What do you want to see in S5 of The Handmaid’s Tale?

[Anonymous]

I loved this episode and the interaction between Serena and June. I also found both Serena's and June's actions believable.

Serena has had moments of humanity before and has never been unalloyed evil. That's what has made her so compelling all this time. Plus she's full of hormones right now. Those immediate days after giving birth are powerful, and it would make sense for her to be feeling connected to a larger sense of motherhood and mothers. She could revert back to form, but it doesn't mean this is false or manipulative.

I especially loved this episode for June. The last couple of episodes have shown her regaining a bit of her humanity in her relationship with Luke and Nicole, so this was part of trajectory already established.

It also shows reinforces the viewers' understanding of the loss June suffered in losing Hannah, because it shows the profound pull that being a mother has on one's whole connection to the world. June can be strong, even vicious and vengeful and damaged by her experiences in Gilead, but her experience of motherhood is more powerful. In fact, June has been portrayed as a very flawed person, but that doesn't negate her understanding of the bond between mother and child.

That's kind of the point of the show. There is no required link between virtue and motherhood. Gilead thought that handmaids' sins made them unqualified to be mothers and their bonds with their children were meaningless. June demonstrates otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is a wife determined? Are they infertile? It doesn’t make sense that Esther was a wife (and fertile) but then demoted to Handmaiden.

Whoever earlier said Esther was raped, I totally missed it.

Esther was demoted to Handmaid as punishment for helping the escaped Handmaids and poisoning the Commanders. If her husband had died of natural causes and none of that had ever happened, I think she would’ve been reassigned as a Wife. I’m not sure how Wives are chosen initially.

All I know is they have to be "virtuous"--no affairs, divorces, questionable occupations etc. But not sure how they distinguish between commander's wives and econowives, who may or may not be fertile.

Yeah, I'd like to know because we've seen a couple/few Marthas that were fairly young - Beth and Sienna. Why wouldn't they be Wives?

Their ethnicity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really liked this episode and would consider one of the best of the series BUT

BUT BUT BUT BUT

Did we get in a time machine and travel back to an alternate Gilead where Serena and June's backstory was one of mutual understanding and dare I say, friendship? Because I truly enjoyed the Serena who showed up to the birth party, humbly apologized for being late, awkwardly introduced June, who shared side glances with June, rolling her eyes at the wife's fake birth machinations, and then stood apart from the other wives to exchange a look to commiserate with June when the Handmaid died in childbirth? That was a great story.

But it's not the story/history of Serena and June.

I think it would have been brilliant to have a reveal in the flashback that the Handmaid with Serena wasn't June, but the Waterford's first Handmaid. It would have gone at least part of the way to develop Serena's character into the woman who did monstrous things in pursuit of a baby of her own after a Hamdmaid she considered something of a friend betrayed her and then killed herself.

Anyhoo, I did think the scenes between Serena and June in this episode were really well done and very touching. The redemptive-ish arc for both of them was nicely done. It will be interesting to see Serena now put in a position to desperately want to get her child back.

There have been many times in the series when June and Serena have friendly moments. It’s always been a one step forward, two steps back thing with them.

Was going to say exactly this. She often got some perks from Serena as I recall. Didn’t they bond a bit during Serena’s gardening days?

Yes. The show has been very purposeful in showing that June and Serena are actually very similar, their paths just took them in different directions and placed them in an adversarial position with one another. In a different context, June and Serena are both forceful, intelligent, strong women. The circumstances of Gilead stripped those attributes from both of them and reduced them to their capacity to act as a vessel: Serena’s inability to conceive and June’s ability to conceive were their only defining characteristics and were dehumanizing to both.

[Anonymous]

Wouldn't Serena's former gunshot wound to the abdomen have caused her a bit more complications during her pregnancy and childbirth?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't Serena's former gunshot wound to the abdomen have caused her a bit more complications during her pregnancy and childbirth?

Probably. This seasons sucks all around. I can't wait for them to end this series so I can get on with my life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is a wife determined? Are they infertile? It doesn’t make sense that Esther was a wife (and fertile) but then demoted to Handmaiden.

Whoever earlier said Esther was raped, I totally missed it.

Esther was demoted to Handmaid as punishment for helping the escaped Handmaids and poisoning the Commanders. If her husband had died of natural causes and none of that had ever happened, I think she would’ve been reassigned as a Wife. I’m not sure how Wives are chosen initially.

All I know is they have to be "virtuous"--no affairs, divorces, questionable occupations etc. But not sure how they distinguish between commander's wives and econowives, who may or may not be fertile.

Yeah, I'd like to know because we've seen a couple/few Marthas that were fairly young - Beth and Sienna. Why wouldn't they be Wives?

Their ethnicity?

Beth was white. Sienna was presumably South Asian. We've seen black Commanders and black wives, so that doesn't make sense to me. I suppose it's possible there was a test for infertility, but I don't recall it ever being mentioned. And every Handmaid with any backstory had a child - Janine, Alma, Moira, Emily, etc.

[Anonymous]

Ethnicity doesn’t play into the universe of the handmaids tale. It’s mentioned a few times “that commander doesn’t want a handmaid of color” but probably because he and his wife wanted to maintain the cognitive dissonance that it is their child, not necessarily racist.

As a WOC, it’s hard to believe that a racist regime wouldn’t be racist but I think taking that layer out gives a breath of fresh air. I for one, at sick of seeing black people playing roles of slaves, maids and thugs. Even though the commanders and wives are the villains of the story, having a society where poc are not just relegated to “lower class” is refreshing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is a wife determined? Are they infertile? It doesn’t make sense that Esther was a wife (and fertile) but then demoted to Handmaiden.

Whoever earlier said Esther was raped, I totally missed it.

Esther was demoted to Handmaid as punishment for helping the escaped Handmaids and poisoning the Commanders. If her husband had died of natural causes and none of that had ever happened, I think she would’ve been reassigned as a Wife. I’m not sure how Wives are chosen initially.

All I know is they have to be "virtuous"--no affairs, divorces, questionable occupations etc. But not sure how they distinguish between commander's wives and econowives, who may or may not be fertile.

Yeah, I'd like to know because we've seen a couple/few Marthas that were fairly young - Beth and Sienna. Why wouldn't they be Wives?

Their ethnicity?

Beth and sienna are likely infertile. There must be a test for it because we saw the young girls at the hospital having their fertility tested. Additionally, Esther hasn’t had a baby, and she is a handmaid.

Beth was white. Sienna was presumably South Asian. We've seen black Commanders and black wives, so that doesn't make sense to me. I suppose it's possible there was a test for infertility, but I don't recall it ever being mentioned. And every Handmaid with any backstory had a child - Janine, Alma, Moira, Emily, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't Serena's former gunshot wound to the abdomen have caused her a bit more complications during her pregnancy and childbirth?

No. The show runners have said several times that the gunshot wound didn’t impair her fertility. And if they knew people would make that assumption, they would have had her shot somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ethnicity doesn’t play into the universe of the handmaids tale. It’s mentioned a few times “that commander doesn’t want a handmaid of color” but probably because he and his wife wanted to maintain the cognitive dissonance that it is their child, not necessarily racist.

As a WOC, it’s hard to believe that a racist regime wouldn’t be racist but I think taking that layer out gives a breath of fresh air. I for one, at sick of seeing black people playing roles of slaves, maids and thugs. Even though the commanders and wives are the villains of the story, having a society where poc are not just relegated to “lower class” is refreshing.

Should say “hard to believe a fascist regime wouldn’t be racist”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really liked this episode and would consider one of the best of the series BUT

BUT BUT BUT BUT

Did we get in a time machine and travel back to an alternate Gilead where Serena and June's backstory was one of mutual understanding and dare I say, friendship? Because I truly enjoyed the Serena who showed up to the birth party, humbly apologized for being late, awkwardly introduced June, who shared side glances with June, rolling her eyes at the wife's fake birth machinations, and then stood apart from the other wives to exchange a look to commiserate with June when the Handmaid died in childbirth? That was a great story.

But it's not the story/history of Serena and June.

I think it would have been brilliant to have a reveal in the flashback that the Handmaid with Serena wasn't June, but the Waterford's first Handmaid. It would have gone at least part of the way to develop Serena's character into the woman who did monstrous things in pursuit of a baby of her own after a Hamdmaid she considered something of a friend betrayed her and then killed herself.

Anyhoo, I did think the scenes between Serena and June in this episode were really well done and very touching. The redemptive-ish arc for both of them was nicely done. It will be interesting to see Serena now put in a position to desperately want to get her child back.

There have been many times in the series when June and Serena have friendly moments. It’s always been a one step forward, two steps back thing with them.

This. And I think those scenes with the dead handmaid during childbirth were not new. They aired in an earlier season.

No. This was totally new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really liked this episode and would consider one of the best of the series BUT

BUT BUT BUT BUT

Did we get in a time machine and travel back to an alternate Gilead where Serena and June's backstory was one of mutual understanding and dare I say, friendship? Because I truly enjoyed the Serena who showed up to the birth party, humbly apologized for being late, awkwardly introduced June, who shared side glances with June, rolling her eyes at the wife's fake birth machinations, and then stood apart from the other wives to exchange a look to commiserate with June when the Handmaid died in childbirth? That was a great story.

But it's not the story/history of Serena and June.

I think it would have been brilliant to have a reveal in the flashback that the Handmaid with Serena wasn't June, but the Waterford's first Handmaid. It would have gone at least part of the way to develop Serena's character into the woman who did monstrous things in pursuit of a baby of her own after a Hamdmaid she considered something of a friend betrayed her and then killed herself.

Anyhoo, I did think the scenes between Serena and June in this episode were really well done and very touching. The redemptive-ish arc for both of them was nicely done. It will be interesting to see Serena now put in a position to desperately want to get her child back.

There have been many times in the series when June and Serena have friendly moments. It’s always been a one step forward, two steps back thing with them.

This. And I think those scenes with the dead handmaid during childbirth were not new. They aired in an earlier season.

No. This was totally new.

I don’t remember Serena and June ever rolling their eyes together at the ridiculousness of the religious ceremonies. That’s never been Serena’s position.

[Anonymous]

I agree that episode 7 was really great, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It reminded me of the earlier seasons that were captivating.

That said, this series needs to end. It’s been dragging on for about 2 seasons now.

God, if there’s a season 7…..

[NP]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is a wife determined? Are they infertile? It doesn’t make sense that Esther was a wife (and fertile) but then demoted to Handmaiden.

Whoever earlier said Esther was raped, I totally missed it.

Esther was demoted to Handmaid as punishment for helping the escaped Handmaids and poisoning the Commanders. If her husband had died of natural causes and none of that had ever happened, I think she would’ve been reassigned as a Wife. I’m not sure how Wives are chosen initially.

All I know is they have to be "virtuous"--no affairs, divorces, questionable occupations etc. But not sure how they distinguish between commander's wives and econowives, who may or may not be fertile.

Yeah, I'd like to know because we've seen a couple/few Marthas that were fairly young - Beth and Sienna. Why wouldn't they be Wives?

Their ethnicity?

We’ve seen two Wives that were AA and at least one who was Asian. It might be that they were excluded because they were not seen as pious enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The labor scene was too drawn out for me. Seems never delivered the afterbirth (rarely done in shows…but annoys me.)

How could she have literally torn a man apart with no regret and then helped Serena, who was awful to her? And not just awhile ago. Serena used Hannah at the ceremony that was teen used to send a message to June. Not realistic at all.

Then…Wasn’t Selena’s driver wearing a bullet proof vest? Why didn’t we see what was happening as he survived?

Maybe that’s why she had a fever? Retained placenta was a major cause of puerperal fever.

House of the Dragon shows a character delivering the afterbirth. Very well done.