"Are you okay?" "Is she all right?" "Come on, come on, baby." "Come here, honey, come here." "Let Mommy check you." "Come here." "Come over here." "Is it your head?" "Did the car go bump?" "It's okay." "All right." "You've gotta take her." "Okay?" "So..." "It's about two miles north." "No, no, no." "He said someone's gonna meet us." "All right, go with Mommy." "What about you?" "What about you?" "No." "No, no, it's all right." "You go." "Go!" "Run, run, run!" "Run, run!" "I'll be right behind you." "Come on." "Here we go." "Faster." "Watch your step." "Careful." "Watch the road." "Go to the left, honey." "Come on." "Go quickly." "Go left." "Here you go." "Do you see her?" "Do you see her?" "She went that way." "Stay here, hon." "Stay there." "Come here, honey." "Good girl." "We're gonna hide right here." "Quick, quick, quick." "Put your head down." "Good girl." "Now be very quiet, okay?" "Be quiet." "Check behind that tree." "Mommy?" "Shh, shh." "Quiet, baby girl." "Quiet." "I don't see her." "Pull up around there!" "Here we go." "Good girl." "Good girl." "Mommy!" "Mommy, they're coming!" "Move!" "Stop her!" " We got her!" " No!" " Mommy!" " No!" "No!" "No!" "Take her!" "No!" "Hannah!" "No!" "Please!" "Please don't take her!" "Please don't take her!" "No!" " Mommy!" " No!" "Stop it!" "No!" "Please!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "Please!" " Mommy!" " Please don't..." "No!" "A chair." "A table, a lamp." "There's a window with white curtains, and the glass is shatterproof." "But it isn't running away they're afraid of." "A Handmaid wouldn't get far." "It's those other escapes." "The ones you can open in yourself given a cutting edge." "Or a twisted sheet and a chandelier." "I try not to think about those escapes." "It's harder on ceremony days, but thinking can hurt your chances." "My name is Offred." "I had another name, but it's forbidden now." "So many things are forbidden now." "So, here you are." "You can sit." "I don't make a practice of it, but just this one time." "So." "Old what'shisname didn't work out?" "No, ma'am." "Tough luck." "This is your second posting then?" "Yes, ma'am." "Good." "Our last one was brand new." "It was like training a dog, only not a very smart one." "I expect you know the rules." "Yes, ma'am." "Don't call me ma'am." "You're not a Martha." "Well, look what the cat dragged in." "This is the new one." "Hello." "Blessed be the fruit..." "May the Lord open." "I'm Commander Waterford." "Peace be to you." "May God make me truly worthy." "Right." "Well." "Good." "Nice to meet you." "You too." "Get up." "I want to see as little of you as possible." "Do you understand?" "Yes, ma..." "Yes." "Mrs. Waterford." "He is my husband until death do us part." "Don't get any ideas." "If I get trouble, believe me, I will give trouble back." "Rita makes the bread from scratch." "It's the kind of thing they like the Marthas to do." "A return to traditional values." "That's what they fought for." "Always showing up when I'm in the midst of something." "Hold your horses." "Just coffee for you this morning?" "Duty calls, I'm afraid." "I'll be in my office." "Something wrong?" "Just a conference call with my field commanders." "Then meetings." "Always a lot of meetings." "Right." "Well, you need to be early tonight." "Of course." "I know it's hard, but keep faith." "We'll be rewarded." "I promise." "The Commander likes his eggs lately." "Make sure they're fresh, not like last time." "Let them know who it's for and they won't mess around." "All right." "Thank you." "You gonna stand there all day?" "Be rude, leaving your friend outside waiting." "I want to tell her that Ofglen is not my friend." "That I've exchanged barely 50 words with her in the two months since I got here." "I kind of want to tell her that I sincerely believe that Ofglen is a pious little shit with a broomstick up her ass." "Under His eye." "Under His eye." "Sorry." "He's the Commander's driver." "Lives over the garage." "Low status." "Hasn't even been issued a woman." "Going shopping?" "No, Nick, I'm gonna knock back a few at the Oyster House Bar." "You wanna come along?" "Yes." "If you're going to All Flesh, you should avoid the chicken." "I read they've got crazy levels of dioxin." "I'm going to Loaves and Fishes." "Then you should definitely avoid the tuna." "Mercury?" "No, I just don't like tuna very much." "Maybe he's lonely." "Maybe he watches me." "Maybe he's an Eye." "Peace be with you." "Blessed be the fruit." "May the Lord open." "Offred?" "Are you okay?" "Yes." "Pious little shit." "Very well, thank you." "Thank you for asking." "We go everywhere in twos." "It's supposed to be for our protection." "For companionship." "That's bullshit." "There are no friends here." "Can't be." "The truth is we're watching each other." "She is my spy and I am hers." "We've been sent good weather." "Which I receive with joy." "The war is going well, I hear." "By His hand." "We've defeated more of the rebels." "They had a stronghold in the Blue Hills." "We smoked them out." "Praised be." "Some artistic ones, please." "Yeah." "Offred." "We should go." "Hey." "Under His eye." "Did you see?" "They have oranges." "Praised be." "The fighting in Florida must be going well." "Your Mistress likes oranges." "Make sure she knows you got them." "Don't let a Martha take the credit." "I don't..." "I don't have a token for oranges." "Tell them you're Commander Waterford's." "He's really high up." "His name's in the news." "I didn't read it." "I promise..." "We should get some oranges before they're all out." "Praised be His bounty." "Take some." "I don't need oranges." "I need to scream." "I need to grab the nearest machine gun." "Should we walk home by the river?" "That would be nice." "A priest, a doctor," "a gay man." "I think I heard that joke once." "This wasn't the punch line." "They made such a mess of everything." "They filled the air with chemicals and radiation and poison!" "So, God whipped up a special plague." "The plague of infertility." "Welcome!" "Find a seat, please." "As birthrates fell, they made things worse." "Birth control pills, morningafter pills, murdering babies." "Just so they could have their orgies, their Tinder." "Your turn." "No, thanks." "What do you mean?" "I have to write that paper tonight." "For Dietrich's class?" "Yeah." "What's it about?" "Campus sexual assault." "For or against?" "Moira, come swimming." " It's too cold, babe." "Stop." " Come on." "All right." "I'll be right there." "I'll be right there." "What'd she say?" "She just said, "Let's go to church."" "Did she?" "What's her name?" "You don't know her name, do you?" "Moira!" "Come on!" "Write your paper!" "There's a seat here." "Right there." "They were dirty women." "They were sluts." "But you are special girls." "Fertility is a gift directly from God." "He left you intact for a Biblical purpose." "Like Bilhah served Rachel, you girls will serve the Leaders of the Faithful and their barren wives." "You will bear children for them." "You are so lucky!" "So privileged!" "The fuck?" "Welcome to the friggin' loony bin, right?" "All right, girls." "We will have silence." "Like little mice." "Okay." "Welcome to the Rachel and Leah Center." "Up." "Fuck you." "Blessed are the meek, dear." "Blessed are the meek." "Don't!" "They always left out the part about inheriting the Earth." "Fuck!" "Get the fuck off of me!" "Eyes front!" "Where do your hands belong?" "Girls." "I know this must feel very strange." "But "ordinary" is just what you're used to." "This may not seem ordinary to you right now, but after a time, it will." "This will become ordinary." "I tried to run..." "With her, but she's..." "She was so heavy." "I really tried." "Hey." "I know." "You're gonna get her back, all right?" "Just gotta keep your head down." "All this crazy shit is gonna end and then we'll find her." "I swear." "Do you pinky swear?" "Yeah, I fucking pinky swear." "Okay." "What about Odette?" "She was rounded up in one of the dyke purges." "She was reclassified as an Unwoman sent to The Colonies." "You have..." "I don't wanna..." "I can't..." "Moira, what'd they do to her?" ""If my right eye offends thee, pluck it out."" "We're breeding stock." "You don't need eyes for that." "Moira isn't up there." "And that gives me hope." "It may be false hope, but, hey, it's something." "Should we take the long way?" "I can't." "I have to get ready for the Ceremony." "Praised be." "We'll go straight home, then." "May God bless your endeavor and bring forth His miracle." "Praised be." "A bath is required before the Ceremony." "I am to make myself clean." "Washed and brushed like a prize pig." "She comes to me so clearly in the bath." "When do I come to her?" "Does she remember me?" "Please," "God." "Let her remember me." "I want to know what I did to deserve this." "The boys just kept coming down into the basement." "For hours, it felt like." "I don't know, two, maybe three at a time." "I knew most of them." "From school." "I just couldn't believe they were doing it," "that it was actually happening." "But it did happen." "Didn't it?" "Yeah." "And who led them on?" "Whose fault was it?" "I don't know." "Whose fault was it, girls?" "Her fault!" "Her fault!" "Her fault!" "Her fault!" "Her fault!" "Her fault!" "Her fault!" "Her fault!" "Her fault!" "Her fault!" "Her fault!" "Her fault!" "Go on, do it." "And why did God allow such a terrible thing to happen?" "Teach her a lesson!" "Teach her a lesson!" "Teach her a lesson!" "Teach her a lesson!" "Teach her a lesson!" "Teach her a lesson!" "Those eggs you got today were nice and fresh." "I wish they'd hurry up." "Some of us got things to do, you know?" "Hurry up and wait." "Late again, as usual." "What is it about men?" "The knock is prescribed 'cause tonight this room is her domain." "Come in." "It's a little thing, but, in this house, little things mean everything." "Good evening." "Dear." "Now, let's get started." "Excuse me." ""And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children,"" ""Rachel envied her sister, and said unto Jacob,."" ""Give me children or else I die."" ""And she said, 'Behold my maid,"" ""'Bilhah."" ""'Go in unto her...'"" ""'...and she shall bear upon my knees"" ""'that I may also have children by her.'"" ""And she gave him Bilhah, their Handmaid, to wife,"" ""and Jacob went unto her."" "Get out." "Are you deaf?" "The..." "The..." "The chances are..." "Are better if I..." "If I lay on my back afterwards." "Just get out." "The moon's the same." "That's something." "They haven't changed that." "I'll think about the moon." "I can feel the Commander's come running out of me." "I can smell it." "Hello." "How are you?" "Good morning." "How are you?" "Hello." "Good morning." "How are you this morning?" "Hello." "Hi." "Hello?" "Good morning." "Janine?" "I'll be your server this morning." "Can I get you some coffee to start?" "Put your clothes on, dummy." "Aunt Beth is on bed check." "I don't want extra prayers on account of you." "Alma, go to bed, don't make this a thing." "You're having a dream, okay?" "Wake up." "Good morning, welcome." "Hey, come here." "Snap out of it." "Hello now." "How are you?" "Janine?" "Snap out of it." "Janine!" " Good morning." " Come on." "How are you today?" "You're not there anymore." "That's all gone." "Now, get back into bed." "What'd you hit me for?" "Wasn't it good?" "I can bring you another one." "My name is Moira and this is the Red Center." "I don't know any Moira." "Don't you know what they'll do?" "They'll send you to The Colonies." "You'll be cleaning up toxic waste." "Your skin will peel off in sheets and then you'll die." "You will die, Janine." "I want..." "I want my mom." "I want my mom." "Okay." "I wanna go home." "I know." "Come here." "Put this on." "Here you go." "Come on, get into bed now, okay?" "Come on." "And shut up." "She does this again and I'm not around, you slap her." "Hard." "Yeah, okay." "Hey, that shit is contagious." "You want to see your baby girl again?" "Then you need to keep your fucking shit together." "Keep your fucking shit together." "He saw me outside last night." "But the Eyes haven't come for me." "There's no black van." "He hasn't told anyone." "Not yet." "Why not?" "Three bells." "There's a Salvaging today." "Blessed day." "I've been called..." "I heard." "So, now I've got my work to do and your shopping." "I'm sorry." "Good morning." "Morning to you." "Praised be." "The Commander wants you to get more oranges, if they still have any." "Yes, sir." "My pleasure." "Any other special requests?" "They had tuna at Loaves and Fishes yesterday." "It looked good." "You should..." "You should get some." "Oranges and tuna." "Sounds delicious." "Under His eye." "Under His eye." "Go in Grace." "Blessed be the fruit." "May the Lord open." "Under His eye." "Under His eye." "Hey." "Hi." "Where are you posted?" "Commander Ellis." "He can barely get it up." "Where are you?" "Waterford." "Fancy pants." "Nice house, I bet." "Have you heard about anyone?" "I saw Gabby a few months ago." "She had a miscarriage." "That sucks." "Have you heard from Moira?" "No." "Not since the Red Center." "Me neither." "She's dead." "Janine?" "Quiet!" "Janine?" "Who's dead?" "Moira." "Yeah." "Yeah, she tried to run away." "They caught her, and they sent her to The Colonies." "So, she's dead." "She's dead by now." "To your places." "Quick, quick." "Kneel." "Well." "Good morning, girls." "Good morning, Aunt Lydia." "I am sure we are all aware of the unfortunate circumstances that bring us together on this beautiful morning, when I am certain we would all rather be doing something else." "But duty is a hard taskmistress, and it is in the name of duty" "that we are here today." "This man has been convicted of rape." "As you know, the penalty for rape is death." "This disgusting creature has given us no choice." "Am I correct, girls?" "Yes, Aunt Lydia." "Offred." "But that is not the worst of it." "Now, you know that I do my very best to protect you." "The world can be quite an ugly place." "But we cannot wish that ugliness away." "We cannot hide from that ugliness." "This man raped a Handmaid." "She was pregnant." "And the baby died." "Quiet, please." "Now, girls, up." "Wings." "You may come forward and form a circle." "You all know the rules for a particicution." "When I blow the whistle, what you do is up to you." "Until I blow it again." "Offred, are you all right?" "Have a nice day." "Hey." "Sorry." "Fucking Uber." "Hey, it's okay." "You put our name in?" "Yeah, be about 20 minutes." "What?" "We'll freeze our nuts off." "You want to go somewhere else?" "Hi." "What's wrong?" "Sorry, I'm just..." "I'm trying to get a hold of Luke." "He staying over in Essex and there's, like, shitty cell phone reception there." "Okay." "Um, so, I think I'm pregnant." "What?" "My God, are you..." "Holy shit, come here!" "My God!" "What?" "Don't worry." "Don't worry." "Getting pregnant is the hard part, that's what they're saying." "And you did it." "That's not all they're saying, though, you know?" "I know five women at work who've had miscarriages." "Some of them were pretty far along." "Yeah, well, that's not going to happen to you." "You know Linda from Marketing?" "yeah." "She actually carried to term but her son only lived a few days." "That's not gonna happen." "But you don't know that, Moira, okay?" "You don't know that." "It could happen." "Okay, all right, um..." "If it does..." "Yeah?" "You've got a good man." "And you've got me." "No matter what happens, I'll be right here." "You and me, just like always." "I am so sorry about your friend." "Moira?" "You knew her from the Red Center?" "And before." "Was there ever a "before"?" "This used to be an ice cream place." "They had the most amazing salted caramel." "It was better than sex." "Like, good sex." "I always thought you were such a true believer." "So were you." "So frickin' pious." "They do that really well." "Make us distrust each other." "Eyes." "Come on." "Just keep walking." "How old is your daughter?" "Eight." "She'd be eight." "My wife and I had a son." "Oliver." "He's almost five." "They had Canadian passports." "I didn't." "I got caught at the airport." "We tried to cross in Maine." "With my husband." "Then we split up." "They shot him." "They weren't going to let any of us get away." "Not if you had a red tag." "This is your stop." "As they used to say." "It was nice to finally meet you." "You too." "There's an Eye in your house." "Be careful." "Blessed be the fruit." "Gentlemen?" "Please, let's continue in my office." "No rest for the weary." "We'll join you for dinner." "Go back to your room." "Someone is watching." "Here, someone is always watching." "Nothing can change." "It all has to look the same." "Because I intend to survive for her." "Her name is Hannah." "My husband was Luke." "My name is June."