#luke tht

[ofjonsafame]

What an insufferable prick omg.

This scene with Luke really cemented for me how horrible he was. Nick never uses June’s suffering as a weapon, he just does what he can to alleviate it, whenever he can.

Luke wants some big come to Jesus moment of sorrow from June. It’s kinda sick honestly. Like yeah it’s crazy but it’s normal for her now, and he STILL wasn’t getting how serious the danger was. All he wanted to do was talk about how it made him feel.

Anyone who has suffered knows the worst thing is hearing people say that your suffering also made others suffer, which is basically what he’s saying to her here.

Yeah the situation is bad and sucks, you don’t need to point out the obvious?! Unreal.

Luke is the type of person I can’t stand, he’s a wallower, he does nothing but insists on feeling bad for himself and non stop explaining why this is an unfair scenario for them to be in. He’s all talk, no action, all bravado, no strength of character. It’s all about what it feels like to HIM, how crazy it is to HIM, how hard it is to see her locked up for HIM, and in the final season, see look at HIM you underestimated him.

Insufferable through and through, truly.

In comparison, Nick knows that June has suffered beyond what he can possibly imagine, and doesn’t need to provoke her wounds. He suffers but never says anything (other than the single time), he just acts. He hates what she goes through but knows that him bringing it up and pounding into her how terrible her situation is will only add fuel to the fire. Especially for someone like June, she needs action, words only make it worse for her.

I hate essentially everything Luke does to be honest, starting from his very first introduction. People use the holly thing as some gotcha card but like what was he going to do? I mean Emily basically dropped the kid on his doorstep. Forgive me for not finding that to be the pinnacle of manhood and sacrifice.

Nick’s motivation is always to help June, to make her feel better, less trapped, more calm. It has nothing to do with him, her seeing his achievements, or proving himself. He doesn’t give a fuck about any of that. Because he knows how serious this is.

Lukes motive is always to prove himself, show how useful he can be, be a ‘man’ as he so degradingly puts it.

Selfishness VS selflessness.

[susiephone]

the fact that Luke is more hated by the audience for cheating on his wife than Nick ever was for willingly joining a fascist movement.......it's just really fucking weird.

[smoulderingocean]

"He waited for me, Nick. For years."

That is not love, that is obligation. It is not a reason to be with someone. Waiting does not make Luke special or "deserving" of June. And yet so many treat him like he's a saint for it, June included. She is always so insecure and apologetic around Luke and it's exhausting to see this play out as a viewer for half of season 4, all of season 5, and now the beginning of season 6. It is not empowering or entertaining to watch a woman push aside her own wants and needs to settle for a man praised for the supposed self-sacrificing act of waiting.

Nick's pained expression really got me there too- he wishes that he could wait, he would wait for her for years, forever, even. When he knew he was in love with June and began a relationship with her back at the very beginning of their love story, he ended his dalliance with Beth immediately, signalling his devotion to her. He feels hurt by June's implications that Luke is a better man than him because he waited for her and Nick didn't. But he can't wait for her or be devoted only to her. He doesn't have the freedom to make that choice. He lives in Gilead and must marry someone he doesn't love and must produce a child that he doesn't want. It was easy for Luke to wait. He didn't have to do anything or compromise anything, all he had to do was exist. He had the freedom to wait or to not wait, and in the fog of his depression, passively did nothing for 7 years. Meanwhile in order to preserve his own life, in order to be able to remain in Gilead and keep an Eye on Hannah, Nick had to actively marry someone.

Not that I'd want June and Nick together under any conditions other than them loving each other and wanting to be together, but it really must sting Nick that Luke can do something like that for June while he can't and Luke is praised for it when Nick is so rarely praised for anything he does. To be in a forced marriage is an agonizing thing, especially so when Nick sacrifices his own safety for June's marriage, for her husband and best friend, while knowing that none of those three people would be willing (or capable in the case of Luke and Moira) to do that for him.

[withallthingslove]

Have you seen the press kit on Hulu’s website?

They are basically doing a 180 arc of Nick with him still not stepping up to Gilead but even worse, following his father in law into the dark side, after him and June said they love each other in the present. Lizzie and max speak about Nick betraying June mid season and June not letting her love cloud her judgment anymore and finally see him for who he really is, a commander in Gilead.

I mean if they wanted to achieve a fail final GOT style, I think they are succeeding… I know we have to wait and see but I’m really disappointed with this storyline. But Lawrence on the other hand will help fight Gilead…

Yes, I was commenting on the Reddit thread.... *super long post and spoilers incoming*

Overall, I'm not surprised. They've done this since season 2. If they completely scrap Nick's Testaments characterization in favor of redeeming Serena or Lawrence I will be big mad. But why would they rewrite Luke's character to be like how he is in The Testaments but not Nick's? The answer is I think they are still pushing Nick to be underground and I think we could still have a NickxJune endgame or an ambiguous she chooses no one.

Before diving into the press notes, let's look at what we have so far:

Max is listed 4th on the cast list, in front of Ann Dowd. The season synopsis says he will face tests of character. This to me implies a big increase in screen time

Both Elisabeth and Max chose the bridge kiss as their favorite show moment

On the giant billboard, Nick is shown right beside June. Luke, Aunt Lydia, June, and Nick are also all in a group together, which to me is the characters who make it out alive to be in the Testaments.

The season summaries for seasons 1-4 were Nick heavy with his rebellious acts while only the season 5 was Luke heavy

In the fan tweets video they have O-T read a fan wish about June and Nick ending up together

The trailer is pretty Nick heavy like the season 4 trailer

Now the press notes:

June's character description: It does not mention Luke, but does mention Nick. "Over the course of the series, June becomes a completely new person, a person who does find her voice, an angry voice, a powerful voice. She’s a different person than she was. A lot of the romance with Nick is because of that. They are two people who understand and share the burden of Gilead’s tyranny."

This is reaffirming that Luke is included in June's past, Nick is her present. Back in the day we compared Nick and June to Katniss and Peeta, and this is almost verbatim what Jennifer Lawrence once said about Everlark.

Nick's character description: "I think some of the edges fray on Nick this season. His moral center is actually shifting. He has been quite selfless for much of his life, especially in this dynamic with June. And so maybe his gas tank for that is starting to run out. He’s speaking up from himself a little bit more and sometimes in quite misguided ways"

For seasons I think Nick has been a fuse waiting to blow. He was manipulated into joining a cult, survives in said cult, meets the love of his life and makes her his north star. Everything he does is for her but that is not sustainable and is uneven. Part of what I love about June and Nick's relationship is that he soaks up all of her stress and desires. But what is his outlet for that? When you take June away who is Nick? Where is his moral center if he is not acting out of love for one person? He has to figure that out this season if he actually wants a future outside of Gilead. If June ends up with him now, you would have a long list of people saying it's not good enough. So Nick needs to do more than be seen as good because of his connection to June.

"There’s something in Wharton’s masculinity that Nick has been searching for. One of the things that this season explores is the notion that a lot of these men in Gilead have broken relationships with their fathers. I think Nick sees in Wharton a mentorship that he craves. This season is the first time Nick’s been tempted by the dark side on a fundamental level, primarily because of that relationship."

Look I love Nick but by anyone's definition he's a war criminal with daddy issues. And that's fine because he's a fictional character and it's nuanced. He's nowhere near as responsible for Gilead as Fred, Serena, and Lawrence are. But he is still complicit. He's a Commander now, and he may still have ties to the Martha network and friendlies and Mayday, but he is not operating a secret operation out of his house like Lawrence that we know of. Being complicit as a driver is different than being complicit as a Commander. You go from being a cog in the system to upholding the system. The show has repeatedly driven home that Nick and Lawrence are good but flawed men. But if June is to truly choose Nick and end up with him, he has to turn away from Gilead for himself. Not to protect her, Nichole, and Hannah. And I don't think Nick has done that kind of work yet. At least not the show's version.

Now for his daddy issues. I think Nick is morally good, but even in earlier seasons he thought Commander Pryce was a good person. He looked up to him and trusted him. But Pryce was still a founder of Gilead who designed and upheld the system. When Pryce died Nick started depending on Lawrence. It makes sense that he would be drawn to Wharton. He's messed up from losing his family before Gilead and craves acceptance and stability and a paternal figure. It's how he got manipulated into the SOJ in the first place.

I don't think Nick could go underground at this point, even if he is working with Tuello. He's not ready. He has to work through the issues that got him into the SOJ, and that might mean he backslides. Healing and doing internal work is rarely linear and I doubt it is linear in a totalitarian regime.

So while I can't see him turning June in, I can see him ruining the rebels' plans by abandoning his agreement with Tuello. I can see Wharton taking advantage of a distraught Nick and having him kickoff the Return Baby Nichole campaign 2.0. Because Nick might not trust systems but he trusts people. And trusting the wrong people got him roped into Gilead.

So while yes it may suck for us fans of Nick and I don't trust the show to do it well, but I can see the writers thinking that Nick's path in season 6 involves backsliding. Because his history can suggest that. I will also add that when I first read The Testaments and was reading so fast, I interpreted Nick being underground as a commander on the run/rumored to be dead for protection almost like a myth. Not an active resistance operative. The show could easily go that route where Nick backslides and then redeems himself when he realizes his mistake and goes on the run vs officially joining Mayday.

Luke's character description: Doesn't mention June, just Hannah.

Tuello's character description: By the end of Season Six, a lot of the alliances that Mark had hoped for have fallen apart. Lawrence may be Mark’s only last, desperate hope to retaliate for all of Gilead’s many atrocities.

I could see Nick's betrayal being to Tuello and by extent of that to June, not him betraying June herself. It also makes sense that Nick makes a choice in the Jezebels episode after he sees June in disguise, and she hears about it two episodes later.

Elisabeth about Luke: "He is ready to go. So as soon as Mark gives him that opportunity, he doesn’t hesitate. June is furious with Luke’s choice. She’s trying to keep everyone safe, and Luke signs up for this most dangerous of missions."

What about that says June is choosing Luke?

Elisabeth about Nick: "In this season, we see Nick and June together for the first time in quite a while. Finally, they can talk about things that have been left unsaid. They finally admit that they love each other now, not just in the past but now."

Praise be we're getting extended Nick and June scenes. We're getting them talking like an actual couple and confirmation that they are the people they would choose to be with. Hopefully they discuss his role in the takeover and his history, because as one of the EPs said years ago, because June and Nick only have fleeting moments they try to keep it light when they see each other and they push down or forgive the bad. They NEED to have an actual discussion that fans see if an endgame is going to be possible. Or else they will be a resentful conflict avoidant couple.

"But then, toward the end of this season, Nick betrays June’s trust. It’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened to the two characters. It’s inevitable in a way. June has been shown over and over again that Nick is a member of Gilead’s hierarchy and will abide by their rules. But, she just doesn’t listen. Love clouds her judgement. Now, finally, she is able to see who he is and what he’s capable of. It’s devastating"

She says towards the end of the season, not at the end. So there is time for Nick to redeem himself before it ends.

Love clouds all of our judgements. We love Nick as a character so we see the nuance and we know his backstory as a resistance member in the novels and how his season 3 scenes were cut and that he was originally going to get Hannah out. But the average viewer doesn't. For better or worse, the show made Nick a commander in the system with a shady past. For him to go underground they have to address it and rectify it, not avoid the direction a great deal of viewers see him going in.

We love Nick for how he supports June and that he is a complex character. But he has been capable of bad things in Gilead by "following the rules." Would disobeying them get him killed? You could argue yes. But his character as written in the scripts is one who finds a way to do things for June within Gilead's official and unofficial rules. And after season 2 he's also bombed Chicago, killed commanders, married a high commander's daughter, supported starting New Bethlehem and probably a bunch of stuff offscreen. June hasn't seen that, but we have. And we chose to see through it and love him as a character anyway. But June has to do the same.

About it being inevitable, Tuello implies Nick has had multiple opportunities to leave Gilead. But he never did. Why? I think of what June said to Lawrence about "how long did you think it would be until they came for you?" The longer Nick stays in Gilead, the more likely it becomes he ends up betraying June in some way, either by active choice or association.

Also, we don't know what his big betrayal is? Why freak out about it yet when season 4 hyped up him capturing her and him being married as betrayals. Because that season also got us great Osblaine scenes that ended on a high note.

In a glass half full look, maybe seeing June distraught over Nick will be super angsty and amazing in a way so painful it's great.

O-T about Luke and June: "they are united as a couple to save Hannah. On the road to that mission, they sometimes have to make sacrifices. They have to sacrifice intimacy, home life and romance"

Nothing about this says happy rebel couple in love.

"It’s difficult for Luke to see June and Nick together because their connection is palpable. These are two people who are deeply energetically connected. They have a dynamism that he and June lack. Also, Nick is a man of action and, so far, Luke has not been.... And Luke definitely feels that when he sees Nick - so handsome, so confident, so strong. Max plays Nick with so much nuance and charisma that you totally understand why June is drawn to him. But, of course, Nick is still a commander in Gilead."

We're getting Luke, June, and Nick together!! Luke realizing that June is in love with Nick!! Luke realizing that they have something he and June will never have!! I've prayed for times like these.

"Luke is going to love June forever no matter what, although Luke fears that she might end up with Nick. I think he understands their connection is eternal, and he might have some uncertainty about how it’s going to ultimately play out."

So, so far Elisabeth has mentioned June being angry at Luke and in love but betrayed by Nick, and O-T has mentioned June and Luke not having romance and Luke coming to terms with June ending up with Nick.

It sounds to me we are getting the dissolution of June and Luke's romance, and an angsty high stakes faux-lovers to enemies back to lovers June and Nick arc.

Max on Nick and June:

"I don’t think that Nick has ever had any apprehensions about Luke... He’s often been quite compassionate toward Luke. I think he recognizes and understands that the situation is painful for both of them."

King shit.

"I think his relationship with Rose definitely factors into the changes in Nick’s relationship with June, but time is honestly a big part of it. We’ve spent a long time with these characters and in turn, they’ve been in these relationships for a long time, and relationships evolve, and resentments grow, especially when there’s so much external drama and chaos. I think it’s understandable that we would start to see the edges fray on this dynamic between June and Nick."

Just like I said earlier. Nick has been selfless towards June for pretty much the entire show. How long can that selflessness go unreturned, especially if he feels that every time he makes an effort to save her she is causing havoc again to try and save Hannah or bring down Gilead? And that brings Nick and June to two different pages.... June trying to bring down the horrible system Nick lives in BUT WON'T LEAVE because he has family obligations, daddy issues, and a low self esteem. A turning point would have to come eventually.

And Max's description might sound bad, but edges fraying just means uncertainty. It doesn't mean ending. The only reason Nick and June have been stable across seasons is partially because distance makes the heart grow fonder. They can push aside the bad when they are together and wish for each other when they are apart. I believe 100% they can be a couple in the real world, but to do so they need to rock the boat a little bit.

It looks like this season will let them face some hard truths so they can actually move on to the other side. S1-2 they were I think as much of a couple they could be, but s3-5 they've just been in a purgatory limbo of not being able to see each other or discuss anything. Because of how deep their love is they still hold a candle for each other, but they've been holding that candle while metaphorically moving farther apart.

Warren Littlefield about the love triangle:

"June’s married to Luke but she’s in love with Nick. She’s having Nick’s child, but she still loves Luke."

Even a producer knows that Nick is who June is in love with. Luke she still has love for, but she's no longer in love.

CONCLUSION

Obviously I'm using this to comfort myself because of how much I wrote. But honestly, when I read through the press doc for the first time I didn't read it as the end. As much as I would love for Nick to join the resistance midway through, I can see why the show is not taking that path. They are choosing to go with the storyline they've been building for seasons to (hopefully) get to Nick abandoning it all in a huge, dramatic, finale way.

But this doesn't have to be a bad thing. I read the press doc as an opportunity for June and Nick to actually overcome the challenges that have been keeping them apart.

And nothing about the character descriptions says June is choosing Luke. It says her and Luke are only bound by Hannah, and she and Nick are in love but drama is keeping them separated.

So let's get ready for some angsty, horrible, amazing, intoxicating drama.

[faebobaggins]

“sometimes i think you’re the only good thing in my life”

[jackytaylor]

Thank you, bro. Like…

[iwasbored777]

Not both of June's baby daddies being there with her 😭

[glasskey]

Season 6 Chaos Theory Sample Mix

So we’ve finally received some S6 tasters in the form of trailers and press releases and having read and seen these I feel like a good old fashioned rant is in order. I’ll stick mostly to the Nick, June and Luke thing, because well that’s what most of you came for. Be warned, this will be absolutely brutal. If you haven’t seen the press releases or read The Testaments then just note there are spoilers in here. The first thing I want people to remember is that while the writers of this show have done a great job of setting up the transition to The Testaments, but in my time I have seen writers take a LOT of license with their source material. In this particular case, the show has been consulting closely with the author so that might lend some hope to the fact that it’s been respected. Atwood’s been a little intentionally obscure in parts of both texts, and it’s given the writers the ability to get creative. The Testaments DOES make mention of Nick and June (we CAN assume this regardless of the lack of names, as they’re referred to as the actual parents of baby Nicole), and one passage in particular where Elijah says to Daisy about her parents “They’re still alive. Or they were yesterday”. So either Elijah saw them both the day before TOGETHER, or he’s been running back and forth over the border. However, later on Nick’s referred to as maybe still being in Gilead, so yeah confusing. Apparently both of Daisy’s parents are “lucky to be alive” in The Testaments so I’m going to go out on a limb and say Nick escapes by the skin of his teeth. Having said that I didn’t like that sneaky “our baby” shit Luke pulled at the end of last season and writers may try to use it as some kind of weird assed loophole.

The end note in The Testaments does include him so it would be a huge violation to the actual text to kill him off. It all seems out of step with all the other elements that have been carefully laid out true to text as well. It IS mentioned in The Handmaids Tale that Nick was associated with Mayday and the trailers for previous seasons included him in the whole “we are Mayday” section, so I’m disappointed to see that show runners / writers SEEM to have back tracked here. Just be mindful that from day one we’ve seen Mayday agents, drivers and guards die; the manifestations of Nick in his many forms through the seasons. Characters often end up embodying the fates that they warn others of; Beth warned him that involving himself with a handmaid was a good way to end up on the wall (and we all know what happened to Beth). Nick told June TWICE that she could and WOULD die in Gilead. So maybe a few chants in the prayer circle for our young commander couldn’t hurt. Lets be crystal clear ALL of this is just speculation because well, as of yet just like everyone else, I haven't seen a single episode. The whole “shadow of death” phrase accompanied with a shot of Nick gives pause for thought. He’s been kicking around Gilead as the resident angel of Death for some time and make no mistake this particular shot was included to symbolize the threat of death, in particular to the rebellion. Once again, disappointing.

The press releases have stated that Blaine betrays June at some point this season but I have to say in terms of viewer acceptance, this is risky. It’s a HUGE vault to take from a character with moral grain with a deep emotional connection to the protagonist; to one that’s decided to throw all in against her, with a fascist regime he’s hated serving. These types of character transitions if not delivered properly are deadly to any sort of audience connection. If they don’t believe they are POSSIBLE, then their disbelief spreads to ALL of the surrounding characters and the entire storyline by default. If they want to 180 this character from “a good man in Gilead” to Voldemort, they currently lack the goods with which to back it up, and they don’t have much time to construct them. Seems like a fairly swift deconstruction of a character, from one who ran to June’s bedside and punched Lawrence in a room full of commanders, to one that would actually betray her. With a press release citing that without the love goggles, June now sees Nick for who he is and what he’s capable of, audiences NEED to understand that in the context of any love story, it’s hard, if not impossible to come back from that. After show runners have almost guaranteed the entire obliteration of his character in her eyes, their relationship may end up as nothing but a smoking wreck. One can only hope that love does truly keep no record of wrongs.

As always watch for character placement on screen, Blaine’s usually positioned to her right side to indicate worship, succession and the sharing of power. When he starts shifting, you’ll know the dynamics are starting to change. Minghella cited his relationship with Rose as a factor in his waning patience with June, and as somewhat of an innocent I can see her being sacrificed, to incite Blaine’s rage in the context of the story line. But the idea that he’d somehow be transformed into a cold dead eyed monster defies belief. Is this the SAME Blaine that smuggled letters? That cried over a dead handmaid? That brought her Fred? That ran to her bedside? Too often audiences simply swallow content they’re fed without question, well this season I’ll be expecting some plausible explanations. I have to wonder about the timing of daddy dearest showing up IMMEDIATLEY after Blaine’s relationship fell apart with Rose. No doubt Rose would have told him that it was Osborne who came between them and daddy may have decided to sever the two once and for all. It is true that Nick’s impressionable and I can see Wharton being cast as the evil presence who tries to break apart the two lovers by exploiting Nick’s desire for guidance. As Blaine once said “some men need to be led.” June is depicted in a red gown striding amongst an army of handmaids, the implication here being that she too is a commander and as such this season will see Nick and June go head to head, with Wharton at the leash. Will Gilead succeed in breaking them apart? Apparently Tuello ends up with only Lawrence as his ally which kind of pisses me off that he’s being rewarded with a redemption arc of kinds while Nick gets cast into the cold. We’ll have to wait and see but that WOULD be a very big fuck you very much, for all the struggles he’s endured to remain moralistically intact in the Hell hole of Lawrence’s making.

Now way, way, way up the back of The Testaments is mention of a handful of plots by commanders to off a bunch of the elite commanders that triggers the purges, and it looks like that’s where we’re going this season. I do think that a sizeable amount of handmaid’s will pay with their lives as a consequence. No revolution comes without sacrifice, it’s just historical fact so get ready for the carnage. It appears they’ve decided to paint Luke as a hero and Nick as a villain this season very possibly to show their ultimate true faces. I can't help but wonder how fair these journeys comparatively EVER were. If Nick was always doomed to fall by spending literally YEARS in the dark prison of Gilead, then how easy is it for Luke to shine having spent all of his time on the couch in a free country? To quote June herself “Gilead turns you into a bit of a cunt.” How fair has this comparison EVER been when one came from poverty and the other lived a comfortable life? While Nick has been damned for his choice to join the SOJ, the choices that Luke’s life initially afforded him, certainly made all the difference. I do wonder how fair it is to paint the vulnerable, targeted poor as ultimately villainous? Now Blaine lives in a large house surrounded by all the comforts that Gilead has ensnared him with, if he throws his lot in with Mayday, he burns his whole life down. In comparison the now transient Luke has literally nothing to lose and everything to gain by joining the Rebellion. Is the destruction of Nick nothing more than a demonstration of the corruptive society he has lived in for so long? By painting him as a villain are we acknowledging his trauma or even the rigged game that spawned him? If their plans are to send her back into the arms of her, up until very recently, sheltered and complacent hubby, I’ll want answers. Revolution can be a comparatively easy act when you don’t live under a regime for over a decade, when the fist doesn’t tighten constantly or corrupt you in increments. To Luke it would seem natural to kick against it, unfortunately for Nick he’s been “groomed” since day one with the final stranglehold of a Gilead wife and kiddy to keep him in line.

After seasons of representing Luke as a homebody who practically had to be extricated from his house in the burbs, even after someone ran over his wife right in front of it, they’ve now decided that Luke has actually been full of gun toting moxy all along. Yep, he’s suddenly going to run rampant all over Gilead with hand grenades and a machine gun….ridiculous. Last season we saw him go from “lets file paperwork” to Mr gimme a gun, in the space of ONE SINGLE episode, simply because Serena gave him some shit about Nick. Had the guy stayed in Canada and rallied with Tuello, I would have believed his character arc, but THIS is a bridge too far. I would have absolutely bought Luke as a Mayday strategist, neck deep in the paperwork he thrives on. I have to say, I am not loving this journey for him at all.

I’ve never before experienced a show try to persistently foist a character on audiences as they have done Luke. Most of the audience didn’t like him, the feedback on social media was pretty loud and the shows response seems to have been to simply include more content with the hopes that sooner or later audiences would relent and embrace him with open arms. Despite their best efforts, to quote the classic “Mean Girls”; “Fetch just isn’t going to happen.” and I don’t think it ever has. To be honest they not only haven’t been able to really endear Luke to the majority of fans, but they’ve had to work flat out over the last season to even remotely level the scores between these two men, basically by marrying Nick off and knocking up his wife. Comparative to Nick and June’s fiery romance, moments of intimacy between Luke and June felt like oatmeal through a feeding tube. Perhaps there’s a reason for this, maybe it’s intentional, like Miller said; June sees their relationship as “work”. Much in the same way they’ve intentionally built Nick and June to be far more romantic in nature, but as we keep being told again and again; it’s not exactly practical. At this point in the journey I don't know how many people are too concerned with practicalities; they've been dangling a bucket of candy in front the audience for seasons now, so the kiddies can hardly be blamed for wanting to stuff their faces.

I guess Nick’s character annihilation would make sense plot wise, because well, Luke’s so fucking boring that SOMETHING had to be done to sabotage Nick’s appeal. Ultimately their solution has been to virtually turn Luke into Nick with Luke sporting Nicks trademark black coats, ala season 1, (like we wouldn’t notice) and roiding him up with a gun and a few hand grenades. Similarly Nicks now in New Bethlehem in some cushy digs with a wife and kiddy on the way. But to quote Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale itself: “They cannot be exchanged, one for the other. They cannot replace each other. Nick for Luke, Luke for Nick.” June wasn't going for it then, and I'm not either.

There’s also the small matter of June’s right to choose. Death or betrayal in a love triangle is actually a violation of the element of choice by our protagonist. It reeks of sabotage. These outcomes subvert any ability by the protagonist to actually CHOOSE and instead determines, at least in part, the outcome for her. Unimpressed. It also calls into question writer intent. What exactly is the message here after 5 seasons of him “trying to stay out of trouble” and then finally growing the spine to stand up to Gilead? Is it to keep your head down and shut up while the fascist regime takes hold? If he betrays her, what’s the lesson here? Never trust anyone? Love is a lie? Evil triumphs in the human spirit? Redemption is impossible? Are audiences to be dragged through 5 and half seasons of heartbreak, just to have their hearts crushed once again? It seems particularly heartless to rope audiences fully back into this “Nick and June” love triangle only to cut it off at the knees. The fact that they’re resurrecting it, simply to butcher it completely speaks to a whole new level of cruelty. It’s all looking a bit Star Wars with Nick as the young Vader, right down to shots where he seems to emanate a red glow (please see below) to symbolize danger. But I do wonder, have they honestly waited until now to visit upon audiences a full demonstration of Gilead’s corruptive influences?

The press releases seem to have made a point several times of mentioning that he was a commander, while that’s true I do wonder how a “why thanks but no thanks” would have gone down when it was originally presented to him. There’s no debating that Nick signed up in the beginning for SOJ, but scripts showed that he was vulnerable, targeted and quickly disgusted by its machinations. So if this ENTIRE plot was designed to be a tragic cautionary tale of a lambs slaughter at the hands of a regime, I’ll be horrified at the lengths to which they’ve drawn it out. These maneuverings all seem so incredibly cruel that an audience could not be blamed for switching off and never coming back for any other trips on the long, slow pain train spin offs. Why would they? The pain of attaching to beloved characters only to have them utterly decimated is not something viewers tend to wish to revisit. Last seasons are tricky, there’s a lot of expectation wrapped up in them as writers attempt to bookend characters and yet leave their journeys open for a possible revisit. A good last episode on a good last season is an even rarer thing, and if the endings not done right, audiences are loathe to even start the journey. A bad last episode is like poison, and the thing that content creators don’t seem to understand is that and audiences don’t actually NEED an amazing battle with explosions and 3 separate endings….they just need good. An ending that can live beyond itself, just an act of redemption, throw in a hint of tomorrow and you’re all good. Seriously, it’s all we want.

GOT had a notorious fiery trash bag of a last episode and it’s not the only one. Films now run 3 hours long and it seems that somewhere along the way the editor either fell asleep or just went home. In the effort to always be better, bigger, louder and larger, creators will often shoot too high or go too obscure. Go too big and you can fall really hard, go too small and it can feel unfinished, do whatever you want despite audience feedback and they will fucking hate you and avoid any of your future offerings. With the Testaments in play that last one is a particularly bad idea, certainly writer integrity is important but audience engagement is key. It’s interesting to think of Nick and June, at the end of the day, being reduced to dollars and cents. Their audience participation has simply become so large that an unhappy ending between the two will literally cost the studio and streaming services a gazillion dollarinos.

It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen a couple dictate the direction of a series, determine its success or failure and consequently, the size of a studios profits. It's not unusual to see spinoffs and seasons get cancelled because a deep character connection has been dissolved and the audience has followed suit. I hate to think of one single plot twist poisoning the well of a beautiful and epic 5 season long love story. After watching seasons of painful goodbyes I really don’t have the stomach for another one and I grow weary of season finales that leave audiences hollow and despondent like a depressing 1970’s movie. It's worth keeping in mind that just maybe these show runners and writers NEVER anticipated the type of enthusiasm that they received for the connection between these two characters and they've consequently had to roll with it. Seasons later we have a PR machine cranking overtime, they drop a bit of controversy about this love triangle and sure enough everyone takes the bait. Let's face it, people have lost their ever lovin minds and the folks at PR central must be LOVING it. Nick and June’s romance all seems to have been a bit of a mish mash of Casablanca and Romeo and Juliet from the get go, and both of those ended up in a whole big bunch of fuck you to any hope of real happiness. Casablanca holds its place after 80 years as one of the most timeless tales of love and sacrifice for the greater good, and if these two see any sort of conclusion that doesn’t involve a blade or noose, I suspect that’s what they might be going for here. The fact that it was released around the time of the German invasion shouldn’t be lost on audiences either. It had a lot to say about sacrifice and courage in the face of adversity during war, specifically fascism. Regardless of the life lessons that writers and show runners are attempting to teach, after 6 seasons of drawn out heartbreak, this one is going to feel really, really unkind.

To be brutally honest I’d prefer to watch Blaine die serving Mayday than see him betray June and have their love corrupted. After all the sacrifices he’s made, I’m horrified they couldn’t even afford him that small dignity, and I fucking swear if I have to watch him turn to poison and then die in the dirt, I will burn my TV (season 3 of Severance be damned). Then again, if this is all just a set up for the Battle Royale for his soul, I’ll be absolutely gagging to see June fight for it tooth and nail.

[just-b-wilde]

Luke literally had a clear path, but after finding out that his wife casually killed the man she “loved more,” he just diplomatically said: No, thanks. And went to the next sidewalk. 🤣 I don’t blame him.

[gaia-ki]

Byeeeeee.

June x Serena relationship || 6x01.

Source: IG.

[ofjonsafame]

Lol at least we have this clip.

[tchaniks]

Luke forgetting how he watched his wife slowly lose her money and independence.

Luke forgetting how he did not listen to June when she wanted to leave the US before it was too late. Luke forgetting how he left June and Hannah in that forest.

Luke forgetting how Nick saved him, Moira and how he is the reason June's alive and free.

Luke forgetting that it was Nick who got the letters out.

Luke having absolutely no compassion for his wife and making her feel even worse than she already feels whereas Nick always showed some respect for Luke.

Luke just trying to make June tamed and docile again.

Luke forgetting how he cheated on his first wife and

not even care about her feelings.

Luke forgetting that he should probably just be

silent and think. Luke did not even care about the Jezebels, he just wanted to bomb the place. I usually don't comment but this episode made me dislike Luke so much more!

Like the audacity of that guy ! I just can't with him. June needs to wake up and see how Luke is keeping her prisoner in their relationship.

[beautifullittlefool1999]

Why does Luke move almost like a tweaker idk but something about him just ain’t right!!!

[dystopiandramaqueen]

Hey Luke

Just wondering how it feels to be rescued by her smoking hot boyfriend?

Bc…your wife had to call her BOYFRIEND to save you.

And he DID! Her smoking hot boyfriend risked his safety, his very life! To save your dumb ass!

If YOU were half the man Nick was-

If you had done what Nick just did when they came for June on your watch-

June wouldnn’t have been a handmaid. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[faebobaggins]

Luke having the audacity to scoff at June trusting Nick and saying he doesn't give a shit about the resistance is a joke.

I'm sorry, but are you kidding me? I don't know if this is an issue with the writing team or if Luke's character is really just this shortsighted, but HELLO? This is the same man who just last season(?) was telling June to take Nichole and meet with Nick so he could help them find Hannah. But now that he isn't directly beneficial to Luke he's reducing him to a Nazi? Now he's just some commander who wants to see the resistance burn? As if he hasn't been a direct participant in Mayday for years! Even when June wasn't in the Waterford house he was working with the resistance. Give me a fucking break. I'm so tired of Luke and I know I'm not the only one. Get him off of my screen.

[jackytaylor]

The Handmaid's Tale — S6E4: Promotion (2025)