S06.E03: Devotion

[paulvdb]

Quote

June struggles to save her loved ones. Commander Lawrence welcomes diplomats to New Bethlehem. Aunt Lydia searches for Janine.

Premiere date: April 8, 2025

[Helena Dax]

Wow, Luke is almost pathetic when you see him next to Nick. I mean, he's like a child trying (and failing) to act like a tough guy and then you have Nick, who would do literally anything for June: betraying his country, killing those Eyes, giving her Fred etc. Luke is basically ineffective 100& of the time and Nick is someone you would definitely want in your team. 

I'm starting to believe that aunt Lydia might be the most interesting character this season or at least, the one with the most interesting storyline, I don't really care about Serena anymore and June... well, there's been little new about her lately. However, aunt Lydia seemed to be having some sort of epiphany and I think she's going to become some sort of wild card eventually. 

The marriage between Lawrence and Naomi is hilarious. 

 

[Quickbeam]

I always felt that the actor who plays Nick (Max Minghella) had more genuine heat with June than Luke did. I’ve just felt that Luke was a weak link in the series and that the actor didn’t do anything to make me feel anything for his character. In the episode Nick was pulled in so many directions yet kept his focus on June. 

Edited April 9 by Quickbeam
Clarity

[PurpleTentacle]

How did Moira not see that that wasn't Mark? The lighting wasn't that bad and Nick and Mark look nothing alike. That was bizarre.

[txhorns79]

Seriously, the female diplomats are basically ready to throw the refugees under the bus because they see a cute baby and a pregnant woman?  When Serena was talking about increased birthrates and the like, I wanted someone to point out that of course Gilead has increased birthrates.  Women have no choices.  Handmaids are raped until they are pregnant and I'm sure that econowives and the other married women are heavily encouraged to get pregnant under threat of something bad happening to them.   

[bettername2come]

24 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

Seriously, the female diplomats are basically ready to throw the refugees under the bus because they see a cute baby and a pregnant woman?  When Serena was talking about increased birthrates and the like, I wanted someone to point out that of course Gilead has increased birthrates.  Women have no choices.  Handmaids are raped until they are pregnant and I'm sure that econowives and the other married women are heavily encouraged to get pregnant under threat of something bad happening to them.   

More importantly they said the birthrates are higher than most countries, didn't they? Which means someone is doing it better, likely without mass human rights violations. Why not copy that model?

Ann Dowd always gives a great performance as Aunt Lydia. It's so sad. She really though they were going to send the handmaids to a farm upstate, didn't she? Janine just wanting her to leave her alone is so sad.

I've just not been a fan of Nick ever since he became a commander. He loves June and she does seem to love him and he certainly brings out a more lighthearted teasing nature of June when they're together, but he seems like he could be doing more to change and/or sabotage Gilead. If I were June, I would pick Luke. He'll also kill for you, raise another man's baby for you whether you're there or not, and has not been married twice while you were separated. 

[Black Knight]

Did we ever find out what Nick's role was in creating Gilead? He's basically on a blacklist for what he did and Serena talked about how "we wouldn't be here without him". He truly loves June but otherwise has never really seemed to have much issue with Gilead or any real remorse.

Serena out here pretending that Gilead started off so well and turned sour and meanwhile she's a righteous woman of God - please, I remember how it started with the mass murder of most of the American government, which you gleefully cheered.

New Bethlehem appears to be nothing but a showpiece and ultimately a trap, as far as Wharton is concerned. Serena is floating along on her cloud all "I'm being treated as a consequential person of influence!" and not taking the blatant warning signs seriously, batting her eyes at Wharton instead, but Lawrence should know better. The show seems intent on playing out the Gilead scenario twice (Serena helps building it only to find herself shoved aside and disregarded both by Gilead leadership and her husband while things get worse than she anticipated) so that Serena Joy will finally wake up and smell the coffee. We're even replaying the S1 episode where diplomats from other countries come and get overly swayed by babies while Gilead hides the nasty stuff.

I see the Canada-Gilead border and No Man's Land remain as easy or hard to travel across according to the writers' needs, even in the same episode. When June had a sarcastic line about Costco in No Man's Land, I was like, "Why not?" After all, Serena managed to find an entire sanctuary a short distance from where June shoved her off the train in seemingly the middle of nowhere.

Edited April 9 by Black Knight

[circumvent]

New Bethlehem looks like Florida, all the cookie cutters and weird people.

Cult leader Serena. June should have saved Noah and left the mob get to her. 

The ambassadors look like a bunch of people who are caving too easily to something they know exactly what it is. That is very close to reality. 

I understand that the refugees must be feeling the pressure in the countries they are but one of the ambassadors said that it would be voluntary. Do I wonder what would be worse: staying in a place that discriminates and where you are unwelcome, or go back t a place that doesn't really exist, and where there is no guarantee of something better? I wish they had gone more deep into this terrible situation.

Aunt Lydia saying that the ritualistic rape of women was part of a service deserved a punch on the face. As Sex Workers at least they can feel they have some control on how things are done

[Black Knight]

3 minutes ago, circumvent said:

As Sex Workers at least they can feel they have some control on how things are done

Not sex workers who are forced to work as sex workers, who cannot leave, who cannot choose their clients, who don't even get paid and so could have some hope of one day buying themselves out of there. I don't feel they should even be called sex workers - they're sexually trafficked women. What goes on at the Jezebels is rape as much as what goes on in the households with a Handmaid.

I agree Aunt Lydia is abhorrent, and this is like the fifth time she's been shocked, shocked to learn that nobody except her actually believes the claptrap that's peddled about Handmaids being valued people doing a valued service. It's just like that same S1 episode I referenced before, where she was stunned that the Handmaids who were visibly disfigured were to be kept out of the ambassador reception or whatever that event was so that the ambassadors wouldn't know how the Handmaids were being treated. Much of this season is going to be spent on Serena and Lydia finally waking up, apparently, because the first five seasons of murder, rape and torture weren't enough.

[circumvent]

10 hours ago, Black Knight said:

Not sex workers who are forced to work as sex workers, who cannot leave, who cannot choose their clients, who don't even get paid and so could have some hope of one day buying themselves out of there. I don't feel they should even be called sex workers - they're sexually trafficked women. What goes on at the Jezebels is rape as much as what goes on in the households with a Handmaid.

I agree Aunt Lydia is abhorrent, and this is like the fifth time she's been shocked, shocked to learn that nobody except her actually believes the claptrap that's peddled about Handmaids being valued people doing a valued service. It's just like that same S1 episode I referenced before, where she was stunned that the Handmaids who were visibly disfigured were to be kept out of the ambassador reception or whatever that event was so that the ambassadors wouldn't know how the Handmaids were being treated. Much of this season is going to be spent on Serena and Lydia finally waking up, apparently, because the first five seasons of murder, rape and torture weren't enough.

In the context of the show, the former handmaids seem to have more autonomy (for lack of a better word) as sex workers than as handmaids.

Spoiler/speculation that makes a jump to The Testaments, the book

Spoiler

Maybe what Aunt Lydia is experiencing with Janine is part of how she somehow transforms herself and helps Hannah, at least

 

[Brn2bwild]

I'm stunned Aunt Lydia thought Janine would be taken to a farm to retire when in past seasons Janine was literally sent to the Colonies as punishment for her intransigence, and was dragged away again this last time after acting out.    

[Black Knight]

6 hours ago, circumvent said:

In the context of the show, the former handmaids seem to have more autonomy (for lack of a better word) as sex workers than as handmaids.

I don't know about that. They're obviously different situations, and which one a woman would "prefer" (ugh) would be a highly individual decision.

As a Handmaid you'll generally be raped once a month by one man in a creepy ritualistic ceremony, you don't have to pretend to get pleasure from it, there is supervision during the ceremony so that only vanilla sex occurs, and you get to leave the house occasionally for errands. Some Commanders will look for sex more often, and other households may avoid the ceremony as much as they can - that part is a roll of the dice. You may be able to form a friendship with the household's Martha or with other handmaids while out on your walks, but on the whole you'll probably be rather lonely much of the time.

At Jezebel you'll generally be raped one or more times every day by different men, you do have to pretend pleasure (unless you're dealing with a Commander who specifically wants to see your pain), the men can abuse you in many ways in these situations, and you never get to leave the building, and physically you'll deteriorate faster. But you do get access to mind-numbing substances and you can form a greater number of friendships with other women because there are so many of you living in one building, and you can hang out with them whenever you're not with a Commander.

Edited April 10 by Black Knight

[circumvent]

3 hours ago, Black Knight said:

I don't know about that. They're obviously different situations, and which one a woman would "prefer" (ugh) would be a highly individual decision.

As a Handmaid you'll generally be raped once a month by one man in a creepy ritualistic ceremony, you don't have to pretend to get pleasure from it, there is supervision during the ceremony so that only vanilla sex occurs, and you get to leave the house occasionally for errands. Some Commanders will look for sex more often, and other households may avoid the ceremony as much as they can - that part is a roll of the dice. You may be able to form a friendship with the household's Martha or with other handmaids while out on your walks, but on the whole you'll probably be rather lonely much of the time.

At Jezebel you'll generally be raped one or more times every day by different men, you do have to pretend pleasure (unless you're dealing with a Commander who specifically wants to see your pain), the men can abuse you in many ways in these situations, and you never get to leave the building, and physically you'll deteriorate faster. But you do get access to mind-numbing substances and you can form a greater number of friendships with other women because there are so many of you living in one building, and you can hang out with them whenever you're not with a Commander.

Maybe autonomy was not the right word. I do think that, being both situations just crappy, maybe they would feel more in control being a sex worker because the ritual is not part of it, they can find ways to offer what the commanders want (ugh) and not simply lay there while others chant and perform the ritual.

It is not that they chose one over the other, it is just that the ritualistic nature of the rape to procreate is one type of trauma they want to reject, while they can - perhaps - make themselves believe that they have some type of control over how the sex/rape happens, since there are no other options. They do know what it means to be a sex worker, one could make a case that they are building resistance, despite being a shitty situation. I don't think the writers will go there though. I am extrapolating on one possibility. 

[Anela]

Why would anyone believe Serena? She’s only been there for two days.  
of course she’s now basically a kidfluencer.  

Lydia, they had you removing eyes, and shocking these women with cattle prods. Hanging them. Of course they lied to you about them having a nice retirement, after getting raped repeatedly, and giving birth, as a “career”. 

I hope they don’t kill Luke. I’ve never bought that Nick and June are in love.  I did buy the flirtation, in the beginning.  From what I remember, Nick helped to make gilead a reality. He can stop bitching about losing everything, at any time.  

Edited April 10 by Anela

[aghst]

On 4/8/2025 at 7:06 PM, txhorns79 said:

Seriously, the female diplomats are basically ready to throw the refugees under the bus because they see a cute baby and a pregnant woman?  When Serena was talking about increased birthrates and the like, I wanted someone to point out that of course Gilead has increased birthrates.  Women have no choices.  Handmaids are raped until they are pregnant and I'm sure that econowives and the other married women are heavily encouraged to get pregnant under threat of something bad happening to them.   

The Europeans and Canadians are ready to cut deals with Gilead because they have a couple of infants.  Lawrence boasts that they cleaned up the toxic waste so  birth rates are increasing again.

Instead of being impressed, maybe these foreign countries should wonder if they shouldn't do the same?  You know if not to improve fertility rates, to make it safer for their people in general?

That way they wouldn't have to cut deals with a regime which routinely kills  their own people.

In any event Lawrence seems to think they can now expand NB but that other commander doesn't want to.  Instead, he will play along, probably because he wants to bang Serena.

 

[chaifan]

@Brn2bwild, since you mentioned the Disney affiliation/product placement in the Ep. 1 thread, it's now just jumping out at me.  That whole dialog with Lawrence and referencing Disneyland was cringy.  I don't think they did it in Ep 2, but it seems like it is going to be a thing, doesn't it?  I don't think it's doing Disney any favors, though.

New Bethlehem and the "diplomat" visit.  I commented on this throughout the series, but I just don't buy that Gilead is leading the world in birth rates.  They "cleaned the air".  OK, but what was stopping every other country in the world from doing the same, without murdering their gov't and enslaving their people?  I simply can't believe that countries like Sweden, Norway, 1/2 of Europe, etc., leaders in clean energy, couldn't do the same.  I also have a hard time believing that countries that would use science - IVF, fertility testing, incentivizing pregnancies - wouldn't have a higher birth rate than Gilead who relies on pure luck of fertile women being paired mostly with infertile men.  Nope, sorry.  The show really needed to come up with a good reason why the rest of the world is behind Gilead in baby production.  

On 4/10/2025 at 7:37 PM, Anela said:

From what I remember, Nick helped to make gilead a reality.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Nick was just a driver (and at some point became and Eye) at the beginning of the show.  That's pretty low level.  He was rewarded for (perceived) loyalty and became a Commander, but that was well after Gilead was established.  I don't think he played any role in the creation of Gilead.  I just assumed he had the right family/contacts and/or just played along in the beginning so he was given a good job (driver for a commander).  Have I forgotten a larger role for him?

I'm glad they've given Bradley Whitford a larger role.  I'm enjoying Lawrence as what is as close as we'll get to a voice of reason within Gilead/NB.  I loved his scene with Serena, and how surprised she seemed that he isn't devout.  That is her baseline expectation - she can't comprehend someone who isn't as devout as she is.  

Janine & Aunt Lydia...  Poor Aunt Lydia, she's so deluded.  Janine is so nice to her considering everything Lydia did to her.  But then, Janine is a bit crazy.  It seems that NB isn't too far away from whatever city in Gilead everyone was based out of, if Lydia can just drop in on Lawrence.

I loved Nadine just chiming in during the conversation with Wharton.  I can't decide if Wharton knows that NB is just window dressing, a trap as someone said above.  Or if he's just fine with Gilead as is and doesn't see the point of NB and isn't going to champion it.  Will NB have handmaids?  That doesn't seem to have been addressed.  Or is it only for Commanders and Wives who are able to have their own children.  

Lawrence promises no "human rights abuses".  But they tout the Handmaid program (along with "clean air") as the reason for the successful birthrate.  You can't have Handmaids without human rights abuses, and you can't keep the birthrate up without Handmaids.  I'd like for him to explain that.

Nick is not irritating me to death this season.  Still not my favorite character, but he's slightly less wooden than in the earlier seasons, and I can almost buy into him being in love with June.  Luke giving him the bro hug at the end made me laugh!

 

 

 

 

[Black Knight]

20 hours ago, chaifan said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Nick was just a driver (and at some point became and Eye) at the beginning of the show.  That's pretty low level.  He was rewarded for (perceived) loyalty and became a Commander, but that was well after Gilead was established.  I don't think he played any role in the creation of Gilead.  I just assumed he had the right family/contacts and/or just played along in the beginning so he was given a good job (driver for a commander).  Have I forgotten a larger role for him?

Nick's been an Eye from the beginning; Emily told June in the series premiere that there was an Eye in the Waterfords' home. His role in the creation of Gilead is one of the ongoing mysteries of the show. He committed such an awful war crime that the Swiss refused to deal with him in S3 (June had made a deal with them in which Nick would give them information about Gilead, but upon learning Nick would be the informant, they backed out), and Serena told June at another point that "we wouldn't be here without him," meaning Gilead wouldn't exist. My guess is Nick is the one who set the bomb that took out Congress.

[chaifan]

14 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

My guess is Nick is the one who set the bomb that took out Congress.

aaah, that actually makes sense. 

I knew he was an Eye from the start of the show, but I thought he worked his way up from *just* being a driver to also being an Eye.  Proved his loyalty, and was promoted.  I could easily be wrong, though.  I just assumed he was too young to be one of the architects of Gilead, like Lawrence.  But yes, I could easily see him being given the bombing mission - what was probably seen as a suicide mission - and when it was successful AND he came back alive, he was rewarded.

If that is true, it will be interesting to see if we see it revealed to June, and what her reaction would be.  

 

[PurpleTentacle]

On 4/13/2025 at 5:36 AM, chaifan said:

New Bethlehem and the "diplomat" visit.  I commented on this throughout the series, but I just don't buy that Gilead is leading the world in birth rates.  They "cleaned the air".  OK, but what was stopping every other country in the world from doing the same, without murdering their gov't and enslaving their people?  I simply can't believe that countries like Sweden, Norway, 1/2 of Europe, etc., leaders in clean energy, couldn't do the same.  I also have a hard time believing that countries that would use science - IVF, fertility testing, incentivizing pregnancies - wouldn't have a higher birth rate than Gilead who relies on pure luck of fertile women being paired mostly with infertile men.  Nope, sorry.  The show really needed to come up with a good reason why the rest of the world is behind Gilead in baby production.  

That whole part of the lore hasn't made sense since season 2. In season 1 they kept it so vague that it maybe could have made sense, but that went out the window real quick.

On 4/13/2025 at 5:36 AM, chaifan said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Nick was just a driver (and at some point became and Eye) at the beginning of the show.  That's pretty low level.  He was rewarded for (perceived) loyalty and became a Commander, but that was well after Gilead was established.  I don't think he played any role in the creation of Gilead.  I just assumed he had the right family/contacts and/or just played along in the beginning so he was given a good job (driver for a commander).  Have I forgotten a larger role for him?

He was the protege of some very high up guy, if I remember correctly. I think that guy got murdered? It's been a while.

So I think Nick was in the mix from beginning, but I don't know if he was instrumental.

On 4/14/2025 at 2:14 AM, Black Knight said:

Nick's been an Eye from the beginning; Emily told June in the series premiere that there was an Eye in the Waterfords' home. His role in the creation of Gilead is one of the ongoing mysteries of the show. He committed such an awful war crime that the Swiss refused to deal with him in S3 (June had made a deal with them in which Nick would give them information about Gilead, but upon learning Nick would be the informant, they backed out), and Serena told June at another point that "we wouldn't be here without him," meaning Gilead wouldn't exist. My guess is Nick is the one who set the bomb that took out Congress.

You remember a lot more about this show than I do. Your speculation makes sense.

[chaifan]

2 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

That whole part of the lore hasn't made sense since season 2. In season 1 they kept it so vague that it maybe could have made sense, but that went out the window real quick.

Personally, I think it would work so much better if the "diplomats" pretty much said what I said.  Something like, "Yeah, you've got a growing birth rate and clean air, but we've accomplished the same thing without public hangings and enslavement of women.  We were hoping to learn something new, but nope, you've really got nothing to offer."   

OR, let them say that to each other in private, but also acknowledge that there's something Gilead has that they need/want - other than babies - so they have to play nice for trade reasons.  That I could buy, and would also still provide a reason for Lawrence to justify New Bethlehem.  If the rest of the world is boycotting Gilead for human rights abuses, their economy will suffer. 

I think the writers painted themselves into a corner in Season 1 and don't know how to get out.

 

[AngelaHunter]

On 4/8/2025 at 10:39 AM, Helena Dax said:

Wow, Luke is almost pathetic when you see him next to Nick.

June explains her loyalty to her husband to Nick: "He waited for me, for years."

Yeah, and it was a deathly hardship for him, living in that 2 million dollar house they were given, having dinner parties, hanging out in bars, tripping off to "Baby's first protest" and drinking "that good red wine", while his wife was being systematically raped and subjected to constant abuse of every type.

And now he's going to go all "Rambo".

From what I've seen so far (and granted, I'm not raptly watching so probably miss much), I'm enjoying Lawrence more than I did last season, especially his scenes with Serena. I used to wonder if she actually was a religious fanatic or if it was a ruse. It seems it's always been genuine, and I liked her stunned reaction to Lawrence's snide mockery.  I get it. He's at an age where, when getting on one's knees, there is no guarantee of getting up again, at least not with any grace.

[AngelaHunter]

On 4/10/2025 at 7:37 PM, Anela said:

I’ve never bought that Nick and June are in love.

I may be dead wrong, but I kind of think they are. Going through harrowing situations together - he saw the brutality inflicted on June and understands her in a way Luke never can or will - Nick saving June's life, having a lot of unregulated sex (in which June engaged willingly) that seemed mutually pleasurable, and making a baby would create bonds - maybe not the Valentine hearts and flowers romantic kind - but bonds that I feel might be quite strong,  if complicated.  JMHO.

[circumvent]

On 4/15/2025 at 3:47 PM, chaifan said:

Personally, I think it would work so much better if the "diplomats" pretty much said what I said.  Something like, "Yeah, you've got a growing birth rate and clean air, but we've accomplished the same thing without public hangings and enslavement of women.  We were hoping to learn something new, but nope, you've really got nothing to offer."  

That would be something reasonable and logic but the writers, more than putting themselves in  a corner, decided that the audience does not like to think, or cannot have a critical view of what they write, that they can just throw anything at us and everyone will be happy with whatever absurd statement is made based on nothing that really happened in the previous seasons, or that make any sense anywhere, in the history of things that make sense

[Kel Varnsen]

Was Aunt Lydia really not aware of Jezebel's and what goes on there? Even after all these years? Because even before she saw Janine she seemed shocked by what she was seeing. 

And I feel like I have been saying it for years but I still think that Canada (at least the government) would welcome those Gilead refugees with open arms. Because after years of falling birthrates you would get a quick influx or working age immigrants that speak on of the official languages. Plus Canada's biggest trading partner is the US, we ship a lot of raw materials to the US and buy back things made from those materials. Losing that trading partner would mean a lot of manufacturing would have to spring up really fast to maintain the things Canada needs. And those factories would need workers.

Also can someone refresh my memory why is it ok for Nick's wife to be pregnant? Serena being pregnant was a big deal I thought because commanders and their wives weren't supposed to have sex (which never made much sense based on the jerks who overthrew the government).