Spoiler alerts for Season 3 of The Handmaid’s Tale

D.C. transformed into a bleak shadow of itself in the newest episode of Hulu’s original series The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s still the center of government, but it’s even more of a nightmare compared to other locations set in the same dystopian future.

Back in February, the series brought a bunch of handmaids to the National Mall for a day of filming. Now, we finally get to see the result in the sixth episode of the season, “Household,” which dropped Wednesday.

To catch you up: Protagonist June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) travels to D.C. with Fred and Serena Waterford (Joseph Fiennes and Yvonne Strahovski) on a mission to bring back baby Nichole from Canada. (The infant escaped from Gilead with Emily [Alexis Bledel], but the Waterfords say she was kidnapped.) Whew.

If this were a home improvement show, we’d hate what they did with the place.

Via Vulture:

In the capital, Handmaids have their mouths wired shut, formerly beloved U.S. landmarks and monuments have been shattered or reimagined, and no Commander would even remotely consider bending the rules.

And yet, the creepiest parts of the episode are the sweeping shots of the city under an ominously grey sky.

The first glimpse of D.C. comes by way of train. June parts a red curtain on her Amtrak-To-Hell and gazes upon the Washington Monument—which has now been turned into a cross. (I have some architectural questions—is it top heavy? Did they cut the original monument to splice in the addition? How will it hold up to high winds?)

The conductor announces the train is approaching National Station, formerly known as Union Station. This is where we first get a look into how much worse the seat of government is for handmaids. It makes New England, where the majority of the show takes place, look like Dystopian Disney.

Union Station is no longer the light-filled place we once knew. It’s instead lit by fluorescent bulbs that flicker on and off. Armed men stand guard as Gilead’s flags hang above.

“Isn’t this magnificent?” Aunt Lydia asks June.

“The old one was so beautiful,” June says.

“They don’t stand for disorder, not in the capital,” Aunt Lydia tells June.

They definitely don’t.

Men and women also appear to have their own escalators in the station.

Toward the end of the episode, June and the Waterfords head to the National Mall, which looks … different. For one thing, the Lincoln Memorial is Lincoln-less.

And it’s all for a purpose, as episode writer Dorothy Fortenberry, who grew up in D.C., tells Vulture. “We wanted to heighten the horror and the power to really show that Gilead had set up, in a real way, a government that they imagine is going to be around for a thousand years.”

In D.C., June wears a muzzle of sorts in the same crimson red as her gowns. She joins the other handmaids on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as Fred and Serena put on a PR show for the world. Series creator Bruce Miller tells Vulture he was inspired by Nazi speeches and marches: “They want it to look like everybody is always together.”

No real flags were used due to National Park Service rules (the ones in the episode are all special effects). But the image still drives the point home that D.C. in Gilead is a place for order and uniformity.

In the final scenes, Fred leads the handmaids in prayer for baby Nichole while cameras record every angle.

The episode ends with June staring up at the sky, the Washington Memorial-turned-cross reflecting in her eyes.