn't want the visitors to see the punitive mutilations inflicted on them by the regime. Janine, Oflyle, Ofthomas, Oftim and Ofjohn are sent away to wait in the van; Janine is upset as she was looking forward to the party and Aunt Lydia tries to calm her by promising to bring her some of the nice food.
During the banquet, Serena announces that the children of the region will be brought out as special guests. As they frolic in the room to the delight of the Commanders, their wives and the Mexican delegates, Offred and the other handmaids watch silently, looking ashamed. Alma later remarks to Offred that the delegates are interested in fertile women as a commodity to be traded between the two nations.[6]
In the ninth episode "The Bridge", Janine suffers another psychological breakdown after she is taken away from Angela and the Putnams to be reassigned to Commander Daniel, reverting to a child-like state during the Ceremony, violently repelling him and insisting that "he" (Warren) is coming for her. She is later able to make her way back to the Putnams and abducts her baby daughter. She is found standing on the edge of a bridge over a river, holding her daughter and threatening to throw herself off. When Warren tries to dissuade her, she becomes infuriated and reveals his promises to her and the sexual acts he made her do behind his wife's back. Offred is brought forward to try and talk her down. She seemingly manages to get through to Janine, who hands over her daughter to Offred, only to go ahead with her suicide attempt moments later, jumping into the frozen water. She survives, but is taken to hospital in a critical condition[7].
By Night, Janine has largely recovered from her trauma, but because she endangered her daughter by almost jumping while still holding her, she is sentenced to death for endangering a child. The other Handmaids are ordered to stone her to death, but all of them defy Aunt Lydia's orders after the new Ofglen refused, followed by June and then the other handmaids who pointedly dropped their stones to the ground instead of throwing them at Janine.[8]
Present time, season two[]
Emily notices that one of the new prisoners arriving in the Colonies is Janine. She tries to embrace her, but is pulled back by an Aunt.[9].
Janine in the Colonies
Emily guides Janine through the inhuman and brutal reality of the Colonies, where Janine still seems to find reasons to smile. Janine organizes a wedding, presided over by Sally, a Jewish rabbi, for Fiona and Kit, the latter of whom is dying, to give them a moment of happiness before their chance at being together is taken away. Emily then angrily points out they are just "cows being worked to death", and Janine is "dressing up the slaughterhouse for them", to which Janine replies that "cows don't get married". The next morning Kit’s body is carried out for burial on the graveyard[10].
Back in Boston, Offred walks to Loaves and Fishes where she's surprised (and almost floored) by Janine excitedly bounding into her; she sees that Emily is there too. Janine cheerfully explains to June that the bombing resulted in "so few Handmaids" that a decision was made to repatriate those who were sent to the Colonies[11] and calls her new posting a "blessing from God" since it is "only the Ceremony". Emily drily replies being raped is not a blessing and anyone helping Gilead deserves to be blown apart.
A paediatric ambulance drives past causing everyone to kneel and pray for whoever the baby is; Brianna carelessly and loudly comments that she heard it's Angela. Janine panics and June promises her she'll find out more about what's going on.[12]
In the hospital, Serena asks Naomi if Janine, who is brought by Aunt Lydia, could see the baby. Her husband is okay with it but Naomi isn't. Offred takes Janine to see the baby in the ICU. Dr. Hodgson arrives in her Martha dress, changes clothes and is briefed by Dr. Epstein. She runs some tests on the baby. The doctors give Angela's parents bad news. Serena goes after the doctor but the doctor says is that all they can do is pray for the baby's recovery. Janine is able to hold the baby in order to say goodbye. Aunt Lydia later wakes up in the ICU and finds Janine in her underclothes holding a very much alive baby[12].
June's obstreperous Guardian Isaac is escorting Janine and her on a shopping trip. When they keep talking, Issac orders them to be quiet and calls Janine an "unwoman", referring to her prior status as a prisoner in the Colonies. Matters escalate when she replies that she and June are having a conversation and eventually yells "suck my dick!" at Isaac, who responds by violently clubbing her in the mouth with the butt of his rifle, knocking her to the ground. He then grabs June and drags her away.[13]
Present time, season three[]
Useful[]
June, Alma, and Janine stand on a street corner, peering up at the corpses hanging from the street lights above her.
God Bless the Child[]
The Putnams invite Aunt Lydia and the Handmaids to their house for a reception. Naomi Putnam thanks June for what she did on the bridge and addresses a "bless you" to Janine. She then sends Aunt Lydia and the Handmaids to a separate back room.
Naomi brings baby Angela down to the parlor. Janine breaks protocol when she approaches the Putnams and asks to hold her daughter but Naomi allows it. Janine voluntarily hands the baby back only to start insistently suggesting that she could move back into the house and give Angela a brother or sister, concluding she "just wants to be with her daughter". An incensed Aunt Lydia strikes Janine down and continues to beat her. June calls for someone to stop her, but as none of the Commanders or their Wives react, she throws herself between Janine and Aunt Lydia, yelling at Aunt Lydia who eventually comes to her senses and stops. Janine is carried off by guardians. Lydia looks around, muttering an apology to the guests, except for Janine, before leaving the parlor.
Unfit[]
After Ofmatthew's discussions with Aunt Lydia resulted in the hanging of a Martha, many of the handmaids (save for Janine) begin to bully and shun her. Janine has sympathy for Ofmatthew, telling June "You're being so mean...She's only doing what Aunt Lydia told her to do." June's relationship with Ofmatthew continues to decline until June testifies that Ofmatthew does not want her baby, and she is brought up to testify and be shunned for her sins. Janine takes part in the shunning, calling Ofmatthew a sinner and a crybaby along with everyone else. Later, at Loaves and Fishes, Janine makes an effort to befriend Ofmatthew and be kind to her while Ofmatthew becomes increasingly anxious. Ofmatthew suffers a mental breakdown after seeing June experiencing joy at her suffering, and beats Janine (the closest person to her) with a can of lobster meat. Ofmatthew, revealed by Aunt Lydia as Natalie, then takes a gun from a guard, aims it at June and then Aunt Lydia, but is shot by the Guardians before she can hurt anyone else.
Heroic[]
Ofmatthew is taken to a hospital for months, mentally brain-dead, but kept alive so the baby can be born. June is confined to the hospital room with Ofmatthew until she gets better or the baby is born. The other handmaids visit them, including Janine, and they pray for the safety and the health of Ofmatthew's baby. During their prayers, Ofmatthew has a seizure and the handmaids are hurried out. Later Janine visits June and Ofmatthew in their room; when June asks why she had come she admits her wounds from Ofmatthew's assault had become infected. She also confesses she had not been praying for Ofmatthew, and believes the seizure to be her fault. She starts speaking to her, saying "Natalie, I forgive you, and I pray for you to get better," before June tells her she won't. She then amends her statement, saying "I wish for you to find peace." June then tells Janine that they can help her find peace by killing her. Janine scolds June for being cruel, reminding her that she can't kill Natalie because "She's one of us". June realizes she's right and puts her stolen surgical blade away. Janine tries to confiscate it from her, June refuses, and Janine tells June she's selfish and that she's changed for the worse.
Janine's infected wound on her eye is a point of shame and embarrassment for her, and she tries to cover the wound with her hair while the other handmaids pray at the hospital. Aunt Lydia scolds her, saying "Nothing is more ugly than vanity", and she fixes her hair back in her veil. Later, after the surgical procedure for her infection, Aunt Lydia comes by with a gift for her - a red velvet eye patch. Janine takes the gift excitedly and puts it on, and laughs with Aunt Lydia that she looks like a pirate. They enjoy a moment of joy and laughter before Janine continues, "Like a space pirate," reminding the audience of her loss of semblance.
Present time, season four[]
Pigs[]
The Marthas' Network helps Janine and the other Handmaids escape after the liberation of 86 children. They are brought to a farm and are welcomed by Esther Keyes, a teenage Wife who is a Mayday contact. While June recovers from sepsis, Janine and the others become Marthas at the Keyes farm. Janine welcomes June, and has befriended one of the pigs at the farm called Mr. Darcy.
Mr. Darcy is slaughtered for meat in order to feed all the new members of the household, to the distress of Janine. She refuses to eat pork at dinner, but Esther forces her to, as she had to kill the pig for the sake of Janine and her allies. Janine starts to eat, but spits it out, and June confronts Esther about her behavior. Janine later attends a party in the barn where Marthas and the male laborers are dancing.
When Guardian Johnny Pogue arrives at the farm, Janine is one of those who beats him for his previous rape of Esther. She is present when June and Esther begin a mock Salvaging where Pogue is killed for his crimes.[14]
Nightshade[]
After Guardians visit the Keyes household, June moves to a nearby Jezebel's. She returns, and tells everyone at the Keyes household about the plan to move to the next safehouse. Although Janine, Alma, Brianna, Ellie, and Sarah escape, June and Esther are caught and arrested by Gilead.[15]
The Crossing[]
The five escaped Handmaids live as Marthas at the next safehouse. June is forced to reveal their position after a long interrogation when she is threatened with Hannah's possible torture. Janine and the others are re-captured and sentenced to be sent to a Magdalene Colony. However, their driver pauses at a train crossing to use the restroom. They escape the van they are being driven in, but the Guardian returns and starts shooting at them, killing Sarah and Ellie. The Handmaids run past the train tracks to escape, but Alma and Brianna do not make it in time, and are killed by the oncoming train, while June and Janine manage to escape.[16]
Milk[]
Immediately after their escape, June and Janine break free of their handcuffs at the train tracks. June has to convince Janine that Alma and Brianna are really dead, and encourages her to follow the tracks until they reach a train that can take them someplace else.
Eventually, the pair find a train bound to Chicago. While Janine is anxious to leave Boston, June says that they need to go somewhere where people are still fighting. They lower themselves into one of the train carts, which turns out to be a refrigerator full of milk. A Guardian is alerted by their presence, but they dunk themselves below the milk and hide before the train sets off. The liquid level is high, and the two have to actively swim to keep themselves afloat before June finds a lever to drain most of the milk out of the cart.
June and Janine wake up the following morning. Janine is anxious about their chance, and asks if June will meet with Mayday, but June does not respond. Janine begs for answers, telling June that she has no plans, but June firmly responds that she is keeping the pair of them alive. The other escaped Handmaid then mourns Alma and Brianna, and tells her that when they were on the farm, Alma made sure that they waited for June before moving on, and that they all loved her. She then questions if June told the Eyes where they were, and she tells Janine that Hannah had been brought to the prison, before admitting that she betrayed the other Handmaids. June says that Janine would have done the same thing, and Janine refuses, supposing that she would have done something better, but June retorts that she would do something stupid. In response, Janine says that it is stupid to go to the front of the war, and that she never would have betrayed the Handmaids. June then says that she should have left Janine a long time ago.
When June and Janine hear gunshots, June says that they should get out, as it is likely there are rebels if there is conflict. She sees a female soldier named Theresa pointing a gun at her, and June surrenders, saying she is not armed. She pulls Janine to the surface, and the soldier tells them to get down. The soldier is skeptical, and asks if the Handmaids' owners are looking for them. The rebels are shocked, and almost turn them down for being walking targets. They convince Steven to get them in the truck, and they are driven through the bombed and derelict streets of Chicago.
The pair arrive at the rebel base, and see civilians astounded to see Handmaids in this area. Steven bemoans the existence of sex slaves in former America, and June demands food, telling him that they can be useful. The man demands that one of them stay with him for sexual favors in exchange for helping them, and June almost performs fellatio before refusing. June walks away to find Janine rummaging through a pile of spare clothes. June says that they have to move on, and Janine encourages her to change clothes first. When June is changing, Janine tells them that they can stay, as Steven loved her eyepatch. June starts apologizing for Janine, realizing that she has started a sexual relationship with the man because she refused.[2]
Chicago[]
Janine and Steven are engaging in foreplay while June tries to sleep. Suddenly, June is startled by gunfire, but the couple ignore it.
The next morning, Steven is teaching Janine to fire a gun, and June asks if she can join their mission to go trade with the nearby base. He initially says that, as a new member of their team, she has to stay at the base, but Janine convinces Steven to let her come, since she got a whole plane of children out of Gilead, and eventually accepts.
Janine, June and Steven walk to the base, and find a Gilead soldier killed by the Nighthawks. The group move on from their surroundings, and they hide in an abandoned restaurant after they hear a helicopter from above. They manage to avoid detection when Gilead soldiers move in and search the area; June suggests killing the soldier, but Steven shuts her down, saying that the disappearance of soldiers will lead to more moving into the area.
The rebel group reaches a museum that acts as a base for a different group of fighters. A man called Brad approaches her, but June rejects his advances. Janine is then excited to find some baseball gear. June advises Janine not to get attached to Steven, as life is short on the front lines. Although the other rebels reject Janine's offer to trade the baseball cap for a Handmaid cloak at first, they accept when June also adds her cloak to the offer, and Janine is grateful.
June proposes that she and Janine find the Night Hawks so that they can fight together. Janine refuses, just wanting a normal life; she even considers having another child in Chicago as Gilead won’t be there to take her child away, since the world needs more children. June observes that she sounds like Lydia, but Janine responds that June is actually acting like that, as she is bossing everyone around. June tells Janine that Steven is manipulating her, and that she does not want to see the other woman get hurt, but Janine responds that June failed to keep Alma and Brianna safe. Frustrated, June declares that she is leaving, and says that Janine can choose to come with her, or stay with Steven.
June says her goodbyes to everyone at the camp. Janine tells her that she has decided to stay with Steven and the other rebels, and tells Janine to stay safe. They tearfully depart from each other, and Janine offers her the baseball cap to remember her by. June then proceeds to walk along the streets of Chicago, hiding beneath a police vehicle when she hears someone walk by, before realizing that it is only Janine, who has come to join her, and says that she feels safer when the two of them are together.
June and Janine are reading the map, trying to find the Nighthawks. They grow suspicious passing by an abandoned checkpoint, and asks after abandoned food. June grows suspicious and reveals something is not right; they look up to find aerial bombardment from above. June wakes up, but Janine is nowhere to be found.[17]
Testimony[]
Janine is later captured by Gilead's angels, found in the rubble of the Chicago Bombardment. She is next seen in a Gilead prison cell. Reunited with Aunt Lydia, who continues to try to deceive her to believe it's June's fault she was captured. It's now obvious she no longer believes anything Aunt Lydia says and pleads to not be returned to service. In Commander Lawrence's file on Janine, her handmaid number is shown to be 0-1985.
Present time, season five
Janine is shown tending to Esther as the Handmaids prepare for Commander Waterford’s wake at the Putnam’s house. Janine tells Esther to behave and all will be well. Janine tells Aunt Lydia that she thinks Esther will do good as a prospective Handmaid. Lydia mentions how the Putnams are interested in Esther to become their new Handmaid. Janine fantasizes about getting to visit Esther at their residence and therefore getting to see Angela. Aunt Lydia warns Janine not to get ahead of herself.
At the Putnam’s residence, Esther complains about standing around. Janine reminds her to follow the rules and stay alive. Naomi Putnam is led in and introduced to Esther. As this is happening Angela runs into the room and Janine greets her for a few moments before she is taken away.
On the ride back to the Red Center Esther laments about having to be posted. Janine tells her that getting pregnant will make things easier because it is her only protection. Disgusted, Esther removes her hand from Janine’s but seemingly agrees.
Back at the Red Center Janine says goodbye to Esther, who is supposedly soon to be posted. She tells Esther that pregnancy is a beautiful experience, to give her some hope. Esther reveals that she had smuggled some candy from Commander Putnam’s study and shares them. As the two women eat the candies Esther’s mood turns dark as she coldly tells Janine that she hated her from the moment they met and that she is ‘one of them’, accusing Janine of using her to see Angela. Janine tells Esther she was just trying to help her stay alive like June helped her but Esther tells her she is not June, but a ‘disgrace’. As Esther says this she begins to choke violently, revealing that Esther poisoned the chocolates. Soon Janine and Esther begin to cough up blood, and are discovered by a horrified Aunt Lydia.
Season Five[]
In season five, Janine supports Aunt Lydia at the Red Center. She tries to be there for Esther, who is now being trained to be a handmaid. Janine warns Lydia Esther isn't ready but Lydia pushes her. Esther gets assigned to the Putnams. Later on, back at the Red Center, Esther gives Janine a chocolate and chats with her about their first meeting. She tells Janine she didn't like her in the beginning and her instinct was right. The chocolate was dipped in poison and Janine collapses, puking up blood. She and Esther were both rushed to the hospital.
Janine stayed in the hospital for many days while Aunt Lydia sat by her side, promising to do better if Janine woke up. Janine did slowly recover and go back to the Red Center. Lydia asked her for her help- to help her do right by the other girls. Janine seems surprised but agreed to help.
Later, Janine is offered a posting in the household of Commander Lawrence, who has married Naomi Putnam, seeing it as an opportunity to be close to Angela again. However, the posting is short-lived when she tells Naomi off on the day of the wedding after finding out from a Martha what happened to June in Toronto. She eventually returns to the Red Center where Aunt Lydia encourages her to beg Naomi for forgiveness, but she stands her ground as two Eyes, under the order of Lawrence, haul her away towards an unknown fate, leaving Aunt Lydia saddened.
Quotes[]
“Welcome to the friggin' loony bin.” — Janine's evaluation of The Red Center.[3]
“Suck my dick!” — Janine patiently explains to Isaac that he is interrupting.
“We're travelling to a war zone. In a refrigerator.” — Janine, slightly unimpressed by June's escape plan.
“I'll look like a pirate. A space pirate!” — Janine is as excited by her new eye-patch as only Janine can be.
References[]
- ↑ Episode 4×8, "Testimony", 28:18
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Episode 4×4, "Milk"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Episode 1.1, "Offred"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Episode 1.2, "Birth Day"
- ↑ Episode 1.3, "Late"
- ↑ Episode 1×6, "A Woman's Place"
- ↑ Episode 1.9, "The Bridge"
- ↑ Episode 1.10, "Night"
- ↑ Episode 2.1, "Unwomen"
- ↑ Episode 2.5, "Seeds"
- ↑ Episode 2.7, "After"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Episode 2.8, Women's Work"
- ↑ Episode 2.9, "Smart Power"
- ↑ Episode 4×1, "Pigs"
- ↑ Episode 4×2, "Nightshade"
- ↑ Episode 4×3, "The Crossing"
- ↑ Episode 4×5, "Chicago"