The Handmaid's Tale S4 at C4 pace (no spoilers from Hulu subscribers) Thread 2

[OverByYer]

Under his eye

@GrandPrismatic

When June and Janine were rummaging through the boxes of clothes….slight nod to the Testaments? I thought there might be some connection there to the adopted parents?

Being careful not to give away spoilers but I've spent a long time trying to figure out who the adoptive parents were and whether they were someone already in the series but with a different name

Why did Janine choose a red jumper. I would never wear red again!

@JayAlfredPrufrock

Hurrah for those of you who are going to read it. I must find my copy and read it again.

I’d love to watch the whole of the series again but where is it available?

It's on all 4 for free

@BIWI

One thing that always puzzles me - and this probably comes from not being able to remember the book! - is the lack of technology. I get that Gilead probably espouses traditional values, but surely there must be technology involved somewhere? But you don't see a telephone never mind a TV or a computer.

Am I just being dense?

There was a telephone in Joseph's office but it was hidden in a drawer IIRC

I thought it was odd that in a previous season June and Nick are kissing in a hospital corridor, weren't they worried they'd be caught on CCTV ( like a high profile person recently ).
Perhaps the technology wasn't in Gilead then ?

@NigellaSeed

Why did Janine choose a red jumper. I would never wear red again!

Yes! I notice that too! Janine is so much more complex than she appears…I think she probably felt some degree of comfort from it?

Righto, joing in here. Just binged 1,2 & 3, then caught up with series four yesterday (I really ought to do some work!). Just ordered the book too.

@QueSeraSarah

Righto, joing in here. Just binged 1,2 & 3, then caught up with series four yesterday (I really ought to do some work!). Just ordered the book too.

Blessed be the fruit 🍎

Whose "adoptive patents"?

Parents.

It's a vague reference to something mentioned in the Testaments. I don't think we should talk about the Testaments here personally.

@Iggi999

It's a vague reference to something mentioned in the Testaments. I don't think we should talk about the Testaments here personally.

Agree. Ive not read it.

@WitchSharkadder

There's been a fair bit of tech in the show, Fred has a laptop and phone, there was a tablet featured when they watched Luke and calls between June & Luke in S3 when she arranged the meeting between him & Serena. They've used drones to find people too.

I agree that it's usage is more limited as they try to espouse those traditional values and wouldn't want women getting their hands on such things. So I imagine it's only used in by the commanders in private in normal circumstances.

When June helped Serena to edit Gilead papers when Fred was in hospital I am pretty sure they had access to a computer and printer.

Of course, using them ended badly, for Serena at least.

*When June helped Serena to edit Gilead papers when Fred was in hospital I am pretty sure they had access to a computer and printer.

Of course, using them ended badly, for Serena at least.*

It was reading from the bible that got Serena's finger chopped off. Remember when the wives asked for women to be able to read the bible?

I wonder if girls are taught to count cos that would be another way to suppress them. But if they couldn't count then they wouldn't be able to do the shopping. If the handmaid's were told to get 6 oranges they wouldn't be able to do that.

@Iggi999 @BroccoliRob the writers behind THT adaptation have already said that they are not following the story laid out in The Testaments, so don't worry there can't be any spoilers in that respect.

@Crinkle77

*When June helped Serena to edit Gilead papers when Fred was in hospital I am pretty sure they had access to a computer and printer.

Of course, using them ended badly, for Serena at least.*

It was reading from the bible that got Serena's finger chopped off. Remember when the wives asked for women to be able to read the bible?

I wonder if girls are taught to count cos that would be another way to suppress them. But if they couldn't count then they wouldn't be able to do the shopping. If the handmaid's were told to get 6 oranges they wouldn't be able to do that.

I’m not talking about the finger. I am talking about Fred beating her with his belt. One of the most distressing scenes in the series I think.

[quote CurbsideProphet]**@Iggi999* @BroccoliRob* the writers behind THT adaptation have already said that they are not following the story laid out in The Testaments, so don't worry there can't be any spoilers in that respect.[/quote]
Oh really? I liked the idea that Atwood had given them the ending and they could decide the path between the 2 books.

One of the negatives of game of thrones was that the series overtook the books.

@viques oh yeah forgot about that.

I wonder if girls are taught to count cos that would be another way to suppress them. But if they couldn't count then they wouldn't be able to do the shopping. If the handmaid's were told to get 6 oranges they wouldn't be able to do that.

And Marthas would need at least basic maths for cooking.

I'm glad Rita landed Serena in it with Fred. The woman's deluded if she thinks that Rita owes her any loyalty or friendship.

@EmpressWitchDoesntBurn

I wonder if girls are taught to count cos that would be another way to suppress them. But if they couldn't count then they wouldn't be able to do the shopping. If the handmaid's were told to get 6 oranges they wouldn't be able to do that.

And Marthas would need at least basic maths for cooking.

At the moment Gilead survives because the Marthas, Handmaids, Wives, Aunts and other adult women have all been educated pre Gilead.

What they will do when the next generation matures is another matter, no Aunts trained in midwifery for a start, or able to maintain the Handmaids records, Marthas unable to cook, who won’t be able to read recipes....... either they are going to have to persuade a lot of men to do these tasks or get used to eating raw vegetables.

Women's literacy throughout history has been lower than men's. For many centuries most ordinary people couldn't read or write beyond their own names.

Girls would be taught to cook by their mothers and many dishes learnt by heart. Or if needed pictures and diagrams could be used.

In the Testiments it talks about new Aunts having to be taught to read when they begin their training.

@NigellaSeed I had the same thought about the jumper!! Does it symbolise perhaps that she now identifies with that colour as a uniform (subconsciously)? Everything is deliberate in the show and it is the exact same shade of red!!

What they will do when the next generation matures is another matter, no Aunts trained in midwifery for a start, or able to maintain the Handmaids records, Marthas unable to cook, who won’t be able to read recipes....... either they are going to have to persuade a lot of men to do these tasks or get used to eating raw vegetables.

I’d guess that daughters of Econowives are learning domestic skills & not much else. I wonder how it gets decided which of them get married off & which become Marthas / Handmaids though? Thinking about it now, it seems odd that they killed Eden - healthy young presumably fertile girl - rather than making her a Handmaid.

They'll learn to cook from recipes handed down, which they learn/can make from memory - like a lot of our grand and great-grand parents would have done!