The Handmaid’s Tale Review: Holly (Season 2 Episode 11)

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2 Episode 11, “Holly,” feels like a stand-alone horror film, as June faces a series of obstacles while trapped — pregnant and alone — in the middle of nowhere.

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2 Episode 11 doesn’t miss a beat, picking up exactly where the last episode left off. June realizes she can stay put and wait for the inevitable, or take her chances and use the opportunity to try to escape.

Elisabeth Moss (June/Offred) often conveys her character’s inner turmoil through body language, because she’s unable to vocalize it. On The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2 Episode 11, Moss stretches her abilities to the limit, taking viewers through a pantheon of emotions: fear, determination, frustration, anger, loneliness, sadness, regret, joy, resignation, and hope.

As is often the case for June, her survival instinct overshadows her nerve. It’s only after she hears a radio broadcast from somewhere in the “Great White North” (Oprah Winfrey plays the radio host), which confirms there’s a vestige of America still in existence, that June makes the decision to run.

Watching June methodically prepare for her journey is a form of torturous foreplay. We just want her to get in that muscle car and go. We know the longer she takes, the more likely she is to get caught. The impending sense of doom is smothering and exhilarating. Will she be attacked by the black wolf (a reminder that something or someone is always watching in Gilead), or will some other dark, unforeseen threat make itself known?

It’s Serena and the Commander who descend on the house.

Serena’s desperation is frightening. As she scours the sprawling estate, we know she’s capable of anything to secure her happiness. She’s a predator, hunting down the Handmaid, sniffing out June’s presence using carelessly discarded clues.

During their search for June, all the pretense surrounding their marriage is stripped away. What is left is an ugly, gaping, bloody wound.

Fred didn’t orchestrate Nick’s disappearance. He genuinely and misguidedly believes that reuniting June with her daughter exonerates him for his crimes against her. Fred turns out to be utterly clueless about June’s and Nick’s true feelings for him.

Serena can no longer hide her contempt for her husband, and she lashes out, marginalizing him in every conceivable way. In some ways, their argument is pedestrian. She thinks he’s an idiot, and he believes Serena to be a shrew. Many TV sitcoms rely on these tropes.

The origin of their mutual hatred is unknown, but June is at the center of it now. They each use her as a weapon against the other.

Fred and Serena always find justifications for the cruelty they inflict. This is the first time on The Handmaid’s Tale we see them acknowledge the fact that they know they aren’t good people. Never before has the word “rape” been used by those who subscribe to the religious dogma that governs Gilead, and while Serena appears to have absolved herself of the crime, she holds Fred accountable.

Serena confirms she’s miserable, which isn’t a startling revelation. She has nothing except this child, who isn’t even hers. Serena’s vulnerability is as palpable as her villainy.

Prior to the rape, there were times Serena’s misery could elicit sympathy. But when she tells Fred, “I have nothing. You’ve left me with nothing,” viewers feel nothing — exactly what she deserves.

Is this why June doesn’t shoot them both? She stands over them, holding a shotgun, but she’s unable to pull the trigger. Is it because she sees that leaving them to fester in their own unhappiness is a more fitting punishment? Is it because she still feels some compassion for Serena?

The obvious answer is that June simply hasn’t reached a point where she’s able to detach herself from her humanity enough to take another life.

After Fred and Serena’s departure, we’re no more optimistic about June’s future. In the end, it’s simply a lack of electricity that proves to be her biggest adversary.

As June goes into labor, the tone of the episode shifts. It’s still frightening to watch June give birth alone, but she draws strength from memories of Hannah’s birth, her own mother, and even Janine, Aunt Lydia, and the other Handmaids.

It may be a dysfunctional sisterhood, but it is a sisterhood nonetheless.

There is something so primal about the birth scene: June’s nudity, the unabashed and unapologetic screams of pain only a woman who has experienced can possibly comprehend (motherhood’s one exclusive privilege). June’s baby daughter explodes into the world, and as unforgiving as we know it to be, June’s few minutes alone with her daughter are warm and comforting.

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2 Episode 11 is about the sacrifices a mother is willing to make for her children. Every decision June makes is dictated by her love for Hannah and for Holly. She’s always been a mother, but these past two episodes allow us to gain a better understanding of what that actually means to June.

“Holly” is flawless from start to finish. Moss’ performance ranges from nuanced to awe-inspiring. It’s a fever dream set in the stark contrast of a cold, white backdrop. Holly’s long-awaited arrival is well worth the wait.

What did you think of this episode of The Handmaid’s Tale? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Handmaid’s Tale airs Wednesdays on Hulu.

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