DGSAFDMD

OMG I was so upset with the ending of the last episode. I honestly didn't think she was going back

Mi||iê Måë

I need to play catch up with this show so I can participate in the convos, I'm missing out!

Regan

My copy is just under 400 pages, including the Epilogue.

Mi||iê Måë

That's maybe a 3 day read for me. Thanks for that!

Alexa

it was a really short book on my ebook, only like 800 some pages i think

(and i use the larger text)

stlavin95

Not an long book at all, thanks for that.

L i N d $ @ y

So at least one child per family, more would be good but not imperative. And at least they get to have sex with their husbands/wives. So still better off, imo.

Oh my goodness. I didn't think of a scenario wherein the husbands will die and of course they won't have any use anymore. I guess everything is forced with them but as long as no one is abusive (in the marriage), that's fine for me. I wonder what happens if a husband sleeps with another wife/has an affair here?

You're so hopeful! I was waiting for her to get caught but didn't think they'd end the ep on her capture.

Alexa

I knew she would get caught because they wouldnt have a story if she got away, but i didnt expect it to be so quickly.

Regan

Best case scenario, he loses a hand. Otherwise, it'd be death or the Colonies. For the woman, if she's fertile, she'd probably end up a Handmaid. If not, death or the Colonies.

DGSAFDMD

I am so scared for today's episode. I fear it will be absolutely terrible and I don't mean as "bad episode" I mean as "holy hell I don't want to see this!

Regan

Absolutely fantastic performance by Elisabeth Moss in this episode. She really captured June's descent into despair.

Aunt Lydia continues to be a mixture of terrifying and creepy yet, I believe that, if asked, she would, in all sincerity, swear to it that she loves the Handmaids. To her mind, they're facing Hell for their assorted transgressions, and it's only by serving as Handmaids that they can redeem themselves. Any deviation from the path Gilead has laid out for them threatens their salvation.

The baby shower was creepy, and the part where Aunt Lydia bound June and Serena's hands with the red and blue strings brought to mind a handfasting. Given that June is only eighteen weeks along, and that only 1 in 5 fullterm pregnancies result in a healthy baby, the shower seemed premature.

One odd thing about the baby shower; I counted eight visiting Wives, and eight visiting Handmaids, which would imply that one of them was the new Ofwarren. I would have thought that, as the Putnams already had baby Angela, they wouldn't be assigned a new Handmaid, as the goal would surely be for each Commander to have one child before any of them got a chance at a second baby. If the plan to sell some of the Handmaids went ahead, it would be even more of a reason for them to prioritise the households without children, as I can't see them wanting to admit that Warren Putnam has proven that he is capable of fathering children, which is more than can be said for some of the other Commanders.

The use of flashbacks continues to be effective. Given that Luke's wife appears to be religious, I wonder if she is the one who reported June and Luke for adultery. Hannah was going to school in the flashbacks, so she was presumably at least five when she and her mother were captured, and she was eight as of the beginning of the series. However, the oldest of the children of Gilead, explicitly stated to have been born to Handmaids, looked about four or five, which suggests that Gilead's regime was in power for at least five or six years. I wonder if Luke and June were successfully flying under the radar as a married couple, and had to run after they were exposed. Luke's ex-wife would have motive to report them, especially if, as in the book, it was only the female partner in a second marriage who would be arrested. Once women lost their jobs, a husband would be her only means of support. If she reported Luke and June, June would be arrested, and Hannah taken, but Luke could have been ordered to return to his marriage to Annie.

Who knows? Perhaps Annie will turn up as a Martha or in the Colonies later in the season.

I can't see Serena's sanity holding out for the duration of the pregnancy. She's already struggling and, while some of the Wives might like playing up the idea that it's her baby, that she's glowing, etc, I can see it making it harder for her to pretend. She's clinging to the idea that God means for her to have this baby but, if she ever falters in this belief, she could be dangerous. At this point, I'd consider her the greatest potential threat to the unborn baby, as I wouldn't put it past her to snap and attack June again.

Fred's role was fairly low-key in this episode, but the scene of him with the other Commanders was interesting. Him not being chosen to go to Canada hints at him not being as powerful as he may have liked to think he was. I imagine that June's disappearance didn't help his standing. Calling it a kidnapping may spare her life, but it also protects him, as I can't imagine that he wants his interactions with her to be scrutinised too closely. Given the Gileadean belief about children being a blessing from God, he may be on probation, in a sense; if his Handmaid is delivered of a healthy baby, he is obviously in God's favour, but if she does not, questions may need to be asked. Maybe his superior invited Warren Putnam to the shoot as a warning.

To my mind, this episode proves that if there is a rebellion, it is most likely to start in the Colonies.

Everybody else in Gilead has been left with something to lose. The Wives have their privileges. The Aunts have the only official position of authority that women may hold. The Econos have their spouses, children and limited freedom. The Marthas have the promise of being able to live free of the Colonies for as long as they remain useful. The Handmaids have their lives, and the hope of future safety if they manage to give birth to a healthy baby. The women at Jezebels have been spared the Colonies.

The people in the Colonies, on the other hand, have been left with nothing to lose. They are already living the worst case scenario and, for many of them, I imagine that being shot is preferable to a slow death from radiation poisoning.

Mi||iê Måë

Yeah, the larger the text the more pages it spands, of course.

kayrey

I can't wait to watch the newest episode here.

Mi||iê Måë

Four episodes have aired now no?

I will likely binge on the weekend.

CONDEMNED666

i dont think this is the kind of show that one can binge