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Her right hand fingertips look like mechanical nodules from the photo perspective, giving her bump a whiff of cyborgism. Our baby was born with USB-C and lightening cable inputs for maximum versatility. Praise Be!

Agreed so much. It's not just the potential for confusion regarding where she was shot, it's that she being aware she was infertile made much more sense for her character development. It would push to her a harder line against the then-existing government and the opposition to her movement -- they took her opportunity to be a mother away from her. It would explain why she and Fred stopped having sex and why he was assigned a handmaid right off the bat. It would make sense how determined she was to have June conceive, even if it meant having sex with Nick, since it was the only way Serena would get her precious baby. I don't know why she didn't go the turkey baster route long before if her fertility wasn't at issue. Maybe we're supposed to understand that she put off trying to get pregnant until her revolution came into being, then found out she couldn't? (Like the feminists she railed against.) It doesn't seem like she gave it much time if the revolution is only three-some years ago. If she were much older, as she was in the book, it would make more sense that she just ran out of time. When she tells Fred that he isn't the father of June's child, she spits at him that "he's not worthy" to be a father. It was a line with a ring of truth for Serena. She notices how Mrs Putnam is a lousy mother and can't help remarking on it. If she were able to conceive, to be "worthy," to be a mother, I believe she would, even if she had to choose a father other than her husband. I've thought about this way too much!

I'm curious about Isaac's execution. Don't get me wrong, the character was a jerk and I'm not shedding tears over him. What is his crime? If he and Eden ran off together, would he, like Eden, be executed on charges of adultery? Or is more akin to 'theft of property" -- and is Eden considered Nick's property (as his wife) or Cmdr Waterford's (as part of his household)? Nick seems to be much higher on the food chain than Isaac while not being any sort of direct supervisor. We've seen Cmdr Putnam's hand cut off for the improper relationship with Jeanine. Did Marisa Tomei-Wife say what happened to her husband when she was sentenced to the colonies? I thought nothing happened to him, but may be misremembering. What about her lover? The particicution male victim was said to have raped a pregnant handmaid, who subsequently lost the baby, so his execution was directly linked to the fetus' death (though we don't know if that was truly his crime). Under misogynist Gilead rule, I can see Eden being executed for adultery, but would expect a severe-but-lesser sentence for Isaac, the innocent victim of a female seductress. "He just needs a wife of his own," they'd think, "and reassignment." I guess not if he took another man's property (and a higher-ranking man's at that).

I think so, too -- why show her being shot there if it wasn't to imply that it may impact her conception chances? That would embitter her against the resistance and lead to her being more strident and extreme in her viewpoints about the need for a Gilead-type society. I also think that if her husband's fertility were the only barrier to pregnancy, she would have found a way to conceive without him, just as she found a way for her handmaid to conceive without him. Her desire to be a mother is the one thing Serena has been consistent about throughout the series, and it's the main barrier to her joining or assisting the resistance. Would Serena be able to give up what is likely to be her last chance to become a mother?

The pants to me signified that Serena was calling for a return to traditional values, but didn't foresee the end result. Her envisioned utopian wardrobe was not a muted teal dress. Serena provided an appealing public face for the pro-Gilead movement. Once the movement achieved power, she wasn't needed any more. As for deserving to have slaves: If the shooting rendered her (or contributed to her being) infertile, she would likely think that she deserved the child that terrorists violently took from her. I don't doubt that Serena had an overwhelming desire to be a mother before Gilead, and, now that Gilead is in power, that's all she has left. It's all too easy to believe that people deserve to be slaves. If you consider them unrepentant sinners -- or animals -- then, as Aunt Lydia would say, they should be grateful for the opportunities they are given to serve Gilead. Serving Gilead is the only way to save one's soul. If you can't serve or refuse to serve, then you are officially declared inhuman (unwoman) and sent to the colonies, or wherever.

The scene where June/Offred kneeled and pleaded to stay with the Waterfords was striking and IMO hinted at this. The staging was done quite well with the Commander, as, well, household commander, the focal point and Serena sitting to the side on the couch alternating between stony anger and exasperated eye rolling. I thought the scene also hinted that Offred made the first plea, but June emerged during the second plea as she locked eyes with the Commander and breathtalked the words with parted lips. Although powerless in this dynamic, she nonetheless was able to manipulate him because she knows his buttons. The Commander sought Serena's reaction after Offred's first statement, but he made the decision without consultation after the second plea. The way it was filmed was almost as a romantic or seductive scene in any other show, which drove home how f-ed up the Gilead situation is.

Have we seen Carrie nonverbal before when off her meds? I have some experience with bipolar disorder with a family member, but I assume it was a different diagnosis than Carrie's. The storyline of her meds becoming ineffective hit close to home for me, since finding the "right" medication and dosage can be so difficult with the side effects. I had the impression that she was subjected to psychological manipulation beyond not getting her medication. I don't know how asylums are in Russia, but I assume they're grim. Maybe the Manchurian candidate mention above is on target.

I accepted that Carrie chose to keep the wig on until she heard that Saul and the team were safely away. She wanted the active focus to be on tracking Not-Simone's very warm trail, not on wondering how Simone Actual could have disappeared into thin air, which could have led to the correct conclusion too quickly.

The john with Lilly put his hands around her neck as he was so unattractively banging her. I thought that's why she turned the table on him -- and liked it! A follow-up to her speech to Victor about how women were expected to endure pain for the pleasure of random men.

His death may mean an available house on the block, which would make sense after being introduced to neighbors. The neighborhood is central to the storyline. Maybe for extra drama Yanis left everything to Kev, his one true friend. Regardless, Fiona still has the approved mortgage.

If you read the admittedly cryptic descriptions of course selection for the directed electives, it references an expanded online catalogue that includes courses apparently offered by other AR colleges. If you pursue focused directive electives, it's splitting hairs as to whether it's a general AA with a focus on poli sci or an AA in poli sci.

Looking at the AA program requirements, I think he could have completed a functional AA in poli sci depending upon what his directed electives were: http://m.catalog.npcc.edu/#programdetails1 It looks like they encourage regular elective courses be taken online with the expectation that most students pursuing an AA will transfer into a BA program. This would have required initiative, a bit of research and a willingness to seek the counsel of heathen advisors, but do-able. Whether Ben would go to that effort, I don't know.

Jujube?

I get the impression that Jim Bob is still angling for a TLC show or specials minus Josh but with JB still calling the shots. What will interest me is whether we'll see the current unified approach break down because the Seewalds or Dillards (less likely) understand that Jessa/Ben's and Jill/Derrick's interests differ from JB's on this issue. Ben's father has taken the stage before to call for a marriage when JB seemed to be on a timetable that differed from Ben's.

That's why this was about keeping a Jim Bob & Michelle-focused show. Jessa and Jill would have been better served if they had controlled their interview more and gave people reason to wamt to watch a spinoff.

I have great sympathy for Jill and Jessa. However, if the thinking behind the them doing this interview was because --they would perform the best --they are married and thus can portray that the molestation did not harm them long term --they are better known, which would make them more sympathetic / believable it didn't work for me. I saw young women who seemed far younger than their years, who were a bizarre combination of naivete and sharp observations on FOIA procedures and porn's exploitation of women, and who both seem to be dealing with some difficult (unknown) issues in different ways. I couldn't help but think that if Jill and Jessa are the two 'success stories' in terms of how Jim Bob and Michelle handled the situation, my heart breaks for them and the other young women. They need healing. The thought of the show continuing makes me ill.

I'll be surprised if any of the older daughters appear for the interview.

THAT'S the spinoff I'd watch.

The Duggars spent a lot of time focusing hate and vengeance on people who aren't like them: gay and trans people were their most visible targets, but not their only targets. They made enemies and it's not surprising that some of those enemies are proving to be resourceful -- it's like a crowd-sourced investigation.ETA: The people targeted with vile accusations by the Duggars didn't need to stoop to the same level -- everything that has come to light has been documented. Leg-humpers will continue to hump legs; it's what they do.

I don't know -- doofus marries pretty girl, immediately knocks her up and announces intention to devote rest of his life to preaching at non-believers. It's too much "Jim Bob & Michelle: The Early Years," minus the titillating bikini lawn mowing.

I read the forums much more than I ever watched the show, which honestly bored the crap out of me the few times I came across it. Jill's wedding episode was the first episode I ever watched, mainly because I was home sick and enjoying the forum commentary. So I'm admittedly an outlier. That said, I don't know that I'd characterize losing the show as punishing or revictimizing anyone. If anything, these developments indicate the show $$ is golden handcuffs for the kids. If the Dillards have to make do with Derrick's income ... well, they're still better off than many young people their age are. And just maybe Ben and Jessa will be better off in the long run if they have to figure out how to live independently. Being a reality star is a job, but this job bound the kids closely to the parents and we all saw that JB used every opportunity to keep the older ones dependent on him. Blowing it up may be difficult in the short term but help the kids of all ages carve out more independence in the long run.

I confess: I do tend to get a bit judgey when sexual assault of a child is involved. And I can honestly say that in carefully perusing my own life, I'm not perfect, but I've somehow been able to avoid mistakes like molesting a 5-year-old.

The phrase 'whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap' springs to mind.

I am sadly waiting for the next shoe to drop. I suspect the survivors named in the poorly redacted report are not the only victims. There seems to be a disturbing pattern of escalation by Josh and I fear that he learned over time how to not get caught. I always thought the show would end in wreckage, but I guess I believed it would be a long slow decline of failed marriages, depression and substance abuse as hundreds of grandchildren were born to uneducated, sheltered children who have no clue how to survive in Real Life. I didn't foresee a trainwreck this sudden and catastrophic, even though clues were there.

Ben has choices, too. He can stay on the gravy train, knowing that it means getting his chain (necktie) yanked on a regular basis by Jim Bob, or he can establish some independence for himself and his family. It doesn't have to be 100% either/or, but if he doesn't start planning his future soon he'll find himself scrubbing toilets for Smuggar in another ten years.