What did they put in the handmaid's ears?

And they are forced to wear white bonnets and red dresses. And to distinguish them even further, Gilead puts red ear tags on the handmaids' ears — like cattle. Along with the rape and torture, it's just one more dehumanizing thing they do to keep control.

What did they put on Offred's ear?

On the show, each Handmaid is given an ear tag with an ID number. June's tag number is 1985, which was the year Atwood's book was originally published.

Why did they staple Offred's ear?

Well, if you think back to some of the flashbacks viewers encountered in Season 1, it's revealed that Aunt Lydia had tracking devices implanted in all the handmaids' ears — that cuff that was roughly stapled into June's ear apparently could provide her exact coordinates to anyone looking to hunt her down.

Why are some of the handmaids mouths sewn shut?

"That's how these things start, they're voluntary, then they're encouraged, then they're required," he explained. "It was my idea to put it in the show. It was an extrapolation of the enforced silence, which is the idea that handmaids are told to be quiet, and they're forced to be quiet."

What is left ear June?

When June became a handmaid, her ear was affixed with a tracker — with that, June became another person's property. To remove the tracker, she has to physically cut into her ear. Blood pours down the left side of her face and neck, as red as the handmaid uniform she'd just thrown into the fire.

The Handmaid's Tale June punishment scene

What is the cuff on June's ear?

Free from her captors, she sheds her red robes and proceeds to cut part of her ear to remove the signifying tag. June goes to extreme lengths to get rid of the cuff. And as described by showrunner Bruce Miller, it signifies her separation from Offred.

Why did June cut her ear off?

Nick advises June to cut her hair and change her appearance, which prompts an incredible declaration of independence. Not only does June cut her hair, she also cuts her ear — multiple times — in order to remove the tracking device that was implanted so many years ago.

Why do the Handmaids wear heavy boots?

“I gave the Handmaids lace-up boots that were modeled after a pair I have, but then I took away their laces so that they can't even consider killing themselves,” she says; that move is also a reference to Atwood's original novel, in which many Handmaids attempted self-harm to escape their warped reality.

How true is the Handmaids Tale?

The Handmaid's Tale is NOT based on a true story. The drama is science fiction, set in a dystopian future where a totalitarian regime has overthrown the US government and created the Republic of Gilead. But the show, based on Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel of the same name, is inspired by religious and political history.

How did they decide who would be a handmaid?

Based off of Margaret Atwood's 1985 dystopian novel, women become handmaids in The Handmaid's Tale because it's the law and not of their own volition. In the future that Atwood created, women are less than second-class citizens and the government classifies them by what they can provide to men.

Why does JUNE still wear red?

The Handmaid's Tale costume designer Ane Crabtree said the red provided an aesthetic contrast. But it also has a special connection to the Wives' teal dresses. She said: “[The colors were] two opposites that would look beautiful together and stand alone, opposing each other in the frame,” she said.

What are they shoveling in Handmaid's Tale?

Emily and her fellow "unwomen" are supposedly removing the Colonies' radioactive soil so that Gilead can plant crops in the area — the idea is that removing pollution will help solve the fertility crisis — but their labor is just as much a solution as it is a political tool.

What did they do to Junes ear?

Within the regime, each Handmaid it tagged on their ear so they can be easily identified. But in season two, June (Elisabeth Moss) manages to cut hers free, along with a chunk of cartilage, as she tries to escape with her unborn baby.

Can a Handmaid become a wife?

“They might actually become Wives if they stay on a track of loyalty.” The youngest members of Gilead, such as June's daughter, will eventually become Econowives or Wives, so long as they remain fertile and faithful. They'll be married off to working-class men at the young age of 14 or 15.

What did they do to Ofglen?

Ofglen gets sentenced to "redemption," which means she gets to live, but she's forced to undergo genital mutilation to prevent her from "wanting what she can't have."

Why does June spit out the cookie?

In privacy, June spits out the ornamental cookie. By purging out the pink mashed-up vile, June has refused to swallow the Wives' counterfeited piety. In the domain of Gilead, these cookies are a status symbol laid out before the Handmaid's eyes.

What religion is handmaid's Tale based on?

The rise of the Christian right in "The Handmaid's Tale" draws from American history. To depict the authoritative world run by the extremely religious right in "The Handmaid's Tale," Atwood drew upon history — mainly, 17th-century Puritan theocracy in America and the political climate of the country in the early 1980s.

Does Gilead exist today?

Gilead, area of ancient Palestine east of the Jordan River, corresponding to modern northwestern Jordan. The region is bounded in the north by the Yarmūk River and in the southwest by what were known in ancient times as the “plains of Moab”; to the east there is no definite boundary.

Why is June a handmaid and not an Econowife?

But the consensus seems to be that handmaids differ from econowives because they committed some kind of sin in Gilead's eyes. "Speaking within the confines of the show ... econowives can be fertile or infertile," wrote Reddit user Tary_n.

Why do the wives wear teal?

The commanders' wives wear a blue/teal color in 'The Handmaid's Tale' Women have a unique role in Gilead society. If they were infertile but married to a high-ranking commander, the “commanders' wives” were tasked with wearing an outfit entirely in a blue or teal shade.

Why do handmaids wear white hats?

White has long been symbolic of purity, a value Gilead claims to hold in high esteem, and covering the handmaids' heads — the highest part on their body — in white seems to be the country's way of projecting this emphasis on purity to the world.

Why do handmaids wear red?

The color red indicates the Handmaids' fertility, echoing the color of menstrual blood. The Wives, by contrast, dress in blue, the color associated with the Virgin Mary.

Why did JUNE say give me 5 minutes?

It can go a lot of ways.” Rather than needing five minutes before she faces the authorities, five minutes before she goes on the run, or five minutes before her and Luke's marriage is over, Miller says that final moment was June wanting to remember her past self.

Did Alma get hit by a train?

In a shocking ending to “The Crossing,” however, two of the Handmaids are shot dead and two others — Alma (Nina Kiri) and Briana (Bahia Watson) — are fatally hit by a train. Only June and Janine (Madeline Brewer) cross the tracks safely and continue to run for their lives.

Is June's mom alive?

Holly Maddox is a character in The Handmaid's Tale. Before the rise of the Gilead, she was a staunch second-wave feminist and women's rights activist. As in the novel, it is still unknown if she is alive. June Osborne's mother is mostly depicted as in the novel.