Pearlinbloom

Rewatching the season, had actually skipped this one the first time round since I saw it was a Philip centric episode & I just wasn’t interested. But I loved the little connection between this and the Bubbikins episode. Elizabeth talking to the Prime Minister, saying no one could be an ideal & that “only God is ideal” and that they are just like everyone else “get colds”, etc. Then we meet the astronauts, Philip’s ideals of men, and they all have colds. And God is her answer (more or less) to Philip’s midlife crisis. Groaned at Philip complaining about them when she clearly was identifying with them. Not my favorite episode of the season but much better than I initially expected!

Just binged the whole season thanks to my local library. Whoa! - Really hoping we get some fresh backstories in S3. For Lydia, Rita, and Commander Lawrence especially. Perhaps while Lydia recovers she reflects back on her sister and nephew? And after seeing Rita & the Martha network I’m more than 100% certain her son fought against Gilead (before I thought it was possible he found his mother a Martha position to keep her safe if he was pro-Gilead). And Lawrence is just too interestingly different from the other commanders to not explore. - If Emily and Nicole make it to Canada, is she going to try to pass her off as her own? Will she try to track down June’s husband? June tucking that picture of Hannah in to the blanket made me wonder if Emily finds Luke, asks if he wants to care for June’s child, he says “no” but then the picture of Hannah falls out & he decides to raise Nicole even if she’s not his (and presumably Waterford’s in his mind) because she IS his wife’s daughter and his own daughters sister. - Loved Nick standing up to Waterford finally! Not sure how that will work out for him but so satisfying! -Loved how EVERYONE in the Waterford house, except Fred himself, was ultimately complicit in the escape. I really thought Serena would take the baby and call for a guardian but perhaps her letting her go means some actual character growth? - Frustrated by June’s decision to stay. I get that she wants to save Hannah from Gilead. I get that narrative-wise it wouldn’t be a “handmaids tale” if it’s not following a handmaid, but! How can the Gilead powers that be think that June is still worth keeping as a handmaid with all of the unusual circumstances surrounding her? The “kidnapping” that more than a few Commanders have to suspect was an escape. The drive that went wrong & led to her giving birth alone ? Her refusal to stone Janine? Now the baby has vanished and there is no way they won’t suspect her. It just strains belief that season 3 will keep the same status quo of June (and Nick & Rita) all in the Waterford household. I’d love for all of them to get reassigned to Commander Lawrence & lead the resistance from there... but that would be too pleasant for this show.

Physically Elfo reminds me of Bart. But personality or story function wise (only three Episodes in)I feel like he’s a rated R version of Olaf from Frozen.

Well Aunt Jo did mention that she was a great patron of the arts due to her late partner. And that she had been too upset to hold the party the previous year. So I could I imagine that the party was a bit larger than usual as it seemed to also be part memorial for her wife. Everyone in their community would want to pay their respects. I would also think rsvping “No” to the person providing funding to your artistic endeavors very unlikely. So whether all of the people at the party were “out” or not, it would be poor form NOT to attend the the party. As for inviting Anne & Diana, Aunt Jo seemed to have reached a point in her life where she wanted to be honest about who she was. And she’s in a position of wealth and privilege where even if there was some gossip about her, it wouldn’t really have much of an impact. Like, if it got back to Diana’s parents, I could see them limiting her to supervised visit with the girls. But, from what they’ve shown of the adult Barry’s, they wouldn’t want to be cut out of her will. I think they were trying to show with Cole how it could easily go another way. He is clearly from a poor farming family, in a tiny community. He’s picked on by the other boys, even by his teacher. If Aunt Jo didn’t intervene his story could have been much sadder than it was. As for the spirit of the source materials, there are definitely queer interpretations of certain characters in the series. I don’t want to veer too much off the episode discussion, but one of Anne’s future sons reminds me of Cole a great deal. So I don’t think it’s against the spirit of the books, but is more implied than explicit.

I loved Aunt Jo’s soirée. Everything about it. The costumes, the decorations. I think a costume party would have been the perfect cover story for a gathering of that kind during the time. I also am intrigued whenever they delve into Marilla and Mathew’s childhood.

I love the addition of Bash to the series. I was relieved that Gilbert’s Doctor was kind enough to treat Bash, and am fascinated by the Bog. I feel like I read every LM Montgomery book growing up, but I don’t recall a single one mentioning it. Definitely a change for the better to include it. I was was so relieved Prissy left that jerk at the altar. She deserves to follow her dream and go to college. Plus, Billy as Best Man? Terrible choice. I hope Cole goes back to school now that Mr. Phillips has been publicly humiliated & done-zo.

Didn’t grifters occasionally pop up in the Road to Avonlea program? This episode felt more akin to that show than to AoGG. Not a criticism, just observation. And I feel like they’re setting Jerry up to be the Gus Pike character, but perhaps that’s best left to another thread.

I’ve always wondered if the commanders would extend their use of handmaids by wanting not just a healthy baby, but a healthy *boy* baby. A child they could raise to be a commander someday who would carry on their name. A girl child will just become a wife. So maybe phase two of Gilead could involve that?

I've always been curious about the daughters in Gilead society, especially the ones taken from their families and redistributed to the Commanders. Is there a cutoff age for teenage daughters? Like, 12 & under get new parents, 13 and up go to the Red centers for training? Are they evaluated for fertility like the adult women at some point? After reading the book I pictured some of the aging commanders choosing amongst the daughters for more pliable wives (after ridding themselves of their first wives one way or another) and not being concerned about finding wives for their sons, much in the way some modern cults marry child brides & force sons out.