Handmaid’s Tale season 4

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Whoa, Janine. Did not see that coming. Good to see her scrappy streak reemerge. I forgot June had lied to her about her son still being alive, so sad.

Oh shoot, I don’t remember this. Do we know how he died?

June got her hands on his file, which said he died in a car crash not long after the founding of Gilead. June thought Janine was too fragile to handle the truth, so lied. That made this ep's flashback extra heartbreaking.

Of course Janine does have a child now stuck in Gilead, also heartbreaking. I'm going to be so peeved if this lady does not get a happy ending.

I thought that baby was rescued!

Was she? Does anyone know? My guess is no, because I'd think Janine would go on about it if that were the case.

She may not know. I don’t think we’ve been introduced to every rescued child. Smart story telling since it will allow flexibility later. Janine’s daughter will be in Canada if the writers need her to be and in Gilead if that serves Janine’s arch.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Whoa, Janine. Did not see that coming. Good to see her scrappy streak reemerge. I forgot June had lied to her about her son still being alive, so sad.

Oh shoot, I don’t remember this. Do we know how he died?

June got her hands on his file, which said he died in a car crash not long after the founding of Gilead. June thought Janine was too fragile to handle the truth, so lied. That made this ep's flashback extra heartbreaking.

Of course Janine does have a child now stuck in Gilead, also heartbreaking. I'm going to be so peeved if this lady does not get a happy ending.

I thought that baby was rescued!

Was she? Does anyone know? My guess is no, because I'd think Janine would go on about it if that were the case.

She may not know. I don’t think we’ve been introduced to every rescued child. Smart story telling since it will allow flexibility later. Janine’s daughter will be in Canada if the writers need her to be and in Gilead if that serves Janine’s arch.

Makes sense. Because one would actually expect her to be worried either way. It seems an odd omission for her not to talk about baby Angela.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Episode 4 only tonight...the slow drip feed is killing me.

Was that supposed to be milk in the train tank? These new people seem like creepy, bad news, but Rita is giving me life.

Yeah the fact that they're not affiliated with Mayday indicates they're sketchy. The leader is disgusting.

So happy Rita is getting more air time. I was disturbed seeing her be nice to Serena, but then glad she turned it around. I remember she had a son who died in the war, but we don't know which side he fought for.

"Hey, can't believe there are sex slaves in America. Btw, I require one of you to service me." WTAF.

He actually didn't require it - and told June she could say no. He's slimy and nasty but I don't think he "required" it despite saying he would.

Um, the choice was sex or being cast out with no food/clothing/shelter.

This is not true. We have no idea about the food but the clothes part is def wrong. We know that bc June had already changed and let her hair down before Janine returned to talk to her. Since she got new clothes, I assume she’d have had some food. Clearly June was thinking she’d had to be moving on and the guy is a sleeper but I don’t think you can say she wasn’t getting food or clothes without sex. She got clothes and I assume likely food since she got clothes.

The guy explicitly said either one of them "stays with him" or they had to leave. That was most definitely an ultimatum.

Definitely an ultimatum and he’s no better than the Gilead men. This is what gets me about the show. No matter how evil Gilead is, we can find threads to sexist, abusive behaviors we see all around us.

[Anonymous]

Did you guys ACTUALLY WATCH the end of episode 4? June refused to have sex with the man. Janine had sex with him so they could stay. She brought June a slice of bread and said "it wasn't that bad - he dug my eye patch."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you guys ACTUALLY WATCH the end of episode 4? June refused to have sex with the man. Janine had sex with him so they could stay. She brought June a slice of bread and said "it wasn't that bad - he dug my eye patch."

Uh, yes we did. This was addressed earlier in the thread. The debate is about whether there was an ultimatum. Obviously there was, and Janine satisfied it.

[Anonymous]

Wow. Just watched Ep 4 and I'm blown away. Yes, it's too slow and also irritating/infuriating with June and Janine in the milk truck and re-hashing the dumb storyline about them waiting in the farmhouse, but still, Madeline Brewer as Janine. Wow.

I feel like one takeaway is what trauma does to you. Whether it's old trauma or new. You've got Rita, who immediately reverts to "Ma'am" with Serena. And Serena freaking accepting it. And the "Sir" with Fred. And then you have June and Janine. Janine has long since equated sex as transactional so she's able to jump in where June can't.

I have to admit, I really, really, really, really HATED the leader of the group being the villain and sexual exploiter. Did we need that? Are things really so far gone that you can both express astonishment that there are sex slaves and then exploit those same woman for a piece of bread. Gross, and what is the point being made?

One loose end that is really troubling me is Hot Agent Trumello (or whatever his name is). Either give boyfriend a job description or move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Just watched Ep 4 and I'm blown away. Yes, it's too slow and also irritating/infuriating with June and Janine in the milk truck and re-hashing the dumb storyline about them waiting in the farmhouse, but still, Madeline Brewer as Janine. Wow.

I feel like one takeaway is what trauma does to you. Whether it's old trauma or new. You've got Rita, who immediately reverts to "Ma'am" with Serena. And Serena freaking accepting it. And the "Sir" with Fred. And then you have June and Janine. Janine has long since equated sex as transactional so she's able to jump in where June can't.

I have to admit, I really, really, really, really HATED the leader of the group being the villain and sexual exploiter. Did we need that? Are things really so far gone that you can both express astonishment that there are sex slaves and then exploit those same woman for a piece of bread. Gross, and what is the point being made?

One loose end that is really troubling me is Hot Agent Trumello (or whatever his name is). Either give boyfriend a job description or move on.

+1 on hot agent. I’d love to hear his back story and get more of an understanding of his role in the current story. All he really is now is a narrator substitute. He just fills in the other side of real characters’ dialog but has zero independent depth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Just watched Ep 4 and I'm blown away. Yes, it's too slow and also irritating/infuriating with June and Janine in the milk truck and re-hashing the dumb storyline about them waiting in the farmhouse, but still, Madeline Brewer as Janine. Wow.

I feel like one takeaway is what trauma does to you. Whether it's old trauma or new. You've got Rita, who immediately reverts to "Ma'am" with Serena. And Serena freaking accepting it. And the "Sir" with Fred. And then you have June and Janine. Janine has long since equated sex as transactional so she's able to jump in where June can't.

I have to admit, I really, really, really, really HATED the leader of the group being the villain and sexual exploiter. Did we need that? Are things really so far gone that you can both express astonishment that there are sex slaves and then exploit those same woman for a piece of bread. Gross, and what is the point being made?

One loose end that is really troubling me is Hot Agent Trumello (or whatever his name is). Either give boyfriend a job description or move on.

The group leader turning out to be scum was a bleak turn of events, but I believe it’s in keeping with HT’s general vibe of complex people/situations and lots of shades of gray. It’s not bad Gilead vs good everyone else, especially with the world going through some apocalyptic level crises. Those crises are what allowed for the birth of Gilead.

[Anonymous]

Did Serena have a hot Canadian sex with the hot agent during her trips? Maybe they just didn’t show it? Maybe the baby is not Fred’s? Secretly praying the baby is not Fred’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did Serena have a hot Canadian sex with the hot agent during her trips? Maybe they just didn’t show it? Maybe the baby is not Fred’s? Secretly praying the baby is not Fred’s.

No, he was curt and dismissive when he gave her the news. No way he wouldn't have reacted differently if there were a chance he was the father. It was Fred, why they made a point of showing them having sex before crossing the border.

[Anonymous]

Jumping in a milk tanker was seriously stupid. Why didn’t they duck down inside one of the humvees? Were those locked? I get the poetry of putting these handmaids in milk but come on.

I loved how this episode explored the various ways that characters’ faith inspired them to action. Whether that be Christian faith (Rita) or faith in the future or the movement (June, Janine). We also got to see how June’s desire to always be a leader gets in the way of her survival. That’s what I love about this show. That she’s a hero and an antihero all at once. How often do we get to see women as those kind of lead characters in tv shows? Shown in all their complexity and ugliness/beauty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jumping in a milk tanker was seriously stupid. Why didn’t they duck down inside one of the humvees? Were those locked? I get the poetry of putting these handmaids in milk but come on.

I loved how this episode explored the various ways that characters’ faith inspired them to action. Whether that be Christian faith (Rita) or faith in the future or the movement (June, Janine). We also got to see how June’s desire to always be a leader gets in the way of her survival. That’s what I love about this show. That she’s a hero and an antihero all at once. How often do we get to see women as those kind of lead characters in tv shows? Shown in all their complexity and ugliness/beauty.

Agree with this and it's also why I think Serena is fascinating and the actress playing her is so good. I mean, how are you happy for this woman's pregnancy when she was a full participant in creating Gilead, who has done so many truly mean and terrible things, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Just watched Ep 4 and I'm blown away. Yes, it's too slow and also irritating/infuriating with June and Janine in the milk truck and re-hashing the dumb storyline about them waiting in the farmhouse, but still, Madeline Brewer as Janine. Wow.

I feel like one takeaway is what trauma does to you. Whether it's old trauma or new. You've got Rita, who immediately reverts to "Ma'am" with Serena. And Serena freaking accepting it. And the "Sir" with Fred. And then you have June and Janine. Janine has long since equated sex as transactional so she's able to jump in where June can't.

I have to admit, I really, really, really, really HATED the leader of the group being the villain and sexual exploiter. Did we need that? Are things really so far gone that you can both express astonishment that there are sex slaves and then exploit those same woman for a piece of bread. Gross, and what is the point being made?

One loose end that is really troubling me is Hot Agent Trumello (or whatever his name is). Either give boyfriend a job description or move on.

+1 on hot agent. I’d love to hear his back story and get more of an understanding of his role in the current story. All he really is now is a narrator substitute. He just fills in the other side of real characters’ dialog but has zero independent depth.

Yes to all of that. It was all well and good to kind of make him this shadowy figure in the beginning, but now I think we should know exactly who he is. He was clearly an intelligence agent sent to recruit Serena, there was mention of the American government being in Hawaii, and now he's just...there. Maybe they will weave his story/where America is now during the season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jumping in a milk tanker was seriously stupid. Why didn’t they duck down inside one of the humvees? Were those locked? I get the poetry of putting these handmaids in milk but come on.

I loved how this episode explored the various ways that characters’ faith inspired them to action. Whether that be Christian faith (Rita) or faith in the future or the movement (June, Janine). We also got to see how June’s desire to always be a leader gets in the way of her survival. That’s what I love about this show. That she’s a hero and an antihero all at once. How often do we get to see women as those kind of lead characters in tv shows? Shown in all their complexity and ugliness/beauty.

Agree with this and it's also why I think Serena is fascinating and the actress playing her is so good. I mean, how are you happy for this woman's pregnancy when she was a full participant in creating Gilead, who has done so many truly mean and terrible things, etc.

And, technically, by Gilead rules, her pregnancy was a result of an illegal act. Remember, she's not allowed to have sex with her husband anymore.... In Gilead she would never be allowed to have her own child after they declared her infertile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jumping in a milk tanker was seriously stupid. Why didn’t they duck down inside one of the humvees? Were those locked? I get the poetry of putting these handmaids in milk but come on.

I loved how this episode explored the various ways that characters’ faith inspired them to action. Whether that be Christian faith (Rita) or faith in the future or the movement (June, Janine). We also got to see how June’s desire to always be a leader gets in the way of her survival. That’s what I love about this show. That she’s a hero and an antihero all at once. How often do we get to see women as those kind of lead characters in tv shows? Shown in all their complexity and ugliness/beauty.

Agree with this and it's also why I think Serena is fascinating and the actress playing her is so good. I mean, how are you happy for this woman's pregnancy when she was a full participant in creating Gilead, who has done so many truly mean and terrible things, etc.

I'm not remotely happy for her. She is foul and deserves no happiness after all her crimes. Even now she feels so entitled and thinks nothing of the people she hurt and tormented.