“Motherland” puts an end to the mystery of Commander Lawrence. We’ve spent three seasons trying to figure out how this irreverent and disobedient professor (the only person in Gilead who speaks like a human, not a gamemaster in a Pilgrim Fathers-themed escape room) manages to make this brutal. They asked me if I had reached the heart of the regime. Now we hear it from the horse’s mouth: Lawrence was trying to save mankind. or It was the impulse behind the creation of Gilead. Unfortunately, the religious nutjob delivery system he chose meant that the humanitarian relief plan “escaped” him. Quite an understatement.
That scene was pivotal in understanding Lawrence’s character. A man is torn by guilt, but guilt isn’t the only siren of emotional complexity. Pride is also entwined in his regrets, a satisfying complication from writers Yarin Cheung and Bradley Whitford. and another was June’s precious “I think I’m a better Christian than you are.”
Once squeezed into the Gilead building, Lawrence realizes he and Eleanor cannot leave. After she overdosed, his choice became to join her or try to make amends. His rationale for Bethlehem. Lawrence envisions New Bethlehem on the island of England as Gilead 2.0. All the health and fertility benefits without state-sponsored rapes and public executions. We know what he meant last season when he asked Aunt Lydia to help fix Gilead.
Lawrence delivered exactly this episode back in June. After hanging Hannah’s prize, he appealed to her heroic instincts and was able to sharpen the sharp edge of Gilead. To – Excellent Global PR (Also: Your forehead is great, sorry if my friend here puts a bullet in it), To Nick – Power, June and Nicole (conveniently mention Luke Not). And to Serena, to Serena, he was pitching the questionable sanctuary of Wheeler’s home, not New Bethlehem.
If Serena’s “walk season in June’s shoes” trajectory continues, it’s next for her to fall in love with Ezra and have his child. After reluctantly seeing June return to feed Nicole, she returns to the Wheelers to nurse nasty Noah. Her reunion with Noah after a month-long separation was a complete chorus of angels, revealing the full meaning of the episode’s title. We pass by a brief scene where Rita is with June on the stairs and vice versa.
Bizarro-Waterfords the Wheelers made a great late-game addition, allowing viewers to put themselves in the surprising position of rooting for Serena. Genevieve Angelson and director Natalia Leite tout her performance as Alanis Wheeler just like that – half her PTA meddlesome, half crazy cult member, but Lucas Neff’s Ryan Wheeler A soft-spoken malice in a custom-made suit. They are the classic Wealthy Her WASP movie villains. When Serena gets her revenge, they will not shed tears.
