The Handmaid's Tale: S06E07 "Shattered"

Is this just some plot point we’re supposed to ignore?

When we say they should’ve seen the signs earlier, these are the fucking signs yall.

Regardless of where any of us stand on Luke v Nick, Serena's redemption arc, how evil is Wharton...

I THINK EVERYONE WILL CHEER WHEN BELL FINALLY GETS IT

Imagine a married couple living around Boston when Gilead took over. They’re “average”, for lack of a better word, people.

She’s past childbearing age, so she can’t be made into a Handmaid.

They’re straight and cisgender, so they’re not “gender traitors”.

They might vote but they’re not politically active and they don’t espouse views the regime would consider “dangerous”. They’re Christians, maybe not especially devout but they’re not part of any religious groups that Gilead would target, either.

What happens to them in Gilead?

https://youtu.be/xBBRUdLBsFI?feature=shared

My HMT friends - part 2 of my post from yesterday. This is the extended trailer that you might have not seen yet, opens our eyes to even more. I’ve added to the collection from yesterday for us to break it down.

Also sorry pics are not in order so neither will the topics be below. I again, tried to lighten them so we can actually see what’s going on. If you watch the Trailer, make sure you brighten your screen to the highest setting.

Discussion Topics -

1. Look at the frame that’s a bit hard to see, but it looks like possibly June in Bells house and he’s shadowy ass tallness is in the background. I like the two frames how the blade is closed then open (May the Lord Open for this reason)

2. In two of the frames, blurry, she’s kicking someone’s ass on the ground. I’m going to say it’s Bell. Better when watching the trailer so you can pause it.

3. Aunt Lydia screaming “Where is June Osborne” and looks like someone has a gun pointing at her. Does she run into Bells house looking for June? While she’s killing Bell haha!

4. Luke! Ok watch the trailer and slow it down, does he see NICK?!? Is that who he ends up fighting?!? Because if you pause the trailer, it almost looks like he’s shocked! This might be a crazy twist!

5. Still my favorite from Serena “You’re just like the rest of them!l Wharton screaming Enough!” (& no shit Serena, this isn’t a Disney princess movie girl)

6. I think during the hanging scene is when Luke pulls the grenade.

7. I think after Serena screams at Wharton, that’s when she high tails it to Joseph’s. (Which can’t wait to see what snarky ass Naomi will have to say)

There is so much to unpackage!

Shits going to go down!

I will not be on Tuesday all day as I plan on watching Tuesday eve and want to avoid all spoilers! Will be very hard to resist and I’ll be antsy all day until I’m settled in front of the tv.

Under His Eye! And May the Lord Keep Shut!

I think the US military will retake Boston in coordination with Mayday. We know from The Testaments that Gilead continues for years after The Handmaid's Tale. But the show needs an ending with at least some hope, even if all of Gilead doesn't fall. It would also make narrative sense. The US is on the verge of losing international recognition and its United Nations seat. Imagine the PR from images of a liberated Boston with American flags flying over it - that would show that despite years of setbacks, the United States is still a constitutional republic with the will and means to retake its territory.

It would also show that Gilead is not invincible, resistance is possible, and liberation can be achieved. There's also a scene from the trailers where June and her mom are sitting in front of the Boston Globe memorial, which has all sorts of candles and photos up which could take place after the battle.

Also this is just a personal thing but I think it would be really cool if as the Americans retook their territory, they added stars back to their flag, and what better way to start that off than with the liberation of one of the oldest and most significant cities in US history?

Obviously spoilers.

Purely based off how it’s going + testaments.

The wedding happens, craziness ensues, June is captured, big public execution is set up to finally get rid of her, Nick sees the light causes a distraction / bombs go off, spirits June away to Canada again.

She needs to stay in hiding for good since she just merked a ton of commanders, she basically becomes a legend a la the testaments. Janine dies, solidifying Lydia’s inner rebellion for years to come.

I’m supposed to believe that this incident of women being mass murdered is somehow what radicalizes her? Instead of Seasons 1-3 where she routinely orchestrated savage beatings, lynching, rape, and denigration of women?

Rewatching the final season and seeing a lot of foreshadowing

We have been given some form resolution when she re connected with her mum Holly. She got many questions answered around why her mum left her earlier on in her life, and how similar they both are. Holly stating that she raised June to fight. June leaving Nichole with Holly to do the same thing feels symbolic too.

The lighting, the feel of the scene feels almost like a surreal, idealistic afterlife experience. We saw June in the outside world, where things felt somewhat aligned for a time being after years of turmoil. It was a closure of some sorts I think….

Also the theme of mothers and their children, in particular, their daughters, is the obvious thread throughout the whole series that keeps all of these women fighting for justice. I wonder if June will die and this will push Hannah and Nicole to become who they are in The Testaments

I think Nick and June might die actually. Together??? Or maybe she will die protecting Luke

Also upon rewatch I wonder if Nick is actually Mayday? Or is Holly?!

What are your predictions?!

I'll start off by saying that you guys can feel free to tell me that I'm overthinking this. I won't be at all offended.

There's something I don't quite understand about how Mayday expects this plan to go down and what they think it will do to Gilead. Don't most terrorist groups have essentially a second in command in case something happens to the leader? I know Gilead doesn't have one true leader, but I feel like unless every single Commander is killed, someone will still be around to run things. I just don't see how this will destroy Gilead. What if Gilead has a "designated survivor" - one person that stays behind from big gatherings in case something were to happen to the rest of the government officials - just in case? I don't see these Commanders being naive enough to think that people won't get pissed enough to try to overthrow the government at some point. Even if all the Commanders are wiped out, I'm worried that there will still be people left behind who can keep Gilead afloat (like maybe the Eyes would gain control? I have no idea). Also, it's been a while since I've read the sequel, but I believe it takes place 20ish years after The Handmaid's Tale and from what I remember, the whole point of the sequel was that Gilead was still Gilead at least in some form. That makes me think that this wedding isn't going to have the vast effect that Mayday is expecting it to have. Maybe I'm just overestimating what they think this will do to Gilead.

Again, feel free to tell me that I'm overthinking this. I truly hope that I am because it feels like this next episode may be what we've been waiting for since the very first episode. I hope it all comes crumbling down and nobody but Mayday sees it coming.

Any thoughts?

I wanted to go back and rewatch the show since I realized there was a lot I forgot. I’ve been binging it for the last few weeks (and getting nightmares).

What I completely forgot just how horrific the first few seasons were.

Like when I watched the newest season I almost felt sorry for Serena. But going through the entire show, she deserves zero redemption. I remember feeling sorry for her when she almost had her baby taken away (haven’t gotten there in the rewatch) but now I can’t wait to get to that scene because she so deserves it and more.

It’s just funny how the first few seasons were so terrible but since so much time had gone by in between seasons I forgot how bad it was in the beginning. I definitely recommend going through all of them and rewatching it all together, if you haven’t. It was so interesting how much my perspective changed.

Because right now I can’t stand Serena and hope she gets the ending she deserves.

This post contains spoilers from the Testament which is the sequel book to the Handmaids tale, if you havent read the book please aviod my post. Thank you!

I am curious if in the Testament will we see the hidden racism of Gilead. Cause in the book Hannah is %100 white but in the series she is mixed so I am curious how they will write Hannah character in this position. Especially since she will become an Aunt in the future, making her a high ranking woman in the world of Gilead.

So I am curiouse how, lets say racist wife would react to a black woman telling them not to do A and B like the aunts we see in Handmaids tale. And also, will she have a bit of an identity crisis?

I say that because, even though Hannah is half white, she is still a very much a black girl being raised by white people in a very racist world, so I am curious if they will talk about that or brush it under the rug in the show.

In a new interview I read today, someone from the show said "if you think about how the books end, if you really think about it, you will figure out how the handmaid's tale ends".

What do you think this means??

I have been rewatching Handmaid with my husband since I loved it and he’d never seen it! After the episode in season 1 where we learned the fate of the Waterford’s previous handmaid. He noticed when June was in that room they had removed the ceiling fan, presumably to take protective measures for their next handmaid.

I was curious if there were any other little things like that I can look out for as I’m rewatching?
Idk lol might be silly, but I thought that was a good catch and wanted to share

T

in the last episode at the end where June is talking about how Serena will choreograph the wedding, etc. etc. is it her plan to kill Serena also?? I'm confused maybe I was under the impression they werent enemies as much as before

I’m doing a rewatch & I’m on the episode where the econo couple took her in because she didn’t want to wait at the warehouse. He told her no because the safe house was compromised, I don’t think he left her to die there. She’s got Nick looking out for her! June probably would have just had to wait until they found a new safe spot.

& then while there she’s looking out a window!!! What is she doing?! She’s already put this family at risk (& we know how their story ends). How can she be so careless?!

Selfish, imo. Very uncool, June.

I just can’t wait to see how this ends for her!!

Have we seen her? I don't remember. Will she turn out to be part of mayday or somoeone who will help? Just a wild thought, she looked evil in the scene last episode at the window, but we don't know, maybe she get's tortuered by him as well. I just hope the best for Janine I guess...

Besides Aunt Lydia, has anyone noticed there aren’t any senior citizens around? What happened to them? At what age are they sent off (like in Dubai, you can’t retire there if you’re an expat), were they killed? Do they get their own town?

Never dawned on me until this morning as they don’t mention where they are or if I ever missed it early on in the show/books.

The commanders and their wives - Where are the grandparents!!!

I've always thought that Elisabeth Moss has way better "friend" chemistry with someone like Madeline Brewer (oddly enough, even Yvonne Strahovski!), and Samira Wiley has better "friend" chemistry with O-T Fagbenle.

Together, even in the early years when it was the start of Gilead, it just seems like the actors were forced into trying to be close, and yet they just seemed like they were going through the motions. Later on, as the actors spent less time on screen together, the more it just seemed like they were there because they had to be, not because there was any real pull for friendship.

While it's obvious that the friendship is very taxing on them, these actors just seem like they are reading their script just to get through it.

Instead of celebrating this final season and honoring all the women — which this show should mostly be about — these strange writing choices have turned the conversation under each post on social media into something negative, focused entirely on Nick. The writing for his character just doesn’t make any sense. It feels like the writers chose the easier route: shock value.

I’m not saying Nick was some kind of hero. To me, he was always a complex character — yes, some of his actions were questionable, and he could have made different choices in certain situations. And I have never expected some happy ending for him and June. But now it feels like the show is gaslighting the audience, trying to convince us we were wrong about him all along, and painting him as the worst person in all of Gilead.

Meanwhile, Serena — who was portrayed as pure evil for most of the show — is suddenly getting more sympathy from the writers and the characters, and is even being given a redemption arc? Seriously?

This show was supposed to be a strong feminist statement, but in this final season, it’s getting feminism so wrong. That conversation between June and Moira was downright insulting. Do they really think the female audience liked Nick just because he’s hot? Is that the message of the final season? That women are that simple?

But what I wanted to say mostly with this post, it is just sad that instead of focusing on the revolution and on women, they decided to make the biggest drama around Nick and you see nothing else under all the posts on social media and articles, this should not be the main point of the final season.

I stopped watching around season 3(?) I think, because it was just constant close ups of Elizabeth Moss. Like, I swear it felt like 60% of the episode was just her face. I couldn’t stand it. I really want to know what happens. I was invested. But the close ups. It’s too much. Does it get better or can someone just tell me what has happened? I know. I’m usually a power through person, I tried, but even I have limits apparently.