NOLITE TE BASTARDES CARBORUNDORUM (The Handmaid's Tale) [NSFW, unspoilered triggers]

if they are wearing blue, then they are "wives," which i think is the name of the wife class. if a wife is wearing multiple colors besides blue, she is an "econo-wife," which is basically a wife, handmaid, and moira all in one

aunts wear brown dresses

 

ahhhhh, okay. thank you!

 

....does shovel boy have a name? because I feel weird continuing to call him 'shovel boy' every time I see him.

 

i believe it is supposed to be the USA, but a..... kind of post-government-fuckup USA. like, somewhere in the last 5/10 years (?) the government went to shit and the USA was reformed into the totalitarian state that it is in the story

 

Spoiler

if he made a joke, then he's probably nick, who is one of commander fred's guardians

 

yes, that is him! thank you.

yeah, that makes sense and is kind of what I was thinking, but it still doesn't really explain all the infertility and miscarriages....I mean, the way it's used as such a plot device here, I have to think it was a much bigger and more widespread problem for them than it is presently for us?

 

Its nick if im thinking of who you mean

Edit: ninjad :p

 

Spoiler

it's implied in the novel that the government was slowly being subverted or somethong, and that society gradually stripped rights from women until suddenly they seized power and formed the nation of gilead

 

it is.

Spoiler

i think that the environment got pretty fucked up in the war. the colonies are highly radioactive, and infertility is a huge problem

 

for the record, i've had to write like
three essays on the novel, and have personally met margaret atwood when she came to give a lecture, so i know more about the handmaid's tale than i'd like

 

Spoiler: re: infertility, ep 4

infertility was a widespread problem before gilead was founded (like how offread was worried she'd miss ary w hannah, and how infant mortality and stuff was so high the NICU was empty and babysnatching had become a thing). and it's... not just the women, it seems like infertility is a huge problem for the men too but Because Sexism, it's the women who get blamed when she doesnt get pregnant.

 

Spoiler: EPISODE TWO

....okay, so there's an 'us', I like that.
also OH MY GOD YOU CAN JUST GET SNATCHED AT ANY MOMENT BY EYES RIGHT OFF THE STREET THAT'S ONE WAY TO INSTILL FEAR JEEZ
but Ofglen is 'dangerous'. is Nick the Eye? does he know about the society and has chosen not to tell? or does he just suspect? does he just think everyone is dangerous? I'm wondering what his position in all this is.
oh my god. the birthmobile?? do they just pick up all the Handmaids who had Ceremonies recently and tell them if they're pregnant or....what?
....why are there a fuckton of people who look to be doing some kind of religious protest or something outside what I can only figure to be a hospital? I mean, June's going there when she's clearly giving birth...so why the people outside it? what's their deal?
oh, no, the Birthmobile comes when a Handmaid is giving birth....and the Wives are basically midwives? hm. interesting. why bring other Handmaids to the birth of a baby? also, who raises these children? and are Handmaids expected to just. bear children and give birth forever? what happens after they reach the age where you aren't fertile anymore at all?
.....why do I feel like Serena just had A Moment
wait a fucking second.
was there a wife giving birth downstairs and that's why the other wives were helping her give birth? is this a thing? that all people of the class of the person giving birth have to be there for it?
also, it looks to me like the lady giving birth downstairs was being cared for better than the lady upstairs. that's a bad practice if you want the baby to live.
....do they have prenatal care? vitamins? ultrasounds? pregnancy tests? it looks like they've gone very far back in terms of technology, but if babies are so important, I'd think they'd want to keep those things, but....
....okay I know I should've expected babies, but also EW GROSS A BABY
sorry I have A Thing. about babies.
oh man and they have to test the babies at birth to know if they're healthy. yeah, this place is fucked up on some level.
....yeah, VERY fucked up. because apparently a bunch of babies died in one night, and the other two are in intensive care--and there aren't even that many baby holding things in that room to start with, I don't think.
HEY HANG ON
it can't be a wife giving birth! they're all barren!
so who are the wives around--wait.
wait.
do they have the wife pretend to give birth at the same moment her Handmaid is giving birth?
and still seem to give her better care even though she's NOT EVEN REALLY GIVING BIRTH??
that's fucked. what a backwards plan.
so a Handmaid has to report on how the birth is going every so often? or is that just kind of a thing that happened.
June.
JUNE NO THE COOKIE IS A TRAP
she took the cookie.
.....and now she's spitting it out. why??
it's a macaron. MACARONS ARE BEST.
also why did she leave a half-eaten cookie on the sink counter what's this about anyway and why did she spit it out was it disgusting?
and jeez the wives seem to have. such a low opinion of Handmaids. they treat them like dogs, too, like even the nice one's comment was just....ew. "she's so well behaved!" fuck you.
....this does not seem like the right position for giving birth. I mean, I'm not an expert, but sitting doesn't seem conducive to giving birth??
or maybe it is and I'm just dumb.
and they are making the wife simulate giving birth. they even apparently make her sit behind the Handmaid and shit.
and then they give the child to the wife and pretend she did all the work, apparently!
did they even clean the kid off first??
the wife names the kid and probably helps raise them too, and the Handmaid doesn't get to have a bond with the child at all.
also babies are super gross ew.
....oh my god, did someone try to steal Hannah??
oh my god. I. so the woman lost a child, her baby died? or something? she's listed as a protestor. what. what is happening. do the protestors outside the hospital try and steal children. or do they believe their babies were taken by the hospital and are alive in spite of being told their babies were dead. WHAT HAPPENED.
also, I'm....very sure I know what June's Commander wants.
Nick knows something. and Ofglen knows he knows. WHAT IS IT.
oh, well, at least Janine gets to nurse the baby she frickin' birthed, that's just so TOUCHING.
I feel like Janine is doing a dangerous thing right now.
yeahhhhhhhhhhhh I think I know what June's Commander wants.
I mean, inviting her to a place no other women can go ever? asking her to sit in his presence? talking about 'bending rules'? I feel like I know where this is going.
.....or I don't??? why is he asking her to play a board game with him?
I feel like this has to be a trap of some form, but I can't figure out how. unless he's setting her up to then tell people she was disobedient?
why....is he doing this? does he want to strike up an illicit romance? does he just want to get to know the Handmaid of his house better? why now? I mean, either way, it's super suspicious and clearly not supposed to be happening, but I just....why this and why now?
....yeah, that was super strange.
June no don't get happy!! this is weird and bad and suspicious!!!! you need to be on your guard!!!!!!!
Ofglen is gone. she's been replaced, she's been taken by the Eyes, she's totally dead.
THERE IS NO ONE IN THIS SHOW I AM NOT PRESENTLY SUSPICIOUS OF.

 

birth is like The Ceremony, where sex is basically a ritualized threesome where the man and the handmaid have sex while pretending that the sex is between the man and the wife. so birh is like the wife pretending that she is giving birth, because the handmaids are basically vessels.

the quote they keep referencing is "And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her” from genesis in the bible. the entire birth/sex Thing is based off of that idea that the wife and the man have sex and give birth through a third party.

and yeah i think they say that infant mortality is really high, not even including the number of miscarriages.

 

What a fucking great show. Everything is just so tense and awkward, and god damn everyone seems scared or at least extremely on edge in basically every situation... besides the dudes with machine guns and that horrible aunt woman. It's great.

Spoiler: Ep 3, I think

Everyone's getting fucked in this society, one way or another. I really enjoyed the flashback with Luke and moira arguing about him being patronising but her still needing his help to get home safely. I really liked how it showed just how fucked everything has become for women, even before the whole new world order thing had hit.

Also, that protest. I'm surprised at how well they've been able to make this sort of shit hit you right in the gut.

 

u g h that idea is gross :/
and yeah, they mentioned that 1 in 5 babies survive.

Spoiler: episode three

god. poor Ofglen.
....so not that I'm not sure Rita's a nice person, but I think her making a lunch for June and taking the groceries and everything is weird, because June seems to think so, so why....?
OH.
they think June's pregnant.
and now Serena's being very nice to her....all because of the potential baby. and so concerned for June's health! oh my.
AH THE CLEAN PLATE CLUB
MY LEAST FAVORITE PHRASE YES LET'S JUST STAB THAT MEMORY TO DEATH okay anyway
awwwwwww Serena letting June hold the baby!
....uh
how does Serena know June had a kid? isn't talking about the past forbidden?
aaaaaaaaaaaaalso I feel like Serena WASN'T supposed to let June hold the baby.
....and Janine bit the wife. I mean, she totally deserved to be bit, but also that's a bad idea, and also now Serena is def gonna be having reservations about June again, I bet.
wwwwwwwwwwwwwoah Janine is not being careful. I'm not super surprised because I think Janine was already kinda losing it, but now I think she's actually lost part of it and is not being remotely careful anymore because of it.
YUP SUSPICIONS CONFIRMED
....I wonder if the Commander does actually love Janine, though. or if they've been having illicit sex, and he just likes Janine for that. Janine seems to actually love him or....something. I wonder if she actually believes they'll run away together.
is that....a stuffed panda on the bed?
....squints at Serena. what we do TOGETHER is hard? you don't really even DO anything. but. I guess at least she's trying to be nice?? even if it IS just because baby.
OH GOD. NICK IS THE EYE. and now June is going to be....
oh man. martial law. since DC. so something happened, and they took over, and....
a march. a protest won't change this, not now.
....I know Luke doesn't mean what he's saying the way the people taking over are thinking, but I don't think Moira's completely off in saying that that kind of patronizing sentiment shit is what the people taking over are basing everything on.
also....god, the things that Luka is saying? "this can't last"? it sounds so familiar to things I've heard from other people. "Trump can't be elected." "this can't pass." "well it won't stay."
but they were wrong. Luke was wrong. and those people, about some of the things they've said, they were wrong too.
you should never assume something won't stand just because it's not the way things have been.
so the word 'gay' is banned. and....June, why didn't you just lie?
oh my god, June, you just fucking stepped in it.
...oh. and Mrs. Waterford to the rescue, I guess. I mean, only 'cause baby, but still, it's--WOW, she just told them to get out of her house?? I'm pretty sure that was a dangerous move.
ohhhhhhh no it's Ofglen
oh so they still have 'trials' that's super cute. what fucking bullshit. and you gotta love the dehumanization of assigning women NUMBERS. and using those instead of even their given names!
....what is 'Redemption'. I feel like it's bad. very bad. very very bad.
I can't believe they can somehow reconcile "woman is fertile" with "woman is not even a woman, is actual monster, not even human"
....do I actually want to trust Nick or not. I feel like not, but also yes???
and June's not pregnant.
and. oh god.
I said the march wouldn't do anything.
.....what the FUCK is Serena's problem?? no, really.

 

uh

Spoiler: spoiler for one last thing

did they do what I think they did to Ofglen, whose name is apparently Emily??

 

....how are the wives of the Faithful chosen?

 

ending explained

 

i think it might be class based? im not sure though

 

@chaoticArbiter

Spoiler: Episode 2 spoips

Yeah june has to take the cookie, it would be seen as "disrespectful" for her to refuse it and be an embarrassment to serena joy. Thats why she spits it out in the bathroom, its an act of minor rebellion.

The scrabble thing is actually a huge deal because women are not allowed to read and have to pretend they dont know how if someone asks. So the commander asking her to play scrabble and her confirming she can play was really dangerous.