The fact that June has been willing to overlook all of these past transgressions and forge a friendship with Serena speaks far more about her own state of mind than it does that of Mrs Waterford: she is clearly a victim of Stockholm Syndrome.

A phrase cited time and time again in hostage situations, Stockholm Syndrome describes the psychiatric phenomenon which sees a prisoner forge a positive relationship with their captor.

“First people would experience something terrifying that just comes at them out of the blue,” Dr Frank Ochberg says in his definition of the syndrome for the FBI and Scotland Yard. . “They are certain they are going to die. [But] then they experience a type of infantilisation – where, like a child, they are unable to eat, speak or go to the toilet without permission.”

That definitely fits the bill with June: not only has her body been seized as property of the state, but she has been threatened with physical violence – and death – on countless occasions. Earlier this season, in fact, we saw her enter a catatonic state after being confronted with the dead body of a man who had attempted to help her escape across the border.

Ochberg adds that small acts of kindness, such as being given food, prompt a “primitive gratitude for the gift of life” – such as a bowl of nourishing soup, a cosy bed, or the chance to hold a pen once again.

“The hostages experience a powerful, primitive positive feeling towards their captor,” he says. “They are in denial that this is the person who put them in that situation. In their mind, they think this is the person who is going to let them live.”

The Handmaid’s Tale recap: the dark subtext to Serena and June’s newfound ‘friendship’