S05.E02: Ballet

[crashdown]

54 minutes ago, Redrum said:

3 hours ago, Haleth said:

Serena is probably too old to be shunted off as a handmaid.  She was dang lucky to get pregnant at her age but what commander's wife is going to want to take a chance on someone her age?  More likely she'd end up in the colonies.

This is honestly a problem for June as well. 

They're both in their mid-to-late thirties. How old do you think they need to be to bear children?

[chaifan]

1 hour ago, Kel Varnsen said:

On the other hand Serena's mom is somehow single (I assume that her husband/Serena's dad died), but she somehow still has a ton of freedom and a comparable level of status to a Commander's wife. So if they didn't expect her to get married right away maybe there is a chance for Serena, if they blame the crimes on Fred.

I hadn't really thought about it, but we have seen very few "older" women on the show, other than Serena's mom and a handful of Aunts.  I'd like to see a bit of that at some point, or at least referenced.  What social system is in place for widowed women, especially ones of status? 

Serena's fate depends a) upon whether she ends up staying in Gilead, and b) if so, if Gilead feels she is guilty of something, anything, regardless if it is actually what she is guilty of (setting up Fred for arrest in Canada).  If, by any chance, she stays in Gilead, she's a major celebrity at this point, so I don't see her being forced to do anything she doesn't want to do.   I think it would be a hoot for her and Lawrence to enter into a marriage of convenience.  Now that's one dinner table I'd love to have a seat at!  😁

I actually don't want Serena to stay in Gilead. It's fucked up enough that she's there and having this royal funeral for Fred.  Get her back in Canada, lock her up again, and let her simmer.

[Haleth]

59 minutes ago, crashdown said:

They're both in their mid-to-late thirties. How old do you think they need to be to bear children?

It becomes more and more difficult in your 30s. There’s a reason why pregnant moms over 34 are referred to as geriatric, her eggs are old.  If a wife has the choice of a nubile 18yo or over the hill Serena, who would she choose?

[crashdown]

6 minutes ago, Haleth said:

If a wife has the choice of a nubile 18yo or over the hill Serena, who would she choose?

Hmmm. Serena is smart and beautiful--evil, sure, but I could work with that. I think I'd choose Serena! :-)

[Redrum]

1 hour ago, crashdown said:

They're both in their mid-to-late thirties. How old do you think they need to be to bear children?

While women in their late thirties can and do bear children, its higher risk and much less likely to happen or produce a viable child. Both actresses were born in 1982 so they're forty year old women here. Realistically in a society where ivf etc isn't allowed,  Serena's pregnancy is a shocker and June at 40 isn't likely to have another child no matter how many times she's raped.

[Cornhusker12]

I appreciate a show that keeps things close to the vest, and keeps certain character motivations vague and ambiguious, but we're now 5 seasons into this show and there are way too many people/situations that make no sense haha. Maybe some of you can help me out here...

• Tuello - What is his job? Have we ever seen him interact with another member of the US govt? He's some sort of cross between a CIA agent and the Secretary of State or something? Why does he have unlimited decision making power with political prisoners? What does he care about in general?
• Driver Nick and Bradley Whitford - Are they basically in charge of Gilead now? It seemed like it when they were basically leading the funeral parade. If so, why don't they just shut it all down? Aren't they supposedly against Gilead? They seem to be half-in and half-out to the point of boringness. What do they care about in general?
• Gilead - Is it on the verge of collapse? Is it rolling along as usual? Are they putting on a front? The peeks we see behind the curtain are obviously not even close to the level of fucked-upness from the early seasons (Janine would've gotten murdered on the spot if she touched her baby, for example) so it seems like the fabric of their society is falling apart, but then Aunt Lydia is just back to training the new crop of handmaids with her usual gross chipperness and the funeral was this ornate display of grandeur that was apparently broadcast live internationally.

I would just appreciate more details on what is going on in the world of the show. Each episode could have a good 10+ minutes of world-building and character development if it didn't spend SO much time on slow-mo closeups of June's twitching face. It's truly nuts at this point.

Edited September 27, 2022 by Cornhusker12

[Redrum]

Yeah the cinematic value of a close up of June's face is kind of lost at this point.

[Scarlett45]

I liked the convo between Nick & Tuello this episode. I want to know more about Nick’s new wife. Are they both trying to take down Gilead from within? I think she could be an interesting addition to the storyline. 

[Save Yourself]

I can’t remember, did we ever find out what Nick did to help with the rise of Gilead? I don’t understand why he’s never defected to Canada when he’s had so many opportunities. They were willing to let Serena go, why wouldn’t they do the same for Nick in exchange intel. I understand he now has a Wife and doesn’t want to abandon her but that is a recent development, he could have escaped plenty of times prior to the marriage.