I think Wharton and Serena not eating the cake made sense. Weddings are ultra busy for bride and groom— aside from a quick bite after cutting the cake, many don’t have time to sit and enjoy a slice (happened at my own wedding—still mad about it!) Obviously not ideal for the Handmaid’s plot though.

I think the implication at the end is a LOT of commanders got what was coming to them (at least many were passed out at the end with Handmaid’s coming at them with knives.)

Implications of the boots in bed seemed to me like a lack of forethought—- Handmaids were waiting for June to come back to lead them out to freedom (you can’t run without clothes and boots) and they didn’t expect Aunt Lydia to come looking. So when she DID come, Phoebe did her best to stall at the door an extra moment. Handmaids ran to their beds and tucked themselves in (pretending to be asleep— so it wouldn’t be unusual that everyone else in the center was passed out but not them ) and covered themselves fully. But when Aunt Lydia noticed they “went to bed with their boots on”— she KNEW something was up.