The Handmaid’s Tale Review: Milk (Season 4 Episode 4)

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4 Episode 4, “Milk,” proves that it’s time for the series to leave Gilead and expand beyond its borders. 

“Milk” deals with trauma and hard choices. It’s a slow-moving episode where although the future is limitless, spaces are confined. It’s about reintroducing the concept of choice and looking at the people we underestimate.

And, it illustrates all of this very well with Jeanine. 

Jeanine’s storyline addresses an important issue in the talk about reproductive rights and freedom, and it’s a conversation that The Handmaid’s Tale is in a prime position to have. Seeing how Jeanine seeks out abortion services and encounters two very different narratives is something that most people don’t seem to be aware of unless they’ve lived it. 

Madeline Brewer gives an extraordinary performance as Jeanine. Her work in this role has always been nuanced, but “Milk” gives her something to sink her teeth into. She dives into the material she’s given with Jeanine’s backstory and gives an empathetic performance. 

Brewer’s performance also plays well against Elisabeth Moss as she laments about the friends that they lost on The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4 Episode 3, “The Crossing,” and how June’s actions played a role in their deaths. In my review of the first three episodes, I mentioned that June would have to live with what happens to these women, and “Milk brings that into the foreground quickly.

It’s not a bombastic moment, but it doesn’t need to be, but the conversation escalates to show just how reckless some of June’s thinking is. 

JUNE: Something stupid and dangerous and then I would have had to save your ass again.
JEANINE: This is stupid and dangerous! We’re going to the front of a war! In a refrigerator! I wouldn’t have told them where we were. You know that’s why they’re dead.

The Handmaid’s Tale has been gently developing Jeanine’s character for the last four years, but this shifts her narrative. She’s not as helpless as they’ve been painting her. She knows and comprehends more than anyone gives her credit for, and while she may not be in a position to lead, she’s got enough independence to make her own decisions. 

June comes back at Jeanine saying that she should have left her a long time ago after that scene, but the end proves that Jeanine doesn’t feel the same way. While the survivors who raid the train would allow them to stay, they request a transaction that June isn’t willing to let Jeanine provide. Upon seeing how shaken June is, Jeanine takes initiative so that June doesn’t need to lead. 

The way that scene plays out isn’t ideal, but it does echo the idea Jeanine’s line in the milk car about how she would have made a better choice. While Gilead has been traumatizing, it didn’t destroy the part of Jeanine that allowed her to evaluate her best interest. Like when she sought out an abortion clinic, she’s looking for safety and security and this is the first place that has provided it. She doesn’t want to lose that, and she can see that June, her friend, needs the same thing. 

“Milk” is the start of a new chapter for Jeanine. Hopefully, one that doesn’t involve as much trauma and heartbreak, but it is worth noting that she still believes that her son, Caleb is in California. It is possible that by the time the season ends, Jeanine and June could be on very different terms. 

Meanwhile, in Canada, Rita is trying to adjust to a life of freedom. She was an integral part of the Waterford household and she’s constantly in their gravity. In some ways, Rita feels like a child of divorce with Serena trying to pit her against Fred and it propels her into this mini-arc on “Milk.” 

RITA: Did you know, in Gilead, I was officially considered property of the Waterford family. Registered and everything. Like my old Nissan Ultima.

When we first see Rita, she’s in her kitchen baking like she used to do in the Waterford house. This isn’t unusual, and it would make sense that she would want to hold onto some of what she finds familiar. We slowly learn that she has family that she’s trying to find, and Amanda Brugel’s expressions at that moment are sublime. Brugel maintains control, playing subtle excitement when she finds out about Serena joy’s pregnancy and utter disappointment when Serena’s lawyer shows up. 

Serena’s attempt to manipulate her empowers her to make a decision, perhaps the first she’s made for herself in a long time. Giving Fred the news about Serena’s pregnancy is a bold and ballsy move, but she realizes that she’s not under their thumb and doesn’t have to do what they want. 

FRED: It’s nice to see a friendly face.
RITA: We aren’t friends.
FRED: No, I suppose, we’re not. Why have you come?
RITA: You deal with your family, it’s not my job anymore, and I thank god for that everyday. 

This is such an empowering moment, and the series does a great job of showing us how this lifts a weight off Rita’s shoulders. The next time we see Rita, she’s bathed in golden light enjoying a plate of sushi. It lingers on the vibrant colors and she takes a bite and lets herself enjoy it. This is an option Rita has now. She doesn’t need to cook everything from scratch or care for others. She can order take out and sit by the window enjoying the sunlight.

She is not property. She is free.

“Milk” is the beginning of a journey for many characters, and while several transformative moments occur there are bigger ones on the horizon. As characters other than June start to take up space in the narrative, The Handmaid’s Tale is ready to show what the original novel couldn’t; what comes after the cataclysm. 

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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