Hulu "The Handmaid's Tale" airs early Wednesday morning.
The Handmaid’s Tale season 3 episode 8, titled “Unfit,” airs Wednesday, July 10 at 12 a.m. ET, 11 p.m. July 9 CT. The official Hulu description for the episode reads: “June and the rest of the Handmaids shun Ofmatthew, and both are pushed to their limit at the hands of Aunt Lydia, who reflects on her life and relationships before the rise of Gilead.” (Spoilers ahead, so turn back now if you’re not caught up!)
For those who need a recap of last week’s episode, Ofmatthew admitted to June that she sold her out for talking to the McKenzies’ Martha Francis at the food market, which caused Aunt Lydia to execute Francis and the McKenzies to take Hannah and leave in the middle of the night.
Tonight’s episode will likely show the aftermath of June’s attack on Ofmatthew, including whatever trouble June might get in for attacking a pregnant handmaid, and how the rest of the handmaids react to Ofmatthew’s betrayal. The promo below shows the handmaids ostracizing Ofmatthew and blaming her for Francis’ death.
At one point Aunt Lydia even asks the handmaids who’s fault it was that the Martha died, to which they all respond “her fault” while pointing at Ofmatthew (or possibly June?) and calling her a sinner. “Francis is dead,” June can be heard saying in a voiceover. “And Hannah, my daughter, is gone because of her.”
It looks like Ofmatthew might also be going into labor in this episode, although that would mean the episode jumps forward several months since she wasn’t very far along over the last two episodes. That or the woman in labor is another handmaid, which is the more likely explanation. It looks like one of the handmaids intentionally bumps into Ofmatthew while she is fetching towels for the handmaid in labor.
Aunt Lydia pulls June aside at some point to tell her to have her friends “cool it,” likely referring to how they are treating Ofmatthew. However, June plays innocent, and tells Aunt Lydia that she has no idea what she’s talking about.
The episode will also take a look at Aunt Lydia’s life before Gilead’s rise to power. The first promo shows quick cutback scenes to Aunt Lydia before the war, wearing regular clothes with her hair down. She appears to be enjoying herself on a night out, although another scene shows her smashing a mirror with her bare hands (again, before Gilead), so viewers will likely get an idea of what happened to Lydia in her past that turned her so fierce, angry and violent.
The clip above shows Aunt Lydia out on a date with somebody while they discuss her career as a teacher. She talks about how she works to help children through family practice teachings, and how she is “fond” of the man she is talking to, who tells her how much he admires her passion.
It also appears that there might be some more violence on tonight’s episode, as shown by the short clip below, which sees a bloody Aunt Lydia screaming “no” while a handmaid falls on the ground near a guard’s dead body.
If you’re not caught up to episode 8 just yet, you still have plenty of time to binge the first seven episodes of the season. Tune in Wednesday at 12 a.m. ET (Tuesday at 11 p.m. CT, 9 p.m. PT) to catch the newest episode of The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu.
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