Esther Keyes, the young Wife introduced at the beginning of The Handmaid's Tale for Esther Keyes, a wounded, yet complex character, to be another fighter for Mayday.
Esther Keyes was little more than a girl when she was married off to Commander Keyes, a man in his late 60s. She subsequently itted that, because of his inability to perform, he brought in other men, Commanders, Eyes, and Guardians, to rape his child-bride. Esther had a hardness about her, a fiercely guarded vulnerability. Given the many biblical references in The Handmaid's Tale, it's safe to assume that the name "Esther" was not selected at random. Her biblical counterpart was given to King Xerxes I when she was still a virgin, and despite this, Queen Esther accomplished many things, not least of which was saving her people. In The Handmaid's Tale, Esther Keyes' name, and what the viewer gleaned about her, were suggestive of a similar storyline where Esther rebelled against a world that wants to subjugate her.
June Osborne, or Offred, as she was known when she lived as a handmaid with the Waterfords, had everything taken from her. She focused on getting out of Gilead and being reunited with her family, and she endured countless indignities and hardships in her pursuit of this. By the time she met Esther, she had suffered traumas that she compartmentalized in order to survive. She had wanted revenge. Esther, though years younger, has these same qualities. Upon meeting June, Esther tells her, "I want to hurt them so badly. Gilead. The men. What can we do?" Esther is badly hurt, and her desire for revenge is much like June's throughout the Handmaid's Tale.
What Will Happen To Esther In The Handmaid's Tale Season 5?
Esther reaches a turning point when a drunk man is caught wandering through the property: Johnny Pogue, one of the Guardians who raped her. She exacts her revenge at a Rebel Salvaging, a Gilead execution practice in The Handmaid's Tale that the escapees turn against the Gilead loyalist for his atrocities. The handmaids gather in the barn where Pogue is bound and gagged, bloody and begging. June hands a knife to Esther and says, "Good girl. Make me proud." Esther replies, "I will." before advancing toward the man and stabbing him to death.
After Esther is captured and sentenced to being a handmaid, Janine quietly persuades Esther to give up her refusal to eat so that she can be strong when the time came. Esther has gone through a transformation. She has experienced severe trauma and come out of it with the power to lead, to do whatever it takes. Like June, she is a warrior who harbors a deep sense of rebellion. June tells her, "We're Mayday. We don't hide. We fight," thereby including Esther in The Handmaid's Tale resistance group and paving the way for Esther to become a freedom fighter. With June stuck in Canada after the killing of Commander Waterford, Esther can fill the role left by June in season 5.