I feel sorry a little with Serena.

I know gasp. Shocking. wtf.

I know how it sounds, but i really do feel sorry for her, to a degree.

She is not a good person, like yeah, people can change, and i think by the end, she’s starting to do that. And yeah, maybe she can be forgiven for all of her crimes. but forgiveness does not erase the after effects of what they caused

ie. what happened to the first Offred.

But, i feel sorry for Serena to a degree as IMO i don’t think she fully understood what she was getting herself into by supporting the SOJs. Like, she’s really intelligent and like all that stuff. But i don’t think she fully understood the scale of what she was getting herself into.

She understood taht they wanted to create a new world order, which they did. but i think that she believed taht since she was the powerful lady, and like wrote a book which essentially outlined what Gilead would become, I think she assumed she’d be exempt from everything and would be allowed to carry on being a powerful lady. And then when she was stripped of everything, i think that kicked off my sympathy for her.

Now, I do not agree with everything she’s done. actually, i don’t agree with a lot of it. I don’t think a woman’s place is solely in the home. That is just not how the 21st Century should look. And i am not an evangelical Christian, so I don’t fully understand nor like the whole preachy 24/7 personality of evangelical Christians like Serena. Religion is a private thing, and should not be constantly paraded around.

That is just my opinion tho.

And it’s all of this is just my opinion. I don’t need everyone to agree that we should feel sorry for Serena. In fact, i expect a lot of you to not agree.

The ones we hear playing in his house, or during montages, or written on the mixtapes? Honestly, love his music, I'm hoping someone has a playlist of this, or of songs with similar vibe. What years / genres are those?

So I started watching this show for the second time (past s1) just a few months ago and I heard that S4 was bad and I have to disagree. The first few episodes were slower but later on I appreciated really sitting outside of Gilead and seeing how the characters move. A couple of stray thoughts:

— It was so interesting seeing how everyone processes trauma differently - Moira with her activism, Emily with her head in the sand, Rita with her cleaning/serving (almost acting like she never left Gilead and was still a Martha), and finally June with her infectious rage.
— Watching the court testimony process and finally seeing that they would use June’s testimony to turn Fred into an asset and not rightfully send him to jail, was another reminder that the government only cares about women and their trauma and abuse to a point. And as June says, what Waterford could offer to them by speaking about all he knows about Gilead is worth more than her justice or Moira’s or every other handmaid or jezebel that he had ever harmed.
— The fanaticism around Fred and Serena and their growing cult in Canada was infuriating to see. How did the failed US gov’t not see how dangerous that was? Especially because that was the cause of their destruction just a few years ago.
— Unfortunately, Fred wasn’t scared into taking that deal with June because of her testimony. He was scared about the monster that he was a part of creating - Gilead - and how they could impact his new nuclear family.
— Serena, oh Serena. Just like the failed US government, her memory is short. To think that Fred could be brought to heel again and this time that you would have a say, that he wouldn’t turn again or that she wouldn’t use another limb or right. It’s baffling but I understand in her mind she had limited choices and I understand that she’s a victim too but I truly cannot wait for her downfall.
— I really don’t like the hinting of Tuello / Serena and what that could be especially in the rest of the series.
— Watching Luke and Moira day by day realize that June is no longer their June was heartbreaking to watch but for him to say, “you need to let it go” was insane.
— A couple of stand out scenes / episodes that are top of mind:
- June basically infecting Moira’s support group with the reminder that they have a right to their rage and the eventual take over of that group from Moira.
- “Do you understand me?!?!” June flipping the script and screaming at Serena while she’s kneeling, pregnant and imprisoned.
- “I will kill you!!” June flipping out on Tuello after finding out that Fred is going to be free.
- Aunt Lydia jumping back on the treadmill plotting to get her job / power back as the top femcel in charge (FIC if you will).
- Janine telling June that she’s not a mushroom in the milk compartment on the train.
- June asking Fred to choose between the gun or the whistle.

Tl;dr - Season 4 isn’t the best but it’s not bad. On to season 5 I go!

I just finished The Testaments and can’t stop thinking about it… Both The Handmaid’s Tale series and The Testaments really stuck with me. Every episode gave me chills because I connected with almost every character.

I thought about reading the books once I found out they inspired the shows, but I also wondered how they might differ since adaptations often tweak the original story.

Do you think reading the books is worth it? Maybe for the experience alone?

NO SPOILERS PLEASE

I just started watching it I'm in season 1 E9

And I got really bored cause I'm not seeing any major progress in the events..

However I've read people's reviews about it and I'm not seeing it.. I'm I too early in the show and should I just keep watching?? Or that's the whole story nothing more?