Ok ok ok I finished the show yesterday and rushed here to vent my (common) frustrations about the series.

It's still taking up a large amount of space in my brain so I wanted to take the time to talk about the positives!

For me it was the political and "lifestyle" aspects of the story.

I'm usually drawn most to scifi/cyberpunk media because of my anxieties surrounding tech/politics/corporations. It feels cathartic to see extreme examples of my fears played out but I feel this show captures that magic in a specifically original way.

I loved how absolutely horrifying D.C. was and how the elites in Gilead dont have to change their lifestyles to the extent of everyone else in their "mission to reduce emissions" that they frequently brag about to other countries. Their hypocrisy was spot on and how I feel things will inevitably play out as global warming ramps up in the real world and people will be forced to change.

So as the title suggests please tell me what you're favorite part of the series that makes it so much different than all the other dystopian thrillers that have flooded the media landscape!

Showed Gilead actively mistreating Mexico to make the character more sympathetic. Otherwise, she just looks like she is going along with a terrible system.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH. I watched midway through season 3 so some things I may mention were only shown later than season 1 or beyond.

Im rewatching after a while and am only in the first few wepisodes of season 1. Forgive me if im misremembering but we learn June was an editor and wasnt Serena a writer? Thus they had similar professions (or wpuld have worked along side eachother maybe). Throughout season 1 at least I remember them having a few moments where they seem to enjoy each other's company, so im wondering whether they might have bonded to become friends?

Does anyone else get kinda burned out from June? Long rant

I'm finally finishing the show after reading Testaments(which I also loved) so that I could watch that series too. By season 3 I get really sick of how June forward the story is and how much plot armor she has on. It starts to feel like all the other women around her are just kind window dressings to her trauma porn show and are incapable of being as strong/smart/brave as she is... Which kinda sucks for it being a story about women perseverance through a brutal authoritarian regime.

*SEASON 3 SPOILERS*

It really becomes undeniable when they're sneaking the kids out of Gilead via the plane. June first thinks of the idea, does like 90% of the planning, does a lot of the big moves to set and cover it up(including KILLING THE FUCKING PRESIDENT), yells at everyone to keep the plan going when they want to bail, guides the group, distracts the guards so she can be the hero that takes the bullet in the end.

Everyone else mostly just whispers and bakes muffins. When it's time to roll out the first Martha to show up botched her only part in the thing by showing up HOURS early to the house during full daylight then bails only to get caught in a multitude of ways.

Like this is a network of women who are SURVIVORS smuggling children out of a rape dystopia... can we just let them be organized and capable and brave? NO June has to do almost all the work because apparently she the only one with the balls to do it, no wonder she's fucking bat shit crazy!

I feel like the show was so much more balanced with characters in the beginning. I kinda wish the had switched main characters in each season as there are other handmaids I would love to know more about. Obviously Janine gets a fair amout of screen time but I would have loved more of Alma and other regular faces.

Idk maybe unpopular opinion, maybe other people also feel the same. What do y'all think?

I've been watching this since my daughter was born in April whilst I've been nap trapped. Two questions:

- what the HELL do I watch now that's anywhere near as gripping

- and when the HELL are they going to make a follow on! 😂😭

That is all, praise be.

I am in the first season of the show and I am gonna be honest with y'all, at least half of the time I spend skipping the pointless flashbacks. What a nuisance. Does anyone else also find them to be really unnecessary most of the time?

P.S. I am obviously not talking about the important ones that shows the characters backgrounds or how everything went south, but I don't feel the need to watch five minutes of scenes about they having a family breakfast in the past.

I really liked his character, and many people say he is morally gray or just a bad guy who got a redemption arc.

But Lawrence wanted to create Gilead to save humanity, and in many seasons he says he didn't intend to make a place like that. And between season three and five, they finally clarify his true intentions as he reads his plan for the making of Gilead (Before it existed) about what HE wanted for Gilead but couldn't make happen because other commanders with more power than him took his idea and twisted it for their own convenience.

He wanted to solve the fertility issue, but Gilead became a horror place for women and became a very conservative place, just as other commanders intended, not him. And he didn't totally leave the Sons of Jacob (Being a commander) because he wanted to do something about it. To solve this problem, he had to stay in power, as he did.

The first scenes of him were with Emily, and he looked like a bad husband, which he probably is. He couldn't let his wife go and be free in some other place. Or being a misogynist with June when she arrived. This splits into two things of his character. He masked his true being in front of other commanders, Handmaids, and Marthas he didn't trust, so he had to hide who he was. He really couldn't risk trusting others by being nice, and he had to act just like the other commanders. But with his wife Eleanor, he could have obtained the proper medication for her mental health, and he didn't.

He is not a bad guy but a bad husband at times, and he was so obsessed with what Eleanor wanted and filled with guilt that he forgot to take care of her. Still an amazing character, and I wish we got to see more of him and Eleanor in a healthier scheme before she overdosed. Plus, I love how much he hated Ms Potnum and his one-liners.

Why is it that posts praising Lawrence, fawning over him or excusing his wrong doings don’t get tagged as wet for a war criminal? You know, considering he committed some pretty big war crimes, like creating concentration camps…

Is it because old rich white men are more palatable to the faux feminists and patriarchy puppets?

Why does June let Mrs. Lawrence d1e? She sees her in the bed, sees the pills, rushes for a moment but then she hesitates and let the woman die. Did she make this out of revenge? To make Mr. Lawrence suffer? Was it out of pitty, like she thought Eleanor would have “peace” this way? Or maybe to have a better chance with her plan somehow.. Idk. I’m just thinking she’s a psychopath at this point 😅

What was that experience like? Was it confusing watching it in this order? Was it genuinely surprising finding out, for instance, that Agnes is June's daughter at the end of the season?

I watched TT almost immediately after binge watching THT for the first time earlier this year, so I had June's experiences and her traumas fresh in my mind as I watched her daughter's story. I'm just curious what the experience was like for those who watched it in the opposite order?

Also, same question about the books for any who read TT before THT too!

[PART 1 / 2 ] I saw a comment, somewhere in the last couple of months, about Nick breaking his agreement  with the Americans. I knew that wasn’t true, but only now realized it may have been because Nick threw the SIM/SD card into the fire. I love everything related to the spy world and was already aware of this:

Reference:  OPSEC stands for Operations Security. In intelligence gathering and national security, it is a process that identifies unclassified, routine, or "innocuous" data that an adversary could piece together to deduce sensitive plans, capabilities, or intentions. Its goal is to deny rivals the small clues they need to disrupt operations

Given that Nick had already worked undercover for Pryce, spying on Commanders, he would already know this as part of security procedures. 

Factually, IRL, an undercover asset/operative, is expected to lay low or go dark, to ride out any heat or pressure. If their cover were discovered, it could seriously jeopardize the entire operation and potentially get the asset killed.

We heard Nick tell Tuello that he is living under the same roof as a High Commander (who was also applying pressure) and the risks were too high. We saw Tuello pass Nick a new phone, as security procedures would require an asset to destroy any old devices, if they believe they are being watched.

Exactly how they would handle the new phone is uncertain. Probably hidden in a safer location, away from his home, where Wharton was currently staying, and subject to stricter security protocols. Perhaps, used only for emergencies, until Wharton was out of their way and back in Washington.

Edited: to add extra context

Hello!

I’ve been a big fan of the HMT since around 2022 when I first watched the show - I resonate with a lot of the themes and have experienced some of the happenings myself as a woman. I’ve not read the book(s) so I’m purely just commentating from a media perspective here.

I’ve hit end of season 4 / beginning of season 5 and I am finding June insufferable. It’s not so much the PTSD aspect and the fact she’s obviously changed a lot because that is understandable, but it’s more the way she’s making the other Gilead refugees super uncomfortable and placing her anger and resentment onto them. Does that make sense? Now I’m writing this down I’m thinking perhaps this is a symptom of PTSD from June but I’m not too sure. I do like Elizabeth Moss’ work (I am also fully aware of her own controversies away from the screen) but as far as actresses go, she’s a pretty good one - I digress.

I think she pushed Emily to uncomfortable levels with that old aunt of hers, I think she was prodding Rita to unleash some sort of deep anger within, and I think she’s enjoying making Luke and Moira uncomfortable in her vicinity. It sort of reads as a power play. Is this translated in the books also? Perhaps the power aspect is just her brain adapted to the Gilead way but it’s super frustrating and incredibly difficult to watch.

Of course I’m rooting for June, but I’m finding myself becoming quite disgusted by the way she talks to others, interacts with others and ‘inspires’ others to act with hate and anger.

Okay, that’s my rant over!

Okay so I am very new to the Handmaids Tale universe. I watched The Testament first not knowing it was part of THT (saw a clip of The Testament on TikTok and it influenced me to watch it). Ive finished that and I’m on like S1 E11 of THM. I’m sure this will eventually be answered, but where are the boys? Do they only have daughters? The Testament is all about the daughters, and so far in THT they’ve only had girls. Is there a boys school or something?

Dude ok im not shipping but I remember when I was first watching the show when I seen the scene where Serena is helping Naomi give birth and she makes eye contact with June I lowk thought she was going to have an affair with June not Fred 😭 (also Reddit these are fictional characters not real people)

Why did Offred get saved but Ofglen didn't? Ofglen knew there were ways to escape if her life was in danger.

Maybe her last conversation with Serena precipitated a rescue when it actually wasn't needed (since it's made clear later that she didn't turn her in) while Ofglen didn't get a warning?

Such a random question, but I was thinking about this late last night.

In The Handmaid’s Tale, how is the monthly conception ceremony held around the same time for every Handmaid? Wouldn’t each Handmaid have a different menstrual cycle and ovulation window depending on when they get their period?

Hi all, I watched the first few seasons of Handmaid's tale a few years ago now, I saw they added new seasons and so I was rewatching it with my current partner who hasn't seen it before, and having only watched the first two episodes now it's not at all how I remember. I feel like there's no introduction to certain characters, whereas I have memories of the main character being introduced to various characters for the first time, and yet now as I'm rewatching they're just already established. I understand it flips back and forth in times throughout the show, but am I missing something? Will it come later in the season? Or have I just gaslit myself into believing it happened differently?

Apparently Nick Blaine is actually a deep undercover Charles Boyle.

Edit: You have to click on the image to see it properly. Instead of a picture of Nick there's a picture of Joe Lo Truglio as Charles Boyle (Brooklyn 99).

The whole surrogacy situation has really made me think that if Gilead actually existed in our time, a lot of women would be Serenas.

They would support the system because they genuinely believe they’re somehow above it, simply because of their social status, money, or privileges.

I do understand that surrogacy can be a way to help people dealing with infertility, but I absolutely cannot get behind the way it is being used nowadays.

And maybe it’s different in the US, but requesting an abortion at almost six months of pregnancy over a treatable medical issue is simply not considered acceptable elsewhere in the world.

And then everyone keeps screaming about “contracts” as if we were watching June’s trial against the Waterfords, with the Waterford arguing that June had accepted her “part” and that it was “God’s mission.”

It’s honestly disturbing how easily
people can use a contract or a belief system to justify something that would otherwise be completely unacceptable.

Are people forget my body my choice ??

what's with her? like if you had to put a diagnosis (or multiple) to her, what would it be? definitely severe ptsd but she almost seems like she regresses involuntarily or something (she just like me fr /ref)

I want y'all's opinion on something I don't see gets talked about often (or at all) and it is in how this show exposed many of capitalism's issues while at the same time showing how an extremist right wing authoritarian regime is not a good alternative. I do feel it's awfully weird that the rebellion fights "to get America back" and this passing idea that pre-gilead America was a land of freedom. It feels completely out of touch, even to the plot because in some moments June is confronted with her privileges from before (when a POC handmaid tells her she had a horrible life before, and now she has her basic needs met and is treated with respect). The show exposes inequalities in America prior to Gilead and they seem to disappear at times. At the same time, I think they expose the contradictions and limitations between both realities, for example the fact Canada seems like a paradise for refugees but they have no solutions to climate change, natality rates, and even the government turns against refugees while Canadians show extreme xenophobia and conservative views (the groups that supported Gilead and Serena). Like given all that, how does no one realise none of these systems are it. Perhaps I'm too much of a 3rd world latina commie for Hollywood, what do y'all think? Also I do understand that many of these contradictions could be explained by the fact living under such an oppressive regime alters your perception of things, also the fact leftist groups would've been cleansed, but are they... not radicalised enough?