The Handmaid's Tale (2017–…): Season 2, Episode 13 - The Word - full transcript

Serena and the other Wives strive to make change; Emily learns more about her new Commander; Offred faces a difficult decision.

Previously
on The Handmaid's Tale...

Just send what we need
to the house.

Might it be more efficient

if Offred were to pump
for the baby at home?

You brought her straight home!

It's more convenient
to have Offred here.

For you?

For Nichole!

You're lucky they agreed.

Four couples have refused.

I'm wondering why
such an important,



brilliant man would take in
such a shitty Handmaid.

We value privacy in this house.

Do you understand?

God has called me
to a higher purpose.

You don't believe that.

Guardian Isaac
never showed up for his shift this morning.

- Have you seen Eden around?
- I haven't seen her today.

I think we may have a situation.

The accused have been
found guilty of infidelity.

Renounce your sins
and plead for His mercy!

For I will contend
with he who contends with you,

and I will save your children.

This is all she leaves behind.

There won't be
a marker anywhere.



Heretics don't get
to rest in peace.

Here, they use them
as animal feed.

Aunt Lydia told us that
at The Red Center.

Waste not, want not.

All we leave behind
is the uniform.

Wife.

Handmaid.

Martha.

Mother.

Daughter.

Girlfriend.

Queen.

Bitch.

Criminal.

Sinner.

Heretic.

Prisoner.

Do you think
she sewed this herself?

Probably.

My mother could sew.

You know, really sew.

I couldn't figure out how
to hem Hannah's pants.

She was a child.

I didn't have
a kind word for her.

That's not true.

I treated her like shit.

I slept with her husband.

I should've tried...

to help her.

Mrs. Waterford?

Come in.

Nichole and I were
just talking about lilies.

Did she have a lot to say?

Yeah. Quite a lot.

Can I help you with something?

I found this...

in Eden's things.

Serena, look.

She wrote notes all over it.

It seems like Eden
was hiding a multitude of sins.

What sins?

What?

What sins was she hiding?

What... Serena?

She wasn't strong enough.

She was 15 years old!

Yes, she was 15 years old.

She should have been smarter.

She was trying
to understand God!

For fuck's sake, Serena,

she was trying
to read the fucking Bible!

Don't use that language in front of
my daughter! Do you understand me?

How are you going
to keep her safe?

How are you going to keep her safe?

What are you going to do?

Are you gonna lock her up here
like an orchid?

My daughter...

will be raised properly.

She will understand
the word of God

and she will obey His word.

She cannot read His word!

Get out!

Guardian Blaine, sir,

I just want to tell you
how sorry I am.

We tried to put her
on the path to God.

I wish I could fix
what my Eden did.

I pray I could, somehow.

By His mercy,
all will be forgiven.

Bless you.

Commander Waterford,
Mrs. Waterford.

You were so kind to welcome
Eden into your godly home.

A grave mistake as it turns out.

To be repaid
with sin and deception.

Yes, sir.

I am ashamed.

Yes.

Eden spoke a lot about your farm

and how much she missed it.

She missed her family.

She was the light of my life.

Excuse me.

She had a kind heart.

You have another daughter?

He has truly blessed us.

Praised be.

Make certain she learns

from her sister's
transgressions.

In tragedy lies opportunity.

Yes, sir.

She was home when
Eden arrived with that boy.

We called
the authorities immediately.

You turned her in?

That kind
of faith is rare, indeed.

It reflects well
upon your family.

God bless you, Commander.

May God give you strength
during this time of mourning.

- Thank you.
- Go in grace.

What are you gonna do when
they come for your daughter?

Mind your tongue.

The mouth of a woman
is a deep pit,

he that falls therein
will suffer.

You are the misery of all man.

All of you.

How's it feel?

Oh, it's fine.

I think I broke my hand, though.

Praised be.

Her royal highness is awake.

Okay.

Your girlfriend is a badass.

It's okay.

Hey.

It's okay.

It's okay.

Hi, sweetheart. Here we go.

Right, just hold
the back of her head.

She's still a little wobbly.

Here you go.

That's right. Just like that.
There you go.

You've got it. Perfect.

Hey, sweetie.

Look what we made.

Holly,

this is your daddy.

I love you.

Do you think
they're together in heaven?

They should be together here.

Why do you only see
the bad stuff?

Am I complaining all the time?
No, I am not.

They drowned her
in a swimming pool.

She died for love.

I found a book.

It was hidden in her things.

It's a Bible.

Wow.

Brave.

Yeah, she was.

I have my first Ceremony
tonight at the new house.

Oh, I hate the first one.
It's so awkward.

May God bless His endeavor
and bring forth His miracle.

You'll get through it.

Sure.

Just imagine your Commander

falling into a wood chipper
or something.

Oh, no. Don't think that!
That's awful!

Oh, my God!

I keep dreaming about Oliver.

It's his birthday soon?

Next week. Seven years old.

Well, we should celebrate.

We can bake a cake.

Or tequila?

Oh, tequila!

I miss you most of all.

I'm glad I got to
come back here.

I'm glad I got to see you
again, June.

Shh.

Angela is looking
so much brighter.

Has she gained more weight?

- Almost nine ounces.
- Oh.

She's my little rock star.

Praised be.

And Nichole.

That sweet face.

I pray things have
settled down at your house.

They are settling.

Thank God.

It's tragic, of course.

But we have so much
to look forward to

with our beautiful girls.

Yes, we do.

Do you worry about that?

About what?

Their future.

I put my faith in Gilead.

Praised be.

I suppose all mothers worry.

Of course we do.

We want to give our children
the best life they can have.

A life with purpose.

That is the dream, of course.

For all the children of Gilead.

Boys and girls.

Yes.

Do you think the other women
share our concerns?

Grace has said a word,
now and then.

Leah has opinions.
No surprise there.

I would be interested
in hearing them.

I would as well.

It's all too beautiful
It's all too beautiful

I feel inclined to blow my mind.

Get hung up, feed the ducks
with a bun.

They all come out
to groove about.

Be nice and have fun in the sun.

It's all too beautiful
It's all too beautiful.

It's all too beautiful.

It's all too beautiful.

It's all too beautiful

Cora, could I get some
orange juice, please?

It's all too beautiful

Cora!

Did she go out or something?

I haven't seen her, sir.

Professor.

See, this is the problem.

How am I supposed
to motivate employees

if I can't leverage salaries?
Herzberg, right?

What are you doing?

We have The Ceremony tonight.

No. Get up.

I'm not gonna do that with you.

Come on, get up.

Go to your room!

You forget your lunch today,
Waterford?

Blessed day.

Gentlemen, thank you
for allowing me to speak.

How can we help you?

Our Covenant allows those in
good standing to come forward

with amendments to be
considered by the Council.

We would like to propose
such an amendment.

We?

As faithful servants,
it is our duty to ensure

that the children of Gilead
live by the laws of scripture.

The Holy Scripture is a miracle.

It is a gift given
by Him to all of humanity.

We believe that our sons

and daughters
should be taught to read it.

That is a radical proposal,
Mrs. Waterford.

Offered with
the deepest respect.

And the love
that I have for my daughter.

And for all the daughters
in Gilead.

Thank you.

We will certainly...

discuss the issue seriously.

Serena.

"In the beginning was the Word,"

"and the Word was with God,"

"and the Word was God."

"In Him was life,"

"and life was the light of men."

"And the light shineth
in the darkness."

You shouldn't have done that.

"Be bold and mighty forces
will come to your aid."

The Galatians?

No. Goethe.

A German heretic.

William Basil King, actually.
A Canadian minister.

Ladies, bless you
for coming in today.

We appreciate your interest
in our work.

You have given us
a lot to consider.

So, what is it that
you're going to do?

Thank you again.

What did the others say?

Warren seemed open to the idea.

I did this for Nichole.

I did it to set an example
for our daughter.

And so you have.

Fred! No! Fred! Stop it!

Fred, please!

Fred, stop!

Stop it, Fred!

Fred! Please!

Please!

Blessed be the fruit.

Last night was
your first Ceremony.

Commander Lawrence
said it went splendidly.

Isn't that encouraging,
Ofjoseph?

Emily!

I hope you appreciate

the opportunity

you've been given in this house.

God is truly merciful.

He offers redemption,
even to the most

perverse and degenerate
among his flock.

It's like I cut out your tongue.

Commander! Commander!

What?

Call an ambulance!

Dear Lord. What have you done?

You stay in there!

Where is Nichole?

She's sleeping.

Rita just put her down.

Offred, take this
upstairs for me, please.

Here.

Mrs. Waterford?

We had a difficult day.

But all will be well,

from here on.

You should lie down.

I'll get you some tea.

What happened?

Serena?

I tried.

Rita.

Rita!

Offred, can you...

Can you help me here?

Where does she keep the tea?

Thank you.

Where is Rita?

I don't know.

God, send me an obedient woman.

You let them do that to Serena.

We all have our roles to play.

Serena needed to be
reminded of hers.

An obedient Handmaid

might be able to stay
in this house.

How does that sound?

It's not allowed.

Well, rules can be bent

for a high-ranking Commander.

You could stay here...

with your baby.

We could try again.

For a boy, this time.

It could be fun.

Go fuck yourself, Fred.

I might even be able
to arrange...

more visits with Hannah.

As long as you...

behave properly.

Think about it.

So.

What are we gonna do with you?

- Honey, please.
- Wait!

Go. Honey, please.

Please, go upstairs!
You don't need to be a part of this!

I didn't get to say goodbye!

It was nice knowing you!

Back to bed, my love!

Exciting day.

You must be
so proud of yourself.

You like music?

Who doesn't like music?

Walking on
Walking on broken glass.

Walking on
Walking on broken glass.

You were the sweetest thing
that I ever knew.

But I don't care
for sugar, honey.

If I can't have you.

Since you've abandoned me.

My whole life has crashed.

Won't you pick the pieces up

'Cause it feels just like
I'm walking on broken glass.

Walking on
Walking on broken glass.

Can you turn this off?

So. Not a music fan.

Good girl. Good girl.

Who's a good girl?

Okay, come here.

Hi, sweetie.

Oh, there we go.

Okay, good.

Okay, give me a good one. Okay?

Rita. What is it?

Come! We can get you out!

You and the baby!
But you have to go right now!

Go! Get your shoes!

What? Who's "we"?

Friends. Marthas. Go! Go!

It's okay, baby. It's okay.

Sir, I need you to clear your vehicle out.
Clear your vehicle!

Move on out. Move on out.

Hi, baby. Hi, sweet girl.

Go past the greenhouse all the way
to the corner of the yard.

They will find you.
God bless you, sweet girl.

God protect you.

Thank you.

Go!

Everyone away from the house.

Shh.

Yeah, we've gotta hit the top.

Hit the top. Swing that ladder.

Clear the sector!

Clear those vehicles, please!

Shh.

Yeah, this one's done.

Over here.

Nick?

Nick!

Rita, what's going on?

I don't know, sir.

Over there!

We've got
another one over here, guys!

Over here!

Offred!

Offred!

Nick. Get downstairs,
pull together a search team.

You should stay inside, sir.

My child is missing!

It's too dangerous out there.
We'll stay here.

Offred.

What are you doing?

Serena.

No, no. Give me my baby.

Serena, listen! Listen to me!

Give me my child.

Listen to me, okay? Please.

No.

I can get her out.

- I can get her out of here.
- No.

No.

She cannot grow up here.

- No.
- She cannot grow up in this place.

Listen to me.

You know she can't.

I know that
you love her so much.

I do.

I've seen it.

Yeah.

- You can do it.
- I can't.

Yes, you can.

Back up.

Please.

I know how much you love her.

Let me have her.

So I can say goodbye.

Okay.

Aw, shh, shh.

May the Lord bless you,
and keep you.

May His face shine on you,

and may He be gracious unto you,

and may He lift up
his countenance upon you.

My sweet... My sweet Nichole.

And may He grant you peace.

All clear on the west side, sir!

That's coming down.
That's coming down. Watch out!

You've got another 50 feet.

There's a blaze
going here too, guys!

Blessings on you, Serena.

Come on!

Yeah, over here, guys!

Come on! Come!

Back it up!

Let's go!

So, what now?

June, give me the baby.

There's another one!

Thank you.

June, good luck.

This way.

This way. Through there.

Now wait here.

Hi.

- You okay?
- Got her.

Move that out.

Move aside!

- There!
- Okay.

Wait!

Go!

June!

Don't worry. It's not far.

That way.

Wow, wow. Right there. Good.

Okay.

It's not much further.

Shh.

Wait here.

Thank you.

Godspeed.

Shh.

It's all right. Shh.

It's okay.

It's okay.

It's okay, baby. Shh.

Let me be your mirror.

Reflect who you are.

And if you don't know.

I'll be the wind.

The rain and the sunset.

The light on your door.

To show that you're home.

When you think the night.

Has seen your mind.

And inside you're twisted.

And unkind...

Let me stand I'll show you.

That you're blind.

Please put down your hands

'Cause I see you

Holly.

This is your sister...

Hannah.

Isn't she pretty?

Maybe you'll meet her one day.

You're gonna meet her one day.

Godspeed.

Emily?

What is happening?

I'm getting myself in deep shit.

You're getting out.

Out?

You're getting out of Gilead.

They're all yours.

Have a nice life!

'Kay. Come on.

Don't get caught!

Keep away from drugs!

June!

June!

Come on!

Hurry up!

Hurry!

Call her Nichole.

Tell her I love her.

June!

No! June!

June!

Watch out.

You might get what you're after.

Boom babies.

Strange, but not a stranger

I'm an ordinary guy.

Burning down the house.

Hold tight.

Wait till the party's over.

Hold tight.

We're in for nasty weather.

There has got to be a way.

Burning down the house.

Here's your ticket Pack your bag.

It's time forjumpin' overboard.

The transportation is here.

Close enough, but not too far.

Maybe you know where you are.

Fightin' fire with fire.

All wet!

Hey, you might need a raincoat.

Shakedown!

Dreams walking in broad daylight.

Three hundred sixty-five degrees.

Burning down the house.

It was once upon a place.

Sometimes I listen to myself...