mamadrama

I'd like to see this happen, but I think that last Particicution was rigged. I don't believe that man really raped a pregnant Handmaid (although it looked like Aunt Lydia believed it). I think he may have been part of Mayday or something. I'm really hoping that something comes from this, though. The episode description, saying that there is fallout from their actions, gives me hope. Someone needs to tell Aunt Lydia, she will need to believe it, and there needs to be some kind of proof. (On another forum they were saying that she'd be bruised and have torn tissue, but that would only be visible in her vaginal area if they look for it before she gives birth. Afterwards, it could be contributed to the birthing process.) Lastly, there needs to be some kind of actual law that prohibits such things. We know that they don't like sex outside of procreation (and even then only X many times a month/week/whatever). But there may be some kind of loophole when it comes to "natural" methods of labor encouragement and Fred may be aware of these. I'm just playing devil's advocate of course. I hope the fucker hangs. I'm just afraid that the fallout with him won't be nearly as satisfying as it should be. I'm a little frustrated right now.

Hmm, I disagree. At any rate, my comment was really just in response to the high heels. Many Amish and Mennoninte communities live around me and I don't think I've ever seen heels on any of the women. Boots, mostly. To each their own, but I actually think Yvonne looks pretty. I wouldn't want to wear that same outfit every day, and I certainly wouldn't want to be MADE to wear that, but I don't hate it.

Probably for the same reason the Stepford Wives men had their women in high heels-it hearkens back to the 1950's ideal housewife ideal-dresses, matching heels, always well groomed, not working outside of the home, etc.

I know, right? Some articles hint at him being cruel, others at him being "kind" but kind of suspicious acting. Gah, I need better spoilers. Which Emmy screener or advance reviewer do I need to suck up to make things happen?

Here we go... https://www.avclub.com/bradley-whitford-joins-the-handmaids-tale-for-its-secon-1823056726 "The Handmaid's Tale Mega Buzz: A "Cruel" Character Means Trouble for Emily" http://www.tvguide.com/news/the-handmaids-tale-season-2-spoilers-bradley-whitford-character/

I posted the pictures of the couple upthread. I think that Fred takes June to see Hannah as a "reward" for the last ceremony.

Sorry, no dice so far. He said in an interview that he and June have a "sweet moment" in the last episode. Of course, he might die in a housefire shortly after that, but, you know... ;-)

Twice, actually. :-) It took 3 tries to get in the first time. At that time they were limiting the number of tourists who entered each year. It was very beautiful there, I loved it. My trips to Bhutan and Tibet, and later to Bosnia right after the war ended, are some of my favorite memories. In my early twenties as a young, single, blonde American I stood out in a lot of places I got sent to but I was also MUCH more adventurous than I am now. We drove into town for pizza tonight and I am exhausted.

yes! I want to hear her talk about things that could get these men in trouble in Gilead as well as on an international front. She holds a lot of cards. I also want to hear her talking about how her medical history was held against her (how it made her a Handmaid) and then get into the mind fuckery that goes on at the Red Center. Then about how the Wives actually hold the women down for sex. Tell the world about her "choice" to either go to the Colonies or to Jezebels. Just let it all hang out. I know the American man did it on a lesser front, but I wanted that mother to rip Serena a new one and tell her how awful she was for basically helping her husband rape a woman and then stealing her child-all the things that the Handmaids want to say to the Wives and can't. Serena would have had to have just stood there and taken it.

yes, I believe so. I believe that was stated in an article earlier in the season, that the two of their acting styles together were pretty awesome. I was thinking about that earlier. About, as terrible as things are now, the women *do* have a limited amount of freedom in that they are "allowed" to walk to the store, to get together for births, to be in their bedrooms by themselves, etc. That's not much, but when you're basically living in captivity, every little bit helps. Then you think about what basically boiled down to "rape centers" during the Bosnian War and how THOSE women were treated, and then killed. Yeah. This could get a lot worse. I'm not down with that. A part of me actually enjoys each week's episode of "WTF Serena". While I don't believe this is "torture porn", I do believe it can cross the line into misery porn. I need a break now and then. Something hopeful. A commander getting his balls cut off every now and then, a Wife choking on a birthing day cookie.

I feel the same about THE WALKING DEAD. I've quit watching out of boredom and because it's just one bad thing after another. When the series ends I'll go back through and binge the last few seasons.

Well, the US guy seemed to know an awful lot about Serena...I am sure they have people on the inside down there, feeding them intelligence. Look at how they had the names of the women who died in the bombing-not to mention the Martha and other women who have escaped and could talk about what it was like inside the households. And who knows-perhaps Gilead officials DID send them information before the trip. We always received a dossier containing need to know information before they arrived.

I thought of Grace Kelly, too. :-) This has nothing to do with my opinion of her as a person, but standing there in her little blue dress and cloak and her blonde hair, I thought she looked beautiful, if silly and a little out of place. Yvonne is a striking woman. With that being said, I'd have been depressed, too, to have to return to my closet of teal which is only slightly better than the ugly underwear and bulky red sweatshirt that June has.

Although they probably were rolling their eyes a little bit, this truly is a diplomacy thing. When foreign diplomats are welcomed like that, a TON of research is done on how to properly ensure that their customs and culture are respected and implemented as much as possible. For a time I worked at a major ivy league school here in the states and we had a special 6-month program that the children of foreign leaders and even foreign government officials would enroll in. I was specifically hired to help coordinate activities for the family members of these students. I went through extensive training on how to incorporate certain aspects of their culture into the activities and basically how not to put my foot into my mouth over some things. It was very difficult at times, especially since we occasionally had students and families from countries in which the women were VERY repressed. Not being allowed to look them in the eye, talk about certain subjects (like driving, the internet, or pop culture, etc.), shake their hand, was hard. We absolutely would have given Serena Joy a schedule in pictures because, in her country, she's not allowed to read. We would have wanted to make the visit as smooth and comfortable for them as possible. (I mean, we would've laughed about it as we were making it out, but we would've done it.) The way it was explained over and over is that it might not make any sense to US but those women eventually have to return to their own country and we have to think about how they're going to be treated there. We don't want to make things worse for them. If SJ isn't allowed to read and we give her something that requires reading, is Fred going to beat her up or have her killed upon return? We don't want that on our shoulders. Now, if she sneaks some racy romance in the bookstore or reads a road sign, that's on her. Not our problem. Anything WE gave her, though, would be following their "rules."

Episode 11 says that SJ and Fred pay for their actions against June, but I bet it's still Eden and Issac in pool. I wonder why they won't announce ep 13's title. Must be a revealing one! Something like Drop Dead Fred? :-)

Episode 12: Postpartum June finds herself back in a familiar place. Nick is rocked by Gilead's brutal response to a crime. Emily is assigned to a mysterious new house. Doesn't sound like Nick in the pool, unless it is him and he doesn't die.

As a former travel writer, I have traveled to countries that weren't open for the general public to just go into and walk around on their own. We either had personal guides or had to book a tour package (like in Bhutan in the 1990s). They could do either one of these with Gilead and it would control the flow.

According to IMDB, a diver and underwater cameraman are present in episodes 11 and 12, as well as a stunt double for Elisabeth.

THIS is why I would be okay with SJ hanging around for a while-not because I particularly like her or agree with anything she's done, etc. but because making her a complex character is just really interesting from a creative perspective. These little moments of humanity mixed in with moments of complete awfulness from her is intriguing. In real life people are all kinds of shades of gray and watching these moments unfold is riveting to me. I like learning about the bad guys' pasts, getting a sense of what might have made them this way, understanding their sometimes messed up moral code, etc. I feel like that, in this case, the characterization of some of the "villainous" women is better than the "good" ones. I want to see more of Aunt Lydia, for instance, and I find myself looking forward more to her scenes than June's.

I'm okay with a variety of ways of achieving his death: stoning by Handmaids, ripped apart by Aunt Lydia, shot by Luke, weighted down in water by Rita, etc. I have zero cares for what happens to Fred, just as long as it's bad. (Then maybe my darling Joe Fiennes can go back to making me love him again.)

Maybe it really IS the Waterfords in that swimming pool. I was really onboard with it being Issac and Eden, but perhaps it's not. I am totally fine with a Serena redemption arc. I am just as fine with Serena going out by the very laws she helped create, too. I'm pretty easy to please. My hope is on Aunt Lydia. I just hope they believe June. I do believe that Eden finds out about it, though, and reports it to Nick-hence the whole "it's the Handmaid" line and his "you're not making any sense."

This act really cements Fred as a complete moron. I mean, if WE know this then he should know this. Unless, of course, they planned on killing June and doing a homemade C-section. "Oops! Sorry we didn't call everyone to come over for the fake birthing ceremony. She just went into labor so quickly and the baby was in danger. Sorry we couldn't save both!" So weird. I went from going, "I hope the baby doesn't die because I really couldn't take that" to "If June can't keep the baby then I hope something happens to it." Damn this show.

Gilead people be so dumb...don't they realize that orgasm and nipple stimulation are two of the best ways to encourage labor? Doh! What am I thinking? That would offer some kind of sexual satisfaction to the woman and they're definitely not into that. Aunt Lydia's going to be mad.

Same with the Putnams. They're an "older" couple as well. I'd say late 40s/early 50s which, naturally, isn't "old" but in the scheme of the show, it seems like that could have had children before the fertility rates became a problem. Part of Serena Joy's book was about how women put children on hold for careers and such. Maybe that's meant to be the implication? That they didn't try until it was a problem? Or maybe some of those people just flat out didn't want children at all. (But now they're supposed to want one so they have to try with a Handmaid, which could explain Naomi's resentment.)

Welcome back! I had a hysterectomy a few years ago, I also had adenomyosis and the only treatment is a hysterectomy, although my uterus ruptured before the surgery was scheduled. I think that's THE most difficult surgery I've had. Even my brain surgery had an easier recovery. Honestly, it took about 6 months before I felt "normal" again, so please do take it easy! Don't try to be a hero with the pain pills. This is the one time you can pop them without guilt. :-) Drop in and catch up when you feel like it! We love you!