#holly blaine

[juneandnick]

01) 1x01 - Offred / 5x10 - Safe

Same vibes

02) 1x01 - Offred / 5x10 - Safe

June escapes with one of her daughters because of Gilead

03) 1x02 - Birth Day / 5x02 - Ballet

Scrabble

04) 1x03 - Late / 5x10 - Safe

A Handmaid and a Martha in a van

05) 1x05 - Faithful / 5x02 - Ballet

Food truck / Coffee catering

06) 1x08 - Jezebels / 5x02 - Ballet

Prima ballerina

07) 2x10 - The Last Ceremony / 5x04 - Dear Offred

Reading a Bible verse in front of a pregnant woman

08) 2x13 - The Word / 5x08 - Motherland

June sings for one of her daughters

09) 4x02 - Nightshade / 5x03 - Border

June and Mayday

10) 4x06 - Vows/ 5x08 - Motherland

June wants to come back at Gilead for Hannah

11) 5x01 - Morning / 5x10 - Safe

June goes to the police station to confess Commander Waterford's murder

Luke ends up surrendering to the police at the train station, after he killed a Gilead sympathizer.

Source Pictures: Screenshots (by me)

[nickblaine]

season 4 script summaries

previous script summaries: season 3, season 2, season 1, seasons 1/2 cont’d also, check my tht scripts tag for gifs, excerpts, and more details

good news! there are no deleted Nick/Osblaine scenes in season 4. i’ll just be summarizing the subtext that is written into the script and comparing differences to the onscreen version.

before i begin:

• everything described here is from the official scripts that are archived at the Writers Guild in Los Angeles. • the scripts i read are final drafts. there is no “writing in the margins.” everything described here is from dialogue and script direction that was used on set during filming. (you can see an example of what these scripts look like in the 4x07/4x10 links below.) • the library has strict no copies/photos rules in place which is why i can only summarize what i read. • anything in italics is a direct quote for the sake of clarity. • feel free to ask questions and i’ll answer to the best of my ability. my private notes are pretty detailed, but if i need to do more research i may save the answer for a future library visit. • please do not share this post without my permission. thank you in advance for respecting my wishes.

4x01

In prison, Nick is very aware of the Guardian in the room and can’t speak openly because of it. He speaks in code to warn Lawrence that he’s going to be executed and thank him for helping June. This establishes a pattern of Commander Blaine using Gilead code to communicate, as seen in several future scenes.

4x02

When June sees Nick at the farm, she knows immediately that he is there to arrest her.

It’s implied that Nick asking where the Handmaids are is code to June so she knows they are okay. (This is confirmed in the next episode when he does it again.)

June spends a good minute considering shooting the Eyes in a blaze of glory and making this her last stand. Nick “jerks her attention away from the decision” by saying “don’t” and telling her that he’s trying to keep her alive.

The scene ends with June saying “fuck you” before the Eyes swarm her, but this line wasn’t in the final cut.

4x03

In the van, June is “stung by [Nick’s] betrayal.”

Nick can’t speak freely to June because he assumes there are eavesdroppers. He uses code to “pass along news” to her that Mrs. Keyes is safe and the Handmaids are still free. June finds this news a relief.

Nick asks where the Handmaids are and when June doesn’t give him an answer, he actually warns her in a low voice (uncoded) that she isn’t strong enough to take what the Eyes will dish out if she doesn’t turn them in. This wasn’t in the show.

When Nick quotes the bible to her - “June hears this for what it is -- an honest wish for the woman he loves.” But Lydia “breaks the connection.”

Moving onto the Nick and Lawrence scene... I want to be clear, Nick does not expect Hannah to be used against June. This is not present in the script at all. All he asks of Lawrence is to get June to talk before the Eyes kill her, with no expectation of how it’s done. He is only thinking of keeping her alive.

Also, throughout the Nick/Lawrence scene, Lawrence thinks about Eleanor a lot. “Some women just don’t want to be saved” was a direct reference to her. Lawrence compares Nick’s love for June to his love for Eleanor, and is struck by “the simplicity of [Nick’s] wish [to keep June alive.]” But he really believes Nick needs to just let her go, like he had to let go of Eleanor. This is why he refuses to help until Nick threatens him.

Speaking of, Nick’s veiled threats are what makes Lawrence decide to take him a little more seriously.

The scene where Hannah doesn’t recognize June was written to be much shorter than what we saw onscreen. Hannah was actually supposed to be muzzled, and just the sight of her crying through the muzzle is enough to shake June into giving up the Handmaids.

The meeting on the bridge was scripted a little differently than what we see onscreen. Lizzie's directing softened the scene quite a bit.

June is muzzled, and being transferred to the Birthmobile on foot when Nick joins her side, whispering apologies as he walks with her. She ignores him until he says Hannah is safe at home. June stops and starts breaking down crying. Nick reaches out and touches her shoulder, “letting his finger trace the skin of her neck.” June reacts by embracing him. The guards try to pull them apart, but Nick just gives them a look. “He’s a Commander,” so the guards stop and let her go. Nick removes her muzzle and she cries about Hannah being scared of her. There’s a line here that I love, I have to quote in full—

“NICK: She loves you.

June tries to believe this.

NICK: I love you.

This, June believes.”

June then realizes she may never see Nick again and kisses him goodbye. Very little script direction here, it’s simply described as “just one long moment.” Then the guards lead her away.

Also, it says in the script that Alma and Brianna are hit by the train because one of the Handmaids was shot and they both reached back to help her as she was falling, causing them to miss the opening before the train hit. Janine was just dissociating and humming songs to herself the whole time, not as upset as we see her onscreen.

4x04

I just want to note here that the script confirms Janine’s current age is 23. After she changes out of her Handmaid uniform, “she looks like the 23-year-old kid she is.”

4x05

June spends this whole episode irritated at Janine and Stephen’s relationship because she feels like she failed to protect Janine, which is part of a recurring theme of June feeling like a failure throughout this season. Janine has to remind June by the end of the episode that she doesn’t need saving, and June is only trying to do so to make herself feel better.

There is no scripted response to Lawrence’s “would your heart glow” line. So Nick’s laugh was entirely unscripted lol.

The script specifically refers to Lorraine and Reese (the Marthas) as Nick’s “black market contacts.” As we know from s1, Nick has always had a connection to Gilead’s black market.

When Lorraine goes off on Nick about June, she and Reese expect a scolding from him because it’s “a suicidal way for a Martha to talk to a member of the Eyes.” But Nick just apologizes on June’s behalf, surprising them both.

In the show Nick says “I care about her” but in the script it was: “She’s all I care about. In the world.”

The Marthas are “surprised by his vulnerability, but Lorraine stays icy.” Her scripted response was actually supposed to be: “Swipe left. You’re better off without her.”

Reese hangs back and offers help to Nick because, as she says to him, “I loved someone in Gilead once, too.”

In regards to the council meeting - if I’m understanding correctly (because the scripts are kind of vague and more focused on the soapy aspects of the political standoff in this episode) - Lawrence’s goal is to get sanctions lifted, but when the council turns him down he shifts his plan to get on the council himself so he can pursue his reformation goals unopposed. This is why he agreed to bombing the ceasefire that he proposed in the first place.

Not much is said about Nick’s reaction to ordering the bombing, besides the fact that it catches him off guard and he “looks shaken by his orders to bomb June.“

4x06

When Moira confronts June trying to abandon ship and tells her that Luke never gave up on her after all those years, there was a cut part of that line where Moira said: “[Luke’s] a good guy. And he handled it pretty well when you had a baby with another man.“

4x07

Click here to read the full script that is available to the public.

4x09

When Luke suggested they ask Nick for help with Hannah, there’s not too much script direction, but there are a few interesting lines. When she says Nick would do anything for her and Holly, Luke finds that “both hurtful and hopeful.”

June is floored that Luke “is encouraging a meeting with her former lover? It’s incredibly strange. And also enticing.” It also says she had “put her relationship with Nick behind her. Locked it away. Now Luke has opened the door again.”

When she agrees to meet with Nick, Luke is described as “pleased, yet uneasy.”

As June heads off to see Nick, she and Luke are both “on edge.”

There was actually a cut moment between them and Mark before she leaves. After Mark tells her his officers will be nearby, he gives her a panic button FOB to call them if she needs help. This makes Luke freak out a little. He tells June she’s not going unless it’s safe. She doesn’t like that and insists she can take care of herself. Mark explains that while he has used this location for meetings before, he “can’t vouch for the party involved” because - in Mark’s words - “[Nick] does have a history of violence and allegiance to Gilead.” But June shuts both men down with: “He’d never hurt me or Nichole. I vouch for him. Completely.”

Once June is in the car, she exhales. “There’s no facade to put on for Luke, now that she’s alone.” She looks back at Holly and says, “Okay, we’re off. Excited to see your Dad? Yeah?“ then she smiles at Holly and says “me too.”

When she finally sees Nick, “their eyes lock. They’re both tentative. Unsure. It’s amazing to be together again, yet it doesn’t feel real.”

Nick is described as “almost overcome, so happy and relieved to see June alive and healthy.”

When they move inside, Nick tries to help June with the stroller and he’s described as “awkward” lol.

As we see in the episode, June is moved by Nick’s folder of Hannah intel. After this, “her official mission has been accomplished. She can leave. She doesn’t want to.”

The kiss has very little direction, as usual it’s all Max and Lizzie’s chemistry that makes it so good. “They can’t resist. They kiss, with longing and passion.” Then they move apart “both knowing they shouldn’t go any further.”

Nick was supposed to hold Holly “with love and wonder” per the script, but they couldn’t because of Covid protocols. It does say Holly loves her doll, though.

Their goodbye was also much different in the script. June simply buckles Holly up in the car, tells Nick she can’t thank him enough, and “tries to keep it together.” Nick tells her “keep yourself safe, and be happy.” They share a final look before she gets in the car and leaves.

On the drive home, June is just described as “[getting] emotional, but keeps moving on.”

Nick is described as “stoic, but drained by the experience” before he puts his wedding ring on.

When June returns home, Luke is “relieved” that she returned to him. June collects herself and “she has so many more steps to take, but she’s trying her best to move forward.”

4x10

Click here to read the full script that is available to the public.

[nickjunesource]

People are implying Nick is going to go ballistic if they threaten June’s life especially it Lawrence agrees to it. But, I’m thinking back to last season when they say he needs to bomb Chicago after the cease fire (Nick knows June is there). Lawrence played him a bit there too. He is upset and pushes back but goes through with it. I get the bomb wasn’t a direct hit on her but it definitely put her in danger. What makes us think he’d blow his cover this time? I obviously want him to but I’m in my head about it. Maybe it’s about Nichole? What are your thoughts?

We understand where you're coming from with this- even under the greatest stresses and challenges and suffering, Nick generally remains pretty outwardly stoic. His fractures are pretty subtle. He's not good at hiding anything when it comes to June and is frequently emotional about her which has resulted in some difficult situations, but he's able to do just enough to keep himself alive. Seeing him lose control like we have in the trailer is an unusual and surprising thing to see. We're very curious about it.

The Nick we see in s5 is a Nick that is a different man than he was even as recently as 4x05. In that time span he's been married to someone he doesn't love, briefly reunited with June and their daughter (a daughter who has no idea who he is because they've been separated for so long), his wife is pregnant with a baby that he doesn't want which forces him to stay in a place that he hates, and he's aligned with a man who has lost his humanity and who uses him. He is more broken now that we've seen and so any sort of actual, credible threat to June, especially when he's turned down chances to be in Canada with her, could be one painful thing too many and cause the dam to break.

Speaking of the Chicago scene specifically, unfortunately the show neglected to show the aftermath for Nick (or indeed any sort of trauma he has over this) as he was not shown after being given orders and was absent for the next 3 episodes. Had we seen him in the aftermath, we suspect that we may have seen him lose it (or at least as much as he could have). However there's another possibility that we like to entertain as to why he didn't lose it completely- the streets of Chicago were unusually quiet and empty right before the bombing and we like to think that Nick tipped off his rebel allies and did all he could to help June from such a distance. Perhaps he believed that his contacts had managed to get to her and made sure she stayed safe which calmed some of his emotions enough for him to stay in control. In a situation where this isn't possible for Nick, his emotions could spill over and he could snap.

One time we have seen Nick lose it completely is in ep 2x05 when June went out to the garden to die and he found her haemorrhaging. We haven't seen him so upset and out of control as we have in that moment. June was near death and that terrified him. He didn't go ballistic, but he was extremely emotional. In a situation where the threat to June was very immediate and significant, Nick lost control. So it's definitely possible where the threat to her life is much more prominent than even the bombs in Chicago, much like being followed by trained snipers would be, Nick could lose it.

With all that said, we can imagine such a scenario where it is Holly in danger that finally makes him snap and go ballistic. Nick has mentioned her safety multiple times this season, which could be foreshadowing to her being in danger. Holly is an innocent little girl who can't protect herself and needs her parents to do that, something that is difficult for Nick to do from Gilead. So any situation where she could be hurt is bound to make Nick break, especially as he's in Gilead surrounded by the people who could hurt her- and if Joseph is involved, it could be the final straw for Nick as Joseph has manipulated and used him before but Nick choose to keep trusting and working with him. Having someone he trusts be ok with his daughter getting hurt would understandably make Nick snap completely. Nick's line of "she's not the target" does make us wonder if Nick brought up Holly being harm's way and had those concerns ignored. That line could be foreshadowing for what happens.

We could really go either way when it comes to who Nick goes ballistic for- it could be June or it could be Holly.

[thoughtfulpeachpeace]

Glad to see Luke do something selfless for once!

[cryscendo]

GLEE

Season 2 (pt. 2) | September 21, 2010 – May 24, 2011

[mynonah]

Happy

[gleesongtournament]

[gleetournaments]

The Ultimate Glee Ship Tournament: Round 4 Match 7

[smoulderingocean]

I don't have much to say about this season of The Handmaid's Tale because it's frankly pretty awful, but I just have to compliment Max Minghella's face acting, especially in the most recent episode. It is utterly masterful. When Nick talks about Holly you can feel the pain radiating from him. Just the way he looks off in the distance and briefly looks down before facing June head on. That line of pain visible between his brows. His eyes show how much it hurts that he can't be there for his baby girl. (Also, sidenote, shoutout to Bradley for being one of the rare people on this show to know how to edit brown eyes so that they're visible and not muddied. It was a real treat to actually be able to see Max's beautiful warm brown eyes.) When Nick is telling June he loves her in his simple and devoted way, his face is just so soft when he's looking at her. The corners of his eyes crinkle upwards and you can just see the happiness that Nick feels by being in June's presence and being able to love her. It's just so gentle and peaceful, and god, I love it and Max deserves all the awards.

[ciinelqura]

— glee characters as social media posts [pt37/?]

[martharaccoon]

Our Hawaii dream is halfway there now we need our boi to get the hell out of Gilead. This is what I’ve been waiting for!

[juneandnick]

1x01 - Offred / 5x10 - Safe

June escapes with one of her daughters because of Gilead

Source Pictures: Screenshots (by me)

[nickjunesource]

The writing is so bad I just know they’ll retcon Nick’s entire personality and have him ask June to come to NB. That fits in line with this shitty season!

Thankfully we only have a couple of days left until we know how this scene will go. We don't think that they'll retcon Nick's character (what's more likely to happen is he just doesn't get enough screen time and/or just does whatever June asks), but with how poorly this season has been written, anything is possible.

Beyond the fact that we think the whole New Bethlehem idea is ridiculous and no refugee would realistically consider going back into Gilead and the sudden writing of Canada as a horrible place to be in a forced attempt to make New Bethlehem seem like a reasonable place for refugees, we have hope that this plot will turn out ok for Nick. Based on his interactions with Joseph in the most recent episode we don't think that Nick supports the idea. He seemed very hesitant and skeptical about it. The way it was framed was very similar to the way Andrew Pryce framed Gilead to Nick when he was just a young man struggling to support his family. Pryce even occupied a similar caring fatherly role for Nick that Joseph does now. We know that choice Nick made then and we feel like this time that he'll make a different decision. Narratively it would make the most sense for Nick's character development to be able to reject this idea as he is in a completely different place now than he was at just 19. Plus there's still that offer from Mark Tuello dangling about. We'd miss the interactions between Nick and Joseph, but what we want most of all is for Nick to be free of Gilead (or as much as anyone ever could be) and to be happy.

Admittedly we are intrigued by the possibilities that exist for Nick if he were to be Commander of New Bethlehem. It'd be a great way to integrate him more fully into the resistance and could lead to some interesting interactions between Nick and Luke and between June and Rose. But for the sake of Nick's character, who wants nothing more than for June and Holly to be safe (Holly especially), we'd prefer to see him help June choose to stay in Canada, help Rose to be safer, and defect and head underground.

Regardless of how things go, we don't think that Nick will ask June to come to New Bethlehem. If there's any asking, it's almost certainly going to be June asking Nick to go to New Bethlehem. He'll most likely tell her what he knows and allow for her to make her own decision, while perhaps asking her again to keep herself and Holly safe. Nick isn't the type to tell June what to do.

[illisius]

nick blaine + holly | nichole osborne — i need my girl. [the handmaid's tale]

(y’all i’m freaking obsessed with this show — please watch + enjoy)

[cryscendo]

GLEE

Season 2 (pt. 1) | September 21, 2010 – May 24, 2011

[gleesongtournament]