New series of The Handmaid's Tale

[NotTerfNorCis]

Already off to an exceptional start. Is anyone else watching it?

Gaah I forgot! I'll have to watch it on catch up.

Jesus! Strong stuff.

I’m supposed to be planning my teams week ahead of tomorrow and an imminent last project deadline.

I’m huddled in a cardigan watching this with my hands over my Bligh.

Mouth.

No idea what a Bligh is - but it sounds nasty.

Its fucking bleak, that’s for sure.

I'm digging my nails into the sofa...

Stuff of nightmares

DH just turned to me and said this episode feels gratuitous. We are about 10 mins behind. This better turn a corner, and fast.

Amazing finish to first episode...

Blimey!

Looks like there'll be a subplot in the colonies, and it won't be Janine.

DH just turned to me and said this episode feels gratuitous.

I thought the same.

Wow. That was super intense. Was a bit unsure if i wanted to watch it tbh ha. Glad she got out though.

I was super anxious and shocked watching making comments and bf said i need to remember its just made up.... but cant seem to forget that women are being forced in similar situations around the world currently (raped, sold, used as objects ect). awful :(

boatyard - your dh is right. I said the same thing to my daughter.

I feel awful that I can't even consider watching it. I've read the book more than once and I know I would find it too distressing. Am I the only one to feel guilty that I avoid anything at all on TV that contains sexual abuse or exploitation?

@olive

Sadly everything in the novel was taken from a real life historic event, policy or philosophy, that occurred somewhere in the world, just all brought together into the fictional conceit of Gilead. So your boyfriend, whilst well meaning, is very very wrong. The novel (And by extension the series) is a palimpsest of the very worst atrocities perpetrated against women, in the very real world.

I thought there was a lot of male gaze perspective in this episode. I'm going to be honest and say I didn't like it.

I’m in time with America so I’ll not give any spoilers but I have to say I’m not enjoying this series as much as the other one, it’s too much.

I thought there was a lot of male gaze perspective in this episode. I'm going to be honest and say I didn't like it.

Same here. It occurred to me that there’s probably a few wrong uns out there beating off to it. Proper nasty stuff.

We’ll give episode 2 a go, but the jury’s out on whether we’ll stick with it. The night after the Manchester bombing last season, DH refused to watch THT because he said it was too much misery. This was even more grim.

I liked the flashback parts. I thought they were actually much more chilling than all the male gaze torture porn - being interrogated by the nurse as a bad mother; watching the horror unfold on TV and knowing you couldn't do a thing about it.

The flashbacks were depressing too, just in a different way.

@boatyard

re: male gaze/ torture porn... perhaps. But also we have to acknowledge in the narrative AND in the real world, the complicity of other women (THT), and the female passive gaze (THT and Real Life), that enjoys / is desensitised to the suffering of other women (I.e. has become hardened to/ indoctrinated by the patriarchal fascination with female suffering)

There will be women out there masochistically enjoying the torture porn, along with the wrong 'uns etc etc.

Off topic- but are you a liveaboard boater too?

The doctors was the most chilling bit so insipid yet so creepingly intrusive

Lang cleg I'm with you. All those doing and saying horrible cruel things were women. The men were jolly, were following women's orders, or were rescuers or concerned partners. Fuck that.

Oh man you’re all going to hate the rest of the series.

I might actually stop watching to be honest.