The Handmaid's Tale season 2 episode 9 review: Well, at least Gilead wants closer ties with Canada

The timing of episode 9 couldn't have been more perfect

(Hulu)

The Handmaid's Tale frequently makes subtle but pointed references to US culture and politics, from the campus free speech debate referenced through flashback in an earlier episode this season to this week's "we believe the women" and "we all know the media doesn't care much about the truth these days" lines, clear nods to the #MeToo movement's stance and Trump's rhetoric respectively.

It was sheer luck that brought the show poignancy this week however, it just so happening to air an episode about Gilead seeking diplomacy and a better relationship with Canada at a time when the real-world President of the United States is calling the Canadian prime minister "weak" and "very dishonest" and his trade advisor is claiming there is a "special place in hell" for Trudeau.

Had a scripted TV show depicted in its second season a US president cosying up to a dictator who keeps a sizeable chunk of his population in labour camps and starting a trade war with its neighbour, we would have declared it fanciful and over-the-top, which is why the ongoing state of US politics justifies The Handmaid's Tale's existence and bolsters its importance more with each shocking turn.

Unsurprisingly, the in-show Canada wasn't swayed by Gilead's vision for a society based around the intellectual suppression and ritualised rape of women, of which Fred Waterford was an emissary, and his trip ended fairly disastrously. Serena was along for the ride north doing her best Melania, finding herself spectating longingly as Canadian passers-by went about a regular life and, in one of the most thrilling scenes this season, having a semi-flirtatious encounter with an operative of the sidelined American government who offered her not just freedom but a chance to try and right her wrongs by telling her story.

Serena's redemption arc has been brewing for some time now, and the show is too smart to have her simply decide 'ah, go on then' and join the resistance, at least not yet. It was painful to watch as she not only turned the American's offer down but later burned the matches he gave her as a reminder that the option's always there. Too far down the rabbit hole, she destroyed her only hope of a better life (that said, she kept the cigarette box he gave her, right...?)

Back in Gilead, Offred somehow managed to find fresh agonies to go through, asking Rita to watch out for her child after she has been kicked out of the house post-birth. That June found some small joy in Rita' acceptance shows just how bleak her situation has become. Something has changed in Serena, I believe, and though her decision not to let Offred stay around until the baby is weaned was callous, I think it wasn't motivated by selfishness or malice but a fear that she would get too close to Offred and/or not be able to bear splitting the mother from her daughter after they'd bonded (though this wasn't exactly a kindness either).

Perhaps the most fascinating encounter in this excellent episode - one of the very best of the season - was Luke meeting Nick. I really feared Nick would relay just enough of Luke's words to satiate June but not convey the full extent of his emotion and support because of his own feelings for her. Fortunately, Nick proved a stand-up guy and did the right thing, putting the truth and June's happiness and well-being above his own. He should probably start at least making out with his teen wife, though, as I fear her suspicions that he is a "gender traitor" could spell death for him in the season finale next week.

I can't praise the creators, cast and crew behind The Handmaid's Tale enough, the show is soaring in its post-source material era, perhaps even topping the novel-based first season.

The Handmaid's Tale airs Wednesdays on Hulu in the US and is a few weeks behind on Channel 4 in the UK.