In this section, we see a new phase of Offred and The Commander’s relationship. The Commander takes Offred to a secret club for upper-level generals. Offred has to wear a ridiculous, overtly sexual outfit and apply makeup in order to look the part of a woman that would be at the club. This scene feels as though The Commander is dressing up Offred as his toy and taking her out to show her off. Offred notes that she feels The Commander showing her off at the club and also sees him showing himself off in front of the other generals. He wants to look important for Offred, maybe he actually cares about her opinion of him. The Commander seems to regain the power by taking Offred out and displaying her in front of his colleagues. Offred is an object being used for The Commander’s pleasure, any benefit Offred is getting out of the situation seems minimal.
The only positive for Offred is that she is finally reunited with Moira. We get a retelling of Moira’s elaborate failed escape that she details to Offred. Moira, the former activist, is now content in her place as a Jezebel and Offred is rather disappointed to see her seemingly give up on her future. Moira sees how her place in society is better than that of many other women and is a bit out of touch with how the greater community of women are still being treated in Gilead. Moira gets to drink, do drugs, and have sex with whoever she wants, but any other woman in Gilead would be killed for committing those acts. The reunion of Moira and Offred seems hopeful, maybe they can work together and find a way out of Gilead, but we end the scene being told by Offred that she never saw Moira again.
Offred’s trip to Jezebel’s ends with her being in a situation that she knows all too well. She knows that she is supposed to have sex with The Commander, but she does not want to. Offred is constantly being put into situations by The Commander where she has no escape. She does what he asks because she has no power to say no, but he interprets it as her doing what he asks because she wants to. Offred seems practically numb to the idea of having sex with a man that she does not desire to be intimate with. She simply disconnects her mind from her body and does what she needs has to do. The arrangement between The Commander and Offred playing games and reading magazines seemed rather harmless and mutually beneficial until it is realized that all The Commander really did want was sex, and he was going to get it.