#commander joseph lawrence

[invisibleicewands]

[astro-tag-9]

Hello, can you give me a male character based off of these placements? Thanks.

Sun in Gemini

Moon in Aquarius

Mercury in Gemini

Venus in Taurus

Mars in Gemini

🖤 Commander Joseph Lawrence 🖤

( THE HANDMAID’S TALE )

[johanna-swann]

I'm sad that Lawrence died, but I mean. It kinda makes sense. He designed Gilead. He has the blood of thousands on his hands and when we first met him it had turned him bitter and cynical. And then all the things that the country he designed did to innocents happened to him.

He was raped, he lost a loved one under incredibly tragic circumstances, he lost his power, had to remarry against his will, had the threat of hanging on the wall held over his head and had to say goodbye forever to a small child he loved and that depended on him.

Somewhere along the way he began to believe that he might never make up for what he did, but that didn't mean he couldn't still do good. He started small, trying to change the system before he realised the system is the problem and it needs to be destroyed.

In the end he gave everything he had left to give to the resistance and it doesn't outweigh the damage he did, but he did what he could.

[ameagrice]

Lawrence talking about his late wife’s favourite book? Sobbing. Lawrence giving Janine her child’s drawing, in Jezebels? Crying. Lawrence telling Angela that one day, she’s going to read a book? SCREAMING SOMEONE HELP ME

[uluthrek]

we as a fandom don’t talk about joseph lawrence enough. that fuckass attitude. that cunty scarf. the rings. the pizzazz. the expensive paintings he raided all museums of the nation for, not to display them but just so winslow can’t have them. the way he lets his marthas degrade him because he either gets off on it or thinks it‘s funny. that cunty way he turns around when spoken to. the genuine love and admiration he has for eleanor and his actual genuine regret for his actions that he doesn’t just put on to get what he wants like serena but that actually seems to gnaw at him constantly. the needless flamboyance when he essentially tells nick not to execute him. the way aunt lydia tries to blackmail him and he goes „ooooh, DISH, sister“ as soon as she mentions that she‘s got dirt on the other commanders as well. the way that somehow, bradley whitford plays a more sympathetic character on the handmaid‘s tale than on fucking brooklyn 99.

[wilder-fangirl]

nooo that was my emotional support morally grey snarky grandpa :((

[sometimesoliloquy]

The Handmaid's Tale 6x04 - "Promotion" (or IDK, how about just “STFU Luke?”)👀

Look, this was a hard episode to write about. I was so triggered by the immature acting out throughout the most part that the first draft of this was pretty much just "ahHfUUUuuuckyouuUUUuLuuuke”. So yeah, I really just want to get the thoughts out of my brain so I can finally stop thinking about this episode (before my blood pressure gets too high) and focus on the new one dropping today.

(Just me or does it look like June has a weird crooked halo?)

We open with June back in the Mayday camp at the grand old resort-thing place, watching a mad scientist dude welding shit together to (ostensibly) make bombs, as we soon find out will become a major plot point--and point of contention. It would be cool except June looks like she wished she'd skipped class pretty bored, and what we are actually hearing is Luke pedantically droning on in the background from the other room and this is where my teeth set to gnashing because we're less than a minute in and already I just know he is going to be completely insufferable for the rest of the episode. June pops up to go talk to him and yep, he's completely condescending, holding up a finger for her to wait sorry the middle of things, k sweet thing? come back later, You understand. You know what I ALMOST feel bad for him here because he's so cocky and expecting June to be SO impressed but she just looks at him skeptically like ok, that's cute. Oh dear.

When Tuello delivers the incredible news that Luke's case has been dismissed (because of the intel he and Moira brought back, thanks Nick!) and can go ahead and hop on a flight to Alaska, Luke is clearly not happy. It seems he's been super busy becoming the big man on campus developing plans for bombing commanders and now has much better things to do than go be a family with June and Holly like he's been cajoling her to do since the day she arrived on Canadian soil. After getting pulled away again for more planning, he tracks her down to give the most half-hearted apology I've ever seen (about not telling her he was going on the Mayday mission): "You know, I was thinking I should have told you what I was doing" YA THINK? June brushes it off, but a bit passive aggressively so yeh, this tension is going no where (yeah, something's about to blow up, Luke, you got that right anyway!). It's also of note that June's somewhat frantic "we..we have to go back and we have to build a life together!" is very much giving are you trying to convince me or are you trying to convince yourself vibes and we will see more on this later...

The Mayday folks hold assembly a meeting to debrief on Luke and Moira's (ultimately) successful (again, thanks Nick!) mission, and the next step which is apparently going to be killing the commanders at Jezebels. June immediately points out the danger to the woman trapped there (you know, as traumatized sex slaves), becoming a bit of a thorn in the leader, Ellen’s, side. It seems they are largely ok with some collateral damage as long as they get to hit their targets (paralleling Luke's new trajectory, apparently) but June at least gets them to agree to send someone in to warn the Jezebels and get them out before they get caught in the crossfire. Of course it's Moira who volunteers--she looks terrified but says it's her who has to go, as she astutely points out she knows that place (and its residents) far better than anyone else here.

I have to say, although June IS being a bit of a smug know-it-all here, she's mostly not wrong and I did feel a tiny bit bad for her that in this environment she seems to have been demoted in status from "June Fucking Osborne" who did Angels' Flight and poisoned a country club full of commanders, to apparently "just June", who is just kind of hanging out and getting in the way, interrupting your v important bomb talk, etc. Apparently she's a bit old news—yeah but what have you done lately? I mean except fly in and link up w/your secret spy commander boyfriend to pull the last mission out of the gutter. Ok she does get a quick shout out for that, not Nick though, we're not talking about that here, either because Gilead commanders are a volatile subject or because we don't want to hurt Luke's fee fees.

It seems an interesting contrast to when June and Moira visited Lily's Mayday camp in s5 and June was praised as a hero. Overall this season, there seems to be a bit of tonal shift as it comes to Mayday. Last season when we learned that yes, Mayday was an actual thing that's been there all along, helping, it was such a beautifully hopeful moment--that there has been after all this network of just regular people doing what they can to help, to fight, to do the right thing. Now as we're actually seeing them more in action and the fight is becoming a more tangible thing enfolding in front of June's--and the viewers'--eyes, the fact that these are just ordinary people, civilians mostly with no military training, no insurgence experience or for the large part having even been to Gilead, shifts the overall feeling a bit from inspiring to slightly worrisome, as we have to wonder if they really can pull this off without creating more of a mess. Of course it's still fantastic to see people fighting back, but there's an underlying sense of unease that it's just not enough, especially going up against the Goliath of Gilead, and with it having somehow become Tuello's first line of defense.

June goes to find Moira as she is prepping for the Jezebels mission (apparently to try and talk her out of it). They start to argue when a print out of Janine comes through their fax machine, they're both stunned and June says "oh no, no not her". She'd thought Janine was at least as safe as a handmaid could be (not saying much, I know) at the red center with Aunt Lydia who she knows has a giant soft spot for her. The amount of guilt that hits her here must be tremendous (although now that I'm thinking of it, it is a bit annoying we really don't see her think of Janine til now, wtf!) which gives her the perfect excuse to try and grabby hands this mission away from Moira, so off to the leader she runs, eventually getting the OK once she reminds Ellen of her secret weapon, her secret commander boyfriend on the inside.

This of course all comes to a head with the ultimate three way blow up fight outside. Look, it’s just incredibly ironic, right? Luke and Moira have both essentially been treating June like a pariah, a damaged crazy person for nearly two whole seasons now. Like there was something inherently wrong and broken in her that she couldn’t just “let things go” and just be happy to be free and have Nichole and be a family again. Now there is a sudden (somewhat seemingly unearned) turning of the tables, and it's understandably leaving June feeling somewhat unmoored and off balance.

And here’s the thing: they’re not wrong in this new motivation, not at all. It’s good that they finally want to fight, and have found an avenue to do so. Moira always had such a fighting spirit when he saw her in the red center and on the before flashbacks, and it’s so good to see that spark reignited, to see her finally set out of the shell she seemed to find herself in in Canada, trying to make herself continually smaller and quieter to appease anti-refugee rhetoric and even society at large. And while I don’t think she is really being fair here—June never asked her to “live June’s life”—I am glad she’s finally got that off her chest and is ready to live her life how she wants to.

Don't even get me started on Luke. Ok, I guess I'm already started. Look, I absolutely cannot blame him for enjoying finally feeling useful but honestly alI can see in this scene is a big man-baby toddler throwing a tantrum, stomping his foot and yelling about "MY BOMBS, MY TURN, it's not FAIR". Come on, man, if you don't want to be infantilized, if you want to be treated like an adult who can make his own choices... maybe just rethink this behavior, that's all I'm saying. Aside from the totally immature attitude and the hypocrisy, I'm confused and bothered by the implication that he was somehow "prevented" from fighting Gilead until now. Look, the fact is Luke is a smart guy; he seems to have a really intelligent analytical brain and city planning/engineering/construction experience that can come in very useful (I mean, ok, his whole “building codes” thing in s5 actually did end up helping). That is his strength and what’s frustrating is that it DOES seem like he could have been actual help to the resistance--sticking to his behind the scenes analytical strengths and not letting ego take the wheel thinking he knows all about stealth ops or going in guns blazing. But it really seems like his own fault that he hasn’t. Is his inability to think outside the box, that has kept him sitting on his hands for years, feeling useless, really anyone else's fault? Is he trying to blame it on June by saying he was "too busy" waiting and worrying for her, and then looking after Holly/Nichole, to find another way to fight? Ok, maybe he's got a point about the kid, but come on, that's not really the reason. He was just unable to conceive of a different way to fight until he was shown this. And that's ok, but he just needs to admit it and move on.

Ok, let's face it (as she finally admits out loud at the end), June was never really going to be satisfied to skip off to Alaska with Luke and just leave Hannah to whatever fate, no matter how much she loves both Holly's, or how much she may crave some peace and normalcy. But hey, it seems like she had been willing to try and FFS I think it would have been nice if Luke (and Moira) could have some goddamn self-awareness and acknowledgment of this. But whatever, I guess we can't have nice things!

And so finally, we have somewhat of a resolution: Luke finds June looking out towards the mountains and joins her for (finally) the most honest (without insults anyway) conversation we've seen them have since she got free to Canada... or you know what, maybe ever?? Luke finally admits "I get it" (ok THANKYOU maybe we can have some kind of OK things eventually). Now that he's had a tiny taste, he finally gets her need to fight, and he wants to as well. We get the much-contested "If you want to fight, let's fight together" line, and ok, it's better than him being a condescending a-hole so I guess I'll take it. June cautions him about how intensely hard it is to fight and feel like you're getting so close to Hannah, only to keep coming up empty-handed, but they agree they still have to try. Finally, June admits "I had this idea that we could be a family again", at last realizing (and saying out loud), that this was merely an illusion, a distraction. But they just can't be that family again, they're broken. They recommit to fighting for Hannah and say mutual "you know I love you('s), right?" but it feels like there’s a "BUT" implicit here: we'll always have love for each other, but we're not in love with each other. We'll always be family but we're not A Family anymore.

In New Bethlehem, Rita is arrives to town on the official NB bus, looking quite nervous (I can't blame her) and is greeted by Serena the ambassador of NB Queen of Gilead herself (she's definitely got the queen wave down, I wonder if she was a pageant-queen-for-Jesus when she was younger). Serena soon gets ditched though and watches on a bit sadly as Rita spies her long-lost sister in the crowd: this is why she came, to reunite with the only family she has left, and it's a truly emotional reunion. We see people embracing all around them as well, more tragically separated loved-ones now brought back together in this supposed paradise... but will it end up as a nightmare?? I have a bad feeling. Not according to Nick, it seems like he really believes this new haven is about as safe as you can get (this close to Gilead anyway) and he is definitely an expert on safety having helped keep June alive for this long with all her crazy hijinks(!!). It was nice seeing Rita and Nick reunite and chat; there is a well-acquainted sort of warmth and familiarity there, and Nick says he will try and help her and her family get out, though it "could take a while, a year or two". But we clearly see how much family means to Rita: "For my family? Anything". Nick just nods knowingly, he can relate.

Of course we can't forget about Lawrence’s Big Day: his promotion to Grand Poobah High Commander, which gives Naomi a chance to awkwardly hit on her husband, only to be summarily rejected (this “poor” woman just keeps striking out, at least has her Parisian jewelry to keep her warm). And of course it gives the menfolk an opportunity for bizarre dress-up rituals followed by some good old fashioned fun at Jezebels. Unfortunately for Lawrence, his appeal to his old buddy s4/5 wingman is overruled by new daddy in law’s edict: “Rose is waiting for us”, and Nick’s relief is palpable. Lawrence looks sad that he's lost his puppy commander pet like he wishes he could get out of it also, but it seems perhaps Naomi’s words about what these commanders value are running through his head (omg someone listened to her for once?) and so off they and their gold watches go for some shitbag commander highjinks.

And who is there to “entertain” them but poor Janine, who is seems the slimy new Commander Bell Jr. has decided is his new “pet” (gag). By which I mean he is the kind of small-dicked douchbag who gets off on shitty power plays and humiliating women. Not one to pass up the chance to make as many decent people as possible miserable, he clocks Lawrence’s discomfort and says “oh that’s right, she was yours”, egging him on to “have a round” with Janine.

We of course know he’s not going to do anything, and are flashed painfully back to Lawrence trying to reassure Eleanor “we’re all just going to sit here” before June drops the terrible truth bomb that they are going to have to follow through with the “ceremony”. Of course, thankfully, there is no creepy “checking” afterwards here, so they can in fact just talk (and Janine can call him “scary” lol). And then, a small gift, an offering: Lawrence reveals the drawing little Charlotte/Angela (sorry, I have to honor her given name!) gave him earlier in the episode. Though he can’t resist just a bit of snark, he ultimately makes the genuine promise to look out for her. It reminds me in a way, heartbreakingly, of June desperately trying to find her unborn baby a godmother before Serena banishes her from the house “I want my baby to know kindness”.

And that he delivers on, as we next see him at home with little Angela (Charlotte) on his knee, the very picture of fatherly/grandfatherly kindness. He is reading to her from "A Little Princess", which he tells her she will hopefully read herself someday (I'm tearing up). "My Eleanor's favorite book as a little girl" he says (and I'm now crying that he knows and remembers this sweet, intimate little fact about his late wife, their love story really is so tragic). I'm sure there's a ton of symbolism in this choice... from what I can recall (spoiler alert for "A Little Princess!" lol), it's revealed at the end that Sara's father is not actually dead and she is reunited with him. Could this possibly be foreshadowing that Janine may be end up reuniting with her beloved Charlotte? If this could be the case, I also have to wonder if Lawrence's redemption ultimately will be not some grand re-imagining of society as he's planned, but perhaps instead a key role in a much smaller but more personal and incredibly meaningful act of good (I have to think Eleanor would be pleased). The site of Lawrence and Angela, heads bent over the book, also brings to mind a bittersweet sort of alternate-life image of the child/grandchild Joseph and Eleanor never had, and we have to wonder if Lawrence is thinking of this as well as he pauses and starts choking up a little. just between the words "a little girl" and "sat in a cab with her father". The scene fades out as the sound of him reading plays over That's all I have to say about this scene for now, except that I now NEED Bradley Whitford to record a series of audio books narrating children's classics (preferably over a background of soothing nature sounds). This would absolutely cure insomnia worldwide, CONSIDER IT A SERVICE TO HUMANITY, BRAD.

Meanwhile that night, Serena and Wharton are cosplaying early 1940's part of The Notebook (wait, seriously though, where did that music even come from??) as he walks her home after their store-bought pie date, when Aunt Lydia suddenly pops up out of freaking nowhere (she really has a special talent for ruining the moment, don't you think?). Blessed EVEning! (I wonder whatever could she want!)

***

Ok, yada yada, Promotion (did I mention I'm over this episode?). Obviously we have Lawrence's big promotion to High Commander, which brings both greater power and greater scrutiny. Hopefully he can dodge the latter while putting the former to good use (even if it may end up being a different use than he thinks now). In a way I suppose Angela/Charlotte fully gets "promoted" to cared after step-daughter status. Moira's (re)promoted to her previous fierce fighter status. And I guess Luke has also been promoted to Mr. Know-it-all Big Man on Campus Mansplainer "an effective leader".

As annoyed as I was for most of the episode, I was so very glad June and Luke had that little chat at the end. And visually it was a really gorgeous scene: the picturesque setting, the music, and the way it fades out to the sounds of Lawrence reading mixed with soft rain and distant thunder (again, I'm gonna need that audio book, Bradley). I can't help feeling like there's still something missing to the conversation. Maybe it's the elephant (let's face it, a stegosaurus at this point) in their relationship that is NICK. It’s insane to me that they still haven't had that conversation when it's so clear how much that particular insecurity (how emasculated he feels from having to be rescued by June and her boyfriend, and how much he wants to be a "man of action" like Nick) is driving Luke and his attitude earlier in the episode. Maybe it's also the (spoiler alert if you haven't watched the trailer! And if you haven't I want to have a talk with you about willpower and how I can get some of it!) kiss we know is coming (which at this point I have to think/hope is like a final "we're going into a dangerous mission so goodbye in case I never see you again" kiss(??). Hm.

But yeah. At least they finally said some important things to each other, both with words and subtext, and from their final facial expressions in the scene it seems pretty plain that they know, in one way at least, they're coming to the end of the road. And it's a great final image: the two of them against this grand backdrop, together here but clearly on the precipice of an inevitable divergence, where they will be united in the cause of fighting for their daughter, but not as as a couple. They're nearly there. They're so close, they just need that final push to finally free themselves both of the shared shackles of painful history and obligation, and each set off on the path they need to walk, to be true to the people they've become and will continue to evolve into.

*screencaps & captions sourced by me*

[tchaniks]

Lawrence was a fun, complex and interesting character and I enjoyed his scenes very much. I really liked his character and I was really sad he had to go. His redemption arc was beautiful but considering him a hero?? Seriously? No way!

Until the end, he considered himself and Naomi "Angela's parents" !

Her name is Charlotte and her mother is Janine !!!

Seeing people commenting about him being a hero is so shocking to me. He was still okay with stealing children and never returned Charlotte to her mother. He cared about the child, he really did and that was so touching but let's be clear, he is not a hero.

As Janine said he was never a good guy, he was good compared to the other High Commanders, and honestly that was not difficult to be nicer than them.

Give the children back to their real parents !!

[vampiricalxdata]

Serena and Lawrence are the same to me. they’re both self serving and delusional.

every time nick’s character is called into question it’s done in tandem with June’s. in season 6, it comes from holly, luke, lawrence— all criticizing her judgment.

but we see it even as far back as season 3. when serena tells june they wouldn’t be here without him.

whether she’s being truthful or not (not imo) isn’t the point. serena is pissed about june leaving the baby. she’s so pissed she’s launched a whole DC campaign to get nichole/hollyback. so when june is vulnerable, serena takes an opportunity to play her favorite chess move: driving yet another wedge between nick and june.

instead of trying to tear them apart though, lawrence learns to use it.

but he struggles using nick at first bc he underestimates their connection. generally speaking, the human condition is not his strong point. see: “motherhood’s always been an evolutionary puzzle to me." or him trusting religious zealots not to go full totalitarian. its also in part bc where lawrence’s loyalty is always ambiguous, nick’s is not. he belongs to june completely. in a way that even lawrence can’t understand. lawrence - who built a world that sacrificed his wife’s mental health vs nick, who risked punishment defending june’s.

but he gets there eventually. the bombing/june’s safety solidifies their allegiance, sure, but lawrence pulls him in the rest of the way by playing to nick’s morals. the missing piece in tuello’s campaign to get nick to canada. kill pervy putnam, build a pseudo liberal town with the promise of expansion and safety for his loved ones.

he basically plays an atheist commander pryce.

and when lawrence shows up in canada he knows june’s the only thing standing between him and gilead and mayday. (and I just know he’s thinking mayday is *an underprepared, under skilled band of misfits* and he’d probably say it like that too with an air of arrogance and sarcasm.) he needs her in fighting shape.

and when he tells June “I always thought you were an idiot for trusting him…I was always selective in what I told him” it’s very much a manipulation tactic— you, june, were naive and lost sight of what’s important, it says.

unlike serena though, whose efforts always seem to bond the couple more, lawrence has figured out how to twist the knife in his direction.

and he’s successful. bc june’s back in the fray, leading a full scale attack on the commanders.

bc the man gets what he wants. it’s awful and I love him for it.

actually, him and wharton would be kinda interesting to compare, too. with the way they play nick for an end that suits them.

[faebobaggins]

I just can't be mad at Nick. He has helped June more times than I can count. Risked his own life, killed for her, rescued Luke & Moira, etc.

I'm now seeing people being very quick about throwing him under the bus and turning face, but I feel like there's more to this arc. It was either he tell the truth or get put on the wall and you know what? She falls back on him at every turn to clean up her mess and he does so without hesitation because he loves her. She risked him over letters and a map. He would have been put on the wall for letters. and. a. map. June acted on impulse to get those letters without thinking of the consequences (per usual) and her impulse put Nick literally against a wall.

Looking back to past seasons, June ratted out all of her handmaid sisters because they had Hannah. She was forgiven for all. Nick is no use to her, the movement, or his children if he's dead. For once in this series he made a selfish decision and I feel like he is valid in doing so. While we may see it as him putting the Jezebel girls at risk and signing Lawrence's death warrant, I feel like there is more. There has to be more. This is too cliche and cheesy if it ends full stop at a betrayal from him after EVERYTHING. He is not just a double agent. Not after everything he has done for June and Nichole. No way the writing would be so black and white. AND he is not a bad person!! He has said time and time again that everything he does is for his family. I would be beyond disappointed if they wrote him off as some evil, two-faced character, which he is not. He is a complex character, yes, but not someone who would betray the people he truly loves.

[martharaccoon]

I don’t know if Mark still has a thing for Serena but I can just see his face after finding out she’s getting married to a commander AGAIN:

And I just knowwww Lawrence is so done with June at this point. Like wdym get you across the border, we’ve done that many times for you and you still keep coming back 😭

[just-some-nonsense]

Rewatching Handmaids Tale and I think my favourite thing is Emily terrified for her life in the car and Lawrence just vibing to Eurythmics! What is this unnerving hilarity!

[itsscatballou]

This is a formal request to everyone who writes fanfics to write as many Commander Joseph Lawrence x reader fics as possible.

I have already devoured the one I can easily find on AO3 (Infinite Jest by qarlgrimes, do yourself a favor and read that).

I. Need. More.

[sleepyshygirl-blog]

I really feel like Lawrence and Serena are both the same in their own way. Sure, Lawrence was THE architect for Gilead's making, but both of them created something because they believed they were helping humanity. And then it was ripped out of their hands, and they were cast aside for people with very different ideas of the power they had. Not saying they had pure intentions, just that this wasn't the Gilead they specifically imagined. And now they're both trying to make something, again, deluding themselves into thinking it's gonna work, but having different angles of the situation

[berryfairyghost]

do not be afraid of aging because for all you know, you might be a Bradley Whitford

[downthewishingwell]

Inspired by "Infinite Jest" by @qarl-grimes

(And a tiny bit of what I hope might come)

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