It was hard to tell if June actually loves Nick or if she's just using him. It would be a little boring if she was just manipulating him. I want her to really love him and wish the writers had made that clear and developed that part of the story, because whether someone in June's position is capable of feeling love for someone, especially an Eye/commander like Nick, is such an interesting question.

What is one's emotional capacity for love while living such horror? Is romantic love a luxury that's only available when one basic needs and security are assured? Is a healthy and genuine romantic love possible with someone in Nick's compromised situation? If she really loves Nick, does she still love Luke? Who would she choose if she could build a life with one of them in Canada? Would she choose Luke in an attempt to rebuild her old life, or would she choose Nick because she's not the same person and Nick better understands what she's been through and the person she's become?

Anonymous wrote:I was frustrated by Luke's teary confession that he feels like June is choosing to fight Gilead rather than come be with him in Canada, like she doesn't love him enough and would rather be some rebel hero. He doesn't express any acknowledgement or concern about Hannah. June stayed in Gilead to rescue their daughter! For God's sake, act like a father and not like an insecure man.

He's always been kind of a pathetic character who has never even begun to grasp what they are going through in Gilead. He loves June in-when the rubber hits the road- a pretty superficial way. He has little depth and seems to be mostly focused on his own experience of loss. Doesn't seem like a marriage that would ever get through this if they did come out the other side. He doesn't seem like a bad guy, just unable to relate to much outside his own experiences and loss. It may be intentional on the part of the writers to keep him in the background.

I was frustrated by Luke's teary confession that he feels like June is choosing to fight Gilead rather than come be with him in Canada, like she doesn't love him enough and would rather be some rebel hero. He doesn't express any acknowledgement or concern about Hannah. June stayed in Gilead to rescue their daughter! For God's sake, act like a father and not like an insecure man.

The handmaids had moved on to the second farmhouse, which would have been secure had June not given them up. They trusted her completely, so hiding in that basement was in theory much safer than wandering around the countryside looking for someplace to hide several people. Where else could they have gone, unnoticed? Not to mention that June had been the one calling all the shots since before the airlift. They were without leadership. The handmaids are more crucial to the success of Gilead than ever since so many children were removed; they are Gilead’s most valuable resource, so it doesn’t surprise me that June was tortured until she gave them up. On a related note, the guard who killed the handmaids is certainly not long for this world.

So, this is a really interesting point. It's true, but also makes the loss of Alma more poignant. June was looking for Alma to step up as her second more than once in these three episodes and Alma just...didn't. Which is surprising because Alma was arguably the most informed of Mayday activities when they were in Boston.

I don't think about this show very much.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone remind me how Serena got Fred to go to Canada?

Also, I’m not bothered by the plot device of June doing stupid and impulsive things. It’s not like she was some great strategist before Gilead. She was like an ordinary person making stupid ordinary mistakes. It would be more surprising if she somehow turned into like a top CIA agent. In general, she’s doing pretty well for an average schmuck with no training in counter-intelligence, strategy etc.

I agree. She has always been a very imperfect leader. She sometimes does things with careful thought and other times she acts out of emotion.

Well, I guess I will give you that, but she makes these impulsive decisions that have a lot of consequences down the line. But I have done strategic planning in the IC, so perhaps I'm not the best judge here.

^^Serena got Fred to Canada by telling him that there were people that could help them get Nicole back. Because Fred is arrogant as heL!, not that smart and apparently also not a strategic planner with any experience in foreign relations/intelligence, etc. he agreed to it without a lot of questions. As a war criminal, he literally rendered himself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone remind me how Serena got Fred to go to Canada?

Also, I’m not bothered by the plot device of June doing stupid and impulsive things. It’s not like she was some great strategist before Gilead. She was like an ordinary person making stupid ordinary mistakes. It would be more surprising if she somehow turned into like a top CIA agent. In general, she’s doing pretty well for an average schmuck with no training in counter-intelligence, strategy etc.

I agree. She has always been a very imperfect leader. She sometimes does things with careful thought and other times she acts out of emotion.

Well, I guess I will give you that, but she makes these impulsive decisions that have a lot of consequences down the line. But I have done strategic planning in the IC, so perhaps I'm not the best judge here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t read the thread because I haven’t caught up, I am in the prison, but I’m would just like to complain that this storyline about making June “talk” makes no sense. They have surely been moved. The whole point of the secret network is that she has no one else to give up.

This is what annoyed me and my husband while watching. In what universe would the handmaids not have moved on from that spot as clearly it was going to be discovered.

+1 - it's been DAYS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t read the thread because I haven’t caught up, I am in the prison, but I’m would just like to complain that this storyline about making June “talk” makes no sense. They have surely been moved. The whole point of the secret network is that she has no one else to give up.

I have now finished and I am still mad about this. And about Nick. The Bradley Whitford storyline is dumb, I’m sorry. They’re going to have to be more specific about “needing” him for me to buy any of it.

But mostly I am mad about the hand maids still being in the same place. It just makes no sense!! They would know that they would be better off hiding in the woods or idk but there’s no way anyone involved, including them, would have used that safe house. It’s madness. It’s distractingly bad writing.

I feel like I just watched a bunch of uncomfortable torture only to have the plot line be so bad that I am just mad about the nightmares I’m going to have and I didn’t even get to enjoy the show because I was thinking the whole time how silly it was. They could have thought of something else - a commander she knows is secretly Mayday, whatever. Anything but “where are the hand maids” because that makes no sense.

Commander Lawrence was crucial to planning Gilead. There are not a lot of Big Thinkers in Gilead, and presumably they need him to help plan and troubleshoot their next moves now that they have multiple war fronts and the crises in Canada.

The handmaids had moved on to the second farmhouse, which would have been secure had June not given them up. They trusted her completely, so hiding in that basement was in theory much safer than wandering around the countryside looking for someplace to hide several people. Where else could they have gone, unnoticed? Not to mention that June had been the one calling all the shots since before the airlift. They were without leadership. The handmaids are more crucial to the success of Gilead than ever since so many children were removed; they are Gilead’s most valuable resource, so it doesn’t surprise me that June was tortured until she gave them up. On a related note, the guard who killed the handmaids is certainly not long for this world.

Anonymous wrote:I can’t read the thread because I haven’t caught up, I am in the prison, but I’m would just like to complain that this storyline about making June “talk” makes no sense. They have surely been moved. The whole point of the secret network is that she has no one else to give up.

I have now finished and I am still mad about this. And about Nick. The Bradley Whitford storyline is dumb, I’m sorry. They’re going to have to be more specific about “needing” him for me to buy any of it.

But mostly I am mad about the hand maids still being in the same place. It just makes no sense!! They would know that they would be better off hiding in the woods or idk but there’s no way anyone involved, including them, would have used that safe house. It’s madness. It’s distractingly bad writing.

I feel like I just watched a bunch of uncomfortable torture only to have the plot line be so bad that I am just mad about the nightmares I’m going to have and I didn’t even get to enjoy the show because I was thinking the whole time how silly it was. They could have thought of something else - a commander she knows is secretly Mayday, whatever. Anything but “where are the hand maids” because that makes no sense.

Anonymous wrote:Can someone remind me how Serena got Fred to go to Canada?

Also, I’m not bothered by the plot device of June doing stupid and impulsive things. It’s not like she was some great strategist before Gilead. She was like an ordinary person making stupid ordinary mistakes. It would be more surprising if she somehow turned into like a top CIA agent. In general, she’s doing pretty well for an average schmuck with no training in counter-intelligence, strategy etc.

I agree. She has always been a very imperfect leader. She sometimes does things with careful thought and other times she acts out of emotion.

Anonymous wrote:I can’t read the thread because I haven’t caught up, I am in the prison, but I’m would just like to complain that this storyline about making June “talk” makes no sense. They have surely been moved. The whole point of the secret network is that she has no one else to give up.

This is what annoyed me and my husband while watching. In what universe would the handmaids not have moved on from that spot as clearly it was going to be discovered.

Can someone remind me how Serena got Fred to go to Canada?

Also, I’m not bothered by the plot device of June doing stupid and impulsive things. It’s not like she was some great strategist before Gilead. She was like an ordinary person making stupid ordinary mistakes. It would be more surprising if she somehow turned into like a top CIA agent. In general, she’s doing pretty well for an average schmuck with no training in counter-intelligence, strategy etc.

I can’t read the thread because I haven’t caught up, I am in the prison, but I’m would just like to complain that this storyline about making June “talk” makes no sense. They have surely been moved. The whole point of the secret network is that she has no one else to give up.

Anonymous wrote:Can someone remind me what happened to Hannah? Is she still somewhere in Gilead?

Ahhhh, nevermind! Halfway through the 3rd episode.

Can someone remind me what happened to Hannah? Is she still somewhere in Gilead?