Serena arrives in Gilead for Commander Waterford's funeral accompanied by Mark Tuello. She is not happy with the barebones, no-frills arrangements made and demands a memorial worthy of her husband. June and Luke are hosting game night, but the sight of the Scrabble board triggers flashbacks. Janine is assigned as Esther's minder and reminds her to follow the rules.
Tropes present in this episode
- Armour-Piercing Question: June confesses to Luke that she sent Fred's severed finger to Serena. He is angry and tells June she is obsessed with Serena: "How is that gonna help our family? How is that gonna help you?"
- Big "SHUT UP!": With Moira and Rita present, June starts fantasizing about Serena ending on the wall, but hopefully first having her child taken away. Then she talks about the time Serena slapped Rita because she couldn't hit June, who was pregnant at the time. Both tell her to shut up, with Rita reminding June that even though she was a Martha, and not a Handmaid, she still struggles.
- Bloody Smile: Esther flashes one at Janine as the latter realizes the chocolates were poisoned.
- Blood from the Mouth: Whatever Esther put in the chocolates she shared with Janine works fast, because they start coughing up blood almost immediately. By the time help comes, both of them are drenched and unconscious.
- Call-Back: To "Pigs", where June encourages Esther to kill Pogue (one of the Guardians who raped her) with a "Make me proud." At the Red Center, Esther calls Janine a "disgrace" and tells her that she's no June. As they both start coughing up blood, Esther grins, saying that they are going to make June proud.
- Celebrity Cameo: The titular ballet is performed by American Ballet Theatre principal Devon Teuscher.
- Children as Pawns: Commander Waterford's funeral is being broadcast around the world. Serena singles out Hannah, parades her around, and even gives her a forehead kiss in front of the cameras, knowing June will see her child is literally in her enemy's hands.
- Ephebophile: Warren is incredibly revolting with Esther, buzzing a chocolate around like an airplane before feeding her as though she were a toddler. This alone is disturbing enough, but he intends to make her his Handmaid, meaning he wants to rape this teenage girl he's babying.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Naomi Putnam was already the more moral of the revolting couple - her seeing how young Esther is visibly shakes her (especially because she knows Warren's compunctions).
- It's Personal: The look on Luke's face while seeing Hannah being paraded around at Fred Waterford's funeral suggests he's a lot more open to taking Serena Joy down than he was before.
- Mood Whiplash:
- Janine and Esther are hanging out after the wake, with Janine musing about the joy of feeling her baby growing inside her. She laughs when Esther admits to not liking her when they first met, but is taken by surprise when Esther reveals she truly hates her. The scene ends with Janine's realization that Esther intends to kill both of them via the poisoned chocolate they are eating and they are vomiting blood.
- Luke and June are fresh out of their date at the ballet and are happy and relaxed. Then the giant screen on one of the buildings in Dundas Square broadcasts Waterford's funeral from Gilead - it soon spreads to all the screens. All the happy smiles disappear at the sight of Serena Joy with Hannah.
- Pet the Dog: A small one for Warren Putnam: when Serena and Mark arrive at the wake for Fred, Putnam quickly shuffles Mark to a waiting area (likely as he doesn't want a spy to spy)... but makes sure to provide him with a lavish plate of food so at least he's getting some form of hospitality from the Putnam family.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Esther accuses Janine of using her to get to the Putnams' home to see her daughter Charlotte/Angela and not caring about her. Janine is hurt because all she wanted was to help Esther survive - being able to see her daughter was unexpected.
- Rejected Apology: After June snaps back after triggering Rita, she utters out an "I'm sorry, Rita..." Rita snaps back with "Good." before storming out.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: June is unable to sleep, images of Serena abusing her. The tune is 1958 song "All I Have to Do is Dream" by The Everly Brothers.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: Hannah has been seen exclusively in pink dresses since she was separated from her parents. In her appearance with Serena, she wears purple. It suggests royalty status, but also her growing into a young lady, and with that the possibility of being married off soon.
- Stunned Silence: June and Luke standing in Dundas Square and seeing the broadcast of their daughter in the middle of Fred's funerary procession. The looks on their faces suggest that they realize that Serena is just as vengeful as June is, with no end of their war in sight.
- Take That!: Once again, the Toronto Maple Leafs are suggested to Serena as a form of entertainment, with Commander Lawrence making a dig about the team's continuous futility in the playoffs.
- Tampering with Food and Drink: Esther steals some chocolates from the Putnams and poisons them (her specialty), attempting to take out Janine and herself in a murder-suicide. Why? Esther believes that Janine was just using her to go see her daughter at the Putnams. Lydia finds the two of them vomiting blood and is appropriately horrified at the scene.
- Wham Line: Esther talking to Janine: "You know, I really didn't like you when we first met. And I was right about you."
- Wham Shot: The world broadcast of Waterford's burial being shown on a giant screen, ending in a shot of Serena standing next to a teenage girl— Hannah. Serena Joy's sneer says that she planned this to get back at June.
- Widow's Weeds: Serena wears black to the Commander's burial, complete with a hat and veil over her face. The other Wives wear their usual teal blue dresses, but they wear hats and veils like Serena's.
