The Handmaid's Tale - season 4

[Guest Lobo]

I got the impression between source material, season 2 covering the 'colonies' and beyond, and then a few comments by Atwood that Gilead was most of the Midwest (Chicago seems to be the new holdout, perhaps taken back from Gilead), New England, the Eastern Seaboard, and most of the South.  Texas also seems to now be "open."  But the great plains and rockies were scorched by one side or both.  I'm guessing Chicago is the latest penetration into formerly Gilead strongholds.  As with real life, Ohio is somehow fucking everything up.  

I think her new book talked about Alaska in some repute.  

[Jive Turkey 12,617]

they also mentioned Nevada being a "contested" area.  Gilead probably claims title to all of those territories but citizens are fighting back.  

[henrygandorf 29,192]

1 hour ago, Jive Turkey said:

they also mentioned Nevada being a "contested" area.  Gilead probably claims title to all of those territories but citizens are fighting back.  

yeah, our big issue for years in the "how did this all come to be" was holdouts or assorted citizens fighting back.  figure there are only so many people that fit into the roles of "handmaid", "commander", "mistress", "martha", "eye", or "guard". 

that would leave tens of millions of people just everywhere.  i assume there was some sort of bomb drop or something that wiped out half of the population, and drove out a lot more, but even still - the group they've been hanging with - there would be thousands of groups like that, full of people that don't fit into one of those categories.

now we have to assume there are millions of people in texas, california, and chicago.  and have we ever heard of what's going on with new york?

[bolverk 29,687]

On 5/13/2021 at 11:39 AM, henrygandorf said:

yeah, our big issue for years in the "how did this all come to be" was holdouts or assorted citizens fighting back.  figure there are only so many people that fit into the roles of "handmaid", "commander", "mistress", "martha", "eye", or "guard". 

that would leave tens of millions of people just everywhere.  i assume there was some sort of bomb drop or something that wiped out half of the population, and drove out a lot more, but even still - the group they've been hanging with - there would be thousands of groups like that, full of people that don't fit into one of those categories.

now we have to assume there are millions of people in texas, california, and chicago.  and have we ever heard of what's going on with new york?

I envisioned their Manhattan to be a sex island full of Jezebels.

[CooterBrown 18,015]

It’s pretty convenient that this America is about 3 square miles and there’s only about 500 people. It makes those chance encounters really helpful.

[jdhorn92 1,552]

At the risk of spoiler, I’ll be a little vague. Will be interesting to see how they handle June upon her removal from the boat. 
 

seems a little strange that Moira would use her real name, she’d have to be on some list even though she’s with the NGO

Edited May 20, 2021 by jdhorn92

[RomaVicta 29,930]

The boat episode was excruciating. Let's argue ten times about whether June should leave. "I can't leave Hannah!"

Every scene was like a climax, so they all run together as an uninterrupted emote fest.

The flashbacks were boring. I find I don't much like June's husband or close friend. 

Lots of aerial shots. Lots of close ups on June's face. A whole episode covering a ride on a boat. I'm a hair from going over to Gilead's side. 

Back to the endless sequence of scenes with high emoting, they wasted a really good opportunity for a story. June has to be talked onto the boat. June is happy to be leaving Gilead and going to happy, wholesome Canada. June starts getting apprehensive, but instead of her explaining it nine time as she and her friend cry, maybe keep her apprehension a mystery.

That would set up the scene where she sees her lame ass husband and starts crying that she's sorry. We discover her conflict instead of having it rammed up our asses for the whole show. That would also erase the need they saw for the cornball flashbacks and hubby's desire for children.

That saves about 30 minutes of screen time where we could have something spectacularly innovative like, I don't know, plot development.

 This show is what happens so often when a show falls in love with itself and the creative team spends more time doing interviews about their brilliant choices instead of turning a critical eye on their work. It's human nature, but the elite get past it. 

The team at GOT eased into the same flabby self-adoration. Handmaid has been lost since season 2.

[jdhorn92 1,552]

This show turned in to the Walking dead somehow 

[CooterBrown 18,015]

I find I don't much like June's husband or close friend. 

Has any other show been completely devoid of a single likable character like this one? It’s amazing how popular it is. I hate everyone on this show and keep watching and I don’t know why.

[Mileslong 4,728]

i would love a prequel showing how gilead came to be. would watch 3 seasons of that. 
would love to see a war with canada, or whatever is going on in chicago. but they’ll never show us any of that. 

Said this exact same thing last night. Seen the first five episodes of new season.

Just like the man in the High Castle. The premise is the interesting part, how did the Nazi’s and Japan end up wining WWII? How did Gilead defeat the US? What technology allowed them to do this?

That is what I want to see. What I don’t want to see is any more angst from June’s husband or her best friends love life in Canada

[UT_OB1 2,224]

5 episodes in and that was the first time it seemed like June wanted her daughter back. 
 

Any idea how much time has passed?  My initial reaction to that was Serena and the Canadian guy got it on, but then they knew the sex of the kid and it didn’t make sense in the timeline in my head.  Seems like they’ve only been there 3-4 weeks. Surely June wasn’t running through the woods for over a month, right? 
 

Edit - also with the number of people that have died cleaning out empty tankers, watching them just jump in the full container with no clue what the fuck was in it that happened to have the ability to be drained from the inside was very WTF for me

Edited May 21, 2021 by UT_OB1

[Native Horn 3,504]

20 hours ago, RomaVicta said:

The boat episode was excruciating. Let's argue ten times about whether June should leave. "I can't leave Hannah!"

Every scene was like a climax, so they all run together as an uninterrupted emote fest.

The flashbacks were boring. I find I don't much like June's husband or close friend. 

Lots of aerial shots. Lots of close ups on June's face. A whole episode covering a ride on a boat. I'm a hair from going over to Gilead's side. 

Back to the endless sequence of scenes with high emoting, they wasted a really good opportunity for a story. June has to be talked onto the boat. June is happy to be leaving Gilead and going to happy, wholesome Canada. June starts getting apprehensive, but instead of her explaining it nine time as she and her friend cry, maybe keep her apprehension a mystery.

That would set up the scene where she sees her lame ass husband and starts crying that she's sorry. We discover her conflict instead of having it rammed up our asses for the whole show. That would also erase the need they saw for the cornball flashbacks and hubby's desire for children.

That saves about 30 minutes of screen time where we could have something spectacularly innovative like, I don't know, plot development.

 This show is what happens so often when a show falls in love with itself and the creative team spends more time doing interviews about their brilliant choices instead of turning a critical eye on their work. It's human nature, but the elite get past it. 

The team at GOT eased into the same flabby self-adoration. Handmaid has been lost since season 2.

and that's fair

[RomaVicta 29,930]

5 hours ago, Mileslong said:

That is what I want to see. What I don’t want to see is any more angst from June’s husband or her best friends love life in Canada

[RomaVicta 29,930]

51 minutes ago, UT_OB1 said:

also with the number of people that have died cleaning out empty tankers, watching them just jump in the full container with no clue what the fuck was in it that happened to have the ability to be drained from the inside was very WTF for me

Also, there were lights in there. Also, they never took off their white bonnets while sneaking around at night. Also, anytime there is an urgent need to act or flee, vital seconds are lost with June filled with angst or filled with angst and talking.

I get very restless watching this show. Nothing. Happens.

[Guest Lobo]

So it's like Seinfeld, but for emo hipsters?  

[F250 28,783]

On 5/13/2021 at 11:39 AM, henrygandorf said:

yeah, our big issue for years in the "how did this all come to be" was holdouts or assorted citizens fighting back.  figure there are only so many people that fit into the roles of "handmaid", "commander", "mistress", "martha", "eye", or "guard". 

that would leave tens of millions of people just everywhere.  i assume there was some sort of bomb drop or something that wiped out half of the population, and drove out a lot more, but even still - the group they've been hanging with - there would be thousands of groups like that, full of people that don't fit into one of those categories.

now we have to assume there are millions of people in texas, california, and chicago.  and have we ever heard of what's going on with new york?

These are the questions I have and I am pretty sure we will not be getting any answers. Now I want to re-watch Jericho because they describe what's going on with the rest of the country.

[jdhorn92 1,552]

2 hours ago, UT_OB1 said:

5 episodes in and that was the first time it seemed like June wanted her daughter back. 
 

Any idea how much time has passed?  My initial reaction to that was Serena and the Canadian guy got it on, but then they knew the sex of the kid and it didn’t make sense in the timeline in my head.  Seems like they’ve only been there 3-4 weeks. Surely June wasn’t running through the woods for over a month, right? 
 

Edit - also with the number of people that have died cleaning out empty tankers, watching them just jump in the full container with no clue what the fuck was in it that happened to have the ability to be drained from the inside was very WTF for me

Is he Canadien, I thought he was an American. I too sense there is some sexual tension between him and Serena.

[CooterBrown 18,015]

It irks me that Serena’s Canadian jail cell is nicer than most condos and she and Fred sure get to do what the fuck they want for being prisoners.

[immortal13 4,059]

On 5/21/2021 at 1:51 PM, RomaVicta said:

Also, there were lights in there. Also, they never took off their white bonnets while sneaking around at night. Also, anytime there is an urgent need to act or flee, vital seconds are lost with June filled with angst or filled with angst and talking.

I get very restless watching this show. Nothing. Happens.

Agree with all of this. The white bonnets while running and hiding thing drove me nuts. Would literally be the dumbest thing you could do. 

[immortal13 4,059]

I used to like this show

[henrygandorf 29,192]

this season. i don’t hate it. is there something wrong with me?

that episode was...a lot. 

[UT_OB1 2,224]

A lot of what?  Awkward close up June face?  Shakey close up June face?  A little bit rapey June face?  

[henrygandorf 29,192]

12 minutes ago, UT_OB1 said:

A lot of what?  Awkward close up June face?  Shakey close up June face?  A little bit rapey June face?  

a lot of gilead’s greatest hits in montage/flashback form. ~30 seconds of emotional and physical torture. 

glad she appears to be heading towards revenge mode.  i don’t need to see 2-3 eps of ptsd. 

[mdmost 43,004]

Can you guys just let me know which episode I should re-enter the show with? I don't need 4-5 episodes of wheel spinning. Maybe just let me know when it actually doesn't suck ass and I'll get caught up with the recap or read Wiki episode entries to get caught up.

[BonzoMontreaux 1,056]

This season's pacing has been decent to almost enjoyable.

[henrygandorf 29,192]

11 minutes ago, mdmost said:

Can you guys just let me know which episode I should re-enter the show with? I don't need 4-5 episodes of wheel spinning. Maybe just let me know when it actually doesn't suck ass and I'll get caught up with the recap or read Wiki episode entries to get caught up.

a lot has happened, so it’s tricky. the seasons are long, they just don’t need to be. where did you leave off?

[mdmost 43,004]

Last season. I'm kidding. We'll wait till the season is out and add it to our summer queue. Maybe choose to watch it at a time where we're feeling great about how our lives are going so we can be brought back to a more miserable state. 

[CooterBrown 18,015]

I skipped most of the last two seasons and didn't really miss anything.  June had a second kid by Fred.  That kid and a bunch of others were smuggled to Canada.  Fred and Serena went to Canada to get their kid and were arrested.  June is "in love" with a milquetoast Gilead officer? commander? Who knows what the fuck he is. It's never made clear.   

That's all you need to know.

 

[henrygandorf 29,192]

3 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

I skipped most of the last two seasons and didn't really miss anything.  June had a second kid by Fred.  That kid and a bunch of others were smuggled to Canada.  Fred and Serena went to Canada to get their kid and were arrested.  June is "in love" with a milquetoast Gilead officer? commander? Who knows what the fuck he is. It's never made clear.   

That's all you need to know.

he was an eye and now he's a commander, unless i'm misremembering.  and it's his kid, not fred's.  which is why june writes that she was born (or conceived) with love, or whatever she says.

[immortal13 4,059]

On 5/27/2021 at 1:55 PM, CooterBrown said:

I skipped most of the last two seasons and didn't really miss anything.  June had a second kid by Fred.  That kid and a bunch of others were smuggled to Canada.  Fred and Serena went to Canada to get their kid and were arrested.  June is "in love" with a milquetoast Gilead officer? commander? Who knows what the fuck he is. It's never made clear.   

That's all you need to know.

 

June had a kid by Fred?

[CooterBrown 18,015]

June had a kid by Fred?

It was actually by the milquetoast guy.

[immortal13 4,059]

1 minute ago, CooterBrown said:

It was actually by the milquetoast guy.

I suppose now the paternity is questionable since Fred got Serena pregnant

[seven 1,367]

On 6/2/2021 at 10:39 PM, immortal13 said:

I suppose now the paternity is questionable since Fred got Serena pregnant

I was kind of wondering if this would be brought up but it doesn't look like they will 

[UT_OB1 2,224]

Every time I see the Rori actress it makes me feel OLD. 

[henrygandorf 29,192]

i liked this season.

f the haters (like me).

[Js1 85,416]

Im deciding when I'm ready to submit myself to the torture porn now that I can straight binge it. 

[Saint Austin 745]

Biggest complaint with this season finale is that it didn't really set up anything for next season. 

[Go Pokes 979]

I suppose now the paternity is questionable since Fred got Serena pregnant

Are we sure Fred is the father. She seems awfully cozy with the handler dude from Parenthood.

[henrygandorf 29,192]

1 hour ago, Go Pokes said:

Are we sure Fred is the father. She seems awfully cozy with the handler dude from Parenthood.

i assumed the parenthood guy was the father.

[jdhorn92 1,552]

On 6/18/2021 at 4:44 PM, Go Pokes said:

Are we sure Fred is the father. She seems awfully cozy with the handler dude from Parenthood.

No way the handler is the father; plus they showed Serena and Fred banging in the rental/temp house after they lost theirs.

[immortal13 4,059]

This show has gone downhill

[Jive Turkey 12,617]

On 6/18/2021 at 4:37 PM, Saint Austin said:

Biggest complaint with this season finale is that it didn't really set up anything for next season. 

yeah, there was no really good cliffhanger.  but it seems clear that the next season will be mostly about getting Hannah out of Colorado with the help of Nick and Commander Lawrence.  and at some point, June is gonna have to tell Luke that she doesn't love him and that she loves Nick.

this season was better simply because they got June out of Gilead and created new storylines in new settings.  for that reason alone, this season was an improvement.  but there's still too much torture porn and close ups of June's face for my tastes.  oh well.  they stick to the hits.