The Handmaid’s Tale Review: Smart Power (Season 2 Episode 9)

On The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2 Episode 9, “Smart Power,” the lives of the three men in June’s life collide as the Waterfords and Nick travel to Canada on a diplomatic mission.

While June remains in Gilead, trying to ensure the safety of her unborn child, most of the action takes place in Ontario, where the Commander tries to garner support from the Canadian government. His arrival has the biggest emotional impact on Luke, who has no choice but to confront the atrocities June continues to endure in Gilead.

On The Handmaid’s Tale, Luke and June’s relationship has been explored entirely through flashbacks, and Luke comes across as a very laid back, handsome hipster who goes with the flow — a man who remains calm in the midst of chaos. It’s hard for a male character who commits adultery to remain likable, but he does.

Even when Luke berates his estranged wife on the telephone (one of the few times viewers ever hear him raise his voice) after she ambushes June, we’re sympathetic not towards the woman on the other end, but towards Luke, who is trying to protect June.

After the bombing in Gilead, Luke’s reaction is one of resignation. He knows his wife isn’t “okay,” but he has faith she’s alive. It may come across that Luke is ambivalent to an extent, but he’s really being pragmatic.

It is frustrating that Luke hasn’t been proactive in rescuing June or Hannah, but on The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2 Episode 9, we gain a better understanding of how far the reach of Gilead extends. Luke is a refugee, which limits his options. So he waits.

Holding it together is Luke’s only course of action, as would be the case with any family ripped apart by circumstances beyond their control. This really resonates with current times, as the U.S. is kidnapping children from immigrants at the border.

On The Handmaid’s Tale, the Commander, Nick, and Luke are all men who repress their emotions for the purpose of self-preservation.

For Waterford, it is required to maintain order and control in his household and to advance his career. For Nick, it’s a matter of physical survival. For Luke, it’s to go on living — even though there isn’t much to live for while he’s unable to reunite his family.

On “Smart Power,” Luke’s anger, anguish, heartbreak, fear, and frustration finally come bursting to the surface when he faces the Commander. He’s the voice in all our heads, finally vocalizing to Waterford what nobody else will. As is often the case when people delude themselves in the name of religion, the Commander is unfazed, cloaked in hubris.

Nick’s decision to go to Luke isn’t a matter of choice. It is a moral imperative — although revealing June’s pregnancy seems unnecessarily cruel.

Perhaps Nick thinks Luke deserves to know the truth, even though Nick omits the fact that he’s the father. That confession likely would have ignited a confrontation which would have prevented Nick from passing on the letters.

Maybe Nick wants Luke to find solace in his belief that June remains loyal and faithful.

It’s unnerving to watch a vulnerable Luke ask Nick (who has been carrying on a love affair with June) to look after her. It negates ever so slightly the good that Nick is trying to do. Nick is working several angles, but his primary agenda is to protect the mother of his child, and since he’s tried and failed, he’s passed some of that responsibility on to another man who loves her as deeply, if not more.

This is also another move by Nick to take down Waterford. By allowing Luke to believe Waterford is the father of the baby June is carrying and giving Luke the letters, Nick further fuels Luke’s desire to exact revenge against a common enemy.

The Handmaid’s Tale continues to entangle several key characters in unlikely alliances: Serena and June, June and Lydia, and, now, Luke and Nick. It must be equal parts unnerving and encouraging to hear Luke say, “And you tell her that I love her. And you tell her that I’m not gonna… I’m not gonna stop. No matter what happens, I’m not gonna stop.”

Despite Nick’s subversive behavior, he’s no less complicit in what is happening in Gilead. However, he could have chosen not to tell June about Luke. He does it for redemption. He does it because she deserves to know.

Nick does it because he suspects their relationship has no hope of succeeding. He does it because he understands June is only with him because of the circumstances, while Luke is her choice. He does it to give her hope.

Nick tells June he loves her, but she doesn’t say it back. Does she? Can she when Luke is back in the forefront of her mind?

This episode belongs to O.T. Fagbenie (Luke). He has been underutilized, and he’s so ridiculously good — it kind of makes us like June just a little less for giving up on her husband so soon.

Other thoughts:

• Luke should play a bigger role in upcoming episodes.
• Will June’s attempts at manipulating Aunt Lydia have the desired effect?
• Serena’s time in Canada gives us hope that she might leave the Commander and Gilead.

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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