History Recap / TheHandmaidsTaleS4E2Nightshade

* ProductPlacement: Air Canada is a legitimate airline.

* BaitAndSwitch: When Commander Lawrence is being led to a room with a singular chair, we're assuming that he is about to be executed, presumably by Lethal Injection. Instead, we find that Commander Blaine had petitioned the other Commanders to use him as an asset to pursue a diplomatic solution with Canada over the plane incident, and that the chair is actually a salon chair with a barber hired to groom him and clean him up.

* BigFancyHouse: The rural branch of Jezebels, which looks more like a country club than a brothel, and is housed in a large, countryside manor house.

* EurekaMoment: When June finds out that Mrs. Keyes has been slowly poisoning her husband, she hits on the idea on using the same poison on the Commanders at the Jezebels.

** At least some of Commander Keyes' declining mental faculties is because Esther has been micro-dosing him with poison to keep him from raping her.
** The invasion effort against Chicago likely had not started yet with both Commander Blaine still in Boston and a number of other Commanders partying it up at the Jezebel's country club facility before their departure to assist in the upcoming invasion.
* ShoutOut: As June prepares for her mission to poison the Commanders, Janine refers to June as [[Film/ANewHope Red Leader]].

*** This is exemplified by Asher, a young boy that Moira is acquainted with, who is deeply frustrated and upset by his new environment, saying that he misses his home and who he considers to be his parents. His aunt is of no particular help, and it's only through Moira's enlistment of Rita, who greets him with a "blessed evening" and cooks him dinner, that he is able to feel some relief.
** Despite talk about invading Chicago during the previous season, it would appear that they hadn't done so yet, as invasion plans do take time to create. However, the episode's Jezebel party shows that the invasion is about to begin, with a good number of Commanders there partying it up before they leave to assist in the Gilead War effort.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Remember the 5 women June helped save early last season for at least one of them to help conceal the evidence of Commander Winslow's murder? No word on what happened to them after the purge of the Jezebel's in Boston.

* ProductPlacement: AirCanada is a legitimate airline.

* RealityEnsues:
** Just because the children have been evacuated from Gilead doesn't mean that their problems are over. Even if they have been reunited with their biological families, most of them have been torn from the only homes and parents they have ever known and have trouble adjusting as a result.
*** This is exemplified by Asher, a young boy that Moira is acquainted with, who is deeply frustrated and upset by his new environment, saying that he misses his home and who he considers to be his parents. His aunt is of no particular help, and it's only through Moira's enlistment of Rita, who greets him with a "blessed evening" and cooks him dinner, that he is able to feel some relief.
** Despite talk about invading Chicago during the previous season, it would appear that they hadn't done so yet, as invasion plans do take time to create. However, the episode's Jezebel party shows that the invasion is about to begin, with a good number of Commanders there partying it up before they leave to assist in the Gilead War effort.

* KillEmAll: Upon learning that the local Jezebels is currently hosting a contingent of military Commanders, June decides to try and poison them all to interfere with the war effort. Esther teaches her how to make poison, and she has her Mayday contact, Daisy, dose all the Commanders and an Aunt. However, she leaves before seeing if the poison worked or not.

The disappearance of Pogue results in several Guardians visiting the farm trying to look for him. While June tries to figure out her next move, she visits a country club which is hosting a Jezebel party for several Commanders involved in the War Effort in Chicago. There, a Mayday contact informs her about another safehouse west of their position but tells her to wait while she arranges the contact. After Esther reveals that she has been slowly poisoning Commander Keyes, June hatches a plan to poison the Commanders with a concentrated form of the toxin Esther has created by secreting it into their alcohol. By the time June returns, the farm is empty and she is kidnapped by Commander Blaine. Meanwhile in Canada, Fred and Serena find out some shocking news about Serena's health.

* ButICantBePregnant: Serena had previously been shot in the stomach, which her doctors had implied had permanently sterilized her. This was actually implied to be part of her and Fred's motivation behind creating Gilead. However, Mark Tuello informs her at the end of the episode that she is indeed pregnant, per her and Fred's last night together before she defected.

** Invasion plans take time to create. Despite talk about invading Chicago, it would appear that they hadn't done so yet, but the episode's Jezebel party shows that the invasion is about to begin, with a good number of Commanders there partying it up before they leave to assist in the Gilead War effort.

The disappearance of Pogue results in several Guardians visiting the farm trying to look for him. While June tries to figure out her next move, she visits a cottage which is hosting a Jezebel party for several Commanders involved in the War Effort in Chicago. There, a Mayday contact informs her about another safehouse west of their position but tells her to wait while she arranges the contact. After Esther reveals that she has been slowly poisoning Commander Keyes, June hatches a plan to poison the Commanders with a concentrated form of the toxin Esther has created by secreting it into their alcohol. By the time June returns, the farm is empty and she is kidnapped by Commander Blaine. Meanwhile in Canada, Fred and Serena find out some shocking news about Serena's health.

* InternalReveal: June learns from Daisy that the Gilead purged the Boston Jezebels branch after she killed Commander Winslow. Mayday also knows she killed Winslow.

* TheReveal: At least some of Commander Keyes' declining mental faculties is because Esther has been micro-dosing him with poison to keep him from raping her.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Just because the children have been evacuated from Gilead doesn't mean that their problems are over. Even if they have been reunited with their biological families, most of them have been torn from the only homes and parents they have ever known and have trouble adjusting as a result.
** This is exemplified by Asher, a young boy that Moira is acquainted with, who is deeply frustrated and upset by his new environment, saying that he misses his home and who he considers to be his parents. His aunt is of no particular help, and it's only through Moira's enlistment of Rita, who greets him with a "blessed evening" and cooks him dinner, that he is able to feel some relief.
* VillainHasAPoint: When Serena tells Fred that she "just wants her daughter back", he quite rightly points out that Nichole is no more her daughter than she is his, and that Serena is delusional if she thinks she can claim the baby and just walk away.

* TheCliffhanger: Serena is pregnant, June is captured by a group of Guardians (led by Nick, who promises to try and keep her alive), and June's allies have escaped to another safe house.

* KillEmAll: Upon learning that the local Jezebels is currently hosting a contingent of military Commanders, June decides to try and poison them all to interfere with the war effort. Esther teaches her how to make poison, and she has her Jezebel Mayday contact dose all the Commanders and an Aunt. However, she leaves before seeing if the poison worked or not.

** This is exemplified by Asher, a young boy that Moira is acquainted with, who is deeply frustrated and upset by his new environment, saying that he misses his home and who he considers to be his parents. His aunt is of no particular help, and it's only through Moira's enlistment of Rita, who greets him with a "blessed evening" and cooks him dinner, that he is able to feel some relief.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Just because the children have been evacuated from Gilead doesn't mean that their problems are over. Even if they have been reunited with their biological families, most of them have been torn from the only homes they have ever known and have trouble adjusting as a result.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Just because the children have been evacuated from Gilead doesn't mean that their problems are over. Even if they have been reunited with their biological families, most of them have been torn from the only homes they have ever known and have trouble adjusting as a result. This is exemplified by Asher, a young boy that Moira is acquainted with, who is deeply frustrated and upset by his new environment, saying that he misses his home and who he considers to be his parents. His aunt is of no particular help, and it's only through Moira's enlistment of Rita, who greets him with a "blessed evening" and cooks him dinner, that he is able to feel some relief.