What struck me most about Aunt Lydia's backstory is that she is basically still the same person. Sometimes you see glimpses of a kind, compassionate and caring person, but it doesn't last long and you never know when she'll turn on you in the most painful and cruel ways.

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone clarify - was aunt Lydia “investigating” that mom all along or was that a genuine relationship and she just backstabbed her?

After the awkwardness with the principal, Lydia blames the mom and turned on her.

I got strong lesbian vibes from the makeup scene, but maybe Lydia was just touch starved?

Can anyone clarify - was aunt Lydia “investigating” that mom all along or was that a genuine relationship and she just backstabbed her?

Still moving too slowly for me. I’m not sure how much more dragging out I can deal with.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last week's episode has me very turned off from this season. I hope they redeem themselves this week.

What I just saw I want to unsee. Is June a sociopath now?

That part I actually like a lot. They nailed it IMO when they had her describe on the tape to her husband that the person he knew is only a part of her now. Point being that trauma changes a person and so does survival if it necessitates acting unethically or violently. People can be rescued but they can’t go back to who they were before. June isn’t acting to preserve her personal integrity, she’s acting to achieve a goal (removal of Hannah from Gilead). So the morality is getting fuzzy at best. I think it provides a good foil for Emily attempting to reconnect to her free self in Canada.

Anonymous wrote:Last week's episode has me very turned off from this season. I hope they redeem themselves this week.

What I just saw I want to unsee. Is June a sociopath now?

Yeah, I mean who wouldn’t be driven to torture women by a gentle non-rejection from a recent widower and listening to a mother say “asshole?” A tthat point the hand puts itself on the stove basically.

This show is bad now. Why would they immediately drag the shot woman out of the store? That makes less sense than the mouth rings.

I have so many questions about the principal. I get a sense his story isn’t finished.

Where is he now? Did he escape or is he a proud citizen of Gilead? He was religious but he looked with sorrow/disgust at Lydia towards the end.

Will we see him again in Gilead in some capacity? Will he be able to connect to Aunt Lydia?

Promo for the next episode. Wow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmtzUGhjZjI

Finally! An episode with something happening! June's close-ups reminds me of Jim Carrey's close-ups in The Grinch movie.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jim+carrey+the+grinch&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi12bzxxarjAhULVd8KHeIVC5EQ_AUIECgB&biw=1280&bih=699#imgrc=-4l9QC2dNqqc_M:

Wait has Aunt Lydia's backstory aired? I watched S3 E6 and though that was the end of what has been released so far and more were coming o 7/19?

My comments/predictions:

- Yes, it is jumping all over the place and lots of inconsistencies are showing. I think that makes sense, though, as frustrating as it is. How old is Gilead? 3-4 years old? They have no idea what they are doing yet, and their policies and norms are constantly changing. Most importantly, there is constant flux among the 99% of society who don't buy into the mission and practices and are slowly becoming braver and bolder as people slip up and see glimpses of others' true feelings toward the regime (e.g. Serena Joy) and seemingly-devout figures' back off of the impractical rules they found so important (e.g. Fred, Aunt Lydia). People are changing, norms are shifting (handmaids chat more on the street, etc...) as is to be expected. Nothing is stable or certain.

- Nick: puzzling. I think he's like Serena. Was bought-in, but became disenchanted much more quickly than she is experiencing a buy-out. I think we'll see a more awful side of him later this season. I also think that for June to be happy/whole again, he has to die so that she can raise Hannah and Nichole with Luke without another father-figure distraction. I think June will end up killing Nick somehow, in self-defense, or in defense of Nichole, or perhaps he sacrifices himself for the good of his daughter (see: "How many chances do you think you'll get to be a father?" -- I think this might be one of them).

- Serena: 100% she'll end up with the cute dad from Parenthood. It'll be a shitshow, and she'll betray him by continuing to help with or communicate with Gilead, but it'll happen.

- Playing up the happy kids in DC thing is crazy and brings up a lot of awful truths. I mean, if Hannah has been with another mom who is kind and mom-like to her for several years, I am sure she struggles with missing June but wouldn't she identify with the MacKenzie lady as her mom more at this point? In a few years? This is going to be a incredibly sad no matter how it turns out.

- Emily: I guess it seems she got a clean bill of health, but she is a cellular biologist...she knows that she probably has cancer, not "fibroids." It would be shitty and simplistic of the writers to pair up Emily's wife with Moira, but I kind of wonder if that'll happen in the end.

- Handmaids stapled mouths: JESUS. I guess that's a way to keep them quiet and compliant but how truly disturbing that was. I don't understand why that's a regional choice - seems like they'd all be doing it across Gilead? I am still not convinced they all have it though.

Is the new book covering Season 2/3, or is it separate new material?

Anonymous wrote:Holy sh!t this episode.

But Aunt Lydia's backstory mirrors so much of what you see in conservative fundies, of all religions. A lot of it stems from a deep rooted personal sense of envy and hatred for themselves - acting out on others who have/do what they feel they just can't get.

Completely.

I loved this as an episode, but I have no idea what this does for the plot. I also hated June throughout the whole thing. I get that she's mad at OfMatthew, but she's also projecting her own faults on to someone else. Yeah, OfMathew snitched, but June took the risk. I find it surprising that June wasn't found out for going to the school with Mrs. Lawrence.

In short, I need less June.

I don't know how this season ends. Sending back Nichole or Emily would be beyond my suspension of disbelief. Remember when Canada booted Fred and Serena out over letters smuggled out and published online? Now they're going to send people back there? If that's the case then June would have been better off leaving Gilead and applying to get Hannah back through the Canadian courts.

Holy sh!t this episode.

But Aunt Lydia's backstory mirrors so much of what you see in conservative fundies, of all religions. A lot of it stems from a deep rooted personal sense of envy and hatred for themselves - acting out on others who have/do what they feel they just can't get.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay, so it season three worth signing back up for Hulu?

Not so far.

+1 it’s moving way too slowly. And the flip flopping for characters is making it worse.

If I don’t see movement to a clear direction, I’m done.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last week's episode has me very turned off from this season. I hope they redeem themselves this week.

+1

+2 - but this episode looks good. Did you see the preview? Aunt Lydia story!!

Oh, finally!