Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Handmaid's Tale season 5, episode 9! Commander Joseph Lawrence has always been the oddball among the Commanders of Gilead, so much so that even June is confused about where his loyalties lie, especially in The Handmaid’s Tale season 5, episode 9. As one of the masterminds of the totalitarian theocracy that is the Republic of Gilead, Commander Lawrence has made some hard and mostly questionable choices befitting his moniker as the “Architect of Gilead." Similar to Commander Fred and Serena Joy Waterford, Lawrence’s contributions to Gilead render him complicit in his society’s removal of human rights and its installation of government-sanctioned slavery, particularly the abhorrent Handmaid system.
Commander Lawrence has since risen back up among the ranks in Gilead in the Handmaid’s Tale season 5; a far cry from the ditch he dug for himself by getting involved with June’s Mayday operations. Which begs the question, what master does he serve? Is it with June and the resistance, or is it really with Gilead through and through? With the Handmaid's Tale season 5, episode 9 “Allegiance” showcasing how he’s calling the shots now, Lawrence has effectively shot down U.S. planes, arranged plans to remarry, and even started the petition to allow defectors back into a new special istrative region in Gilead all in one episode. Seemingly turning cheek from his Mayday accomplice days, Commander Lawrence’s complicated characterization is bad news for June but makes sense in the grand scheme of things.
Why Lawrence Shot Down The United States' Planes In Gilead
With the U.S. Government's mission to extract the plums (children being trained as wives) failing as a result of Lawrence commanding border patrol to shoot them down, June lashes out at him through a phone call for preventing her from getting her daughter, Hannah, back. Empathizing with June, Lawrence tries to further his agenda, coaxing June to resettle in the Gileadan settlement of New Bethlehem where his government would allow them to reunite. However, this backfires with June furiously itting the truth about Eleanor Lawrence's death. Fighting to maintain composure, Joseph explains exactly why he couldn't let the U.S. government take away the plums.
For one, it would place Lawrence in another precarious situation similar to what happened to him after Angels Flight. The repercussions of allowing another loss of their prized children would entail an order change, probably stripping him of his status as Commander, and could even cost him his life. Additionally, shooting foreign military-grade aircraft inside their borders can be justified as an act of self-defense, considering that the plums are technically Gilead’s citizens. As a nation, 's dystopic Gilead is (ironically) bound to protect its citizens from outside threats, making Lawrence’s call to eliminate them technically lawful. It even places Gilead in a victimized light, gaining international sympathy while simultaneously painting the actions of the U.S. government and the resistance as an unprovoked offense.
What Commander Lawrence's Marriage To Naomi Putnam Means
Being the hypocritical religious nation that it is, Gilead values the family unit with reverence and asserts the notion that your household represents your ability to hold positions in power. With Lawrence widowed from the death of his true love, Eleanor, he swears off remarriage as a means to honor his wife’s memory. However, this presents a political disadvantage for him in Gilead, one that even Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) experienced after her husband, Fred Waterford’s murder. It became an unverbalized expectation for Serena to marry Joseph, understanding that this would be a mutually beneficial arrangement to maintain their standing in Gileadan high society.
Although marrying Serena Joy would have solved Lawrence’s problem early on, it was his stubbornness to adhere to the same rules he helped create that brings him to propose to the recently widowed, Naomi Putnam in the Handmaid’s Tale season 5, episode 9. Granted that Joseph presents Naomi with the out that Serena once envisaged for herself, Naomi is clearly a better match for Lawrence’s position as a Commander calling the shots. Taking into consideration Serena’s characterization, she’d be more of a liability for Lawrence that could put him in harm’s way, compared to Naomi who’s been nothing but a faithful and doting wife to Stephen Kunken’s Warren Putnam (despite all his disgusting faults.) What’s more, Naomi Putnam (Marvel's Runaways actress Ever Carradine) has Angela to care for; something she can’t continue to do without a husband in Gilead, hence, marrying Lawrence ascertains her rights and privileges as a wife. Meanwhile, Lawrence would be afforded the preservation of his position without question or suspicion from his fellow Commanders, effectively throwing off any coup to remove him from his post.
Which Side Is Commander Lawrence On & What Does He Really Want?
By all s, Joseph Lawrence is a complicated and compelling character with his allegiance deeply aligned to his moral com, Eleanor Lawrence (Julie Dretzin.) All of Lawrence’s decisions from being an accomplice to the resistance and bouncing back into full-Commander power, everything that he does is always in consideration to his wife. Even after Eleanor dies, Joseph’s every move is a tribute to his last promise to her: fix Gilead from the inside. So as soon as Joseph was absolved of his participation in Angel Flight, he seeks out Commander Nick Blaine’s help to actualize his vision of New Bethlehem, a step closer to revolutionizing Gilead’s perverse government into a legitimate nation. This may be attributed to Joseph’s dedication to working on Gilead’s international image; fully aware that the best way to ensure the country’s continuous progress is to worm its way into the United Nations by marketing Gilead’s “good work” to the world stage.
Ultimately, Joseph Lawrence isn’t on anyone’s side but himself. He may serve as a Gileadan Commander doing diplomatic treaties with either a Gileadan criminal like June Osborne or another country like Canada but in totality, he is just a man atoning for the sins and sufferings he has inflicted on his people. And while Joseph's goals align with making the Handmaid’s Tale’s Gilead a better place, his hypocritical methods further dilute any nobleness in the end goal.