Handmaid’s Tale Season 3 US PACE! ##Spoilers for UK viewers##

[AcrossthePond55]

We had a similar thread for season 2. This is specifically for those watching on Hulu in the US/elsewhere or UK streaming at the US pace so there be spoilers ahead for those watching at UK pace.

Please no spoilers if anyone has ‘advance knowledge’ of season 3 beyond the current episodes.

I’ve watched 2 of the 3 episodes dropped today. I’m pretty satisfied with things so far..I admit I got a bit emotional when it was clear that Emily and Nichole made it to Canada.

My only niggle right now is Mrs Lawrence. It’s pretty obvious she’s suffering from some type of MH condition. Yet everyone (pro Gilead)seems to buy Cdr Lawrence’s ‘she’s just tired’ or whatever excuses. Seems to me they’d be on the lookout for people outside the acceptable norm and anxious to ‘deal with them’.

I’ll be watching Ep 3 later tonight.

I had the same reaction as June to the hand maids with their mouths stapled shut! And finding out nick was a soldier in the crusades totally blue my mind. Poor June has been shafted yet again and I felt like my heart hit the bottom of my stomach

The thing about Nick has me gobsmacked. I don't completely 'get' what happened. OK, so he was a Gilead soldier, but that can't be the sole reason he's so 'untrustworthy', right? There must be more to it than that. Did I miss a piece of dialogue? And are the writers now saying that he's been pro-Gilead this whole time and has just been leading June on? For what purpose? I can't buy that! But those soldiers certainly snapped to attention and looked afraid of him when he walked down the line as if they didn't want to get on his bad side.

TBH, I can't see anything about the PR films Fred's doing that would make me (if I were a politician in another country) want to send a child back to Gilead. All those handmaids (especially with mouths covered) kneeling in unison would have the opposite effect!

What did you all think about that 'touchy feely' scene in the billiards room with the Cdr & Fred in Wash DC?

Not to mention the scene between June and Aunt Lydia. Another time where you unexpectedly feel sympathy for an unsympathetic
character!

The cmdr making a pass at Fred was so bizarre...he's going to have to decide wether his juicy post in Washington is worth a casting couch session or two I reckon!
And yes,the unexpected tenderness between aunt Lydia and June was a total mindfuck. I do
Hope we get her back story at some
Point!

The mouth rings were horrendous, it's like Gilead on steroids in DC!

That's what I thought about that scene, too, xiona, that the Cdr was 'feeling Fred out' (no pun intended) to see if he'd respond in any way to his overture. You could tell that Fred was creeped out and a bit concerned. I hope the Cdr DOES propose a 'quid pro quo' or tries something 'physical' with Fred. It looks like that Cdr is powerful enough that Fred may not actually be able to refuse for fear of 'reprisals'. Good!!! Let Fred feel what it's like to be treated a piece of meat!!!

I'd love to hear/see Aunt L's story. It could go so many ways!

BBQ, it was horrifying. I wonder about the 'backstory' on that. Why in DC, but (apparently) nowhere else. At least not in the Boston area.

I'm not enjoying it as much as previous seasons

It's all a bit bleak

I just can't see it having a happy ending. I doubt June and Hannah will get to Canada, one or both will die

We didnt see Nick's interview with the Swiss so maybe he has made a deal with them.. also all the soldiers snapping to attention for him may end up being a good thing.. clutching at straws Thought there was going to be hope this season but its fading away. I was also hoping one of the handmaids would pull the mouth cover down infront of the live broadcast to show the rings!!

I agree it's a bit bleak so far, but I'm hoping it's just the arc of the storyline. You know, darkest before the dawn. There are 13 episodes and we just got to #6, so halfway. Still plenty of time for things to change and the rebellion/resistance to strengthen.

Very interesting bit with the commanders playing snooker. Wonder if Fred will continue with this for his big promotion?

I found the mouth rings pretty awful. Found myself feeling a bit nauseous at that scene.

Not sure what to make of Aunt Lydia right now. Is she having regrets?

Does anyone know how many series Hulu are planning to make of the Handmaids tale? I'm hoping the producers don't make the same mistake that they did with 'lost' etc and drag it on series after series with no clear way of wrapping it up.

We get Aunt Lydias back story on episode 8 so that should be interesting!!

So looking forward to watching Aunt Lydia's back story. She seemed almost Human this episode after beating Janine previously.

Can’t wait for Aunt Lydias story! I’m guessing lonely religious cat lady...

That great wevebeen! I'm looking forward to EP 8! Do you mind telling (without spoilers of course) where you heard that? I try not to Google around too much for fear of spoilers!

AL is such a complex character in her simplicity ('all for Gilead') that I zig zag on my thoughts of 'who she is'. Someone intelligent, like Serena, who was caught up in the initial idea of a 'God fearing' society and has now been brainwashed? Or just someone sadistic who is now in a position to give rein to her need to control?

Kitkat IIRC someone (maybe here?) said that they'd heard that there is thought of 10 seasons. I just don't think they'd be able to sustain that many and not resort to increasing sensationalism.

I'm in a handmaids tale discussion group on Facebook and it was posted on there! Ann Dowd confirmed it in an interview if I remember correctly.

NICE! Sounds like a reliable source. Can't wait.

Very interesting development with Fred and the touchy touchy supreme commander. I wonder what Fred would/wouldn't do to get his cushy Washington job? Especially when "gender traitors" end up on the wall.

Not all that shocked to hear of Nick's background, really. He's always been a dark horse. We know he was an "Eye", and I think there was a flashback in the first season where we saw him getting offered a job by one of the architects of Gilead. Whether his heart was ever in it is another matter. I think he's kind of a Snape character - we won't know his whole story or true motivations until the end - or at least until he dies.

And Aunt Lydia. Loathsome old hag. I think she did something terrible in the past, or made some catastrophic mistake, and is now desperately trying to make up for it. My money's on her being a former midwife who made a professional error that led to the death of a baby. Great news that we find out in Ep8!

Not too much actually happened in this episode. The Nick thing didn't shock me at all, I think nick is just trying to get by, I don't think there's anything shady about him. He's just trying to survive like June. The mouths thing was more reminiscent of season 1. I liked it but all I could think was how do they eat???

I hadn't thought about how they eat until now, maybe they take them off for specific eating times?

Re. Aunt Lydia, it was previously alluded to that something happened to her god child wasn't it? She said 'it wasn't my fault', without explaining what 'it' was. I'm betting her back story is something to do with this.

@Serenajoy1 I too have been puzzling on how they eat?

Liquid diet? Smoothies?

Drip
Overnight?

I read an interview somewhere saying vows of silence and the rings are 'voluntary', but all handmaid's are pressured into doing it so it isn't really. So I assume they can be taken out like earrings for eating.

I read about the Aunt Lydia backstory episode here www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/outliers-appeal-to-me-tremendously-ann-dowd-on-her-horrible-roles-20190530-p51t0r.html.