The Handmaid's Tale S4 at C4 pace (no spoilers from Hulu subscribers)

[Faircastle]

A thread for those watching Season 4 of the Handmaid's Tale on Channel 4 starting this evening. There's another thread for those who have already streamed it via Hulu, so it would be good if we could keep this one free of spoilers for episodes beyond those Channel 4 has broadcast.

@Whatamess582

I don’t know *@CleanQueen123* I thought she was already going a little off track towards the end of series 3. She let Mrs Lawrence kill herself and killed Commander Winslow. So maybe this has been building a while. She really pushed her advantage over the commander Lawrence and she kind of bulldozed Mayday into the plane and kids. I seem to remember they were reluctant. I feel like this is probably a natural evolution after what she has been exposed to.

But I also think Esther is a sociopath. She was talking about killing people with June when she arrived, with sepsis. Perhaps she has lost her mind due to the brutality she has experienced too…. But there is something about her I’m not sure about.

I also think killing Commander Winslow probably tipped her over the edge too….. like she has broken the seal. Plus on top of that Hannah is being raised by a Commander and his wife… and therefore will likely be a commanders wife herself one day… so I think June probably is really seeing Esther as Hannah… (hence the banana comment).

Completely agree with this.

Poor Esther. Given away to a paedophile by her parents then systematically gang raped, over and over again, for years.

They could never have let that man go though could they, he would have informed on them.

@Iggi999

They could never have let that man go though could they, he would have informed on them.

Totally. He had to die. One of the guards did offer to take him down to the river and take care of him which I assumed meant kill him but June wanted Esther to get to kill him.

Just watched last nights episode... as tense as ever..

I def think June did the whole "make me proud" thing as a kind of manipulation. Keys was a lose cannon, June needs her on side and to keep her calm.

How any of them can think they are safe while still in Gilead is beyond me!

I forgot how tense this program is ! !!!

June’s been turning this way for a
While , and agree she needs to control the risks a bit

By the way- is anyone else noticing that they seem to be hinting at Alma being up to something?

I didn't like "Make me proud". Too much imo.

Maybe it's been so long between series that I'd forgotten the things that have happened to build up to this.

He definitely had to die. It was the way it was done that surprised me. But you're all absolutely right. Ester needs to be controlled and June is very aware that the same fate could befall Hannah if she doesn't get her out.

I also noticed the Alma hints. It doesn't seem like she's been paying attention to what Ester is really like. So what has she been doing?

So how did the other handmaids organise the safe house? Was it pure luck that the sympathetic guardians saved them or was it planned?

Nothing is ever accidental in this programme. Hints always point at what's going to happen. It's just the hints can be a bit vague and it's not until you look back that you realise what the hint was hinting at. It's very clever.

@Dreamingofbeergardens it will all have been planned. I'm curious to know who was driving the vehicle they got away in.

I think the series is very clever. Those who have poo-pooed it further up the thread are missing the point. We weren't shocked about the violence in this episode. Like June and the other handmaids we're all hardened to it.

We watched them all dance and sing like little girls, swirling and twirling and then the next thing they're kicking and beating a man half to death.

June had to get Esther to kill. She needed to be leader of the pack again. We just need June's wound to heal and then they'll be off again.

[quote GoingGently]@Dreamingofbeergardens confusingly they said they were 6 miles from enemy territory which sounds like they should be in Canada but they are clearly in gilead... [/quote]
I think they are in one of the states which hasn't fallen to Gilead. There were a few, I think?

There wouldn't be wives and Martha's if the state hadn't fallen under Gilead control though

I think the series is very clever. Those who have poo-pooed it further up the thread are missing the point. We weren't shocked about the violence in this episode. Like June and the other handmaids we're all hardened to it.

Yes, this. I think we need to go back to some episodes where it seemed like nothing much happened - like the one where June was left in the hospital with the girl who was being kept alive purely to deliver a baby. We went through that with June. Absolutely horrific and deliberately so. Violence isn't all about guns it's about silent torture too.

@Iggi999

There wouldn't be wives and Martha's if the state hadn't fallen under Gilead control though

Good point.

I don’t understand what the Nick scenes were about. Is he thanking that commander for helping June? If so why scare him by not telling him what is going to happen and what was the reason for the tension with the chair?

@Applesandpears23

I don’t understand what the Nick scenes were about. Is he thanking that commander for helping June? If so why scare him by not telling him what is going to happen and what was the reason for the tension with the chair?

I thought the Nick stuff was good. A huge point in Gilead is working out who you can trust. And also even if you can trust them how far can they go against the regime without raising too much suspicion on themselves.

I think nick is part of the resistance. He wanted to keep the commander alive for helping June and so that he can continue to do so. But he couldn't be too obvious about it or the eyes would know he's a traitor helping the resistance.

..Or is Nick just another misogynist keeping an important man alive purely because he's an important white man, and such men can't really do any wrong.

I watched the first episode last night. I think what I like about this series is that no one is "good" or "bad". June is often not good - she manipulated her walking partner into attacking those guards in the supermarket, she let Mrs Lawrence die, she was sleeping with Luke while he was married.

I think that she is afraid of Esther - a nutty teenager who has power over all of them.

I think letting Mrs Lawrence die was a good thing though.

It’s sort of a grey area.

If Mrs Lawrence decided life under Gilead was intolerable I can't disagree with her, and I suspect attempted suicide would get you sent to the colonies anyway. On the other hand, that's not why June let her die, it's because she was a liability.

I thought Mrs Lawrence killed herself because she knew her memory / dementia was getting worse and she was very worried she would accidentally give the game away about what her husband gets up to / May Day / the plan to get the children out. June knew Mrs Lawrence could very well do this and she also knew Mrs Lawrence would never forgive herself.

I also wonder what Alma was getting up to if she wasn't "managing" Esther like June thought she should / would have been.

I love that June is not a particularly likeable person.

If she'd posted on here in relationships that she was the OW and really really loved someone else's husband she'd have been given short shrift. The Nick situation was a bit ambiguous too, I can't figure out whether they really loved each or the relationship was a trauma response or it was a strategic move.

I don't think Nick is nearly as dim and passive as he has been portrayed and I am curious about what Moira has been up to. I really hope she lands up pulling these threads together, she's a brilliant character.

I love Moira too. Did she get out or is she still a Jezebel?