The Handmaids Tale S4 at C4 pace (no spoilers) thread 3

[MotionActivatedDog]

New thread!

Why would Canada send Serena back to Gilead? They want to prosecute her for war crimes.

I don't think Canada would send Serena back but I always remember that she was the author of a lot of the original principles of Gilead - the sanctity of marriage, a woman's place is in the home and all that shite.

Now that she is pregnant and it's Fred's baby I could see her returning with him in order to keep the baby and it's family together and them claiming their place back as Commander and wife. Perhaps a Fred/Serena escape plot?

Under his eye

Blessed be the thread starters.

Blessed be the thread starters.
ha ha ha

A Commander and his pregnant wife would be a huge plus for Gilead surely. It would show the Gilead principles are working.

Rachel who gave her husband the very first 'handmaid' then went on to have Jacob's favourite son herself 😄

Fred and Serena would truly be the blessed ones

@dapsnotplimsolls

Blessed be the thread starters.

Would Gilead want Fred back? Lost his handmaid, lost his baby and got arrested by the Canadians?!

Blessed day! Thanks for the new thread!

Praise be!

We had approximately 36 minutes of new content in that episode. we got to 8 minutes past the hour before it even got started and it finished at 3 minutes to 10, with 13 minutes of adverts in the middle.That'll be how it never seems like enough has happened.

I'll still be back next Sunday though...

36 measly minutes!! That’s really quite crap.

@MotionActivatedDog

36 measly minutes!! That’s really quite crap.

yeah i started logging it when i realised it was really only starting 8 minutes in and then only 5 minutes before the first break. I know it's sad of me to do so but there we go...

I did the same with eastenders when they shortened the episodes over lockdown

What I think will be really interesting, now June is back in Canada, that we'll see more of the Canadian perspective of Gilead - and what they're prepared to do.

I can't see them allowing Fred & Serena to go back though.

The story of Abraham, Sarah & Hagar might be a better comparison for the Waterfords. Woman thinks she can't get pregnant, drafts in her handmaid to get her a baby, gets pregnant herself, gets jealous & demands handmaid & child are banished. Ok, so the Waterfords/June didn't happen in quite the same way but the result is similar & it's more like that than Jacob's children who were all kept within the family, regardless of who their mother was. Rachel's children were the favourites but the others weren't banished or ran away.

Ok- I’m clearly missing something here as quite a few people seem to think F&S will be allowed to go back to Gilead. My understanding is that F&S are being held in custody awaiting prosecution in Canada for war crimes. They’re not free to just go back to Gilead. What would be the circumstances under which people think F&S would be going back to Gilead? A prisoner exchange? Serena + child in exchange for Hannah? Fred in exchange for nick?

What if the Waterfords do a bargain with June - they could convince her to pretend it was all consensual & they both withdraw their evidence against each other & when they get back to Gilead, they send Hannah back. Do you think she'd go along with it?

I agree that Canada would not let F&S go but given the number of miraculous escapes that June has had so far, I could see a plot line happening where they are helped to escape by friends of Gilead working for the Canadian authorities.

What I find weird is that the expectation is that June will continue to fight to get Hannah back even whilst in canada and she was ashamed not to have her to present to Luke, but what has Luke been doing since he's been in Canada in terms of fighting for his daughter? Granted he's been taking care of Nichole but what has he done about his own daughter? Would that be fuck all by any chance? Why is June being ashamed and subservient here when she should be asking "what the fuck have you done about Hannah?"

I appreciate that probably very little could be achieved officially but I don't see him sneaking back in to help? He would be able to disappear into the background and have more freedoms than June has and could theoretically stand a better chance of getting her out with arrangements being made in canada with agencies beforehand to establish an escape route etc.

Anyway....

@PitchImperfect

What if the Waterfords do a bargain with June - they could convince her to pretend it was all consensual & they both withdraw their evidence against each other & when they get back to Gilead, they send Hannah back. Do you think she'd go along with it?

I don't think it will be up to June and I think it's gone too far. Potentially she could get Serena off the hook but Fred is being charged with war crimes and i don't think June could evidence that he was coerced really. I don't think June would trust Serena either. I think she's still wary that she would try to take Nichole too even though she has no rights.

And I wouldn't trust Serena with regards to A: having the power to get Hannah and B: actually doing it. It would also be ripping a child away from a situation she is happy in and has been for many years to put her with someone as mentally unstable as June albeit in "freedom". At this point it might make more sense to wait a couple of years until she is a hopefully rebellious teen and she wants to move to canada.

We've been sent good weather...

Thank you @MotionActivatedDog for the new thread.

Well Gilead could threaten action against Canada unless they release Fred and Serena. In Northern Ireland terrorists were released early from prison as part of the peace agreement so not too much of a stretch perhaps?

I guess they could @Crinkle77. It might not just be Canada they are negotiating with I suppose. They may be held in Canada but as part of some international effort so a threat to Canada might bring other nations against Gilead in terms of armed forces?

Who knows hey?

Indeed, we don't really get a sense of how big or powerful Gilead are on the international stage and who are potentially their allies. Other countries with religious fundamentalism might not necessarily agree with their religion but be invested in a countries ability to set the laws based on religion or indeed other non religious fundamentalisms. So they may not be lacking support elsewhere.

@Crinkle77

Well Gilead could threaten action against Canada unless they release Fred and Serena. In Northern Ireland terrorists were released early from prison as part of the peace agreement so not too much of a stretch perhaps?

Oh good point!