mamadrama

These were my thoughts as well. Self blame is a big thing, even when it's unwarranted. We're coming up on the anniversary of my son's death. He and my husband were in the same room when my son died. I often find myself telling people that and then ending it with, "But it wasn't my husband's fault-there wasn't anything he could have done." Conversely, my husband does the opposite and sometimes tells people that he feels like it was his fault, even though he really could not have done anything to have stopped it.

These things are all really bothering me as well and the more I think about each episode, the more disjointed I feel about them. Someone upthread mentioned that that ending the episodes with June's various variations of "fuck that" is starting to lose its luster. I agree with that sentiment as well. Ending the episode with her taking a climactic symbolic, internal stand-only to have her beaten down in the next episode-feels less like realism and more like poor writing. Although interesting things are happening when you look at these episodes individually, I don't feel like the story itself is really progressing. It kind of feels like we're going around and around in circles. Emily did something bad she was punished via surgery; Emily did something bad, she was sent to the Colonies; Emily gets sent back to Gilead Main., etc. Unless they actually DO something with Alexis Bledel I would have literally rather seen her life unfold in the Colonies, even if it meant death or some botched escape plan, than to see her wilt away under more depressing things as a Handmaid. I hope more is coming for her. June's decisions don't always make sense to me and I feel, again, that it's less realism and more wonky writing. And I LIKE the writers, I do! I think that, as a microcosm, the show is fantastic. The characterizations of Serena and Aunt Lydia are great, for instance. When i stand back and start looking at the show as a whole, though, I find a lot of problems. The same thing happened to me with The Walking Dead: group finds new settlement that seems to be existing on its own okay, group becomes incorporated into the settlement, group spearheads a fight against another group, original settlement is almost completely wiped out. Repeat. I guess this is one of the reasons that I wouldn't mind a redemption arc for SJ or Aunt Lydia. At this point I'm kind of feeling like they should either begin progressing them towards redemption or start setting them up for some epic fall. I don't need more scenes showing me how sociopathic and bi-polar SJ is, though. I'm ready for something new.

According to the advanced reviewers, episode 10 comes with an extra "content warning" at the start of the episode. (link: Also, in this article, it's said that things get "much much worse for June" and " it's a kind of devastating two punches in the gut type of episode for her and for the audience, because it leaves her incredibly bereft at the end, and it's an incredibly emotional ride for her." https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/handmaids-tale-season-2-episode-9-explained-1119775

I think you're right and I agree. I would probably feel totally different if it were a different actress playing the character a different way (or trying to play her the same way and failing). A good writer writing a "good" villain has to straddle that gray area a lot and a good actress knows how to play it well.

I loved all the subtle digs by the Canadians: the woman telling SJ that she enjoyed reading and was a workaholic (knowing that SJ could do neither), the American guy mentioning that he'd read a lot about SJ, the Canadian man telling Fred that he was a married gay man, the woman telling SJ that she'd take the next elevator. Concerned about the "chocolate tokens" that Eden referenced. She said she'd never seen one before-does that mean that Gilead is now trading with Mexico or someone in South America? That's a little nerve-wracking on the Handmaid front.

This was bothering me as well, and then I thought about the things that go viral on social media. Say they took pictures of all the Handmaids' letters and uploaded them to FB under one post. One person shares it and then another and another. Suddenly, 150 women have had their letters seen by half the world. The sheer volume of that, as someone else said, would be unnerving. It's possible that up until this point nobody had coordinated the escapees to do anything this public. Maybe some newspaper articles were written, maybe one or two have done interviews, etc. but we don't know how scattered and inconsistent that's been. It's like the Weinstein victims; many women were victimized but it wasn't until one expose was done and a few women stepped forward that the floodgates opened and the whole world became privy to what had been going on. Perhaps, by this point in this universe, none of the women had taken the first step yet. What we've seen so far in Canada (the pretend hangings, the signs, etc.) all seem to be situated in Little America. How far has information spread outside of this bubble? I wanted Moira to should out something about Jezebels, just as I was hoping that Luke would shout out that his wife was literally being held captive by the Waterfords. (He did say that Fred raped her, but I wanted more.) In fact, along with the letters online, I think it would've been awesome if Moira and Luke had made You Tube videos about the specific things that FRED has done-you know, the Gilead ambassador that Canada was hosting. I mean, they have gold there. "You know this commander who we're current;y hosting? He used to rape me twice a week and he's got his wife as a prisoner in his house." I would've fried him.

That's exactly the way I am feeling as well, thank you for putting that so eloquently. As much as this sometimes scarily reflects real life, I am ultimately watching this show for the entertainment factor. If they can do something interesting with this kind of storyline with SJ then I am all for it.

Yes, after Fred's first meeting he said that it went well and that the Canadian government had spoken to him about returning "illegal immigrants" back to Gilead. I was glad that the episode ended the way that it did, with Canada kicking them out, because that made me very nervous.

Oh, I know, me too! I want them ALL spoiled for me, in detail, right now. Unfortunately, they didn't get into specifics. What I remember them saying is that episode 10 was "crazy". That you'll change your mind about some characters more than once in the episode, that you think they're going to do X and then they do Z. it was kind of funny because she said it was an "amazing cliffhanger", not realizing that there were 3 more left. Spoilertv will sometimes spoil the episode 2 or 3 days before it airs, but that still means we have to wait a few days. Ugh. We need someone like RealitySteve, the guy who used to spoil the whole Bachelor season.

I do think it's Eden and Issac in the pool and then hanging on the wall. As for the labor...yeah, something weird's going to happen, I think. The Emmy screener said that episode 10 is a cliffhanger. She actually thought it was the season finale and didn't realize there were three more after. :-) Could be false labor (ha ha, won't Serena Joy feel even more stupid with her stupid pretend labor), could be Aunt Lydia intervening and doing something to "protect" the child, could be Fred stepping up and revealing that he's not the father (not sure who'd get in trouble for that since they pretend that SJ is the actual mother), or something could actually happen to the baby. The episode description makes it sound like June has the baby on her own so I am confused. Hannah makes appearance next week, too, so that may be who he's taking June to see.

I loved both of those scenes. I am loving Yvonne in this role. The expression on her face as they were driving around, compared with June's when she was in the similar scene, was fantastic.

When did Nick take June to visit Hannah? The only time I remember her seeing her was when Serena Joy took her there and then left her screaming in the car. Nick did not drive on that trip, that was a different guard.

Pretty accurate Air BnB review of the Waterford House, too.

I started crying when they started singing "America the Beautiful". It's the first time I've cried in the series. It was so hopeful. It was like the time I stepped off the plane in JFK after a year abroad and saw the American flag. Didn't realize I was patriotic or that I'd even missed my country until that moment. Called it once, but I'll call it again-that's Eden and Issac in the season 2 trailer. Shit's going to go down for them and I think June and Nick will have a hand in it, just like Emily did with the former Wife in the Colonies. It bothered me in the episode when Fred said that the Canadian government people had spoken to him about sending "illegal immigrants" back to Gilead. If this happens, then I am out. That would just be too depressing. My kids love Aunt Lydia. As my 11-year-old son said tonight, "She might cut off a Handmaid's ear, but she doesn't take any shit when it comes to babies." At least now we know where some of her protectiveness comes from. Rita needs a bigger role. I hope they're saving her for something good. She is seriously underutilized. Yvonne nailed those scenes of driving through Canada. The look on her face as she saw the women walking down the street, talking on the phone, laughing, stopping and speaking to others, etc. Yeah, bitch. This is what the world is meant to look like. Lastly, Fred's "they can't even control their people." Dude, the only reason Gilead can "control" their folks is because they literally kill and rape them. I wouldn't brag.

Lots of people non Reddit asking about the "My Life" song played at the Handmaids' funeral. Iris Dement has been around since the early 1990s and has quite a few albums out, though she's not had a lot of mainstream success. (She sells out shows and has great critical acclaim but is more of a cult artist.) "Our Town" is her most popular song and was played during the series finale of NORTHERN EXPOSURE. She's also known for the dirty (it's really funny) duet "In Spite of Ourselves" that she does with John Prine. This one here is my favorite. It's a scene from the movie SONGCATCHER. Iris and actor Muse Watson are singing/playing "Pretty Saro", one of our regions's most well-known Appalachian ballads. (I'm a big fan of both of them. Muse is a neighbor and my daughter is named after Iris.) This is the song "Our Town". It's only the second song she ever wrote.

I love Ann Dowd in this role. The way she makes me despise her, yet kind of love her, within the same 5-minute span is incredible. In this episode, especially. I don't know that I would buy her going along with sneaking in a Martha yet the joy and concern on her face looked real and she seems to have genuine concern and some kind of affection for Janine. I mean, she'd probably kill her if she thought that it was in Janine's best interest, but she'd feel bad doing it.

I have a few beefs with inconsistencies as well. If I can get them to be coherent I'll head over to the "things we don't like" thread. As far as Aunt Lydia...girls' boarding school director? Midwife? Nun? School principal? Devoted and religious spinster with zero power or control before the war but who always secretly yearned to call CPS on all her neighbors and left angry notes on people's cars when they parked too close to the line?

What I understood @Earlwoode to be saying in their post was not that Fred was clergy in the traditional sense, or in the past, but that in the structure of Gilead the Commanders are also given clergy-like roles. It's possible they were; we don't know since the show hasn't really gotten into the intricacies of the political structure, but it did show a Commander going the marriage ceremony so it's possible that, since they're tearing down the churches, they have created some kind of political system where the higher ups hold both political and religious titles.

Eh, I wouldn't care. It's a good show and Yvonne a great actress. I'd be entertained either way.

To be fair, she may very well end up doing some of those things. We have no idea where the writers are going with her storyline. They're just not starting to show her crack.

And for his tiny wee wee.

I truly think that the abuse and neglect just boils down to disinterest in the child and I think that's the point the show was trying to make with Janine-that children need love and care to thrive and that in this particular situation the baby was much better off with her natural mother, even though that mother was considered tainted or whatever.

That's the way I see it as well. It looks to me like she's giving him a tin of cookies as a going away present and then taking his hand to say goodbye. I also think that Eden is headed for trouble, especially considering that her father and sister are going to show up in upcoming episodes.

Just saw this article. It's from April, so fairly recent. Reminded me of what happened at the Globe... Department Of Homeland Security Compiling Database Of Journalists And 'Media Influencers' https://www.forbes.com/sites/michellefabio/2018/04/06/department-of-homeland-security-compiling-database-of-journalists-and-media-influencers/#7e581f876121

I would like to see that as well. I think a storyline about someone being a part in the original formation of Gilead finally seeing the monster they unleashed and then helping to destroy it would be a fine storyline. I believe that, unlike Fred or some of the other commanders, SJ is redeemable. She does appear to see at least some of the injustices, unlike others who don't seem to see them at all. Doesn't mean I like her, but in a story arc kind of way I could definitely get onboard with an SJ redemption arc if that's the way the writers decide to go. However, I could just as easily see her getting sent to the Colonies or Jezebel's and I'd be fine with that storyline as well.