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Handmaids Tale, Season 2: SPOILERS / VIEWING AHEAD OF UK SREENING

999 replies

Aridane · 03/05/2018 12:09

I'm starting a thread for those of us watching Season 2 and who want to discuss ahead of its screening in the UK.

So far I've watched the first 3 episodes.

God the 1st episode was grim.

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QuackPorridgeBacon · 03/06/2018 12:34

Also, they aren’t allowed sex unless trying for a baby so it’s not meant to be passionate I think.

Mol1628 · 03/06/2018 12:36

It was forced sex. Neither of them really wanted to do it so it wouldn’t be passionate or loving, they’re strangers really and he’s in love with someone else.

Original poster
Aridane · 03/06/2018 13:53

Not saying the sex should have been passionate, just more considerate. I know I’m alone though in not feeling the Nick love. Can’t really pinpoint why he just grates with me

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QuackPorridgeBacon · 03/06/2018 15:22

I think it was considerate enough. It was over quickly and wasn’t rough etc. He understood it was her first time and she was so young I don’t think he wanted to think about it much and get it done quickly. What would you deem considerate? Genuinely curious, I’m enjoying our different views on nick actually.

DunkandEggAgain · 03/06/2018 16:23

Yeah, I can't warm to Nick either. Why does he look like he's constantly backing away from a bad smell?

Original poster
Aridane · 03/06/2018 16:27

Considerate sex - conversation beforehand, putting her at her ease, letting her know he could slow down or stop if it was painful, speaking to her afterward. Not just going straight to thrusting through a hole in a sheet. I think even Serena checked that young bride understood about sex

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Original poster
Aridane · 03/06/2018 16:27

Dunk Grin

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Mol1628 · 03/06/2018 17:01

I do agree that is what considerate sex should be.. however, I think the main idea was to convey the harshness of the regime and seeing them have gentle understanding mutual sex probably isn’t the message they’re trying to get across.

Mol1628 · 03/06/2018 17:02

I do like nick, I think he’s pulled in a lot of directions trying to do the right things. But I hope June goes back to her husband eventually.

HopelesslydevotedtoGu · 03/06/2018 18:18

Why does he look like he's constantly backing away from a bad smell? Grin

QuackPorridgeBacon · 03/06/2018 21:20

I agree with what you see as considerate. But that isn’t necessarily allowed in gilead. I mean look at the sheet fgs. I think it’s meant to be in and out and when you feel sickened at basically being a paedophile. You aren’t going to want to talk afterwards. I agree nick is pulled in a lot of directions. He’s trying to stay alive by doing his job but clearly doesn’t agree with it all.

Original poster
Aridane · 03/06/2018 22:25

I suppose I see this as a Nick character defect rather than a function of Gilead. I just don’t warm to him / like him

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AcrossthePond55 · 03/06/2018 23:11

I think we have to go back in time to find examples of Gilead's attitude towards women and sex. There was a time when sex was an unpleasant 'duty' for most women and it was believed that if a woman (a 'lady') experienced pleasure during sex she was thought to be a 'wanton'. Pleasurable sex was for men. Not the 'daughters of Eve'. It goes back to the verse "In pain shalt thou bring forth children" easily interpreted as encompassing everything from painful sex for conception to childbirth without the option of pain relief. Remember that Serena tried explain to Eden that sex could be pleasurable for both and that it could bring a husband and wife closer. Eden looked at her as if she was either insane or dangerous.

My mum married my dad in 1947. She told me that her mother (born in 1890) told her absolutely nothing about the 'mechanics' of sex. Luckily, my dad was gentleman enough to explain it to her before they went to bed for the first time on their honeymoon.

QuackPorridgeBacon · 03/06/2018 23:41

Wait, so you wanted him to enjoy or be calm and explanatory and basically accepting what he had to do with an underage girl? He had to have sex with her to avoid being killed, I don’t blame him for wanting it over and done with quickly and with little discussion. They aren’t allowed to discuss or makeout beforehand anyway I’m sure. He probably would have been killed if he was nice to her throughout it. Gilead is a fucked up place.

Original poster
Aridane · 04/06/2018 07:18

Yes, calm and explanatory. Like I said, I just don’t like the character.

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Praisebe · 04/06/2018 07:36

Just watched the trailer for the next episode and it looks like baby Angela ends up in hospital Shock poor janine.
I think Nick is a total Slimeball the only reason he joined son's of jacob is because he was down on his luck and jobless and they offered him job security and a future with them even though he doesn't believe half the stuff they do, you could tell that he disagreed with them in the car when they were first plotting to use handmaids.
I reckon he'll end up been caught out pretty soon

QuackPorridgeBacon · 04/06/2018 08:37

I don’t see him as a slime ball. Surely being in a position that he is in is preferable to being dead? It looks like he could and has helped more given his low but connected status. If he didn’t have a job etc he’d probably either have to kill or be killed. Don’t know if you can tell, but I really like nick lol

OohMavis · 04/06/2018 09:17

I think Nick was presented with this opportunity after many men and women had stood up to Gilead and faced the consequences. Everyone knew what the deal was at this point. He wanted a quiet life and as a man, he knew he could have one.

Not brave. But again, how many men had been murdered for standing up? Bravery would be vanishingly rare at this point and he was looking after himself.

You only have to look through history to see that this is how the majority of men and women actually react when they're pressured in this way. We Were Just Following Orders (or we'd be murdered ourselves).

I wouldn't classify him as a victim but I do have a certain amount of sympathy with characters like him.

TheBadgersMadeMeDoIt · 04/06/2018 12:25

QuackPorridgeBacon Yes you're quite right - the radiation exposure will have caused enough cell damage to compromise Emily and Janine's fertility. They may well now be sterile, or at least unable to produce a healthy child.

And as far as Nick is concerned - I haven't really warmed to him. But I think it's just because I've never seen him smile. I know nobody smiles much in Gilead but even in the brief flashback of his past life he was pretty miserable.

QuackPorridgeBacon · 04/06/2018 16:15

TheBadgersMadeMeDoIt I’ll give you that. I reckon if he’s caught smiling he wouldn’t be safe for very long. I think he smiled once with June when she was in the office block. When it felt safe to smile lol

QueenOfIce · 04/06/2018 23:40

I've binged watched series 1 and have begun series 2, I'm finding the new series really hard to watch it's far more sadistic. Struggling to keep watching, I hope she escapes soon my nerves are shot!

Praisebe · 05/06/2018 00:50

Its just going to keep getting more and more depressing and evil until she probably escapes with the baby at the end of the series

cheshiremama89 · 05/06/2018 11:05

I've only watched 3 episodes and just read the entire thread Grin

How can I watch ahead in the UK? X

Praisebe · 05/06/2018 11:28

If you go online and type in "Handmaids tale watch online free season 2 episode 4" or whatever episode you want theres a few websites you can watch it on just disable the ads and popups first

Praisebe · 05/06/2018 11:29

I was using Kodi but the whole thing is down at the moment and i can't find a link that works for it but if you can you can watch them all on there upto episode 6 so far