Handmaids Tale UK Pace Thread Number 2. No spoilers please!

[NoEffingWay]

As the OP for thread 1 seems to have gone awol, here's the continuation thread.

I think hearing about June stirred her up. Also, she realised she wouldn't see her child for ages.

Do Rita and Moira have Canadian citizenship? Could that be why?

Doesn't anyone else think that Lawrence is maybe playing the long game.....playing along for now but minimising damage where he can (hence why June only had her arm run over rather than being killed)?

wow.

Those 2 episodes were awesome.

Not much on tv makes me cry these days but June and Luke at the station, man, heartbreaking.

I think this series is exceptional in it's well drawn complex, multi-dimensional key characters. June, Serena, Lawrence, Nick, Lydia all have major dark and light. And that's what makes these characters in this world, real. Blimey I even started feeling sorry for Mrs Puttman. I swear Aunt Lydia feels like she's Janine's mum now. Sorry Rose (? Nicks wife) I don't think you realise you got lucky with Nick. Mark Tuello is also a hero of the series.

And when June said "do you hear the baby?" I was rooting for Serena and Noah. Genius ending.

I think Lawrence has something up his sleeve.

I loved the little Canadian house.

I thought they did that as they wanted to make her suffer first, not simply kill her quickly.

I do not understand Mrs. Mackenzie. I mean, I know she’s a Gilead wife and may be a true believer but when she and June had that chat about Hannah way back when, she seemed to genuinely care for Hannah. She was smiling at the thought of her wheedling a dog out of the Commander etc. and sincerely seemed to care for Hannah’s physical and mental well-being. How can she simply stand by and see her shipped off to a Wife School? Didn’t they say Hannah is only 12 or 13?! What kind of pseudo mother is she?!

and yes to PP who like me thought the train station scene had echoes of the holocaust. Where are those trains Actually going?

The look on Mackenzie’s face when Nick punched Lawrence! I’m sure Mackenzie was behind June’s attack but this will have shown him that Nick has been operating to support June from Gilead but ALSO it must surely cast a huge cloud of suspicion over Lawrence too? He looked like he was figuring it all out…I bet you next season Mackenzie will be looking to oust Lawrence, in some way…Putnam style?

Also I think Nick and Janine will both be used to try and bribe June back to Gilead. Mackenzie needs rid of June and will do anything to get her. His ‘daughter Agnes’ /Hannah is at risk while June lives.

Also…I hate to admit this…but I didn’t feel moved at the train when Luke ‘saved’ June…I felt like it was him satisfying his own need to protect June…he could have been a bit smarter in his attempt to get get away?

I thought Lawrence was behind the attempted killings on June because she gave him the mouthful about his wife hating him and how she had watched her die? So will Serena and June now join hands and fight Gilead together? With Luke in prison Nick can join her if he doesnt hang that is? I loved it, never has a series gripped me like this.

Serena wouldn’t have had any papers when she ran away from the Wheelers. Perhaps she got them off Tuello.

June looks terrible in that shade of yellow. Perhaps that’s why they used it - it makes her look sickly.

My feeling is that Janine has just had enough. She realised she won't see her daughter for a while and being posted as a handmaid would mean she would be getting raped every month. (I know Lawrence isn't up for that but she doesn't know this)
I think she deliberately sabotaged things and doesn't really care if she gets killed (which is where it looks like she's headed)

Now Lawrence is marrying Naomi, I think he might have to be up for the ceremony whether he likes it or not. He'll need to keep up appearances both inside and outside of home.

I thought the real turning point for Janine was when the Martha told her about June - that 'My June?'. Maybe without that she'd have continued giving in.

I wonder if Aunt Lydia would help Janine escape if she could? Also, good as the Hard Knock Life bit was, how many of those girls would have ever seen Annie.

Loved the ending - I really didn't see that coming.

@walnutmarzipan I thought that about Janine too, when she was masked in the back of that van and held the hand of the person opposite it was like she was resigned to her fate. Her eyes spoke volumes.

Are they definitely heading for Hawaii?

I found the tension in the train boarding scenes almost unbearable. It reminded me of the Nazis taking Jews to the death camps. As I'm sure was the intention.

I'm confused about this. All Tuello said was that the trains were heading West. Not sure how they're going to get to Hawaii from West Canada?

Or do they mean West as in back into USA? Is that part not run by Gilead? V confused.

I felt a little disappointed in the last one. It felt silly, and didn't flow the same way as the lead up. If Mark is as influential as running an 'elite' operation to rescue Hannah from Gilead, I just don't believe that he couldn't remove June and Luke to safety. The train station? Really? It had a kind of pretend, polar express feel about it. It felt like a corny ending.
floaty, disjointed and self indulgent to June's character. Almost dream like. I also agree with a pp - Moira and Rita would have gone with them.

I know it's a huge, huge country, but I wondered why he didn't grab his car and try to drive over to Vancouver?

Vancouver, in the west of Canada, and then on to Hawaii.

... by plane, I imagine. Assuming the United STates still runs to large enough aircraft.

I thought it was strange June would just agree to get on a train going ‘west’ without knowing it’s actual destination. During the boarding scenes (which I also thought were reminiscent of the holocaust) I thought she was going to say something didn’t feel right and turn around. But on the train she seemed to think they were going to Hawaii.

And if Luke really thought they were going to arrest June if they were seen together, why did he walk with her for so long?

@EmpressaurusOfWitchesBackFromTheDead We know only 8? years or so have happened due to Hannah's age, so I think it isn't unreasonable to think anyone over say 16 might know Annie?