alexvillage

Yes, absolutely right. And if they wanted to include people of color, particularly black people, they could have kept an All White Gilead, given the resistance black leadership and actually done something with that story. Instead, they decided to focus on the handmaid telling a tale that is so boring and repetitive, while having so little in common with the original intent of the book and even with what I thought was the original intent of the show. In fact, each episode seems to have little to do with the previous one. The show runners are a messed up group of bad-at-their-jobs people who hire bad writers. The result is what I no longer watch, but that seems to be in a fast nose dive.

Reading this it also occurred to me that Callie was all contained and unable to express her opinion - maybe because she felt that it would be bad for Jamie if she spoke her mind, sort of - but she is completely fine not thinking about the consequences of her unprofessional actions, or about lying to her boss because the party was important to Jamie. It is not very consistent Callie, despite the "soul searching" about her professional choice.

That's a most accurate analysis. I like Evan and the fact that they did give him the autism diagnosis and didn't completely messed up with OMG! Cure! or didn't go all savant Autistic was a relief. It is true that for Autistics who have difficulty with intimate relationships, having someone who is accepting and who doesn't judge to talk to, maybe get some advice is very helpful. Mariana was that. I can only hope they just keep him with all the complexities of someone who is you know, human. I also hope they don't make Mariana into the savior and that she remains a good friend.

So now Callie is in this deep soul search, not sure about career choices? I think it was poorly written. The show gave us this social justice warrior who makes all these mistakes because she wants to believe she can save to world and when she is called you on her mess up she is just "not sure"? I really liked Alice's story and I really like the timing of the actress but it was too dramatic for something we might not even see the outcome - next episode will be Cast 2, things lose continuity. Speaking of cast 1 and 2 - purely speculation here but if the show is avoiding using the whole cast - or most of it - every episode like they did in the first season, I can only think of two things: 1. Change in the contracts because they cannot afford to pay "full time", so they focus on the two protagonists who probably get more money and are EDs - which might indicate that this is the last season. 2. A fit from at least one of the protagonists and a demand for more "me-centered" stories. Talking about Maia. I don't follow any other forums, but in this one most of us really like the other characters, and are a little annoyed by Callie. I don't think people dislike her as much as I do, but if there are other forums I assume that they do like the other characters and stories. I don't think is is a stretch to see a diva moment from a ED, also a protagonist, if her character (and acting, perceived or real) caused the changes to focus more on her. Shallow point: the dress that Callie was wearing was adorable on her but for someone who is basically unemployed, who does't have enough money to pay rent, has she ever repeated a piece of wardrobe (other than her pantsuit for the court work)? And those heels! She is with her boyfriend at his house and she doesn't look comfortable at all.

Or maybe he wanted t hire them but is the controlling type that doesn't really care about the ideas, only the appearances. For what I have seen/read about him and his excuses for the poor job he does, he is the mansplaining type, the clueless type.

I still get angry just thinking about what happened to those boys, now men. Yes, that's something I hadn't thought about. I do think Alexis' performance was much better this season, pretty much the only thing I liked about the episodes I watched. She conveyed a lot with silence in the scenes of her arrival in Canada and her internal struggles. I guess it depends on how many episodes and when they tape it. Lawrence can still pop up from time to time.

I don't really think the Emmy Awards is a measure of good/awesome anything, but they do indicate what is "hot" inside the industry - itself a mess of preferences, deals and extreme PR attacks. It is good then, that the show and the main actress got snubbed. I don't know why Alexis Bledel is not there, but I don't follow shows closely, although I do watch some - probably none of the ones that get nominated, since I don't have cable, only watch streaming stuff. I would like to see her being widely recognized, even if it is by an somewhat rigged award. Maybe this is the beginning of the end. Out of the nominees for Drama, I only watch This is Us, which I like but don't think it is amazing, and Ozark , which I thought was very well done and acted, something new. Couldn't finish Killing Eve, although it was the first time ever that I liked Sandra Oh. The rest, it have no idea and don't even feel like trying either.

Yes, I agree that this was long overdue. Still, there is a possibility that the writers will just make something happen that will get her new boss to apologize to her for not believing her 100% from the start. I admit that my view of Callie is somewhat biased because I can't stand the actress. She is also an executive producer, so she might have some say on what happens to the character.

June is messed up because the writers messed her. In the book the character is anyone, a victim of the absurdities of the totalitarian regime. She is also a mystery. The writers in the show just don't know what to do with her, they have no concept of nuance, so the character lacks the same. She is a caricature of the book's character. I liked the young EM in the West Wing. Small doses of her, her story was cute. When I stopped watching the show on season 5, she was already kind of boring, but that was probably the general failng of the show. I watched the remaining seasons a while after they finished and felt the same meh. I never watched Mad Men. I am probably the only person who found the show extremely boring. Didn't make it past the first episode and don't even remember much of it. Then I saw EM on Top of the Lake, which I hated. I watched the whole thing out of stubbornness. Her performance was terrible, imo. So I am not impressed. The fact that she is a cultist makes me very unsympathetic to her. I have seen the stories and the hard choices people who want to leave the cult have to make but I also know that celerities are treated differently. There is no real excuse, with all the information around and the platform she has.

So, June survives because she is fertile and then the handmaid who had three kids and is pregnant gets shot? Is that what happened? yEah, it makes total sense. 👏👏👏 your whole post. June survives because she is not only June, she is a main character who knows she is the main character. At this point I guess it is fair to speculate if Miscavige has something on the showrunners. Or maybe it is Hubbard himself. Who knows? Tethans, cultists, the hole...Do we have to start a "save Miller" campaign to see if he gets his sense back?

Wow, I cannot believe Criminal Minds survived this long. It became unwatchable to me several years ago - some characters were never watchable and the acting was baaaaaaad.

Same. I could get past the bad stuff though, and it was semi-enjoyable. It has been a free fall since the first episode of the second season. Initially, I could just dismiss it as a one-off thing, but then it acme clear that there was no hope with the head-writers in charge. Not only they are bad at what they do - writing - they are the type of clueless men who see women as stereotypes.

And here we have another example of missed plot opportunities the writers could have explored to go beyond the book and justify their cholce of including the handmaids of color and ignore Gilead's white supremacist ideology. They could have used one of the close ups to introduce a line about the value of having PoC, I guess it would be black people in particular, as vital to increase the number of births and THEN having the racist couple say whatever they said. I said many times that one of the things that bug me the most about the series versus the book is the white supremacist erasure. This little made up plot that I - a non-writer, definitely not creative - imagine would at least explain that. Instead, we get bullshit.

Wow, having a replacement child for the one who is gone. Poor kid. This is not love.

I agree. I just think it is out of character. She has been very direct on everything she does and says. I do think that's completely understandable, for a person to change how to react to things when there is a high emotional issue in the balance. I just don't see this in shows. I would welcome her father's complexities if they include his Black Panthers life. There are several cases of extra harsh punishment for some members that the "justice" system refuses to address. People change, and the BP did a lot of good stuff, and they did some controversial stuff too. It would be interesting to see some of this played out. And hopefully including their allyship and commitment to the fight of disabled people that eventually led to the ADA. That is important to me.