Handmaid's Tale. EPISODE 2 (season 3). Channel 4. 9pm 16/6/19 UK pace. NO SPOILERS

[OriginofSpecies]

A new thread to discuss Episode Two (season 3) of The Handmaid's Tale.

We are watching UK pace, Channel 4.

We have only seen episode one so far.

Please NO SPOILERS.

Don’t think I explained myself very well! What I mean is that I still can’t decide 100% if she was just planting flowers because she knew that the ground had somehow been disturbed and she wanted to make it look nice again, or if she knew and was actively helping June cover her tracks.
I think the character is very clever, she could go either way.

I also think there is way more to Mrs Lawrence, I think she knew it was
a grave, I think she knows exactly what is going on and is hugely involved in the resistance.

I also agree about June, she's never really been likeable, but she was a good strong character.

I read the book years ago, its a fascinating read but surely they can't stretch it to a fourth series.

Can't find what thread I'm on so hope its okay to park on this one

Agree I cant work out Cmdr and Mrs Lawrence. I think he is dangerous as he likes the power he has... it will depend on what his goals are as to what help he gives.... I really dont know if I trust him. He is high up in Gilead so must at some stage have been a staunch believer so could he really change that much?
Mrs Lawrence....I think/ hope she will come out as more able to help than she appears but it depends how much control he has over her and what he wants... I cant call it.

I feel like June has gone beyond her rock bottom... she has realised she is unlikely to get Hannah back but cant admit that by fleeing to Canada so she is essentially taking risks as she doesn't have anything else to loose and may achieve some good.

Did June kill the shot Martha? It looked like she may have suffocated her when they were trying to be quiet....

Can't find what thread I'm on so hope its okay to park on this one

As long as you stick to our pace you’re welcome!

StinkySaurus I thought she killed her too but then the Martha said 'this is why we dont move people' so I'm not actually sure.

@thelonewolfdies I thought June was say ‘sorry’ for the mercy killing... it’s all so confusing!

@StinkySaurus

I thought so too. June also said something about how important it was that the Martha wasn't caught as she might compromise the whole operation. So it did occur to me that June may have suffocated her, accidentally or deliberately.

The whole thing was very unclear, something not helped by the poor sound quality.

I thought June killed her.

I wondered about the suffocating too, but when she was covering her mouth her nose was clear to breathe. From what I could see anyway? I’m not sure though, sound quality wasn’t too great. I did have subtitles, mostly because dp was talking loudly all the way through

I didn't think June suffocated her - certainly not on purpose. I thought June covered her mouth to muffle the screams, and she died of her injuries. Could be wrong.

I don't really care tbh, that's how i felt about that particular storyline in the episode!

Yeah I thought it was a pretty crap storyline, not the sort of thing I want to see, just seems so pointless. I really hope its building to something.

That's awful if June killed her. Her line to the Martha about not letting the other Martha's death be in vain could also apply to June herself. She seems a lot more driven now, almost not bothered about herself but wanting to make a difference of any kind.

Aunt Lydia is certainly back though. I'm fascinated by the power dynamic between her and Cmdr Lawrence - they both seem wary of each other but at the same time they both have a lot of leeway in what they can control.

Will do Empress, thanks

On the Guardian thread a few posters have raised the possibility that Commander Lawrence might be June's father? I wonder. When she tells him that he helped her despite not knowing her, he replies 'You're wrong'.

Maybe he's so conflicted about helping those Marthas because he's not so much interested in the resistance as in helping June and her child in particular? Could be a long shot, but it's an interesting theory.

I really can't make my mind up about Cmdr Lawrence. I just don't think he's the good guy that we've been led to believe he is, there's something sinister about him and I can't put my finger on it.

But agree that Mrs Lawrence is probably going to turn out to be far more together than she's seemed so far. I fully believe she planted the flowers to cover the grave, and when the guardians turned up she suddenly seemed to get her shit together.

I also wonder if the way she behaved when Aunt Lydia was there was to make AL wonder what Cmndr Lawrence is like. I think she knows he's a dick and doesn't care if he gets caught or whatever.

I love the book and think that season 1 did a great job of building on the world that Margaret Atwood had created. Obviously there were some changes but it worked on the whole.
Now I feel like they are stretching too far from the source but also bending and breaking their own rules especially in relation to how much June gets away with.
And no one dies! Not that I want it to be like the walking dead where everyone dies but Emily, Aunt Lydia, Fred, Janine and others have all had miraculous recoveries from near death.
Still one of the best things on TV though. Praise be!

@OriginofSpecies
Yes, so much violence, but not a single major character has died, and we're into the 3rd long series?

Unusual, not to say implausible.

"I just don't think he's the good guy that we've been led to believe he is, there's something sinister about him and I can't put my finger on it."

We haven't been led to believe he's a good guy - the reason we think there's something sinister about him is that they've led us to believe that too.

Did anyone notice the Martha, Beth, was the same martha that was in the kitchen at jezzabels?
Nick clearly was doing deals with her, had brought her some fresh veg or something, but there was also a sexual relationship there.
June obviously isn't aware of this and is now in the same house as her, something that will come up later perhaps?

I didn't cotton on to the possibility that June killed the Martha?

To be fair she was probably going to die anyway. It would be impossible to get a doctor to help.

Nelumbo

Good spot, I had forgotten all about Nick and the woman at Jezebel's.

I didn't think June killed her, at least not by suffocating her. She did rather heave her off the bed just moments after they were discussing her suspected internal bleeding. I've watched enough Casualty to know that the slightest movement can be catastrophic so I assumed that June pulling her onto the floor dislodged a clot or something & she bled out. I thought she was apologising for having to press her hand over her mouth & shouting at her.

Was it Beth who said she was glad she could cook or she'd have been upstairs at Jezebels? I did think it a little odd that June didn't react at all to the mention of Jezebels. I wonder how she came to switch jobs... You don't think Cmdr Lawrence frequents Jezebels & liked her cooking?!

I'm really forward to seeing more of Commander Lawrence. On a completely unrelated note, , I think Bradley Whitford is a very talented actor. I loved him as Josh on The West Wing, but it is only now that he is looking quite wonderfully grizzled that I also think he is very hot.