#tht 3x06

[give-me-a-thousandkisses]

(｡♥‿♥｡)

[a-hologramgalaxy]

[zalrb]

nick + june || all this and heaven too

A little different from my usual vids but I wanted to make one about the irrepressible nature of June's love for Nick and how she's tried to make sense of it, ignore it, examine it but it's a feeling that simply overpowers. Hope you guys enjoy it!

And the heart is hard to translate It has a language of its own It talks in tongues and quiet sighs And prayers and proclamations In the grand deeds of great men and the smallest of gestures And short shallow gasps

But with all my education I can't seem to command it And the words are all escaping, and coming back all damaged And I would put them back in poetry if I only knew how I can't seem to understand it

And I would give all this and heaven too I would give it all if only for a moment That I could just understand the meaning of the word you see 'Cause I've been scrawling it forever but it never makes sense to me at all

And it talks to me in tiptoes And it sings to me inside It cries out in the darkest night and breaks in the morning light

But with all my education I can't seem to command it And the words are all escaping, and coming back all damaged And I would put them back in poetry if I only knew how I can't seem to understand it

And I would give all this and heaven too I would give it all if only for a moment That I could just understand the meaning of the word you see 'Cause I've been scrawling it forever but it never makes sense to me at all

All this heaven never could describe such a feeling as I'm hearing

Words were never so useful So I was screaming out a language that I never knew existed before

[hollyethecurious]

I failed to give a shout out to Aunt Lydia in my tht 3x06 thoughts post. The scene between her and June was heart wrenchingly beautiful. Despite her role in this society, I can't bring myself to hate Aunt Lydia. I really hope we get a backstory episode for her soon.

[skyshipper]

Some really old stuff sitting in my drafts.  Please check out the poetry of the lovely Sabina Laura.  She’s amazing!

[jckthelad]

seeing the Washington monument made into a cross may or may not have been the scariest thing I’ve ever fucking seen

[itwasjustmisplaced]

the handmaid's tale season 3: (3x06) Household I see them every day now. They've heard the Waterfords' plea. They're praying for Nichole. “Blessed and eternal God, please return this child of Gilead to her loving home.” And this is all I know about my baby. If they're praying, then she's still safe. If they're praying, she is still beyond their reach. Even if just. I have my own prayers. I pray that their prayers go unanswered. And I pray for Serena. May she find her way back, may she see past her broken heart and remember that Nichole is better off where she is. May she convince Fred to let things lie. Or may they both get hit by a fucking truck.

[comeallyelost]

The Handmaid's Tale 3x06 thoughts

Okay so I just watched the episode this morning. Literally over my morning coffee-- So this is all fresh in my mind and I was thinking about this my whole drive in to work. 

Let it be known that I am firmly in the camp of Nick being fundamentally good in this series and that his actions and shady past have all been a consequence of his circumstances. After browsing the tags a bit, I think a lot of fans are of the same opinion that yes, Nick's past is shady but that's nothing we didn't already know and we still trust him and his love for June and Holly/Nichole.

I did think that despite his absence for much of this season, bringing Nick to D.C. felt almost forced. Why was he not at the front all this time? What has he been doing? And he just randomly shows up to visit June in D.C. under the guise of paying Waterford a visit? That could definitely have been presented better. 

What gets so frustrating is the constant ambiguity in this show that leaves so many things unsaid. The lack of open dialogue between the characters does imo make their acting that much more spectacular, but why does SO much of this have to happen behind closed doors?! Literally.

But ugh, that reunion in the snow was so effing gorgeous, my heart skipped a beat. I am so far gone with this ship, it's ridiculous.

So here's what I'm thinking - it's gotta be one of two things here:

1.Nick's status as a commander/member of the Eyes is too dangerous and more intricate than we the audience have been led to believe and he simply can't get involved in this. Like maybe he tried? But knew the Swiss wouldn't trust him?

2. He actually IS cooperating and made some sort of other deal with the Swiss to protect June and Holly and June simply can't know about it.

I refuse to believe he'd show up to meet with the Swiss and give nothing or completely halt June's attempts at securing their child's safety in Canada. He told her he'd go, and whatever he did or tried to do we just don't know yet.

That line where Nick tells June that if you get in bed with the government it's almost impossible to get out most definitely has something to do with his past (and present situation probably). He joined the Sons of Jacob and presumably fell into being a soldier afterwards, like, no surprise there. 

I think the writers are trying to get us to question Nick's loyalties, but it's not working. We don't question his love for June and their child. At all whatsoever. And that's where it lies. His actions as a result of that may be morally gray, and up until he met June were probably for the sake of his own survival--but now they're first and foremost driven by June and Holly's safety and well being.

The idea that June can't trust anyone but herself in this fight, the idea that she's losing the allies she thought she had (Serena and now Nick) might be the push the writers are going for, but for me, she hasn't lost Nick as an ally and she never will. His capacity to help her and Hannah escape might be limited and tied up, but he is hers through and through. 

The monkey wrench that is being thrown into their relationship is then whether or not June will be able to forgive Nick for his past actions. Can she accept his being complicit in the establishment of Gilead? It might be a hard pill to swallow, but ultimately, my shipper heart says she can. After all, everyone on this show has done things that harmed others. Everyone's motives on this show are gray, and blurry, and very often selfish at times.

The exploration of human action (and inaction) within this horrendous regime is such a fundamental aspect of this show and part of what makes it so so so good. I will admit though, there needs to be more catharsis this season. The suffering we keep seeing and the more sides of Gilead that are being uncovered are getting more and more horrendous. Silencing the handmaids? Afg. They're being treated like straight up cattle at this point.

Also Nick getting on the train and saluting those soldiers-- it looks like he wields quite a bit of power so we know these soldiers are willing to follow him wherever he goes. And if you look at his face, you see his mask slip briefly. We see he's still there. So I don't know what's to come, but I'm confident my bb Nick will do the right thing here. As right as he can.

Gah this show has my emotions all over the place. 

Other thoughts:

- That June/Serena exchange at the Lincoln Memorial was incredible. There we had a bit of that catharsis that I mentioned we need. But ugh we need just a little bit more!

- I want more Commander Lawrence

- Is Serena seriously back to thinking that a child will make her marriage the best thing ever?? I don't know why I bother anymore. I've always hated her, but I will admit her letting Holly/Nichole go in the S2 finale tempted me in to thinking she had changed somehow. But then that made that Lincoln Memorial scene that much better.

- Who is this new Commander and what does he want from Fred?

- And what does Fred want from all this too? I feel like he's indifferent about the baby. So what power is he seeking to gain?

[italiangurlfan-blog]

I uploaded the wrong video yesterday LOL this is the correct one!

[dcgal814]

Handmaid’s Tale 3x06 Reactions

So about Nick...

First off, welcome back, Nick! WE’VE MISSED YOU.  Seriously, never go away again.  Everyone loses their mind when you’re gone.  I mean..understandably.

I won’t go into how smokin Nick looked because that’s..like..a given, and how amazing it was to see him again and how Goddamn sweet he is with June.  His love and adoration of her just oozes out in every look, word, and touch and we will never get enough, amirite? ❤️

We get more of a glimpse into Nick’s past this episode and it’s clear that something terrible happened to him involving working with politicians/the government, which to me is SOJ.  We’ve already gotten hints about this (”everyone breaks”), but this expands on it. The show seems to be pushing hard on making Nick seem ambiguous and wanting us/June to doubt him.  

When June lies in her bed and runs out in her nightgown to meet with him, it parallels what happened in 1x01, except then she wasn’t expecting to see him and wasn’t sure if she could trust him.  In this episode, she’s clearly happy to see him and sees him as her ally and trustworthy.  By the end of the episode though, we see her feeing more shock or doubt once again.  

Just like the show was pushing hard on Serena’s “redemption arc” but we ultimately see her true colors shine through, I have no doubt that the same thing will happen for Nick: they’ll push hard on “is he good, is he bad” but his GOODNESS will shine through because that is just who Nick Blaine is.  He’s already shown it to us, he will show it again.  He’s a good person caught up in difficult situations and decisions, which isn’t to say that he always makes the “right” decision (whatever the hell that even means) but that his decisions are understandable in their context.  

What was painful for me though was seeing so little concern that June seemed to have for Nick.  She essentially signed him up for this deal with the Swiss and did not seem at all worried about how it may impact him or herself even.  I get that she’s just trying to survive, but there was something about her smile in walking out of that meeting that landed strangely for me.  But I’ve been feeling that way towards June all season long. 😔 I really love her, but she’s come off as a bit arrogant to me -- thinking she knows best, bossing others around, versus trying to learn from people who have been doing it longer than she has (e.g., Nick, Marthas, etc.).  Despite Nick’s hesitations that likely stem from his own awful past experiences, he goes to the meeting...and probably made an even bigger and riskier deal with them.  Because when does Nick not smartly leverage his power and do something self-sacrificial for June and Holly? ❤️💔

Overall, this episode was just okay for me.  Maybe my expectations were too high because of all of the hype.  As a DC area native, though, it was exciting, jarring, and sobering seeing the shots with the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.  GOD, HOW AMAZING WAS THAT MUSIC when June was staring up at the Lincoln Memorial.  

What were your impressions? Did your view of Nick change? How do you feel about June this season?

[serenagaywaterford]

It’s aggravating to see aunt Lydia get some sort of redemption arc both in the new book (Why, Margaret?!), and possibly in season 4. She should be the last person to get it, as far as I am concerned. She is a real believer, the only one who’s totally devoted to Gilead, 100%. Not even Fred, or other commanders, and certainly not Serena. Yet, people scream bloody murder if there is even a hint of Serena turning to the good side. But they want it for aunt Lydia, fuck’em!

RIGHT?!

Without going into how bad a book The Testaments is (cos, lbr, it isn’t a good novel), I was just SO disappointed that even Atwood went that route. I mean, it was a bit obvious that Miller wanted to soften Lydia and that absolutely atrocious, nonsensical, bullshit S3 episode was proof of that (and what an insult to Ann Dowd tbh. She deserved so much better).

I literally cannot buy any of the “Aunt Lydia isn’t THAT bad! She’s not like Serena! She just a true believer!”

And...???

I don’t see how she’s not worse than Serena? The only thing people seem to think about is 2x10. 

“Well, Aunt Lydia didn’t help Fred pregnancy-rape June!” 

No, she didn’t. That’s right.

She just chained her up in a basement, force fed her, and threatened her with death over and over and over until she completely broke her psychologically and made her into a walking zombie-womb to serve her One True Purpose -- to such a degree that even Serena (Serena! The one who wanted a perfect obedient Handmaid!) is like, “WTF?! This is too much, yo. Where my snarky baby factory at?” 

She beat and maimed other women in front of June as payback because she knew she couldn’t touch her. (Hmm, familiar? Except Serena slapped Rita. Aunt Lydia literally burned Alma’s arm over open flame.)

She took Janine’s EYE for merely talking back(!), and Lilly’s TONGUE, and attempted to get the Handmaid’s to murder Janine themselves. She’s had June’s feet lashed so hard she can’t walk--MULTIPLE TIMES. And those are only the abuses we know about. But, no, she didn’t help any husband rape June, that’s true. 

“UWU LYDIA! She’d never suggest such a thing like Serena did!” 

No, she wouldn’t but not because she cares about JUNE lolololol; she cares about the BABY and it is a terrible idea medically for a healthy birth (which is incidentally why I don’t buy that whole 2x10 episode. Serena’s disgusting and furious but she’s not fucking stupid.) That is all Lydia is concerned about. That is her validation and her raison d’etre; if she doesn’t produce obedient Handmaids that give men healthy babies, she’s failed. And I don’t believe that it’s entirely fear that motivates her. She seems to get a very clear sort of power trip and glee from exercising such brutality on young women. Hence, her attitude and acceptance towards how the system treated Natalie. Babies above all! Fuck women, they’re literally just machines. They are BROOD MARES.

“Aunt Lydia didn’t hold June down to be raped every month!”

No, she didn’t. That’s right.

She just trained 100s or 1000s of girls with brutal torture to lie down and take it. She fully supports the Ceremony. Fully. 100%. Even horrible Serena hates it and VISIBLY is uncomfortable with it (but she’s a selfish, delusional coward with anger & jealousy issues so she abides it).

Absolutely everything else Serena has done, short of writing an anti-feminist book and making speeches pre-Gilead, Aunt Lydia has also done. Randomly beat June? Check. Lock June in a room? Check. Scream at June? Check. Uphold the ideals of Gilead? Check. Aunt Lydia ACTIVELY abused, tortured, maimed, bullied, and straight up murdered numerous women. Not just one or two. How many Handmaids has she “trained”? COUNTLESS. Without a hint of remorse. Sometimes she has a soft spot for Janine, or very occasionally, June, but mostly she seems to just treat them as her troublesome pets. Like cattle--to the point of literally using a cattle prod on disobedient ones. A farmer can care about his cattle but it doesn’t make him not a farmer.

Hell, there’s that episode in S1 where Lydia is beating/electrocuting the shit out of June for talking back and Serena swoops in to stop the assault. (Her motives are shitty, and she snaps back to own horrid self not long after, but still...)

Yeah, considering they’re reworking S4 to be more in line with The Testaments is just... sad. Not that we didn’t see them attempting to woobiefy Lydia in S3 already, but I will guess S4 will see her suddenly and randomly taking Handmaids’ concerns seriously. HOW OOC IS THAT? Like, there’s been NO emotional journey for Lydia. It’s why her behaviour in 3x06 didn’t make sense to me. She goes from savagely assaulting Janine in 3x04 to “Oooh, June! This muzzle is so sad! Alexa, play Despacito!” I didn’t buy ANY of Lydia’s randomly swerving and flaky narrative in S3. I have no problem with her expressing her humanity and the audience seeing reasons to sympathize with her (like 2x08) but it was SO ALL OVER THE PLACE in S3 that I can only shudder and how they’re going to do S4. Especially using The Testaments as a roadmap... like suddenly Lydia is a resistance fighter?

Give me a fucking break.

And I think the problem I have with giving Lydia the so-called “redemption arc” on THT is that...

I don’t care.

Who really does?

Lydia is at best a secondary character who has had zero to little development. She’s literally had one (terrible) background episode that was shitty and full of sexist tropes, that only went to show what a snivelling, vengeful, crazy religious bigot she is--and that’s supposed to set her up for THT Redemption™? Suddenly she’s going to switch sides, just like that? Because White Saviour June has spoken to her? (Again, don’t get me started on the sheer idiocy of June (the woman (directly/indirectly) responsible for multiple women DYING in S3 alone) being touted as some precious saviour of women on Jesus-like levels.) Aunt Lydia is magically going to see the light of her wrongdoing?

PLEASE.

And meanwhile, they had a female character who is also a monster on about the same level--just in a different way, who is arguably a lead character and has had PLENTY of background and development, and even started--a few times--down a path that could slowly and ORGANICALLY lead her to remorse and change, and ultimately something vaguely like a redemption arc... but nope! LMAO. PSYCHE!!! Too easy, I guess? Too predictable? 

Yes, because I watch THT to be shocked by the unpredictable... /sarcasm. C’mon.

Why bother giving Serena ANY sort of development just to do her so dirty like S3 did, and switch it up so she stays repulsive but AUNT LYDIA MAGICALLY and OUT OF NOWHERE suddenly changes all her long-held and incredibly cemented beliefs? Meanwhile we’ve seen Serena wavering in hers THE ENTIRE SERIES. We’ve seen her try to break the system, to fight against it. Weakly, and she’s a sissy, but hey, it’s SOMETHING. More than we ever saw with Lydia.

No, giving Janine a nicer eyepatch after YOU RIPPED HER EYEBALL OUT FOR TALKING BACK is NOT the same as Serena standing up in front of a council of men and reading in order to give all females the chance to read. Giving Janine a piece of cake for not making a scene at a gala is NOT the same as Serena giving “her” baby away to make sure she has a better life outside the hellscape that she knows is Gilead. What Aunt Lydia has done for “her girls” pales completely with what very little Serena has done for both June, Nichole, and women (/herself lol).

It’s like saying Fred deserves redemption because he let the Handmaids have devilled eggs in 3x04. Or gave June a photo of Hannah. (Which incidentally, Atwood wrote Serena giving that to June. So, let’s just keep taking things away from Serena, Miller. Good job.)

I just......

I...

No.

Aunt Lydia deserves a redemption arc as much as Fred Waterford does. But even Fred--yes, even Fred--has more substantial character development to sustain such a story, and a shift in his arc. Well, I should say nobody “deserves” a redemption arc. But rather, it makes SENSE for a particular character to experience one.

Honestly, I just don’t understand the flagrant Serena hate when people like Fred and Lydia exist. I don’t see why it makes more sense and is less offensive for either of those monsters to get this mythical redemption arc over Serena, the second most developed character in the entire series.

“We need a foil for June! We need her to have a villain to fight against!” 

Yes, I agree, dipshit, it’s called Gilead. It’s called female oppression. It’s called the inherent rampant violent misogyny there, and even in “normal” society. It’s the stealing of children. It’s every man in any position of power. It’s religious and ideological extremism. It’s the commodification of women’s bodies as machines for baby-making and male sexual gratification. It’s the Sons of Jacob. It’s international governmental complacency. It’s war.

THERE ARE SO MANY EVIL, VILLAINOUS THINGS IN THT. Serena does personify some of these things, sure. So do ALL the other characters everyone is less upset about getting redemption arcs. But Serena doesn’t need to be the be-all of all these things. She doesn’t have to be the visceral manifestation of all those things forever.

Okay, I just have to stop here cos I can go on forever. 

To me, it’s only makes narrative sense for Serena--and ONLY Serena--to get this highly-prized yet still completely imaginary THT Redemption Arc™. And that’s my controversial opinion lol.

[autumnrory]

i knew i goddamn hated nick

[withallthingslove]

So here's a funny little story. I stopped watching THT when Nick left in episode 3x06 and decided I'd catch up when he comes back...I guess I'll be back when 4x10 hits the screens. If I'm lucky.

I mean you do you lol. While Nick is one of my favorite characters in the show he isn’t the only reason I watch it. I still love June, Emily, Moira, Alma, and Janine and care about their story lines. I think the show has screwed up a lot of characters’ stories, not just Nick’s. I’m sure I’ll watch next season, but I’m definitely a lot less obsessed with the show than I used to be because of the decrease in quality. So I don’t blame you for not watching anymore.

[zalrb]

Can we talk about the way June smiles at/because of Nick this episode? Because it’s so instinctive and irrepressible, like she couldn’t control it even if she wanted to. I think it speaks to their relationship as a whole.

[hollyethecurious]

Thoughts on tht 3x06

It was so good to see Nick.

I still hate Serena maybe even more than ever.

I don't care what Nick's past is.

Fuck silence.

[skyshipper]

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