The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2

[CruCru]

I’ve just heard that this will start in the US at the end of this month but Channel 4 haven’t said when they’ll start showing it yet.

I know it's only a tv series but I can't forget that June was the other woman.

Just joining you all here. I'm slightly ahead of you as I have access to he US season (but haven't watched all the released episodes yet) so don't want to go over to the US thread yet as I'll almost certainly see spoilers for the episodes I haven't got to yet. Ditto, I won't post any spoilers for those watching the UK release date versions.

I have to say S2E1, was a hard watch. The hanging and the gas burner scenes were awfully horrific to watch. The thing that scare me most, in both series, in how I sometimes don't think as a society we're that many steps away from Gilead really.

I know what you mean Eloise. But I think that was deliberate on the part of Margaret Atwood as she didn't want the central protagonist to be a 'perfect' woman who was the 'hero' of the story, but rather an identifiable person with the some character flaws (which we all have). I also think Margaret Atwood wanted to spotlight the irony of the Gilead society (I.E, the fact that Gilead judged her for being the 'other woman' in pre-Gilead society, but in fact that she is still the 'other woman' to some extent to the wives of the commanders but they've just tried to sanitise that in a different way in Gilead as being okay). I think Margaret Atwood also wanted to remind us, that (albeit to a lesser extent), it must be hard and distressing too for the wives in the show who have to watch their husbands screwing other women, even though in Gilead society they are deemed overall to have easy lives.

I wonder what happened to the women who had been married, but divorced not through their choice and who had not proved their fertility by producing a child.. Off to the colonies?
Plus the colonies puzzle me.. This toxic waste, where's it come from. There is no suggestion of a nuclear incident such as bomb /war because otherwise gilead and Canada would be obliterated.. Also Mexico which we know is in existence from series 1.
So I am wondering if the toxic waste is a myth.. Or produced deliberately. The terrorist attacks and civil unrest that led to gilead getting into power were all set up by the gilead regime so why not the toxic waste.
In the book Margaret atwood does not explain this bit... (as in most of her books always vague and ambiguous about how things came about. I love that, as it allows /encourages me to use my imagination)
What do others think?

I thought in the book nuclear facilities had been affected by earthquakes on the San Andreas fault line.

In the book, it does mention a nuclear disaster on the East coast of America which is what caused the mass fertility problems.

Aha thanks, I read book years ago must have forgotten that bit. Of course it could also be propaganda put out by regime... Think I might be over investing in this :)

Eloise what’s your point? That June therefore deserves this? Because that’s Gilead’s justification for it. Seems an odd comment.

There’s only so many fertile women they wouldnt just set them free after one dc when they could have five or six even more.

I didn’t get the impression there aren’t any free women in Gilead. They all appear to be assigned to a job. (Martha/handmaiden/wife)

theredjellybean I wondered whether they become Marthas. I could imagine that Luke’s wife, for instance, was more sinned against than sinning when he left her for June. Plus if she could report them as an adulterous couple, she would get Brownie points under Gilead.

Jellybean, I had that conversation with my sister recently. We thought that, given the powers that be are misogynistic shits who just want to oppress women, try would probably still see as the woman’s fault she was divorced regardless. They’d say she wasn’t a good enough wife/not subservient enough and therefore couldn’t keep her husband. Any excuse to condemn them to life as a handmaid/Martha/unwoman.

Obviously just speculating but it made sense to me.

Excuse my typos, I think it’s my bedtime. Hopefully you get the gist

If you've read the book, the flashbacks to June's past seem odd. In the book, she remembers many things about her daughter, but the hospital incident doesn't exist.I know it's a whole new story now, but I hope it doesn't change the back story as well.

I've just read his very interesting article on the historical truths behind the story:
https://www.stylist.co.uk/books/handmaids-tale-channel-4-tv-show-spoilers-books-real-life-true-events-margaret-atwood-elisabeth-moss/130001?utmsource=facebook&utmmmedium=cpc&utmcampaign=KW&kwpp0=819742&kwp4=2809416&kwpp_1=1191985

I read the book a very long time ago so can't remember most of it but they do seem to be reasonably true to its original purpose. That first episode was rather unremittingly awful but that is how life is. I keep thinking of women kidnapped by ISIS given the enforced clothing requirements, sex slaves and all the rest (never mind a good few other places on the planet).

I read today that airports are considering using software to ascertain from facial expressions who is lying - the kind of big brother thing that is over the top in my view and will creep up on us if we are not careful. Mind you the UK police have been using facial recognition in public events and it is so badly done 9 out of 10 recognised have been wrongly recognised - the Chinese seem better at it as they can pick one face out at a football stadium. Then move on to Amazon Echo sending a couples conversation it recorded by accident to their friend www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/amazon-echo-alexa-record-conversation-privacy-security-a8368231.html

On a more positive note, congratulations to all our sisters in Southern Ireland today, so heartwarming! Loved this picture;

Re: Hannah, and comments up thread about Hannah.

I noticed that when we are shown Hannah in series 1 she is wearing a pink cloak.

This led me to think that perhaps the hope is that the daughters of Handmaids will echo their fertility, and so they are being trained and brainwashed from a young age to be subservient and breed. This brainwashing will lead to Gilead having less Handmaid issues as they will not remember a before and believe themselves honoured

Surprised that lots of people have mentioned the stove but not many the woman chained up like a dog.

Also totally agree with the person who totally see their old Guide Leader being an Aunt Lydia, mine too!! there are plenty of women like her in positions of minor power who revel in being as vindictive as they can with it

I think she will be revealed as a Headmistress in a former life

I love that picture, Destiny, very powerful.

This was also a very inspiring pic on Twitter, under the #hometovote hashtag. All those women who flew home from all over the world to vote for women to have autonomy over their own bodies. Sisterhood!

I just have no idea how anyone can watch this awful program - watched the first series (wish I hadn't) as it has really affected me like no other program I've ever watched. I only have to see a large black van and it scares me - and I gather this one is worse. Can't believe someone as genteel as Margaret Attwood could write something like this, but apparently it isn't the same as the book. It was on Gogglebox last night and I covered my face but saw all the ropes for hanging and that awful leather mask. YUK. I went to the hospital for an op and was even scared of the doctor's white mask. HOW can people tolerate watching this?

Margaret Attwood’s books are anything but genteel. Many of them have dark undertones or are actively unsettling.

Margaret Attwoods books are genteel?! I thought she wrote dystopian fiction.....

Even when she’s writing “normal” stuff, it captures difficult themes like childhood bullying or domestic violence. She’s no Mary Sunshine.

Season 1 is pretty much the most faithful adaptation I've seen.

It is EXACTLY like the book and none of her work is genteel

Is that you, Aunt Lydia?