June Osborne is losing it. By the time we hit The Handmaid's Tale Season 3 Episode 9, titled "Heroic," the psychological weight of Gilead isn't just a backdrop—it’s a physical weight crushing the protagonist into the hospital floor. This isn't one of those episodes with a grand explosion or a daring escape. Honestly, it’s much worse than that. It is a claustrophobic, stagnant, and deeply disturbing look at what happens when a human being is reduced to a biological vessel, stripped of even the right to move.
The episode centers almost entirely on a hospital room. Natalie (Ofmatthew) is brain dead, kept on life support solely because the baby inside her is still viable. June is forced to stay there. She has to kneel. She has to pray. For weeks.
The Psychological Breakdown in The Handmaid's Tale Season 3 Episode 9
If you've been following the series, you know June’s mental state has been fraying for a while. But "Heroic" takes that fraying and just... rips it apart. Directed by Daina Reid, this hour of television feels like a fever dream. The lighting is harsh, clinical, and unforgiving.
June’s isolation in that hospital room reflects the broader reality of Gilead, but distilled into a single white box. She starts seeing things. She starts talking to a woman who can’t hear her. She even contemplates murder. It’s gritty. It's uncomfortable to watch Elizabeth Moss stare into the camera with that terrifying, unblinking intensity that has become her trademark, but here, it feels earned.
The showrunners didn't just want to show us a hospital stay. They wanted us to feel the sensory deprivation. The repetitive ticking, the hum of the machines, and the constant, rhythmic prayer of the other Handmaids who cycle in and out. It’s a masterclass in tension without action.
The Problem With Ofmatthew
Natalie, or Ofmatthew, was never a fan favorite. She was the pious one. The one who snitched. But in The Handmaid's Tale Season 3 Episode 9, the show forces us to reckon with the fact that she is a victim, too.
June’s initial hatred for her is palpable. She wants Natalie to die. She wants the "abomination" inside her to die. It’s dark stuff. But as the weeks drag on, June's perspective shifts from spite to a weird, twisted form of solidarity. She realizes that Natalie is the ultimate personification of Gilead’s mission: a body that belongs to the state, even when the soul has already left the building.
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There's a specific moment where June looks at the surgical scars on Natalie’s stomach. It’s a visual reminder that in this world, a woman’s body is a map of state-mandated trauma.
Why "Heroic" Was a Turning Point for June
Up until this point in the third season, June Osborne was playing a dangerous game of politics with Commander Lawrence and Serena Joy. She was trying to be a chess player.
The Handmaid's Tale Season 3 Episode 9 strips all that away.
She isn't a rebel leader in this episode. She's a broken woman with a scalpel she stole, considering ending it all. This is the "rock bottom" the narrative needed to pivot June from someone trying to survive the system to someone determined to burn the whole thing down. It’s the catalyst for the "Mayday" plot that defines the rest of the season.
We see Janine enter the room at one point, and her presence is the only thing that pulls June back from the brink. Janine, who has every reason to be the most broken of them all, acts as the moral compass. She reminds June that they are still people. They aren't just "units."
The Reality of Medical Ethics in Gilead
The episode also highlights the horrifying medical reality of this fictional world. Dr. Hodgson, the physician overseeing Natalie, isn't a mustache-twirling villain. He’s just a guy doing his job. And that’s what makes it scarier. The banality of evil is on full display as he discusses Natalie’s vitals like he’s checking the oil in a car.
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There is no concern for the woman's dignity. There is no "right to die." There is only the preservation of the "crop."
This episode sparked a lot of conversation among critics about the real-world parallels to reproductive rights and the legal status of brain-dead pregnant people. While Gilead is an extreme, the writers clearly drew from actual legal cases where pregnant women were kept on life support against their families' wishes. It adds a layer of "too real" to a show that is already hard to stomach.
Behind the Scenes: The Visual Language of the Hospital
The cinematography here is intentionally nauseating.
The camera stays tight on June’s face. You see every pore, every burst capillary in her eyes, and the sweat on her lip. It’s meant to make you feel as trapped as she is. Most of the episode was shot on a closed set to enhance that feeling of "no exit."
- Color Palette: Notice how the reds of the Handmaids' cloaks pop violently against the sterile white of the hospital. It’s a visual representation of life being bled out into a cold, mechanical system.
- Sound Design: The constant beep of the monitors becomes a character in itself. It’s the heartbeat of a ghost.
- Dialogue: There’s very little of it. Much of the episode relies on June’s internal monologue and her whispered, one-sided conversations with the unconscious Natalie.
What Most People Get Wrong About This Episode
Some viewers felt this episode was "filler." They thought, "Nothing happened! She just sat in a room for an hour."
That's a total misunderstanding of the pacing.
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Without the events of The Handmaid's Tale Season 3 Episode 9, June’s transition into the ruthless leader we see in Season 4 wouldn't make sense. She needed to lose her mind to find her purpose. This was her "forty days in the desert" moment. It’s about the internal revolution, not the external one.
When she finally leaves that room, she isn't the same June who walked in. She’s colder. She’s more focused. She’s ready to smuggle children out of the country.
The Ending That Changed Everything
The episode ends with June finally acknowledging her own cruelty toward Natalie. She holds her hand. She stays with her. It’s a small, quiet act of rebellion.
By the time the credits roll, the baby has been delivered via C-section (while Natalie is still technically dead/alive), and June is released back into the world. But the world feels different now. The hospital walls are gone, but the cage is still there—only now, June knows exactly where the lock is.
Actionable Takeaways for Rewatching
If you're going back to watch this episode again, or if you're analyzing it for a film study, look for these specific details:
- The Scalpel: Watch the placement of the scalpel June steals. It represents her desperation and her loss of agency. When she finally lets it go, it’s a sign of her regaining a different kind of power.
- The Window: Pay attention to how the light changes. It’s the only way June (and the audience) can track the passage of time. Weeks pass in minutes of screen time, and the lighting is the only clue.
- Janine’s Speech: Listen closely to Janine’s rebuke of June. It’s one of the few times June is truly "put in her place" by someone she considers a peer, and it’s the turning point for her psyche.
- The Doctors' Faces: Note how the doctors rarely look June in the eye. They look at the monitors. They look at the belly. They don't look at the person.
This episode isn't easy to watch. It’s not "fun" television. But it is essential television for anyone trying to understand the total architecture of June Osborne's trauma. It’s the moment she stopped being a victim of the system and started becoming the system’s worst nightmare.
Next time you watch, pay attention to the silence. In Gilead, the silence is where the most dangerous ideas are born.
To get the most out of your rewatch, pair this episode with Season 3, Episode 13 ("Mayday"). You'll see the direct line between the hospital room and the forest clearing. It's a brutal journey, but in the context of the whole series, it's the most important one June ever takes.