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.

@IwantToRetire sometimes, dare I say, there are things I can't get worked up about. This is one of them.

Blessed day

Well obviously not true as you bothered to reply!

Would you like me to unreservedly apologise?

I'M SO SORRY

Anyway..back to important things.

What's going to happen on Sunday. I cannot wait!

I was wondering whether Commander Lawrence could marry Hannah (unconsummated) as a way to keep her safe, and move to New Bethlehem?
I don't think the other commanders would buy that though would they?

(I think it is standard practice on threads to open up a new one with room to spare, see all the Archers threads and some on FWR such as the ones following tribunals. Sometimes there is a tiny bit of confusion, we all live.)

Ooh, I hadn't even thought about Lawrence marrying Hannah but that sort of makes sense. He is single (and ready to mingle?), and we have seen that Gilead cares not for appropriate age relationships.

Under his eye

Cannot wait for Sunday!

I'd like to see the next episodes/series work toward the Testaments.

Apart from I have forgotten so much of them that I am going to have to re-read.

Ooh I didn't know there was an existing thread but very much on board for discussions.

• Hannah is too far gone in Gilead now, she's been brainwashed since being a small child, there's no way she would just happily walk out and back to June & Luke...
• Serena - it does seem likely that she will become a handmaid, she's fallen from grace in a big way in Gilead's eyes but has successfully birthed a child, therefore they have a use for her. However I think June will fight to protect her as regardless of the past, fundamentally June fights for the women and their children.
• Lawrence - I think he is right in that New Bethlehem is the only way to bring Gilead out of its current regime, but I think with the Canadian's attack plans he will be killed and it'll all continue to be awful, potentially with the regime even spreading into Canada.

I don’t think Hannah will be rescued this series - otherwise the impetus for season 6 is lost ! I do however think the raid on Wives School will be the cliff hanger, so we won’t know if she is rescued, killed, or mysteriously whisked off to a secret location. I am guessing option 3. I think we will also have some drama re Janine and aunt Lydia.

That's a good shout @viques

We definitely need a return to Lydia and Janine.

"Do you have an irony deficiency?"

Brilliant line. Love Lawrence. Even funnier with the American pronunciation.

Happens all the time with TV threads. <shrugs>

Is this intended to tie up at any point with The Testaments? I'm assuming not as that was only written after the TV series started, and I think they are getting to the point of no return on it. Shame really.

Oh! I binged series 5 (I think? Whatever the latest one is) this week and was perturbed last night when the next episode wouldn't play on Amazon. So sounds like I’m up to date. Which is weird as the series started in June didn’t it??

Also confused whether we are meant to trust Erm… what’s his name… Nichole’s really father (is he a double agent/spy goodie?) and Commander Lawrence? Can’t tell if they’re really baddies or not. Series 4 I didn’t properly concentrate on!

I feel Nick can be trusted when it comes to June.... not sure about anyone else. I feel there's a strange vibe with him and his wife... can't put my finger on it though.

@MassiveSalad22 it might have started in June in the US/paid channels but started in the UK approx 7 weeks or whatever episode we are on so I believe you are indeed up to date

Yes I realise I'm now up to date as I've being bingeing series 5 and can no longer get the episode to play on Amazon

So I'm totally up to date...and will have to wait til Sunday!

Very excited for 2 episodes in a row merry Christmas!

I trust Nick and even Lawrence to be fair, I think they both want to end Gilead. Hannah’s not going to want to be with June and Luke, definitely not Moira is she irritating the fuck out of anyone else with her judgemental nagging all the time?! Just let June be batshit she’s been through a lot

If Joseph marries Hannah but doesn't sleep with her, she may report him. Eden was talking about whether Nick was a gender traitor when he wouldn't sleep with her. She took it personally. Once a girl is married, she isn't a child any more (even if she would be outside Gilead).

PM

I really really enjoyed the scene with June and Lawrence. I've always felt Lawrence got lost in the theory of how to achieve an increasing birth rate and forgot he was talking about real people until it was right in front of him. Right from the first time we saw him (I think?) and his Martha was kicking off at him, I've liked him in a horrified sort of way. If that makes sense.

I don't know what to think with Hannah, she's been fully indoctrinated at this point. The raid is obviously going to be a cluster fuck of some sort - cos, y'know. Gilead. - but how bad, i guess that's the question. Will Lawrence rescind the New Bethlehem in the wake of the raid do you think? June's a complete liability to Gilead - dead she's a martyr, in Canada she's a figurehead, left to live in New Bethlehem she'd wreak chaos and undermine the whole punitive system just by being alive.

How old is Nichole now? She's been around for several seasons hasn't she? But she's still tiny, I feel like she should be older!

Lydia, I think and hope she's slowly realising that what she thought was all about God and piety is actually a thinly veiled smokescreen for men to get their rocks off through power and abuse of it. Hoping she goes full avenging angel having got a taste of it with Putnam. So glad he's gone, the actor was very good at being a compete creep, so so slimy. Naomi's horrid too, I want to find out what happens to her. I can't imagine anyone would be interested in her as a wife. But poor Angela - what will happen to her now?!

Was Putnam shot at New Bethlehem? It looked like the same sort of feel to the place, and I agree with PP that the breakfast place was weird, I wondered if they were on a holiday/tour of Lawrence's latest idea.

Nick. Dunno. We still don't know what awful thing it was that he's done that made the Swiss back off sharpish, do we? If I were him I'd be wary of hitching my wagon to Lawrence's star - Lawrence is constantly stepping over the line but seems bizarrely untouchable. I'd be worried I'd get stuck on the wall as an example to him!