S03.E06: Household

[alexvillage]

27 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

The writers have just, once again, lost logic, the plot, and continuity.

So, everything that matters when telling a story?

What attracts me more than anything in a show is the writing. Then the directing. But I cannot enjoy the directing if the writing turns me down.

[Umbelina]

26 minutes ago, alexvillage said:

So, everything that matters when telling a story?

What attracts me more than anything in a show is the writing. Then the directing. But I cannot enjoy the directing if the writing turns me down.

Oh I agree.  I'm in it for the duration of this season at least though.

If my guess is correct, Switzerland/Canada are just playing Gilead for a peek inside their power structure, which I'm HOPING means that WE will get a peek as well, and/or that this means the "world" is united with wanting Gilead to end.

If not, fuck them all to hell, in spite of the excellent acting and lovely camera work?  I'm done too.

IF they manage to show us next episode that this was all a sham, and stop the cock teasing with Nick and actually begin to show us him spying (for the world, for what is left of the USA, for the UK, or hell, for anyone?)  I will stay in.

I'm sick of coitus-interruptus with this show.  Show us the damn world reaction, show us the actual revolution, show us the USA side of things, or I'm out.

Unlike some, I don't really care about the individual stories of handmaids/escapees/children at this point.  Those points have been made for long enough.  WE GET IT!  There was absolutely no need whatsoever in having the ridiculous rings in the mouths of handmaids, who obviously could not function that way.  Stupid shock value torture has been demonstrated enough, and that was frankly, utter nonsense, for reasons already mentioned.  Eating?  Pregnancy morning sickness?  Mouth health which can lead to major other health issues?  BULLSHIT, EXPLOITATIVE NONSENSE. 

I'm thrilled we have such fine actors on this show, but I'm not here just for that.  I'm here, or have been here, for answers to the questions the book left out, a book I read decades ago when it was first published.

I want to know what brings Gilead down, how long did it take, what was the world doing in the meantime, and yes, whether or not June

Spoiler

actually got out or was it only her tapes? 

I'm OVER the people in Canada doing nothing to help Gilead, it's more bullshit, and completely unrealistic.  It is frankly, the only thing I actually care about.  While adjustment stories are nice and all, I, for at least one, am sick of absolutely no world interaction! 

Why did Luke harangue the relatively powerless Canadian government?  He has the WORLD at his fingertips!  Why isn't he in contact with the USA?  Why isn't his plea for his wife and daughter all over TV in every country in the world?

WHY isn't Moira telling or selling her story?  SEX SELLS.  She was a SEX slave in pious Gilead for God's sake!  She could have all the press she wanted to help expose Gilead and rally support for the US resisters and for the trapped handmaids and children.  Oprah would be on that in an instant!  It's utter nonsense that the writers have avoided the entire topic of the "world" reaction, and now to bring in "Swiss negotiators" to send a girl child back to this hell?

It ONLY makes sense if the Swiss are simply operating a spy mission to "get a peek inside the power structure" of Gilead, for a proposed attack or assassinations or for the best ways to support the rebels?  Because sanctions already exist.  If they are honestly playing that the Swiss and Canadians are even considering sending Holly back (which I honestly doubt, but then again I've lost most of my trust in these writers/showrunner.) then oh hell no, I'm done too.

I see this as endless delaying to keep the show running.  They don't WANT to address how the system works (too hard, more closeups on all the actors instead, more horror, more bait and switch) let alone on the world reaction (I doubt they have a clue, and it shows.)

OK, rant over, for now.

It's not about the actors, it's about the story.  They don't have one, and it shows.  Well, they can do all the personal relationships stuff, but I DO NOT CARE if they aren't addressing the entire reason I was looking forward to this show.

ANSWERS.

[jenn31]

9 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

To be fair, production on S3 of this show was finished by the time that particular episode of GoT aired, so the similar wing shots were just coincidental. I seriously doubt that the HT showrunners saw that GoT episode a few weeks ago, thought, "Ooh, cool idea!" and called everyone back to reshoot the scenes in this episode with the angel statue just so that they could incorporate the wing imagery.

I was being facetious, to make a point. 😛 It’s an overused effect, I’ve seen it in other shows too. It was even cheesy in GoT.

Edited June 27, 2019 by jenn31

[Magoo]

Trying to pull a silver lining out of this episode.  I did like that the DC Commander's house was a wickedly effective reprogramming of Serena back into the Gilead mindset.  She was shown everything she had always wished for herself and thought she was going to get when she helped to architect Gilead:  A picture-pefect, wonderfully chaotic house full of children's laughter.  Completely engaged parents, utterly delighted with said children's every word and move.  She saw a mother who seemed to handle it all with ease, and a father that would happily interrupt any part of his day for a little tea party.  She saw a glimpse of the father she always hoped Fred would be.  And now the closing pitch.  It had been a long, long time since anyone told Serena she mattered in any significant way, then here is the Commander's perfect wife - a perfect mother living a perfect life telling Serena that it was her book that changed everything for them as a couple - "look where we are now, all thanks to you."  Serena matters.  She made change happen.  She was right all along.  Welcome back to the fold, Serena.  And the barbaric treatment of the handmaids?  Eh...as long as they serve a means to her end, it's really not her problem, is it?  

Edited June 27, 2019 by Magoo
spelling

[Umbelina]

9 minutes ago, Magoo said:

Trying to pull a silver lining out of this episode.  I did like that the DC Commander's house was a wickedly effective reprogramming of Serena back into the Gilead mindset.  She was shown everything she had always wished for herself and thought she was going to get when she helped to architect Gilead:  A picture-pefect, wonderfully chaotic house full of children's laughter.  Completely engaged parents, utterly delighted with said children's every word and move.  She saw a mother who seemed to handle it all with ease, and a father that would happily interrupt any part of his day for a little tea party.  She saw a glimpse of the father she always hoped Fred would be.  And now the closing pitch.  It had been a long, long time since anyone told Serena she mattered in any significant way, then here is the Commander's perfect wife - a perfect mother living a perfect life telling Serena that it was her book that changed everything for them as a couple - "look where we are now, all thanks to you."  Serena matters.  She made change happen.  She was right all along.  Welcome back to the fold, Serena.  And the barbaric treatment of the handmaids?  Eh...as long as they serve a means to her end, it's really not her problem, is it?  

Yes, and Fred acting like a daddy, and being fairly cool for a change.

I did LOVE a change of scenery, I always do.  I hope they transfer Joseph to Washington AND the Wallingfords.  I am so sick of Boston.  We will

Spoiler

see more of DC apparently in a slightly spoilerish blurb for the showrunners in an interview

posted in the spoiler thread.

It would be, at least something different, to see how the 1% of Gilead lives some more.

Mostly though, they need to get on with the world story, including the resistance and the USA, but I said all of that in my post above. 

For those not watching?  Here you go:

Holy shit!  It's the cover of a book?

Here is the show version:

[Umbelina]

My internet is in and out today, so rather than attempt to edit, maybe this comment will just merge with my post above.

It looks like piercings, with rings that can be removed for eating/if pregnant/teeth care, etc.

I'm shocked it's on an Atwood book.

[Ariam]

23 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

My internet is in and out today, so rather than attempt to edit, maybe this comment will just merge with my post above.

It looks like piercings, with rings that can be removed for eating/if pregnant/teeth care, etc.

I'm shocked it's on an Atwood book.

Then why would ofgeorge not have removed hers in the evening to brush teeth? It was obvious she wasn’t able to and didn’t at any stage during June’s stay there. She should have seen her eat though, they were there for a few days. 

[charmed1]

What little girl would flitter about and gleefully request her “dad” allow her to play with creepy assed Commander Waterford - a complete stranger to her? Not even the female creep, who at least looks halfway interested, but the weird old man in the suit and tie? There better be some other hidden plot to this. Like the kids are dealing coke out of the kitchen a la Jezebel’s. Otherwise, this episode just seemed to be all over the place to me. I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around the Nick double agent thing. I wouldn’t doubt it if they allowed Max to begin speaking in his natural accent. Triple surprise, Nick’s a British Royal...and a mutant!

[Umbelina]

22 minutes ago, Ariam said:

Then why would ofgeorge not have removed hers in the evening to brush teeth? It was obvious she wasn’t able to and didn’t at any stage during June’s stay there. She should have seen her eat though, they were there for a few days. 

Maybe June did see her eat later, that scene was just after they arrived, at bedtime.  My guess is that since they are, on closer look, patterned after an Atwood book cover, piercings with little balls to remove them?  The handmaids are allowed to remove them to eat, and to brush teeth, even possibly while pregnant, but not allowed to have them removed at any other time, including bedtime, shopping (where picture cards would be all they needed) and most certainly not allowed when alone with another handmaid.

As far as the rest, she could have already brushed her teeth, and that would certainly happen in the bathroom, not the bedroom.

The fact that they are, at least, removable?  Makes this a big less far-fetched.  Perhaps DC already had issues with conspiracies or handmaids?

I still can't get over that image on a book cover.

Edited June 27, 2019 by Umbelina
typo and damn internet today here!

[Umbelina]

IF the writers finally get off their asses and have Moira telling about the sex slaves in Gilead, and NAMING NAMES of some of the Commanders involved...hello Fred...?

That could wrap up one thing the book left dangling, and finally give Serena a real story as well.  book spoiler:  Fred is

Spoiler

disgraced and removed/executed, and Moira naming him would certainly do it, especially since she would be able to identify body things to "prove" it.  (mole on penis top, whatever)  I'd love to know what would happen to Serena without Fred.  Martha?  Colonies?  Aunt? 

Wall?

At any rate, it's time to move this show along, I don't think Hulu will abandon it yet, since they haven't got much else, but the people who watch it?  I suspect, will, or already have.

[AllyB]

Ok, so here is the thing with the lip piercings. They wouldn't mute anyone. Try it. Press your lips together and then make a tiny, tiny gap. There isn't a single sound you can't make. Not one. You won't speak super loudly, but if your lips were pierced together, rather than you holding them in place, once the piercings heal (6 weeks-ish) you'd be even more able. You'll never shout but you'll be well able to quietly converse with the Marthas and other handmaids. It's just stupidity for no reason.

[Miles]

I knew something like a sewn shut mouth was coming whan the handmaid took off her red mask. So I wasn't shocked. Not sure how June was, she should be savy to this implausible bullcrap by now. Why do I call it implausible bullcrap? Because how in the hell do these women eat?! You can't feed soilent to a woman who tries to become pregnant, let alone a woman who is already pregnant. So it's again torture porn without any logic behind it.

The retcon with Nick was annoying. We saw his backstory. We saw how he became the commanders driver. There was no terroristing. But even more annoying is that the writers think that would be a reason for the swiss to not talk to him. He is a commander and an eye. If anything him having been a terrorist makes him more valuable than before. Can they 100% trust him? No, but they couldn't before either. This is so dumb.

Also I don't buy that Gilead would be "like a black box". With all thse refugees getting to Canada, some having been in commanders hosueholds and in close procimity to commanders for a long time? We know of two first hand. Emily and Moira. Emily had been posted to multiple commanders and Moira was forced to be a prostitute to commanders. Every prostitute will tell you, men talk and tell them things they wouldn't tell anybody else.

That should have yielded a bunch of information, also who to turn and probably connections to the network of Marthas.

How is this writing so bad? How can you fail so hard at convincing world building?! Why am I still watching this show?!

[shipmate]

Yes, I know the writing is weaker this season, but can't help but have a soft spot for Nick and June. I would rather her be with him than original-recipe husband.

[BosomBuddy]

5 hours ago, charmed1 said:

I live in D.C. so I kind of laughed at most of the scenes. The monument is almost always closed for repairs, so good luck with that obelisk crucifix combo, ya freaks. And the airport is actually in Arlington, so I was hoping to see if there were any OfJeffBezos handmaids scooting around.  When June was looking up at the Lincoln Memorial, I was half expecting for Abe’s face to have been replaced by a monkey’s. 

LOL OfJeffBezos scooting around! 

[AnswersWanted]

That book cover is a stylized photo someone put with the book, the audio version I belueve, very recently, it actually reminds me of fan art or something. 

However in the story itself, such an extreme step serves no real practicality, and Atwood never even hinted at such business. 

I also don’t see anything removable about the show’s version, they don’t have any obvious clasps on the outside, as the photo obviously does.

The woman’s mouth showed signs of scaring around the pierced skin, no knobs or screws or anything. And there’s no way to remove them by opening the mouth without first removing the outer rings.

There is a second shot in the show when Lydia inspects one of the handmaids and you can clearly see those rings are deeply imbedded and can’t just be removed with ease, if at all. 

1 hour ago, AllyB said:

Ok, so here is the thing with the lip piercings. They wouldn't mute anyone. Try it. Press your lips together and then make a tiny, tiny gap. There isn't a single sound you can't make. Not one. You won't speak super loudly, but if your lips were pierced together, rather than you holding them in place, once the piercings heal (6 weeks-ish) you'd be even more able. You'll never shout but you'll be well able to quietly converse with the Marthas and other handmaids. It's just stupidity for no reason.

Exactly, the only way they truly could keep these women silent would be if those rings actually pierce their tongues. That’s how speech is truly impeded if the mouth can open at all. 

With that being the case, that actually goes even further in proving the whole idea is straight up bullshit. These women would choke to death within a week, a ring through the tongue and their lips? It’s positively ludicrous.

25 minutes ago, Miles said:

I knew something like a sewn shut mouth was coming whan the handmaid took off her red mask. So I wasn't shocked. Not sure how June was, she should be savy to this implausible bullcrap by now. Why do I call it implausible bullcrap? Because how in the hell do these women eat?! You can't feed soilent to a woman who tries to become pregnant, let alone a woman who is already pregnant. So it's again torture porn without any logic behind it.

The retcon with Nick was annoying. We saw his backstory. We saw how he became the commanders driver. There was no terroristing. But even more annoying is that the writers think that would be a reason for the swiss to not talk to him. He is a commander and an eye. If anything him having been a terrorist makes him more valuable than before. Can they 100% trust him? No, but they couldn't before either. This is so dumb.

Also I don't buy that Gilead would be "like a black box". With all thse refugees getting to Canada, some having been in commanders hosueholds and in close procimity to commanders for a long time? We know of two first hand. Emily and Moira. Emily had been posted to multiple commanders and Moira was forced to be a prostitute to commanders. Every prostitute will tell you, men talk and tell them things they wouldn't tell anybody else.

That should have yielded a bunch of information, also who to turn and probably connections to the network of Marthas.

How is this writing so bad? How can you fail so hard at convincing world building?! Why am I still watching this show?!

So much preach for this. 

I ask myself that after every episode now, this group definitely helps, heh, I love having a place to rant and decompress with such awesome people.

But I honestly would love to ask the show runners in all seriousness, do they truly believe in this current version of the show? Looking back at the world Atwood crafted, can they honestly say they’ve paid proper homage to it? 

I keep reading their comments after each episode and the blinders that this bunch have on...it’s mind boggling. They seem convinced that whatever is going on in their heads is translating to the screen as pure genius and it’s not, not at all. 

Exhibt A of such delusions, this article covers comments from Warren Littlefield, the executive producer, discussing Nick’s newly revealed backstory. 

Okay, This Might Be an Explanation for That Wild Nick Twist on 'The Handmaid's Tale'

I cannot take this dude seriously, how out of touch can he really be??

[kieyra]

I literally refuse to click and read their explanation of Nick’s comic book origin story. 

[Miles]

On 6/26/2019 at 7:18 AM, HeySandyStrange said:

I can't be the only one who saw how handsy high Commander so and so was getting with good ol' Fred, right? I'm curious to see how that will turn out.

Yeah, it seemed like Commander Winslow was putting the moves on Fred.

Only thing I'm not sure about is if Fred noticed or if he's too dense.

On 6/26/2019 at 7:18 AM, HeySandyStrange said:

How the heck is Gilead so powerful? They seemed to have destroyed most of former America's biggest industries, I'm pretty sure they've ran off a large majority of the richest and most influential citizens (like Oprah, for instance), no one really wants to trade with them, large swaths of the country are radiated wastelands, and they are still battling for control of other areas like Chicago. The fuck writers? How does that equal powerful?

Prayer. I guess it does work afterall!

I can see other countries aprehension to go into direct conflict with them, as they'll still have a lot of nuclear bombs lying around. But cowtowing to their insane demands? I can't see that one.

On 6/26/2019 at 7:28 AM, AnswersWanted said:

Lydia can fuck off with her tears, she bought into this world and helped it flourish. No need to get all soft and weepy when you see the true extent of the horrors you’ve inflicted on the innocent and trapped.  

I have a (probably not quite rational) soft spot for aunt Lydia. She genuinely wants the best for "her girls". She thinks they were sinners before and she is saving their eternal souls from hell, by making them do gods work... Also while she is our window into the horrors the people in power in Gilead will commit, she is a realatively small cog in the machine.

It's Serena I really can't stand. All she does is to her own selfish ends. She actually made all this possible, with her propaganda. Without her Gilead never would have happened and she didn't even do it because she believed in it. She did it because she was empty and tried to fill that hole in any way possible. Most people just take drugs, she destroyed an entire country.

On 6/26/2019 at 8:32 AM, AgentRXS said:

So this episode was basically created so we could see a headless Lincoln statue and the Washington monument turned into a cross. Style over substance.

It was pretty good style though, I have to give them that. I had a little nerdgasm, when the little blob of teal walked into frame behind June, while she was lookind at the statue of Lincoln. Such great camera work / directing. In genernal there were some gorgeous shots this episode.

Doesn't make up for the dumpsterfire that was this script though.

On 6/26/2019 at 4:55 PM, The Mighty Peanut said:

Nick didn't want to sleep with her or marry her and seemed repulsed by the whole chain of events, and it was implied he resented being sexually subjugated in order to avoid the gender traitor label and subsequent execution. Now he's Mr. Gilead, a general, a Commander trainee. What? 

I think the word you are looking for there is "raped".

On 6/26/2019 at 10:27 PM, LordOfLotion said:

With the mouths wired shut, this is just getting into stupid territory. The muzzles would be enough. People have to eat. They're just trying to shock the viewers now. 

Now?

On 6/27/2019 at 12:48 AM, AnswersWanted said:

Men should never have been the guiding voices for this show, they just don’t get it. 

I don't think we need to get sexist here. Women can be hack writers, too.

What is there to "get" that men just don't? That rape and totalitarian regimes are bad? Got it, thanks.

21 hours ago, Umbelina said:

One tiny defense of that, that Swiss woman did say that the "power structure" was a "black hole" for them.

That would be a nice explaination, but nope:

"Our biggest gap is information"

"Gilead has been a black box for years. We don't know how decisions are made, where the power lies."

So the whole of Gilead is suddenly a 'black box'. Of course they are mostly interested in the power structure, but they know less than Jon Snow... which would be nothing, for anybody who didn't watch Game of Thrones.

5 hours ago, Umbelina said:

IF they manage to show us next episode that this was all a sham, and stop the cock teasing with Nick and actually begin to show us him spying (for the world, for what is left of the USA, for the UK, or hell, for anyone?)  I will stay in.

Okay, you are out then, because that is never going to happen. Glad at least one of us is getting out.

Edited June 28, 2019 by Miles

[Umbelina]

As I said, unless they do some major world building and start with answers instead of just stories?  This will be my last season.

I'll stick it out to see if my hopeful speculation pays off this season, but then?  I'll be another reader rather than watcher.

I do kind of like the idea of Fred fucking that new commander to advance his career though. 

5 minutes ago, Miles said:

21 hours ago, Umbelina said:

One tiny defense of that, that Swiss woman did say that the "power structure" was a "black hole" for them.

That would be a nice explaination, but nope:

"Our biggest gap is information"

"Gilead has been a black box for years. We don't know how decisions are made, where the power lies."

Actually, that's what I said.

They have stories from defectors, but still don't know how the actual power or decisions are handed out, or made.  They need that, especially if they are considering assassination, or the rebels are. 

[Miles]

2 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

Actually, that's what I said.

They have stories from defectors, but still don't know how the actual power or decisions are handed out, or made.  They need that, especially if they are considering assassination, or the rebels are. 

I guess we have different interpretations of what "Gilead has been a black box for years" means. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

To me that means they know nothing about Gilead. That's what a black box is.

Also how would they not know what the power structures are? That's so unrealistic, it's extremely laughable. I already laid out why in my previous post.

[Joana]

I actually don't find it unrealistic that they wouldn't know about the power structure of Gilead, simply because - does ANYONE know what their power structure is? Do the leaders of Gilead themselves know who is in charge there and who they actually respond to? Somehow I doubt it.

For two and a half seasons Boston has been show as the de facto capital of Gilead, for all intents and purposes. All the power seemed to be concentrated there and that's where all the major decisions were made. And now all of a sudden we move on to Washington and apparently it's both the Berlin of the 1930s and the Mecca of Gilead with all its super-religiosity, with a whole new set of rules, and we're told that there is where the real power lies, even though it's literally never been hinted, let alone mentioned or *gasp* explained. So, what gives? And the next week we'll probably see something entirely different. 

[Miles]

7 minutes ago, Joana said:

For two and a half seasons Boston has been show as the de facto capital of Gilead, for all intents and purposes. All the power seemed to be concentrated there and that's where all the major decisions were made. And now all of a sudden we move on to Washington and apparently it's both the Berlin of the 1930s and the Mecca of Gilead with all its super-religiosity, with a whole new set of rules, and we're told that there is where the real power lies, even though it's literally never been hinted, let alone mentioned or *gasp* explained. So, what gives? And the next week we'll probably see something entirely different. 

I mean yeah, that's horrible inconsistent writing that doesn't make any sense. But in universe it should be the easiest thing for any secret service to figure out the power structur of a country.

[Scarlett45]

This episode made me go “What the fuck????”

Can Serena Joy just die now?!! Yes June and her mouth are the cause of all of Serena Joy’s problems. 

[Umbelina]

48 minutes ago, Miles said:

I guess we have different interpretations of what "Gilead has been a black box for years" means. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

To me that means they know nothing about Gilead. That's what a black box is.

Also how would they not know what the power structures are? That's so unrealistic, it's extremely laughable. I already laid out why in my previous post.

No, they clarified the statement to include power structure, and how decisions are made.  Hearsay from a few low level former Gilead captives doesn't amount to much.

34 minutes ago, Joana said:

I actually don't find it unrealistic that they wouldn't know about the power structure of Gilead, simply because - does ANYONE know what their power structure is? Do the leaders of Gilead themselves know who is in charge there and who they actually respond to? Somehow I doubt it.

For two and a half seasons Boston has been show as the de facto capital of Gilead, for all intents and purposes. All the power seemed to be concentrated there and that's where all the major decisions were made. And now all of a sudden we move on to Washington and apparently it's both the Berlin of the 1930s and the Mecca of Gilead with all its super-religiosity, with a whole new set of rules, and we're told that there is where the real power lies, even though it's literally never been hinted, let alone mentioned or *gasp* explained. So, what gives? And the next week we'll probably see something entirely different. 

Exactly to the first part.   None of us know the power structure because these writers have been deliberately avoiding discussing any details about Gilead or the World.

If this mess of an episode means they are finally starting to do that?  Well, progress!  If not?  swear words.

Why would they keep the Capitol there?  Tradition I suppose, I would have thought it would move to NYC though.

25 minutes ago, Miles said:

I mean yeah, that's horrible inconsistent writing that doesn't make any sense. But in universe it should be the easiest thing for any secret service to figure out the power structur of a country.

Not in a closed world with martial law and very restricted travel.  We still don't have that much information on closed dictatorship worlds, at least not inner workings of them.  We have clues from satellites and spies, but even the best spy is unlikely to penetrate top level meetings. 

Maybe that's the eventual intent for Nick?  Who knows?

[kieyra]

On 6/27/2019 at 9:32 PM, Miles said:

I don't think we need to get sexist here. Women can be hack writers, too.

But hack or no, they could probably figure out ahead of time that shooting a female character in the abdomen in a flashback would make people assume that she was infertile because of being shot in the abdomen, and not then act surprised about it. Just one minor example. 

It’s really not unreasonable for us to be disappointed that a novel written by a woman, about the enslavement and rape of women, in a real-life era and country where women are having their reproductive rights clawed back and are vastly underrepresented as showrunners ... couldn’t have been allowed to have a goddamned female showrunner.

But hey, it’s 2019. This kind of talk could get me muzzled. 

Edited June 29, 2019 by kieyra

[Anela]

Wait, now they're making Nick out to have been a bad guy all along?? A friend of mine posted something in protest, saying she'll stop watching if that's what they're trying to do. 

[The Mighty Peanut]

Tbh I don't even mind the mouth rings (as a plot device). I think Atwood may well have gone there, just better and in between actual stuff happening. Silencing dissent this way seems like something religious extremists would do. I can fan wank the nitty gritty details about eating drinking and barfing. 

What I take issue with is we've seen whippings, burnings, hangings, stunnings, shootings, beatings, drownings, stonings, rapings, gaggings, cattle proddings, electrocutions, genital mutilations, eyeball removal, and unnecessary amputations. It's predictable. It's cheapened human suffering. I fully expect to see lobotomized handmaid's next, and I'm not joking about that. Mark my words, if the game is one-upping previous indignities they WILL give a handmaid a lobotomy to make her complacent.

Anyway there's hours and hours and hours and hours of it--12 eps per season, right? So 30 hours of HMT and more than half of it is torture footage. 

We need some kind of forward momentum, and that doesn't mean the good guys win. I just want some progress in some direction. Literally any direction. Canada. Chicago. Hawaii. Mexico. Boise! Who cares?! Otherwise we're just counting down to keeping handmaids in medically induced comas.

Edited June 28, 2019 by The Mighty Peanut

[Joana]

2 minutes ago, Anela said:

Wait, now they're making Nick out to have been a bad guy all along?? A friend of mine posted something in protest, saying she'll stop watching if that's what they're trying to do. 

That's strongly implied in this episode, yes. The Swiss officials refuse to negotiate with him "because of his past" and Serena refers to him as a "crusader" (although, would that be a real expression in Gilead? Isn't Catholicism a big no-no now?), saying that "they'd never be here without him", indicating he played a pretty major role in overthrowing the government. And then she sneers at the shocked June, mockinly wondering about how in all that time they had spent together he never happened to mention to her anything about it.

We also see that he's now a very powerful military figure, for some reason.

I'm convinced it's all a very deliberate misdirection and that it will turn out that his real role is something completely different, but we have seen his backstory, we have witnessed him serving the Waterfords, so there's absolutely no way this new piece of info can fit in there and I really can't deal with it.

[AnswersWanted]

5 minutes ago, kieyra said:

I literally refuse to click and read their explanation of Nick’s comic book origin story. 

It’s pretty awful. Apparently Nick has “gaps” that they’re filling in now, and he has “light and dark” qualities...the stupid burns. 

1 hour ago, Miles said:

I have a (probably not quite rational) soft spot for aunt Lydia. She genuinely wants the best for "her girls". She thinks they were sinners before and she is saving their eternal souls from hell, by making them do gods work... Also while she is our window into the horrors the people in power in Gilead will commit, she is a realatively small cog in the machine.

It's Serena I really can't stand. All she does is to her own selfish ends. She actually made all this possible, with her propaganda. Without her Gilead never would have happened and she didn't even do it because she believed in it. She did it because she was empty and tried to fill that hole in any way possible. Most people just take drugs, she destroyed an entire country.

For me it’s just annoying when those like Lydia, who are just as cruel and abusive in different ways, find that “one step too far” that makes them uncomfortable or angry or sad, etc. That’s the same bullshit they tried to pull with Serena. 

Lydia often tortures “her girls” with cattle prods, has ordered limbs and eyes removed, she’s burned them, beaten them, she has no place to blubber over this cruel, unforgiving system now. 

The makeup of Gilead is all the same at the end of the day, it tortures, torments, mutilates, rapes, and murders regularly and they all accept that, so the tears do nothing for me. 

Serena is definitely worse for me as well however, she’s one of the originators of the whole thing so she has secured an extra special spot in hell. June really should have left her to roast in that fire. 

1 hour ago, Miles said:

I don't think we need to get sexist here. Women can be hack writers, too.

What is there to "get" that men just don't? That rape and totalitarian regimes are bad? Got it, thanks.

I wasn’t speaking in sexist terms, I just would have preferred seeing a female writer leading the way about a show based on a strong female author’s book dealing with realistic fears regarding women and their freedom, reproductive and otherwise.

It doesn’t happen nearly enough, and I do feel the vision of the show has suffered since certain individuals have taken over from the book’s material. 

16 minutes ago, kieyra said:

It’s really not unreasonable for us to be disappointed that a novel written by a woman, about the enslavement and rape of women, in an real-life era and country where women are having their reproductive rights clawed back and are vastly underrepresented as showrunners ... could have been allowed to have a goddamned female showrunner.

But hey, it’s 2019. This kind of talk could get me muzzled. 

Preach. 

That’s my feeling exactly, the perspective was such a huge part as to why THT worked as well as it did. And I do think a main reason it isn’t working as well now is because the people behind the story don’t carry the same personal stakes, and voice, about the subject matter. 

[DiabLOL]

Of course I want a woman showrunner for The Handmaid's Tale of all things!

Why have we never seen Summer in Boston? 

[Ceindreadh]

18 hours ago, Baltimore Betty said:

How did June lead the other handmaids in prayer when they all had their mouths ringed shut?

Fred putting Nick up on the stage next to June and they hold hands and nobody sees?

June makes an entrance down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial?  WTF?

If Cmdr. Lawrence was such a big shot in the founding of Gilead why didn't he go to DC?

So many questions!

Commander Lawrence doesn’t leave his house for meetings in Boston.  It’s not surprising he wouldn’t head to DC.  

10 hours ago, Umbelina said:

IF the writers finally get off their asses and have Moira telling about the sex slaves in Gilead, and NAMING NAMES of some of the Commanders involved...hello Fred...?

That could wrap up one thing the book left dangling, and finally give Serena a real story as well.  book spoiler:  Fred is

  Hide contents

disgraced and removed/executed, and Moira naming him would certainly do it, especially since she would be able to identify body things to "prove" it.  (mole on penis top, whatever)  I'd love to know what would happen to Serena without Fred.  Martha?  Colonies?  Aunt? 

Wall?

At any rate, it's time to move this show along, I don't think Hulu will abandon it yet, since they haven't got much else, but the people who watch it?  I suspect, will, or already have.

Yes, why not have Moira speak up. A woman naming names and accusing a powerful man of rape is totally going to be believed and not accused of lying just to make a quick buck. 

[Umbelina]

1 hour ago, Ceindreadh said:

Commander Lawrence doesn’t leave his house for meetings in Boston.  It’s not surprising he wouldn’t head to DC.  

Yes, why not have Moira speak up. A woman naming names and accusing a powerful man of rape is totally going to be believed and not accused of lying just to make a quick buck. 

I'm sure she could identify some very personal characteristics of his naked body.  I don't think the whole world would be as bad as some people are about believing a woman.  😉

Aside from that, Gilead seems to enjoy punishing people, even that one Commander got his hand chopped off for boinking his handmaid outside of the ceremony. 

I just want Fred to die.  I want to see Serena without a husband, struggling to survive this world.

[Ceindreadh]

33 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

I'm sure she could identify some very personal characteristics of his naked body.  I don't think the whole world would be as bad as some people are about believing a woman.  😉

Aside from that, Gilead seems to enjoy punishing people, even that one Commander got his hand chopped off for boinking his handmaid outside of the ceremony. 

I just want Fred to die.  I want to see Serena without a husband, struggling to survive this world.

I want to see the Commanders and the Aunts punished. 

The wives, well some are more complicit than others. Some likely had little option but to go along with their husbands. 

Others though need to end up on the wall alongside them. 

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, Ceindreadh said:

I want to see the Commanders and the Aunts punished. 

The wives, well some are more complicit than others. Some likely had little option but to go along with their husbands. 

Others though need to end up on the wall alongside them. 

Given the variety of human experiences Im sure there are some decent wives (like the older lady who kept giving Emily a way out of the rape ceremony), but statistically most of them are co-conspirators in this entire mess and should be punished along with their husbands. If the writers were better we would know by season 3 what separates a wife from an eco-wife, how a man got to commander status etc. How does a woman get to be an aunt? We should know this by now! They are the most powerful women in Gilead, as they are allowed to read. 

[Baltimore Betty]

1 hour ago, Ceindreadh said:

I want to see the Commanders and the Aunts punished. 

The wives, well some are more complicit than others. Some likely had little option but to go along with their husbands. 

Others though need to end up on the wall alongside them. 

Everyone's thoughts in the last few posts are wonderful thoughts.  Why isn't Moira or anyone of the ex handmaids screaming from the roof tops?  Why aren't they naming names to anyone who will listen such as the Swiss people that showed up in DC?  They want intel and I am sure Moira and the others have intel.  

Why does this story have to be lopsided?  

We could be having the makings of something like the war crimes Nuremburg Trials with some very interesting after stories.

The ugliness of Gilead is real and the rest of the world watches?

Justice must prevail and we want to see it.

BTW, all of the handmaids clothes and accessories come in fabulous boxes, (I hope that it is recycled paper), like it is haute couture, even that G-d awful muzzle Aunt Lydia brought in to June.  What girl could say no to that!?

[violet and green]

I rather liked that episode. >>squeak<<

I thought it was beautiful, with the sweeping overhead shots, the patternings of the architecture, the Nurembergesque tableaus, and the use of color -- ranked rows of redrobed handmaidens against the whiteness of the re-purposed monuments, the horrors of a gang of stolen children and the mouth rings sewn into the creepy household with its charming pale green walls and tea parties...

The Metropolis-referencing elevators. The designated red kneeling spots like pools of blood. The crucifix rendition of the Washington monument reflected in June's eyeball at the end. Visually, stunning.

After wtf-ing my way through the five previous episodes, I really enjoyed it! It was such a relief to get out of that gloomy house and onto a train, for starters. I thought it was the most eloquent and cohesive episode this season, and unlike the previous five, that dragged like molasses, I was not bored for a minute.

I don't buy Nick and the Swiss -- I think they are maintaining his cover. I certainly hope so. But either way, there was a comprehensible story being told and no-one's motives and behavior were flip-flopping about, or implausible within that universe set up in this episode, bar June shouting at Serena behind the setting up of Fred's last video. I understood Aunt Lydia to be responding to the distress of June as her surrogate child, rather than with pity so much for the DC handmaids; she's always had a tender spot for June.

And with Nick back in the picture, I even rewarmed somewhat to June, who softens in his presence, and who was also less Gorgonesque overall.

[AllyB]

The "Nick is a bad guy, dun, dun, dun" plot is just stupid. Nick could have been a bad guy who just liked June right up until he gave Luke those letters. We already knew there was lots more to him, that he was never really a driver but an Eye working for Commander Pryce and spying on other Commanders. The fact that he was driving for Fred, meant that Fred was under suspicion already. We knew early on that his double agent work with Mayday could have actually been triple agent work where he was intent on bringing them down. That June's early second season escape and recapture could all have been organised by him in order to catch people like Omar while he enjoyed a few months of have June to himself.

But then he went to Canada and gave Luke the letters. And that was that, whatever his past allegiances may have been, by handing over those letters he was undeniably working to bring down Gilead. There was no ulterior motive in that. He handed over the letters, destroyed Gilead's chance of a necessary trade deal. And to top that off he came home and told June all about seeing her husband and him living with Moira, knowing that by sharing that news he risked his relationship with June. We also know that his attempt to get June and Nic-olly to Canada, where she would almost certainly be with Luke and never see him again, were totally genuine as Emily and Nic-olly really did make it out. Nick has been genuinely a good guy from the latter half of S2.

Trying to reignite the questions that once hung over his motives is just ridiculous now. It's also really stupid that the Swiss won't talk to him for all the reasons outlined already by other posters. But also because the Swiss would know damn well that it was Nick who gave Luke all those letters. They would be damn intrigued to hear everything he had to say even if just to try and find out what he is playing at. I assume that we are going to eventually discover that Nick is a US agent and possibly has been from the start and they just don't want to blow his cover within Gilead. (Or I would assume that if I had faith in the writers.) But trying to make the audience suspicious of him is just stupid at this point.

[sadie]

Part of my issue with this whole Nicole being sent back to Giliad story line is they want us to forget this is 100% created by JUNE. If she had gone with Nicole there would be no question about sending the baby back as she is her biological mother. June created this mess but I’m supposed to view her as the hero trying to stop this. Now she hasn’t saved Hannah and her stupidity has again placed Nicole in jeopardy. I feel less sorry for her with every dumb thing these writers do to keep June front and center and keep her and the Waterfords as the central players in the story.

[KariLois]

I read from the show runner that the vow of silence in DC started out as voluntary. He compared it to the burqa where some women wore it voluntarily Nd then everyone else was forced to wear it.  I also wondered if the vow of silence was necessary since the Handmaids are closer to powerful people and could pick up information.

Edited June 28, 2019 by KariLois
Typo

[KariLois]

I live in DC too and I was also looking around for the scooters!

[Baltimore Betty]

1 hour ago, KariLois said:

I live in DC too and I was also looking around for the scooters!

Those scooters are so much fun! It would have been a wonderful sight to see hoards of Handmaids on them!

[tennisgurl]

Its really weird how the show has gotten lately in that they have to come up with new ways for Gillead to be horrible so that they can continue to shock us, even if it makes no sense (hence the handmaids with their mouths wired shut) but also expect us to feel sorry for Serena, one of the people who created this world? Like, are we supposed to want Serena to get her not daughter back? To the place where they nail peoples mouths shut and where Holly will never to taught to read? It we arent, why are we being forced to watch all these dull as dirt scenes of Serena and her crocodile tears about her "daughter" who is clearly better off literally anywhere else? And, lets not forget, Serena has been behind all of this since day one, and is really just upset that she isnt as powerful as she expected to be, and that her evil has had negative consequences for HER. Which is fine, except that the show itself wants us to feel bad for her!

So does she want to go and explain to Holly when she is grown up how she was so close to being in a country where she could grow up reading and writing and having dreams and being able to wear freaking pants and not have to look at people rotting on the wall on the way to...wherever it is kids in Gilead go every day? What if Holly falls in love with someone not her designated husband? Does she want her to be drowned like Eden and her boyfriend? Oh, did we forget about that? Serena and the show apparently did. 

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

On 6/28/2019 at 3:44 PM, tennisgurl said:

Its really weird how the show has gotten lately in that they have to come up with new ways for Gillead to be horrible so that they can continue to shock us, even if it makes no sense (hence the handmaids with their mouths wired shut) but also expect us to feel sorry for Serena, one of the people who created this world? Like, are we supposed to want Serena to get her not daughter back? To the place where they nail peoples mouths shut and where Holly will never to taught to read? It we arent, why are we being forced to watch all these dull as dirt scenes of Serena and her crocodile tears about her "daughter" who is clearly better off literally anywhere else? And, lets not forget, Serena has been behind all of this since day one, and is really just upset that she isnt as powerful as she expected to be, and that her evil has had negative consequences for HER. Which is fine, except that the show itself wants us to feel bad for her!

So does she want to go and explain to Holly when she is grown up how she was so close to being in a country where she could grow up reading and writing and having dreams and being able to wear freaking pants and not have to look at people rotting on the wall on the way to...wherever it is kids in Gilead go every day? What if Holly falls in love with someone not her designated husband? Does she want her to be drowned like Eden and her boyfriend? Oh, did we forget about that? Serena and the show apparently did. 

You stated what I find most the disturbing about this show because ever since her pinky was chopped off, the show has positioned Serena as someone to sympathize with. What with June holding her hand in solitary. I repeat, in solidarity. The show drew parallels between Serena Joy and the Handmaid she’s just held down to be raped. With the Handmaid being the main source of comfort.  It wasn’t a contrast, its as if as if by suffering that laughable punishment, she’s now on pare with the oppressed in the regime. 

So yes, the show does want us to feel for Serena when she agonizes over the baby she raped into being then stole from her mother. They want us to see her “letting her go” as honorable. It is verbatim what June herself said. June felt so strongly that she saddled the kid, for a lifetime, with a name to reflected that feeling. 

 Now they expect us to see her as tortured over that honorable decision and find the back and forth compelling 

This show lost every shred of credibility the moment they decided to showcase Serena Joy in this light.  

Edited July 1, 2019 by Deputy Deputy CoS

[Umbelina]

Serena is a selfish radical religious fanatic.  She is also the best "up close and personal" WIFE the show has.  I think she's valuable in this show about the oppression of women, both as one who IS oppressed, and also one of the powerful women who does the oppressing of others.

I'm tired of Fred though, and it's time for him to go down, and hopefully take Serena down with him.  I'd love to see Serena without the protection of being a "wife."  It's time.

Lydia is a true believer radical cruel heartless fanatic, and she's our main view of another "women" faction of this fucked up society.  I don't care how tragic her backstory is.  I don't care that at moments she seems kind or sympathetic.  She's a monster, more of a monster than even Serena.  She's down and dirty in the trenches actually carrying out torture, and leading it.  She's still a valuable part of this show though.  Either the writing is seriously bad for her, or she's off her nut though, probably both.  She blows like the wind, or the requirements of that week's storyline.

Ditto the Martha's and their stories telling a tale.  They are surviving, some are rebelling, but their lives are so limited.

It's a pity they dropped the econowives stories, the only other faction of women in Gilead proper.  I would especially have liked to see the wife of the man that helped June adjust to her new reality.

I like both new Commanders, so credit to the writers for them!  Hopefully that means Fred is on his way out. 

I really hope we leave Boston behind completely, but I doubt that will happen.  The DC crowd with their blatant excesses and brighter homes was so welcome.

As far as Nick, I can see ways his story could be believable, but these stupid writers have to ddddrrrrrraaaaaaagggggg everything out so much, it's not interesting, it's just annoying and frustrating.

The pieces are all there, the presentation is annoying.

[DesertCyclist]

I enjoy the show, but a plot hole I can't forgive is that Serena could go to Canada or wherever, find a willing sperm donor, and give birth to her own fucking baby.

Edited June 28, 2019 by DesertCyclist
Misspelled a word

[angora]

23 hours ago, Joana said:

I actually don't find it unrealistic that they wouldn't know about the power structure of Gilead, simply because - does ANYONE know what their power structure is? Do the leaders of Gilead themselves know who is in charge there and who they actually respond to? Somehow I doubt it.

For two and a half seasons Boston has been show as the de facto capital of Gilead, for all intents and purposes. All the power seemed to be concentrated there and that's where all the major decisions were made. And now all of a sudden we move on to Washington and apparently it's both the Berlin of the 1930s and the Mecca of Gilead with all its super-religiosity, with a whole new set of rules, and we're told that there is where the real power lies, even though it's literally never been hinted, let alone mentioned or *gasp* explained. So, what gives? And the next week we'll probably see something entirely different. 

Not to mention, as people have pointed out on this forum, all these guys have the same title (except Christopher Meloni, who's "High Commander.")  Lawrence, so important he makes the others come to him?  Commander.  Nick, the former driver who's just made his way up in the world?  Commander.  Waterford, who's been demoted after all the crap that happened under his watch?  Commander.  How do they even know where they stand relative to each other?

22 hours ago, kieyra said:

But hack or no, they could probably figure out ahead of time that shooting a female character in the abdomen in a flashback would make people assume that she was infertile because of being shot in the abdomen, and not then act surprised about it. Just one minor example. 

Especially a female character whose one driving motivation is to have a baby.

[Andyourlittledog2]

There was a Locked Up Abroad once where a fortysomething woman said she was riding a bus in a Middle Eastern country she was visiting and saw a woman with a baby and thought suddenly 'I want one of those'. So of course she immediately goes to a black market baby broker in said country and buys a baby. She gets caught trying to get the baby out of the country and is imprisoned for buying a baby whose mother is unknown and no one knows what happened to her or if she consented to this 'adoption' or what and the  woman is actually outraged in her telling of this because she had the baby for all of a few days and now it's HER baby and how dare they separate her from HER baby etc. I thought she was a selfish cow who treated other womens' babies like objects to be acquired and had a serious humanity issue.

This is how these Gilead wives come off to me, especially Janine's baby's 'so called mother'. And Serena Joy I put in this category also. Can't have a baby? Steal someone elses and then proclaim yourself the mother and be outraged if the actual mother objects in any way.  It takes a special kind of self-centeredness to view children this way,  a sense of entitlement that pisses me off. Offer a child a home who needs one, fine. Steal a child because you are entitled to it is appalling. And here is an entire system made on just such an entitlement. Serena embodies all of it and I loathe her so much. More than the Commanders and Aunts.

[alexvillage]

On 6/28/2019 at 6:51 AM, Scarlett45 said:

If the writers were better we would know by season 3 what separates a wife from an eco-wife, how a man got to commander status etc. How does a woman get to be an aunt? We should know this by now! They are the most powerful women in Gilead, as they are allowed to read. 

22 hours ago, violet and green said:

I thought it was beautiful, with the sweeping overhead shots, the patternings of the architecture, the Nurembergesque tableaus, and the use of color -- ranked rows of redrobed handmaidens against the whiteness of the re-purposed monuments, the horrors of a gang of stolen children and the mouth rings sewn into the creepy household with its charming pale green walls and tea parties...

The Metropolis-referencing elevators. The designated red kneeling spots like pools of blood. The crucifix rendition of the Washington monument reflected in June's eyeball at the end. Visually, stunning.

To me, those two points are a clear indication that the show has tanked. Maybe  it will survive a few seasons but as a story they want to tell it will go down as a waste of resources.To the first quoted comment, I agree. There are so much they could do with what Margaret Atwood left us to imagine, they could have at least tried but then they turn to 

Second quoted comment: beautiful shots and torture porn. Directing is one of the things that I enjoy in movies and shows but I cannot watch bad writing for too long, so I think I will keep missing the beautiful shots. 

When a show is relying on big shots and creative ways of introducing a scene - sometimes they also fail at this - or on shocking images like torture porn, porn porn, in the case of this show the overuse of close ups and slow motion, it is a bad signal.

And if they overwhelm one episode with all the beauty + torture porn, added to the nonsense writing, then it is really bad. 

I still don't want to watch it.

[Trillian]

10 hours ago, angora said:

Not to mention, as people have pointed out on this forum, all these guys have the same title (except Christopher Meloni, who's "High Commander.")  Lawrence, so important he makes the others come to him?  Commander.  Nick, the former driver who's just made his way up in the world?  Commander.  Waterford, who's been demoted after all the crap that happened under his watch?  Commander.  How do they even know where they stand relative to each other?

Well, to be fair, it’s the audience that doesn’t know - I’ll bet they all know. The power structure of the French Revolution all bore the title “Citizen” and that of the Soviet Union “Comrade”, but the actual players certainly knew who had power and who did not.

[Umbelina]

Sorry, can't format this right, this spoiler is just the leaked map, made by the show but not SEEN on the show yet, with Nick's story?  Hopefully soon. 

Spoiler

7 hours ago, alexvillage said:

To me, those two points are a clear indication that the show has tanked. Maybe  it will survive a few seasons but as a story they want to tell it will go down as a waste of resources.To the first quoted comment, I agree. There are so much they could do with what Margaret Atwood left us to imagine, they could have at least tried but then they turn to 

Second quoted comment: beautiful shots and torture porn. Directing is one of the things that I enjoy in movies and shows but I cannot watch bad writing for too long, so I think I will keep missing the beautiful shots. 

When a show is relying on big shots and creative ways of introducing a scene - sometimes they also fail at this - or on shocking images like torture porn, porn porn, in the case of this show the overuse of close ups and slow motion, it is a bad signal.

And if they overwhelm one episode with all the beauty + torture porn, added to the nonsense writing, then it is really bad. 

I still don't want to watch it.

For me, I agree, the writing really failed in this episode for all the reasons I've already mentioned.  Still?  When I compare it to other shows?  It falls, even this one, somewhere in the middle.  C- maybe, so I will stick it out until the end of this season, and I don't actually regret watching it.

This season has been so much better than last season, until now.  Was it a bad burp, will they recover?  Next episode will hopeful let us know.

The things I like?  The table is set, I mean really set, for a ton of interesting things to happen, including the long overlooked and most important thing (to me) the world building.  

• I want to know what the world thinks of, and is doing about Gilead.  Are they secretly supporting the remaining Americans?  The "rebels?"  Switzerland folks, Spy Guy, and possibly the Canada baby nonsense SHOULD do this.
• I want to see how the wars are doing, I want to meet actual rebels, see how they live, how they are fighting.  Nick's story SHOULD do that, at least a bit, and it could do it a bunch, via communications, not just Chicago area forces, but those

Spoiler

in the Rockies, in California, in Texas, all over the south, which are all rebel held areas.)  See map above. 

• I loved the whole DC experience, and the Oligarchy privileged new Commander.  I love that we are seeing more of Gilead now, it's not all just Boston, and it's certainly not all peaceful. 
• I love that we are seeing resistance even inside the "settled/compliant" areas of Gilead.  The Martha organization in Boston is very small potatoes, but the important thing is?  They are trying.  Just as Emily tried long ago, and June is now.  Oppressed, basically imprisoned scared people trying is a good story, and I'm sure
• Spoiler

  • it helped bring down Gilead eventually.
• I love Joseph and his wife, not as powerful at the DC dude, but still a giant step above Fred, with an interesting wife, not a cookie cutter Gilead approved Stepford wife.  I'd be she still reads as well.
• The table has been set in Canada (half the cast is there) for a long time, but it's been wasted as far as the world building opportunities.  I hope they finally begin fighting back, helping the rebels, writing blog posts, doing Youtubes, making appearances, telling the world about Gilead, bringing down world condemnation beyond sanctions.  It's possible Holly's situation will finally provoke them to get off their asses.

So, as I said, the table is set for some very very good stuff.  The question is, will they serve up a meal, or will this just be more delaying and bait/switch stuff?  I'm hoping they are about to tackle the most important and most difficult part of this tale.  What happened in the larger picture? 

6 hours ago, Trillian said:

Well, to be fair, it’s the audience that doesn’t know - I’ll bet they all know. The power structure of the French Revolution all bore the title “Citizen” and that of the Soviet Union “Comrade”, but the actual players certainly knew who had power and who did not.

True.

Honestly, I don't think the writers knew.  They planned on continuing to just tell the personal stories of the remarkable cast, and skate on that for a few more years, before tackling the much more complicated "world" story.  I think the critics and "fans" may have pushed them to move it along.  In some ways, this episode, and certainly most of the episodes this season have set it up for them to do so.

Will they?  Hopefully.

I did notice Fred's uniform with the white braid had one star on the sleeve, BTW.  I never noticed that before.  Braid color and stars may be rank indicators.

Edited June 29, 2019 by Umbelina
typo

[Ashforth]

On 6/27/2019 at 8:37 PM, Umbelina said:

I do kind of like the idea of Fred fucking that new commander to advance his career though. 

Yeah, I would like to see Fred have to suck some dick to get an awesome posting to DC. Welcome to the world totally controlled by men, Fred.