The Handmaid’s Tale season 2, episode 11: Is this how June could have escaped from Gilead?
THE HANDMAID’S TALE season 2, episode 11 gave fans yet more false hope of June escaping Gilead. Is this how she could have escaped?
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WARNING: This article contains spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale season 2
Last week's episode of The Handmaid’s Tale season two saw June (played by Elisabeth Moss) finally give birth to her baby.
In less than ideal circumstances however, she was forced to go through with the labour and birth alone, stranded in an abandoned mansion.
Titled Holly, the instalment saw the heavily pregnant Handmaid still in the house where she was reunited briefly with her daughter Hannah (Jordan Blake) in episode 10.
The visit was a gesture from Commander Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) but it was foiled when Nick (Max Minghella) was dragged away by fellow Guardians, who questioned his reasons for being alone in the secluded area.
This meant that June was left alone in the abandoned house, just as she was due to give birth.
Why did June not escape in episode 11?
In an episode featuring a number of devastating blows, June didn’t manage escape despite her best efforts.
Had she not been nine months pregnant, escape may have been a more probable prospect.
Everything needed for a successful escape was in the house, a rifle, ammunition, a car along with its keys, warm clothes, medical supplies and more.
Yet, the wintery conditions saw the garage doors frozen shut, leaving June stranded and unable to get the car outside.
She attempted to dig the ice away from the doors from the outside but strained herself and accelerated her contractions.
It would have been pretty much impossible for her to escape on foot whilst going into labour.
Is this how June could have escaped from Gilead?
Fans have been theorising at ways that June might have successfully managed to escape in episode 11.
One Reddit user suggested that June should have shot the Waterfords when she had the chance and taken their car.
User Naparentheses said: “Honestly, the smartest thing to do would be to shoot them and take their f****** car.”
However, if she only managed to shoot one of them then the other would have run away with the car before she had a chance to get to it.
The user added: “Although, I think because it is a shotgun and she would only get a clear shot at ONE of them before the other one potentially ran, I like to think she hesitated because she couldn't decide which one to shoot first.”
Others suggested that June should have disguised herself as a man in order to escape.
Another Redditor, rummydearest said: “My mind was totally running amok with ideas of what she should do after shooting them.
“I think the craziest one was June putting on Fred’s clothes, shaving his beard off and glueing it onto her own face before stealing the car.”
Hydrowifehydrokids suggested: “Ok so I wasn't the only one thinking about how she needed to crossdress. I saw her go into the men's closet and was hopeful but I remembered she had a giant belly.
“Beard + sunglasses + official-looking car totally would've worked though.”
In the end, June conceded that she wouldn’t be able to escape whilst going into labour and shot the rifle into the air to alert her presence before giving birth alone in the house.
The Handmaid’s Tale season 2 airs on Hulu on Wednesdays and Channel 4 on Sundays