Every little detail you may have missed in The Handmaid's Tale season 4 so far.

To catch up on all our The Handmaid's Tale recaps, and the moments and clues you missed, check out Mamamia's recaps here and visit our The Handmaid's Tale hub page. 

This story contains spoilers for episodes 1-5 of The Handmaid's Tale season 4. If you’re not caught up yet, bookmark us and come back once you're ready to fully debrief.

Nothing in The Handmaid's Tale is a coincidence.

The lighting, the cinematography, the sets and parallels between characters, scenes and dialogue; it's all done purposefully with layers of symbolism, meanings and hidden details that deepen the meaning of the series.

Buuuut it's easy to miss these visual references and little details when you're focused on whatever dangerous situation June's got herself into this time. She sure does do that a lot.

Anyway, everyone loves an Easter egg, so here are the little details you may have missed in the first five episodes of The Handmaid's Tale season four. 

Aunt Lydia calls June "Delilah".

Obviously, a lot of details in the show relate to things in the bible. When Aunt Lydia's before the Council of Commanders in episode 1, she tells them to find "Delilah" June and bring her to her for punishment.

Delilah was a Bible figure who entrapped a 'strong' man and betrayed him to his enemies, so in this circumstance, the name represents treacherous women.

"Your fault."

During episode 3, June gets under Aunt Lydia's skin by telling her everything that has happened to them is her fault.

"You sent them out to be raped and beaten and humiliated, over and over and over," she says.

"You failed them, didn't you? You failed your precious girls. It is your fault."

Image: SBS.

Her repeating of 'your fault' is reminiscent of one of Aunt Lydia's own punishments: the blame circle, where all the Handmaids were made to tell Janine she was at fault for her own gang rape.

And just as designed, Aunt Lydia cracks.

Radiohead's 'Street Spirit'.

Radiohead's 'Street Spirit' is playing during the train scene. You know the one. RIP, friends.

The band's frontman Thom Yorke once described the song as being about "staring the f***ing devil right in the eyes... and knowing, no matter what the hell you do, he'll get the last laugh".

It's about tragedy, and there's no resolve. Grim.

The milk.

Okay, this one feels... obvious, but it's important. 

Lucky she's not lactose intolerant. Image: SBS.

Of all the liquids June and Janine could've jumped headfirst into, it's symbolic (and really lucky) it was nothing more sinister than milk.

Milk is the ultimate symbol of motherhood, and episode 4 is all about that: Serena's pregnancy, Janine's abortion and June's love of Hannah being the reason they find themselves in that situation in the first place.

The clock on the wall when Rita meets Fred.

The scene in which Rita goes to see Fred, telling him Serena's pregnant and delivering a giant 'F you' is glorious, and full of symbolism.

Image: SBS.

Image: SBS.

She stands, he sits. She doesn't take off her coat because she's not staying. The colours of the room represent Gilead women; there are Wife blue walls and Handmaid red pillars. The grey, concrete wall - the colour of the colonies and econopeople and maybe also representative of Martha green - is the ones in light.

But the greatest part? Look at the clock.

Ooof. Image: SBS.

It's at the 11th hour.

Rita's furniture.

The chairs at Rita's table are... telling.

On one side, there's a blue and red chair, and on the other side there's white (and possibly brown). Then to the side, there's a chair that looks khaki.

Image: SBS.

It's like the Waterford household is represented via chairs. 

But by the end of episode 4, after she finally rid herself of them, she sat at a different table with new chairs, closer to the window.

BLESS. Image: SBS.

Janine's clothing choice.

Janine changes out of her Handmaids robes while June stays with Steven in episode 4, but we know June cannot go through with it and tells her they're leaving.

Image: SBS.

What's interesting is the clothes Janine's changed into. She goes up to Steven and does what June couldn't, in a sweater that's perfectly Handmaid red.

This frame:

It looks at once like an angel, and Handmaid wings. Image: SBS.

Angel? Handmaid hats? Both?

If I say in my mind it represents all the dead Handmaids, including Alma and Brianna, will that destroy you? ...Sorry.

Just... everything to do with Aunt Lydia.

In episode five, Aunt Lydia is taking her frustration at being forced into retirement out on a treadmill (did you also hear it say 'workout paused, Blessed day' when she pushes the pause button?)

But as she works out, gazes at new Handmaids out the window and talks to Aunt Ruth, the windows behind her are... familiar.

Handmaids. Image: SBS.

The show was at pains to show us Aunt Lydia's loss of power in the ep, because look at how small she looks in these scenes:

So. Image: SBS.

Small. Image: SBS.

Plus, I have a feeling this split image will mean something further down the track:

TWO LYDIAS. Image: SBS.

Also, did you catch the other Aunt saying 'Godspeed' to her? We've only ever heard members of Mayday say that. And when she's back in charge of Handmaids, her tune has changed slightly; she warns them of 'wicked men'. 

'Fix You'.

Okay, the use of this Coldplay cover at the end of episode 5 is... polarising. I was sceptical, but by the end of the scene I was onboard.

It's a bit cliche, but the lyrics ultimately relate to pretty much any relationship June has right now.

Also, as pointed out by this very clever Reddit thread, remember who orchestrated the ceasefire that ultimately led to the bombing? Joseph freaking Lawrence.

The man, the myth, the psychopath who orchestrated this whole disaster. Image: SBS.

And remember what he told Aunt Lydia? "Let's fix this country..."

Uh, boom. Literally.

Read more:

• Mamamia recaps The Handmaid's Tale season 4, episode 1: June just turned into Aunt Lydia.
• Mamamia recaps The Handmaid's Tale season 4, episode 2: Serena gets her biggest wish.
• Mamamia recaps The Handmaid's Tale season 4, episode 3: GET THE HECK AWAY FROM THAT TRAIN.
• Mamamia recaps The Handmaid's Tale season 4, episode 4: F*** you, Steven.
• Mamamia recaps The Handmaid's Tale season 4, episode 5: OH MY GOD, MOIRA.

Feature image: SBS.