Handmaid's Tale. EPISODE 8 (season 3). Channel 4, 28/07/19. UK pace. NO SPOILERS!

[OriginofSpecies]

This is the thread for Episode 8 (season 3) of The Handmaid's Tale.

We are watching on Channel 4, UK pace and have only seen episodes 1 - 7 so far.

Please, NO SPOILERS.

Last week's thread took a rather strange turn, so please, play nicely people.

And I shouldn't have to spell it out, but when it says "Please, NO SPOILERS", that means we don't want people who have watched ahead to come on here and deliberately or inadvertently reveal what is actually going to happen in future episodes.

Anything else is speculation, whether that is based on what has already taken place in the TV series or is based on events in the novel (including the Historical Notes epilogue).

Just because something happened in the book doesn't mean it's also guaranteed to take place in the TV series.

Blessed day.

I actually think it’s pretty realistic that so many of them are starting to crack. Not sure I could last as long as they have without seriously losing it.

Thinking back to Series 1, there was a scene when Aunt Lydia talked about her previous life with June I think, saying something like 'It wasn't my fault about the boy' or words to that effect. Can anyone remember?

Daren't google it!

June Is offjoseph. The pregnant handmaid isn’t ofmatthew.

rousette, yes but I think I remember AL talking about her sister and we all assumed the boy was her sister’s son. I might have misremembered that.

Pregnant handmaid IS ofmatthew!

Why does my phone always autocorrect “is” to “isn’t”??!

Oh gosh sorry I keep forgetting the names of the others There really needs to be an edit post option!

I wondered if something happened to that boy after he was removed from his mother? Maybe another flashback later on.

It’s because their names keep changing. It’s hard to keep up. What is Janines current slave name?

I was surprised at the name offandy. It seemed quite informal to call a commander Andy rather than Andrew.

Enjoyed never feels like the right word to use but I did really enjoy that episode!
I never thought I’d see the day where I felt sorry for Aunt Lydia but during the flashback I really did.

Also agree with @JoxerGoesToStuttgart ‘OfAndy’ sounded far too casual!

Maybe his name really is Andy, like Fred doesn’t appear to be Frederick.

Oh yes! Id forgotten Fred was a shortened version of Frederick.

I wonder if Aunt Lydia ever looked up Ryan when Gilead's regime began.

she acted like that because a man rejected her?
She acted like she did because she felt guilty and sinful for touching the principal. Her answer was to judge others rather than herself.

I think June is at rock bottom now she can't save Hannah and Holly is looking to be in danger of deportation. So why should she behave?
She has been untouchable for so long i think she has forgotton what its like to be properly afraid and beaten down by Gillead. I'm starting to think perhaps she wont survive much longer. We dont have a replacement main character yet though

Just checking in...

Under his eye.

Very frustrating that OfMatthew didn't pull the trigger a few seconds sooner.

Did anyone think Aunt Lydia was perfectly paraphrasing Hannah's removal from June when she was talking about the McKenzie's leaving and the death of their Martha?

I think AL knew exactly what she was doing saying that too. June became a handmaid because her marriage was sinful and not recognised. (It was recognised a few episodes back, but I suspect that that was to emotionally blackmail June with regards to Luke and Nicole)

The AL flashback reminded me of an early flashback of June's when she was late to pick Hannah up from school and criticised for prioritising work over her child's welfare.

The recruitment for the Aunts was never explained, but AL has a combination of being childless (so not compromising her family), being on the right side before the revolution and a caring occupation prioritising the wellbeing of precious children.

I think June is slowly going mad, which is completely understandable given the trauma she has been through. I'll be amazed if she lasts though!

@JoxerGoesToStuttgart

Re the aunts reading.

In series 2, when June is pregnant, Aunt Lydia comes round, gets out a notebook and writes down her measurements. Serena gives her a surprised look. Aunt Lydia says special dispensation for Aunts, dear.

I found the scene, in last nights episode, where the Aunts were sitting down playing God (over a glass of port) quite creepy.

@GodDammitAmy

Yes I agree re AL describing Hannah’s moving story. I think she did it deliberately too. For some reason, she doesn’t seem to be allowed to inflict physical torture on June, so she’s going for emotional instead.

June’s plot armour is discussed - she touched on it this episode by saying (something along the lines of) to AL - you’d like to chop off an arm or take out an eye but you can’t in case I’m needed for another tv programme.

I don't feel the slightest bit sorry for ALydia. She had a clumsy attempt at a romance (and bear in mind the Principal didn't turn her down, he just said he wasn't quite ready) so that turns her into an ogre inflicting damage on children and women?

rousette, yes but I think I remember AL talking about her sister and we all assumed the boy was her sister’s son. I might have misremembered that.

Do you remember when June was looking at the dead baby and she was told to go to her sisters ie. the other handmaids? Possibly she was referring to Noelle as a 'sister' but we assumed she meant it in the literal sense.

That's true, yes. We assumed it was her actual sister, but not necessarily.

ALydia is vile, she wormed her way into Noelle's life through her child then shopped her to the authorities for bad parenting, when the parenting wasn't bad, just not her way of doing it.

I think it is showing us June falling apart but that, as PP have said, would be a normal response given what she has been through.

So June beats up a pregnant handmaid and absolutely nothing happens until she gets mouthy with AL. I'm just not getting this series at all. She would have at least had her feet whipped before and that wouldn't have shown on camera.

AL story was a bit of a let down. I thought there would have been more to it than that.