Okay, we have Marthas etc and slaves in the colonies.

But Who does the normal Jobs like idk House building, logístics, etc...

I mean you cant have slaves doing those Jobs as thar kind of work IS important and you cant have starving slaves doing the hard job.

And many of those Jobs are quite important specially in a state of war.

S02E06 she seems to know the sex of her baby? She said to Rita "I want her to have someone kind, in her life"

I feel like i missed something, i don't remember any scene where the sex of the baby was revealed.

This show is just as horrifying as it is but if it were more detailed I’m curious if the handmaids are allowed to wear the “modern” sanitary stuff for periods like pads or tampons and are they allowed to take pills for period cramps!? Ouch it’s something I’ve always wondered since Gilead wanted to erase basically everything from the “past” modern lifestyle.

I just put it together. Gilead is a super conglomerate and could easy put this together in the USA.

Maybe I am misunderstanding the book, but why do the handmaids WANT to have a baby? In page 26 when other people are jealous because they see another handmaid and she seems happy to be pregnant? Or was that not a handmaid they were talking about in that page? Because once they have a child don't they just get assigned to a new wife and commander?

*EDIT* Thank you all for your detailed explanations!

Serena is worse than Fred ever was.

I'm rewatching the series and, knowing what will happen, I can't help but think Fred, in spite of being a monster for objectifying June every chance he got, he somehow tried to connect with her. For example the Jezebel's, it was awful the whole place, but it was a different experience for June, it showed to her that even commanders break the law made by them. Damn, it allowed her to kill one of them and get away with it. And in season 2, when Serena is a bitch, like she always is, he gives June a picture of Hannah. Later when June is in that house almost giving birth, when Fred and Serena was there, their fight was so real, she was always a monster to June, and Fred at least tried to make her feel a little bit comfortable, with scrabble and magazines.

When Serena gets shot in the flashbacks, he was so worried about her and she tells him to man up, I really think Serena turned Fred in the ultimate monster he ended up being, and it's ironic that Fred was the one killed and Serena is getting a sort of redemption arc. I don't want to get ahead of myself, I know a lot can happen in one (and especially last) season, but I don't really see how Serena will end up. I believe that Noah is/will soften her, but she has a lot of karma to catch up to. And if Fred was alive, I'm sure they'd be back in Gilead happy as ever, and that doesn't sit right with me.

TLDR: Both Fred and Serena are monsters, but Serena is worse, and Fred is the one that is dead

On episode 5 of season 2, June is bleeding and with her depression, she's not herself and sort of zones out. At the end of the episode, she is found by Nick outside in white clothes (night gown) passed out.

Questions: why was she in the street/outside? Was she so depressed she just decided to take a walk and fainted because of the bleeding? And Nick was just talking to Fred and while walking to his place, he suddenly stops, walks and only then finds June. Exactly how did he know something was wrong and knew where to look? When he stopped and headed to find her, he looked worried, like he knew.

There are always things about him I don't understand, like when season 1 ended, he said to June to go with the Eyes, that 'it was okay', did he knew she was going to be on a mock hanging and then made stay in the rain holding a stone, which is torture? I don't think he knew, he just said it to try and make her relax.

Other thing I didn't understand: when June was those 2 months in the building what I think it was a newspaper office, she was hidden, that first time she tried to escape on season 2, after she and Nick have sex, she said 'can you try?' and his reply was 'no', I assumed it was because she wanted to leave that building and he said before no, it was too dangerous. This was a new try for June to ask the same thing, and got the same answer from him.

This is so many questions that bug me tbh

Is there hair dressers in gilead? Or do the women just do each others hair? Like cutting colouring Do the wives get their done at all? I know they are all natural but I remember a comment about the wives loving peroxide in the earlier seasons from nick? Thanks in advance 😊😊

(Adding the rest of this question to avoid spoiling it for others) insist on helping Serena? I’m on S5 EP3. I don’t understand why Tuello is so persistent in helping Serena. I’m sorry but FUCK SERENA. Give that bitch back to Gilead and throw her ass in red. Take the baby and give it to June or literally anyone else. Serena deserves exactly what was done to Fred. I 100% agreed when Moria told her SHE was the gender trader. I can’t stand Serena. I think I actually may hate her. As usual though what’s a show without a good villain. Lol.

Serena also fkn disgust me with the ways she has rubbed Hannah in the face of June so many times in the name of defending her rapist husband. I hope Serena gets whats coming to her.

P.S sorry bc I think I spelled some of these names wrong and I have short term memory. Lol.

(edited for grammar)

Does anyone know where I could get the outfits that Serena or the wives where? I also like the purple ones they were to. Theirs simple style is really nice and I’d like to get an outfit to wear. Thanks!

After finishing this last season I have a few questions. For context I've never read the novel or watched the movie?? That's out.

1. What ends up happening to luke? Death or jail?
2. What happens to Nick?
3. Is Lawrence a good or bad guy? Still so confused on his character.
4. Does Hannah ever get rescued?
5. Does Gilead beliefs ever fully spread to Canada or other countries?
6. What the hell happened to Janine at the end?!!!

I really want to watch but i’m not sure what to expect. I saw people talking about very disturbing sexual/rape scenes which i can handle but i was wondering if there is any on-screen bloody violence. Idk it’s hard to explain exactly what i mean. If anyone can come up with an example of one of the most “gory” scenes, i don’t really mind spoilers.

I’ve just finished binging the show and was interested in reading The Testaments, but have seen there are some differences - specifically that Lydia’s backstory is different in the show compared to the second book.

I understand that the first season of the show covers the first book, and the rest of the show is adaptation beyond the book. Will I have enough understanding for The Testaments based on what I know from season one, or are there enough differences between the show and source material to warrant reading The Handmaid’s Tale before The Testaments?

I posted here a while back about how the events in the drama are ace coming to resemble real events in America (J6. Dobbs, censorship, et al), and my comment was removed for not sticking to the developments in the series. Seriously? I haven't encountered anything so prescient since I read 1984 as a teenager. How can anyone not watch this and be alarmed at the attempt to rip our rights, privacy, and freedom away in a MAGA, Christian Nationalist trending states and Supreme Court environment such as ours?

If you guys want people like me to buzz off and tell me that you're only watching this for escapism, then, fine (I guess) but is there another sub to go to where people are comparing The Handmaid's Tale with current events? As a disclaimer of sorts, I do find the artistic achievement of this series as genius, gut-punching, and beautiful (as relief) at times, and the humanity and empathy, along with the horror and existential pain, do ooze out of the sides of the armor that is Gilead. I just don't get why there would be any censorship on such an obvious connection.

Excluding the flashbacks, and focusing only on the main storyline, is the first 3rd of the book all in one day? I was reading the book for school, and I think I haven't seen a single thing to indicate the passing of days for the main story. She goes shopping, to the doctor, takes a bath, preforms the ceremony, and then makes out with Nick in the dark. Is that all in one day?

I've been reading a lot of the posts here about what American women are living through right now with Roe v Wade etc & although I'm in the UK it terrifies me as a mother of girls. Anyway I was doing the dishes after reading about the chances of the Republicans controlling or denying birth control next & I was thinking, BC isn't just to prevent pregnancy but also to protect against stds etc. So my question is, do we think that men would be willing to leave themselves open to these diseases/infections in a bid to stop us from preventing pregnancies? Ok so they could have both parties tested before trying for a baby in the case of those who believe sex is only for procreation (pppfftttt), but what about all the men who like to just shag around for fun, they & we would be open to stds etc with no protection, would they ban BC if it affected their pleasure & freedom? I don't see it myself but wanted to see what you all think. Or are they only controlling those who are married? Myself I'm married for 36 years & have 3 gorgeous grown kids, 2 girl & a boy & 2 grandchildren, one of who is a girl. My hubby had the snip but I'm now in menopause anyway. I guess in short, banning abortions affects only women & their rights in the immediate sense but potentially banning BC would affect everyone. Thoughts please. This is my first post so I hope I did it correctly.

Warning: Discussion of will contain spoilers for season 4 and before.

I’m on season 4 episode 8. Please don’t tell me anything that happens beyond this point. But after watching the episode, why the hell is she trying to tell the girls how they should be venting? If those girls wanna talk shit about the people (Wives and Commanders) who raped them repeatedly they damn well should be able to. Who made her in charge? Sometimes she just really rubs me the wrong way. I like her most of the time but sometimes I just wish someone would tell her she’s not in charge of everything like she thinks she is.

PS love the actor who plays her ever since Orange. Nothing against her. Her character just has the ability to get on my nerves.

I'm rewatching and was wondering why Eden/Isaac's "trial" was made public for all. Up to this point, I thought only handmaids were present.

What'd they tell all of the wives/commanders etc to make them think they had to be there? The officials had to think it wouldn't have ended that way or they wouldn't have invited everyone, right? It seemed like it was the first time a lot of them were witnessing a killing.

blessed be the fruit…

So we all know the Testaments is happening, and we also know that it will most likely follow the older versions of Hannah and Nichole, as well as Aunt Lydia. But what I want to know is if you guys think Janine’s daughter will feature, and if so what do you think her role will be? Do you think she’s just gonna be a background character, or will she be filling in for one of the book characters like Becka or that girl with the really weird name? Or do you think her and Janine will make it out in the series finale?

I use to feel bad for him, but after seeing the first 3 episodes of season 4 I find him questionable.

So, yes, while I feel he does not want to be I feel like Nick is just like the rest of those guardians.

View Poll

What happens when a handmaids gets too old tk have children? Is she deemed an "unwoman" and sent to the colonies? Is she trained as a Martha? Or is she killed for not fulfilling her duty?

Sorry if this has already been answered in the show, I dont pay great attention to detail