S02.E05: Seeds

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Is Gillead finally getting to Offred? Her actions speak volumes.

Promo:

Edited May 10, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Bubbetv]

Wowowowowow...I'm thinking Nick sold out June...wow...I can only hope that if it's true, whatever pressure he felt to do it, I hope it was his own physical agony. 

[mrsh]

Wow, looks to me that Serena Joy has suspicions about Nick and his relationship with June. In episode 4, she noticed the long glance June gave Nick when she saw him in the house, so makes sense that she would think something is up. Are they going to assign Nick a wife? I dont think Nick is selling out June at all, but he notices her personality change and knows something is wrong.

[Umbelina]

Serena knows all about Nick and June, she arranged it all.

Yup, Nick is having a wife assigned, that should be interesting, especially as June is feeling guilty about Annie.

WHAT does June whisper in that bathtub?  I can't make it out, but I thought I heard a "bitch" in there, something about growing up in this place but I can't put the whole thought together.  Please please please be June snapping out of it, and faking all the pious stuff now.

[Ofnonone]

What's the chances this episode refers to Nick's seed aka fertility and what use that can be to gilead? 

[AnswersWanted]

17 hours ago, Umbelina said:

Serena knows all about Nick and June, she arranged it all.

Yup, Nick is having a wife assigned, that should be interesting, especially as June is feeling guilty about Annie.

WHAT does June whisper in that bathtub?  I can't make it out, but I thought I heard a "bitch" in there, something about growing up in this place but I can't put the whole thought together.  Please please please be June snapping out of it, and faking all the pious stuff now.

 

 She’s whispering to her unborn child, she tells them that she will not allow them to grow up in this place. 

[mamadrama]

I REALLY hope she's not going to use that hanger Rita left in her closet to do something crazy. That red bath water had better just be a metaphor. 

[Umbelina]

11 hours ago, AnswersWanted said:

 

 She’s whispering to her unborn child, she tells them that she will not allow them to grow up in this place. 

Thank you so much!

So either June snaps out of it, or she's was completely faking her "beautiful weather" trance like state.

OMG, YAY!

[AnswersWanted]

1 hour ago, Umbelina said:

Thank you so much!

So either June snaps out of it, or she's was completely faking her "beautiful weather" trance like state.

OMG, YAY!

 

 No problem, I think that It would make more sense for them to have June be faking.

She has found a slight slice of sanity and a place to bury herself and she is fooling everyone by acting as if she has been transformed into the most perfect little handmaid that ever lived.

 I might even credit her plan to when Serena pratically molested her and her belly during the night. I think something inside of June clicked, and she is not going to allow this woman to steal her baby, not without a fight, not with out giving it all she's got to get away again.

The promo definitely alludes to everyone around her realizing that she's not acting like herself. Serena seems both ticked off and annoyed and Nick seems incredibly worried about her. 

 I wonder when she realizes that Nick might be ending up with a life partner out of nowhere that just may cause her to snap a little ahead of schedule as that would definitely throw a wrench into future plans of yet another attempt at escaping.  Not to mention Nick is the father of the baby which is a whole other issue unto itself.

Edited May 11, 2018 by AnswersWanted

[GreekGeek]

On 5/10/2018 at 8:45 AM, mamadrama said:

I REALLY hope she's not going to use that hanger Rita left in her closet to do something crazy. That red bath water had better just be a metaphor. 

Indeed. If June doesn't bring a healthy baby to term, her life won't be worth a damn to anyone in Gilead.

[mamadrama]

So...that happened.

Damn.

[Anela]

14 minutes ago, mamadrama said:

So...that happened.

Damn.

Oh dear. I can't watch it yet. I don't know if I want to. 

[mamadrama]

4 minutes ago, Anela said:

Oh dear. I can't watch it yet. I don't know if I want to. 

It ends on a slightly hopeful note, if that helps. But they do run us through the wringer to get there.

[chocolatine]

The baby is fine, *and* June as we know her is back! I've never been pregnant so I don't know if it's normal to lose that much blood, but I was sure it was going to end very badly for June. How did she end up outside? The windows in her room don't open fully, so she must have snuck out without anyone noticing. She probably thought she was dying and didn't want to die inside the house that's been the scene of so much misery for her.

Just when I thought I couldn't love Janine any more, she found the joy in blowing on a dandelion and arranging a wedding for Kit and Fiona. She's still "away with the fairies", but she balances out Emily's pragmatism. I'm worried about Emily losing her tooth though, that may be the beginning of the end for her. The wide shot of all the shallow graves at the end was heartbreaking.

[AnswersWanted]

So...they marry off babies to be raped by “chosen” husbands...this episode might have been one of hardest for me to watch and get through.

Seriously though, what is with the regime of Gilead and their twisted obsession with rape and domination in the bedroom? Did none of these sick loons ever just work out their dirty/kinky fantasies in their own private time like normal people do?

 Watching that sham of a so-called wedding and seeing those beautiful, innocent little girls being practically auctioned off to grown men as their wives ... My stomach hasn’t churned with sickness like that in a while.

 And then you juxtapose that with the heartbreakingly wonderful ceremony between Fiona and Kit, even as the former lay dying, knowing she had mere hours to go, Fiona knowing that she would soon be saying a permanent goodbye to the woman that she loved, these women trapped in the hell, and labeled as non-persons, and yet they found love and found peace in one another and that left me speechless and weeping. 

Gilead is a mind fuck minefield. That is the best way I can put it. 

Janine is a priceless gem. “Cows can’t get married”.  Only she could provide material that can make me chuckle in the midst of all this horror. 

Emily losing her tooth really shook me, as it did her. A real sign she is starting to fall apart: staring to die. I can’t bear to dwell on that. 

I want the Commander and Serena to burn st the stake. I need them to bring back the old timey ways of the Salem trials and I need them to burn or hang or something.

Because of the preview I knew June hadn’t truly lost the baby, or perhaps she had miscarried one of twins or something, but the ending scene has put June back in my good graces. I need a lot more of that, keep it coming, show.

[Umbelina]

This is one of those episodes I am going to watch again.  There were several underlying messages, and I feel like I need to watch again to be sure about what I saw.

It seems like the Commander knows about Nick being the father of June's baby.  (!)  So everyone in that house knows but the new wife now right? 

So, Nick's wife will be an econowife, right?  She looks quite interesting, and I have a good feeling about her abilities to hold the screen and my attention.  I missed her name.

The lighting was fine this time, but the whispers got to me.  I'm still not positive about everything June said at the end, and there was another time as well.

The colonies are so Gulag-like...shudder.  I hope we will be surprised and there will be an attack/rescue or escape from the rebels.  Emily broke my heart when she lost that tooth.  The Aunts there seem to be wearing brown mini cloaks. Mini Aunts, disgraced Aunts, not up to snuff Aunts? 

June's BACK.  Was she ever really gone?  Maybe not, maybe it was all her Stepford wife routine to try to avoid being killed as soon as the baby was born.

[chocolatine]

17 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

It seems like the Commander knows about Nick being the father of June's baby.  (!)  So everyone in that house knows but the new wife now right? 

When Serena told Fred about the pregnancy last season and he teared up from happiness she told him that the baby isn't his. That was right after Serena found out that Fred had been taking June to Jezebels, so she wanted to knock him down a peg.

Speaking of Serena, the look on her face when she realized Aunt Lydia is allowed to write was priceless.

Edited May 16, 2018 by chocolatine

[Umbelina]

I totally forgot that!  Thank you.

Yes, the questions about the Aunt's being able to read and write just got answered.

Home stays from Commanders visiting from other areas sounds like it could be interesting.

Edited May 16, 2018 by Umbelina

[AnswersWanted]

2 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

This is one of those episodes I am going to watch again.  There were several underlying messages, and I feel like I need to watch again to be sure about what I saw.

It seems like the Commander knows about Nick being the father of June's baby.  (!)  So everyone in that house knows but the new wife now right? 

So, Nick's wife will be an econowife, right?  She looks quite interesting, and I have a good feeling about her abilities to hold the screen and my attention.  I missed her name.

The lighting was fine this time, but the whispers got to me.  I'm still not positive about everything June said at the end, and there was another time as well.

The colonies are so Gulag-like...shudder.  I hope we will be surprised and there will be an attack/rescue or escape from the rebels.  Emily broke my heart when she lost that tooth.  The Aunts there seem to be wearing brown mini cloaks. Mini Aunts, disgraced Aunts, not up to snuff Aunts? 

June's BACK.  Was she ever really gone?  Maybe not, maybe it was all her Stepford wife routine to try to avoid being killed as soon as the baby was born.

 

At the very least I think that the Commander believes that Nick is attracted to June, as Serena seemed to want him to notice as well, so just like the jealous, controlling POS that he is, he decided to make sure that Nick would have way too much to lose to keep having an attraction or affair with June.

Being a married man now, having a wife, it would be unforgivable for him to dare cheat with the Commander’s handmaid. 

I thought the Commander’s behavior in this episode just proves that he is as determined to have his handmaid back without any question; he is not planning to just have June give birth to the child and then not care what happens to her. She is his “property” and he is not signing away “the deed”, as it were, anytime soon.

Since Nick is a step or two above the Econos, I too wonder what her exact title is.

I’m thinking that she is akin to a mini wife? Like she’s a military spouse,of sorts?

It’s very weird how she exactly fits in, so I would like to hear more about how they plan to expand her title and role, especially since she obviously is going to be under Serena and what exactly is her relation to Rita who runs the household as the head Martha? 

 I’m going to guess too that the aunts in the colonies are there because they are serving a punishment as well.

I don’t think any decent or trusted aunt would end up there unless she had somehow betrayed her post or had broken the rules and maybe she was given a choice of being put there and governing over the other victimized women or she was going to have to go there to work that wasteland herself, and at least if she were an aunt overseer then she would get some sort of protection from all the toxic gases and fumes and have access to more food, cleaner water, etc. 

Either way I’m going to guess that these are women marked for death, they were just offered up a little bit of a reprieve from dying by being worked and starved to death, their allowance is that they get to die a little slower and maybe with better pain meds. 

I think that June was in self-preservation mode, she was struggling to keep her self functioning and in one piece, even as it seemed she was losing all grip on reality.

But almost losing the baby and realizing that she’s not in this alone anymore, which is something that Nick mentioned to Serena in the kitchen in an earlier scene, saying that June has no one looking out for her, which is not wholly inaccurate, but she definitely now has someone to look out for, that was the shot to the arm and kick in the butt that she needed.

Hannah has been taken away but this baby is currently growing inside of her and right now she knows that she needs to dedicate herself to saving this child at all cost. 

[mamadrama]

32 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

The baby is fine, *and* June as we know her is back! I've never been pregnant so I don't know if it's normal to lose that much blood, but I was sure it was going to end very badly for June. How did she end up outside? The windows in her room don't open fully, so she must have snuck out without anyone noticing. She probably thought she was dying and didn't want to die inside the house that's been the scene of so much misery for her.

Just when I thought I couldn't love Janine any more, she found the joy in blowing on a dandelion and arranging a wedding for Kit and Fiona. She's still "away with the fairies", but she balances out Emily's pragmatism. I'm worried about Emily losing her tooth though, that may be the beginning of the end for her. The wide shot of all the shallow graves at the end was heartbreaking.

I want to know how she wound up down there in the garden, too. That's kind of bothering me. 

During my second pregnancy I had a full placental abruption. There was massive hemorrhaging (3 blood transfusions) and you go into immediate labor. In my third pregnancy, however, I had a partial palcental abruption. Still a lot of bleeding (comparable to June's) but because the placenta was still partially attached, the baby lived. I was admitted to the hospital and kept in a bed for 3 months, until they could safely take her by C-section. So no, it's not "normal" to lose that much blood but there it can happen. :-(

30 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

This is one of those episodes I am going to watch again.  There were several underlying messages, and I feel like I need to watch again to be sure about what I saw.

It seems like the Commander knows about Nick being the father of June's baby.  (!)  So everyone in that house knows but the new wife now right? 

So, Nick's wife will be an econowife, right?  She looks quite interesting, and I have a good feeling about her abilities to hold the screen and my attention.  I missed her name.

The lighting was fine this time, but the whispers got to me.  I'm still not positive about everything June said at the end, and there was another time as well.

The colonies are so Gulag-like...shudder.  I hope we will be surprised and there will be an attack/rescue or escape from the rebels.  Emily broke my heart when she lost that tooth.  The Aunts there seem to be wearing brown mini cloaks. Mini Aunts, disgraced Aunts, not up to snuff Aunts? 

June's BACK.  Was she ever really gone?  Maybe not, maybe it was all her Stepford wife routine to try to avoid being killed as soon as the baby was born.

The new wife's name is Eden. There's some spoilerish stuff about her out there on the internet if you want to go hunting for it. Apparently, though, there's already (more) trouble in paradise for the new 14-year-old wife. 

[chocolatine]

4 minutes ago, mamadrama said:

During my second pregnancy I had a full placental abruption. There was massive hemorrhaging (3 blood transfusions) and you go into immediate labor. In my third pregnancy, however, I had a partial palcental abruption. Still a lot of bleeding (comparable to June's) but because the placenta was still partially attached, the baby lived. I was admitted to the hospital and kept in a bed for 3 months, until they could safely take her by C-section. So no, it's not "normal" to lose that much blood but there it can happen. :-(

That's terrible! So sorry it happened to you! 

[mamadrama]

12 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

That's terrible! So sorry it happened to you! 

Thanks. When they showed the clip of her blood-soaked underwear my husband and I were like, "Ugh, that brings back memories." We were at a hotel at the time, a Hyatt. The manager sat there on the floor with me and held my hand until the ambulance arrived and then the hotel sent flowers to my room. It was sweet. :-) Sad ending to that story, though. My baby was saved. Although he was a preemie, they only had to keep him 3 days in the Nicu. We were released, went home, and he was doing perfectly fine-gaining the weight he needed, reaching his milestones, etc. And then when he was two months old he passed away in his sleep from cardiac arrest. 

[Umbelina]

22 minutes ago, mamadrama said:

I want to know how she wound up down there in the garden, too. That's kind of bothering me. 

During my second pregnancy I had a full placental abruption. There was massive hemorrhaging (3 blood transfusions) and you go into immediate labor. In my third pregnancy, however, I had a partial palcental abruption. Still a lot of bleeding (comparable to June's) but because the placenta was still partially attached, the baby lived. I was admitted to the hospital and kept in a bed for 3 months, until they could safely take her by C-section. So no, it's not "normal" to lose that much blood but there it can happen. :-(

The new wife's name is Eden. There's some spoilerish stuff about her out there on the internet if you want to go hunting for it. Apparently, though, there's already (more) trouble in paradise for the new 14-year-old wife. 

I'm sorry that happened to you as well.  Oh my, I just read your second post.  How very terrible for you both. 

Maybe you could link the spoilers about Eden in the Spoiler thread?

Guards that are married have Econowives.  They become an Econofamily.

Just six places for women in Gilead.

• Wives of the leaders (Wives)
• Econowives (wives of underlings)
• Handmaids
• Marthas
• Unwomen (colonies)
• Jezebels (for the wealthy and powerful men)

Edited May 16, 2018 by Umbelina

[mamadrama]

14 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

I'm sorry that happened to you as well.  Oh my, I just read your second post.  How very terrible for you both. 

Maybe you could link the spoilers about Eden in the Spoiler thread?

Guards that are married have Econowives.  They become an Econofamily.

Just six places for women in Gilead.

• Wives of the leaders (Wives)
• Econowives (wives of underlings)
• Handmaids
• Marthas
• Unwomen (colonies)
• Jezebels (for the wealthy and powerful men)

 

Thank you. I'll try to find that article and link it over there. I just read it a few days ago so it should be around...

ETA: It's there now. 

Isn't it funny how the better of the two weddings, and the most "normal", was the one in which two women whose skin was literally falling off from radiation poisoning wed on the one's deathbed? 

Edited May 16, 2018 by mamadrama

[AnswersWanted]

56 minutes ago, mamadrama said:

the new 14-year-old wife. 

 

 It is rather fitting for them to add in child brides to this horrendous landscape, because obviously the regime of Gilead has no limits on how far they are willing to go when it comes to women and treating them like chattel. 

 Still, when they lifted the veil is off of those barely pubescent faces, I was about as disgusted as I’ve ever been with anything yet shown on the show.

 To think that room filled with clapping and cheering degenerates were happily signing off on having these little girls snatched away from their families and given to men mostly old enough to be their own fathers...revolting.

 

31 minutes ago, mamadrama said:

Isn't it funny how the better of the two weddings, and the most "normal", was the one in which two women whose skin was literally falling off from radiation poisoning wed on the one's deathbed? 

 

Gilead is a land where everything is opposite to what it should be.

 Fiona and Kit were getting married after an 11 month courtship, they had become close, they had fallen in love, they were getting married for all the reasons that you’re told you’re supposed to. They wanted to get married as an external promise to each other to always hold the other in their hearts as their soulmate, forever bonded.

 But in the hands of Gilead marriage has morphed into some sort of Frankenstein‘s monster.

It is not about love, or a connection, there is no courtship or dating or matchmaking, it is not even about common decency that insures both parties are of the legal age in making such a serious, life changing decision.

No, instead it is, just like everything else, an deliberate act of power and superiority over those beneath you.

Those men did not pick their wives, those girls certainly did not choose to become wives in the first place, they were all thrown together by forces out of their control, and so they shall be held underneath that crushing burden imposed by the Gilead regime by threat of death or worse. 

 

Quote

Thanks. When they showed the clip of her blood-soaked underwear my husband and I were like, "Ugh, that brings back memories." We were at a hotel at the time, a Hyatt. The manager sat there on the floor with me and held my hand until the ambulance arrived and then the hotel sent flowers to my room. It was sweet. :-) Sad ending to that story, though. My baby was saved. Although he was a preemie, they only had to keep him 3 days in the Nicu. We were released, went home, and he was doing perfectly fine-gaining the weight he needed, reaching his milestones, etc. And then when he was two months old he passed away in his sleep from cardiac arrest. 

 I am deeply sorry for your loss. 

Edited May 16, 2018 by AnswersWanted

[Umbelina]

It makes a certain kind of sense to marry the girls off young, at least fertility sense, but yes, it was revolting.

[mamadrama]

And what's sick, and scary, about it is that many of those girls probably grew up in the Sons of Jacob group anyway so they've been "trained" to believe that this is their purpose. Gilead is just one generation away from everything thinking this is "normal." Unless Gilead falls soon (praise be), the little girls and female babies being born now will not know how to read or enjoy any personal freedoms that we have today-NOR will they remember a time in which those things were possible. That's scary as fuck. 

I am so wrapped up in this, y'all. Seriously, I watch each episode 3 times. I treat it like I'm watching fucking CNN. 

[Umbelina]

Inside the episode.

[vixenbynight]

4 hours ago, chocolatine said:

When Serena told Fred about the pregnancy last season and he teared up from happiness she told him that the baby isn't his. That was right after Serena found out that Fred had been taking June to Jezebels, so she wanted to knock him down a peg.

Speaking of Serena, the look on her face when she realized Aunt Lydia is allowed to write was priceless.

Yes, Fred knows that baby is not his, but in order to keep his role in the Gilead leadership, he has to do whatever the leader says. Fred wanted Nick out of Gilead. That group wedding with those child brides was horrible. I even noticed the younger bride that barely hit the 5 feet tall mark.

I like seeing Serena being brought down again by what she had a defining role in creating. Especially when it's someone she clearly views as "beneath her" as Lydia is allowed to write and probably read medical books in her role as "Aunt".

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Watching Aunt Lydia poke and prod June while Serena answered about when June's last bowel movement was clearly illustrated what June is to them: a vessel for holding a baby. The only part of Offred that's even remotely human to them is the part that talks back or disobeys, the part that needs to be punished by them.

Awwww, I love that Janine was the one who suggested Fiona and Kit get married. After everything that has happened to Jeanine, it would be easy for her to be jaded but she saw a way to make two people happy before one of them died.

Heh, I laughed when Waterford guessed the wrong part of the bible that the quote was from. Love when the supposedly devout show their own asses like that.

The group wedding was so gross, but seeing what happened afterward made it even sadder. Instead of a day of joy and celebration, bringing together two families, etc. it was this child bride speaking to a woman who is a total stranger about having sex with the stranger who she's now married to and the groom having a drink with his boss before going to deflower this child in the hopes of getting her pregnant.

Edited May 16, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Empress1]

2 hours ago, vixenbynight said:

Yes, Fred knows that baby is not his, but in order to keep his role in the Gilead leadership, he has to do whatever the leader says. Fred wanted Nick out of Gilead. That group wedding with those child brides was horrible. I even noticed the younger bride that barely hit the 5 feet tall mark.

I like seeing Serena being brought down again by what she had a defining role in creating. Especially when it's someone she clearly views as "beneath her" as Lydia is allowed to write and probably read medical books in her role as "Aunt".

Yes, one of the things I enjoy about this series, inasmuch as there is anything to enjoy, is seeing Serena realize over and over that in helping to build this regime, she completely played herself and there's nothing she can do about it. When she was sitting at the table with Fred and he was straight up ignoring her, I was like "GOOD." And clearly she misses sex and closeness, the way she was talking to Eden.

Eden is not to be slept on. She's a true believer. She'll make an interesting foil for June.

The impromptu wedding was so lovely. "Love in a hopeless place." But oh my God, all those shallow graves ...

"FUCK AUNT LYDIA." Amen.

[spaceghostess]

9 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

Eden is not to be slept on. She's a true believer. She'll make an interesting foil for June.

 

^THIS.^  Nick better watch his back. Eden will turn him in in a New York minute if he strays even a hair off Gilead script--especially now that Serena has stepped in as her mother figure.

[dmc]

It's interesting to me that Serena wants June to be her confidante but is legitimately horrible to her.  She doesn't even try to be nice and when she does...it comes off the way a cold detached mother treats a child.

So the Commander is jealous of Nick and wants him to be removed?

So is June's child being raised to be a handmaid like her mother or a child bride?  Clearly those are your options...handmaid, child bride or colonies?

[Empress1]

Yes, what happens to the children raised by the commanders and their wives? Are they part of the ruling class?

[Hollandaise]

How is it that Nick had no idea about the wedding ceremony. Isn't he an Eye? Wouldn't he have more insight about how these things work?

[LordOfLotion]

No one is going to mention June burning those letters?

[Hollandaise]

15 minutes ago, LordOfLotion said:

No one is going to mention June burning those letters?

And now Nick has them. Yet another secret he keeps for June. So many unlawful things happening in that house that he doesn't report; it shows how much he loves her.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was trying to imagine the reactions of some of the other Guardians to Nick being honored with a wife: “That guy? The chauffeur is one of our most honored guys?”

Edited May 16, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[greekmom]

11 hours ago, AnswersWanted said:

I want the Commander and Serena to burn st the stake. I need them to bring back the old timey ways of the Salem trials and I need them to burn or hang or something.

Hanging is too good for them and burning is a waste of a match and kindle. 

In this case, I say an eye for an eye with some torture included.

[pjop]

11 hours ago, mamadrama said:

Thanks. When they showed the clip of her blood-soaked underwear my husband and I were like, "Ugh, that brings back memories." We were at a hotel at the time, a Hyatt. The manager sat there on the floor with me and held my hand until the ambulance arrived and then the hotel sent flowers to my room. It was sweet. :-) Sad ending to that story, though. My baby was saved. Although he was a preemie, they only had to keep him 3 days in the Nicu. We were released, went home, and he was doing perfectly fine-gaining the weight he needed, reaching his milestones, etc. And then when he was two months old he passed away in his sleep from cardiac arrest. 

:*( So, so sorry. I can't begin to imagine.

[JennyMominFL]

To me the letter burning was the saddest part. It was the loss of the last bit of hope for the women.

[Miles]

11 hours ago, AnswersWanted said:

So...they marry off babies to be raped by “chosen” husbands...this episode might have been one of hardest for me to watch and get through.

It's not like the husbands have any say in it. Nick's wife seems to be way more enthusiastic about the whole thing than he is. So from that perspective she is raping him.

She also doesn't look that much younger than him, but I might be a bad judge of that. Disregard the first part of this comment if she is really supposed to be underage.

 

11 hours ago, Umbelina said:

It seems like the Commander knows about Nick being the father of June's baby.  (!)  So everyone in that house knows but the new wife now right? 

Serana basically told him last season. Not sure if the rest of the household knows.

 

11 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Speaking of Serena, the look on her face when she realized Aunt Lydia is allowed to write was priceless.

Yeah, that was an amazing scene. And aunt Lydia telling her "more of a burdon than anything" but with just a hint of smugness in her voice and Serenas reaction. Priceless.

 

10 hours ago, AnswersWanted said:

Fiona and Kit were getting married after an 11 month courtship, they had become close, they had fallen in love, they were getting married for all the reasons that you’re told you’re supposed to. They wanted to get married as an external promise to each other to always hold the other in their hearts as their soulmate, forever bonded.

 But in the hands of Gilead marriage has morphed into some sort of Frankenstein‘s monster.

Our modern ideal of marriage is a pretty new one. Gillead is bringing it back to it's roots in biblical times. At least they are consistent.

Which is also why it was always so laughable when christians talked about "traditional marriage" when they were trying to keep gay people from getting married. Nothing traditional about modern day hetero marriages.

 

6 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Watching Aunt Lydia poke and prod June while Serena answered about when June's last bowel movement was clearly illustrated what June is to them: a vessel for holding a baby. The only part of Offred that's even remotely human to them is the part that talks back or disobeys, the part that needs to be punished by them.

I don't really think so. Aunt Lydia seems to actually think that this is what's best for her girls. That they were saved from a sinnfull life and by doing gods work in bearing children, they will surely get into heaven.

Serena seems conflicted as well. On the one hand, she likes June subservient and under her heel, but on the other, she isn't comfortable with it either. She wanted June to actually hold a conversation with her on their walk. Part of it is probably because she is bored out of her skull, but another is that somewhere deep down she knows how creepy and inhumane this is.

[AnswersWanted]

10 hours ago, Umbelina said:

It makes a certain kind of sense to marry the girls off young, at least fertility sense, but yes, it was revolting.

 

 The only issue is that this is Gilead, the place where fertility commonsense does not exist.

These are people who take perfectly fertile women away from their proven fertile husbands or partners and pair them up with men who they are almost always certain are infertile. 

This is the group that slaughtered all of the scientists and infertility experts and doctors who could still be working on a cure, working on ways to improve the fertility rate. 

 For me, the inclusion and use of child brides makes sense for this bible thumping band of idiots because these are girls who are already young and inexperienced in so many things, and now, unlike an older woman, they will be far more moldable like clay.

They will know their husbands’ will and command and demands only and seek to please him at all times.

They will hardly have an original thought in their heads, and “blessed be” if these girls do end up producing the next generation to come, they will instill in their daughters especially the exact same mentality except to an even greater degree. 

It’s the exact mentality Gilead is trying to foster and grow and that they hope will soon take over: a world where females will have lost all and any idea of independence, of freedom, of their own selves.  

 It is the old fashioned, outdated, so called “biblical” way of living life, of entering into a marriage, and of preassigned and predetermined gender roles.

It is the way that humanity was supposed to have progressed far beyond, but as with a lot of things Gilead is trying to drag modern society back into the dark ages, literally. 

 

22 minutes ago, JennyMominFL said:

 

To me the letter burning was the saddest part. It was the loss of the last bit of hope for the women.

 

 

 That was a hard scene to watch.  

‘From my perspective June burnt them because she, at least in that moment, had truly lost all her will in thinking that rescue what a worthy goal.

In her mind those other handmaids had no idea of what it was to try and leave Gilead, and after all she’d went through at the end of the day was it really worth taking that risk?

June would’ve felt like she was doing them a favor, covering their tracks, burning the letters to make sure no one knew about them, leaving them to their personal hell as a handmaid was better because in the long run they might just find themselves far worse off trying to escape. 

I think in that scene she had really “lost the script”, June had cracked and. Offred was taking over.  

[HeySandyStrange]

13 hours ago, Umbelina said:

The colonies are so Gulag-like...shudder.  I hope we will be surprised and there will be an attack/rescue or escape from the rebels.  Emily broke my heart when she lost that tooth.  The Aunts there seem to be wearing brown mini cloaks. Mini Aunts, disgraced Aunts, not up to snuff Aunts?

I so need a win for the non-Gilead side in this show, and the Gilead death camps being liberated would be at the top of that list. Of course, my version of that would be completely fantastical: a group of badass warrior women (lead by the impeccable Emily Gilmore, with her right hand woman Paris Geller and an assortment of Linchfield Prison's fiercest ladies backing them up) rolling in  the armored humvees they commandeered from the last fringes of the US gov't, brandishing AK-47s and swords, taking out all those Aunts and guards and packing up the women. Then Emily and Janine could vacation in Bora Bora, were Emily's wife and child will be waiting to see her again. Or hell, just Emily and Janine making it the the border so they can live out their last few days in peace, hopefully with loved ones.

On that note, I wonder if we will see Moira, Luke, and the other Gilead Refugees going to the press and getting their story out their to the rest of the world. We know a few people have, but Little America is a goldmine of PR disaster for Gilead just waiting to happen. I really need Gilead and the Commanders to take a visible hit square in the face.

Random thought...will we ever see a Commander and his wife who aren't infertile? It seems like some of them should have had children, at least before the fall of the US and the rise of Gilead, when sex between husband and wife wasn't outlawed for some odd reason. Also, other random thought-if Gilead so much about modesty, why do wives get to wear high(ish) heels and dresses that show off ankle/calve?

That child-bride marriage ceremony...ugh. A few of those girls barely looked 13. I noticed the wife next to Serena Joy, the one with Janine's baby, seemed to have a negative reaction when the veils went up. That was pretty interesting, though I should probably watch again to see if it was a grimace. Maybe even someone like her has a standard or moral line? I'd like to see some higher ups that actually do. I wonder how long it will be before the Commanders have a lightbulb moment and realize they are giving up a batch of fresh, super young wombs to their lowly henchmen and figure out a way to turn those girls into handmaids or wives.

[Joana]

Serena looked like she was about to spontaneously combust with fury when she saw Aunt Lydia writing, and Auntie picked up on it and rubbed it in. The dynamics between these two women are quite fascinating. Serena probably considers Aunt Lydia to be beneath her, while Aunt Lydia must have realized that Serena is far from happy with her new life under Gilead, which likely makes her a false believer in her eyes. I wasn't sure about it before, but it does appear that Aunt Lydia wields more power in this society than a Wife does. Serena should be careful.

I believe Rita knows (or at least suspects) about June and Nick too. And Eden definitely wasn't brought into the story for nothing. She must be here for something big, and although I really have no idea what she's all about, I somehow don't think she's going to make June's life any easier.

Watching June slowly bleed out was beyond horrible, even though I figured she wouldn't lose the child as it would render her useless for Gilead and her story would be over. I was afraid they'd think that she tried to commit suicide, but that luckily wasn't the case, if Serena's reaction was anything to go by. 

[DiabLOL]

1 hour ago, HeySandyStrange said:

I noticed the wife next to Serena Joy, the one with Janine's baby, seemed to have a negative reaction when the veils went up. 

She seems to have a negative reaction to just about everything!

Yeah why *was* sex between a man and wife of the Waterfords' status outlawed?!

[chick binewski]

15 hours ago, chocolatine said:

How did she end up outside? The windows in her room don't open fully, so she must have snuck out without anyone noticing. 

I thought we were watching June slowly dying/becoming suicidal so the fact they didn't show HOW June ended up outside really distracted me from the end of the episode. I also didn't understand how Nick knew to look for her - his line of sight made no sense to me in that scene.

15 hours ago, Umbelina said:

The colonies are so Gulag-like...shudder.  I hope we will be surprised and there will be an attack/rescue or escape from the rebels.  Emily broke my heart when she lost that tooth.  The Aunts there seem to be wearing brown mini cloaks. Mini Aunts, disgraced Aunts, not up to snuff Aunts? 

 

15 hours ago, AnswersWanted said:

I’m going to guess too that the aunts in the colonies are there because they are serving a punishment as well.

Now that we're 5 episodes in I'd like the colony structure explained a bit more than 'we die'. But I still find Emily killing the wife problematic. No one really got punished for it, and if that's what Emily's doing now why not take out a guard?

I did love Ann Dowd's performance this week. I just enjoy watching her make Serena (more) miserable, even if June's the one who pays for it.

[DrSpaceman]

One thing I don't understand is why some people are sent to the colonies and others are just executed. 

Like Janine, why wasn't she just executed?

I mean other than the fact it would end her story and part in the show.  Practically speaking, what is the advantage of having people at the colonies?  I suppose they must be doing something their productive, but I can't tell what

34 minutes ago, DiabLOL said:

She seems to have a negative reaction to just about everything!

Yeah why *was* sex between a man and wife of the Waterfords' status outlawed?!

I didn't realize that was the case, that sex between man and wife was outlawed.  I can think of two reasons :

What if a wife accidently gets pregnant?  I know they are supposed to be infertile, but its bound to happen once in awhile.  Maybe they don't want that to happen for some reason

Don't waste sperm that could be used to get a Handmaid pregnant

Edited May 16, 2018 by DrSpaceman

[Umbelina]

7 hours ago, dmc said:

So is June's child being raised to be a handmaid like her mother or a child bride?  Clearly those are your options...handmaid, child bride or colonies?

I'm pretty sure the "children" of Commanders are destined to be the future Commanders and their Wives.  After all, the ruling class must go on as well.

7 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Yes, what happens to the children raised by the commanders and their wives? Are they part of the ruling class?

That's what I think will happen.

6 hours ago, LordOfLotion said:

No one is going to mention June burning those letters?

Luckily, she only burned a few.  Did anyone else try to read everything that was burning?  "Colorado..."  I'm glad Nick saved most of them, he has much more ability to hide them than June.

6 hours ago, Hollandaise said:

And now Nick has them. Yet another secret he keeps for June. So many unlawful things happening in that house that he doesn't report; it shows how much he loves her.

Why do you say he's keeping them FOR JUNE?  He's keeping them for the women who wrote them.  He's a good guy.  He also can move around, and has many more safe places to keep them than June will ever have.  Obviously, he could just take them back to the Boston Globe building if he wants to (or other places) to hide them.  He could have also just burned them.  June didn't ask him for anything, or expect it.

1 hour ago, DiabLOL said:

She seems to have a negative reaction to just about everything!

Yeah why *was* sex between a man and wife of the Waterfords' status outlawed?!

Yeah, that Wife is a piece of work, that poor baby!

Recreational sex is bad.  Procreation is good.  Sex is only legal for procreation.  Everything in Gilead is fucked up.

41 minutes ago, chick binewski said:

Now that we're 5 episodes in I'd like the colony structure explained a bit more than 'we die'. But I still find Emily killing the wife problematic. No one really got punished for it, and if that's what Emily's doing now why not take out a guard?

I did love Ann Dowd's performance this week. I just enjoy watching her make Serena (more) miserable, even if June's the one who pays for it.

The Wife was an unwoman just like them, the Guards are used to the prisoners dying and they don't give a shit, more will be sent in.  Taking out a guard or Aunt (if that's what those women are) would be a crime, they are still considered to be people, unlike the prisoners.

Ann Dowd is great, and I also love Aunt Lydia lording it over Serena and the Commander so very much.

Edited May 16, 2018 by Umbelina

[vixenbynight]

7 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Yes, what happens to the children raised by the commanders and their wives? Are they part of the ruling class?

Those kids will grow up to become members of the ruling class. Yet, if one of them misbehaves and steps out of line, they could end up like the other wife, who was turned into an "unwoman" and banished to the colonies. Or forced to become a handmaiden, a jezebel if they are female. The boys also don't have too many options.