Season 4:
Janine to June: “I’m not a Mushroom!”
June: “what?”
Janine: “ you can’t keep me in the dark and feed me lies and shit and expect me to just be ok with it!”
10/10 i’m gonna start saying this to people to throw them off
(SPOILER for the most recent episode of the Testaments)
I was watching this week‘s episode at the gym while I was suffering through a horrendous treadmill workout, and I literally screamed >!RITA!< when she came on the screen. I didn’t know she was gonna be in the testaments, I’ve been trying to keep my snooping to a minimum so I can be surprised. I think people around me thought I was crazy though lol
And then when she said she was going to culinary school 😭 my heart. I was so excited
Unspoken tragedy: Eleanor Lawrence
I’m on my first full rewatch of the handmaid‘s Tale and I love picking up on things that I didn’t pay attention to the first time around.
One aspect of the story that I’m really paying attention to is Eleanor Lawrence. I love Bradley Whitford , so I was excited to rewatch his character from start to finish and I love the moral issues. The show plants for Lawrence regarding his wife versus Gilead.
Obviously, the victims of the Gilead regime are everyone who is subject to the misogyny of the culture, with wives getting a pass, but still not coming out scott free (my thoughts on Serena and her relationship with June are going to be a whole other thread lol)
But from both a creative standpoint, a viewers standpoint, and also a nurse‘s standpoint, I think one of the most underrated tragedies of the show is Eleanor Lawrence (also a very real reminder that no matter what your power or status, if your mental health is not there, it is hard to succeed in the world that is built to not accommodate you)
I love her character, and I think it’s so interesting to watch her characters arc and downfall. She’s the wife of a powerful commander - the architect of Gilead - but even that couldn’t save her from herself.
Even though she’s a wife, I think Eleanor is a true victim of Gilead. She’s brilliant, artistic and she’s bipolar. Something that Gilead destroys. If it hadn’t been for Lawrence, I’m curious what would’ve become of her – probably to the colonies or executed because of her mental health struggles. I love her character though because I think it’s what ends up pushing Lawrence to go from 1 foot in Gilead and 1 foot in the resistance to jumping in the deep end with mayday \[With his eventual sacrifice\] versus Nick who basically had 2 feet in Gilead with one toe in the resistance (because of June)
To me, Eleanor is one of the saddest stories of Gilead, but in a very covert way. She wasn’t the victim of extreme abuse like Janine, June or any of the other handmaid‘s but she was trapped in her own mental health hell, which if anyone has had mental health struggles, or knows someone with bipolar – it truly is hell. Trapped in the hell of your own mind.
Anyways, curious what people think about her character, what would’ve happened to her if she had not been married to Lawrence, and just discussion of her character in general. I was gutted the first time around when she died and still have mixed feelings about it (also curious what people think about that)
So I’m doing a rewatch In between TT episodes (already on season 3) and this is my second full watch thru (did a partial one prior to the last season airing last year)
I adore Bradley Whitford and LOVE Lawrence as a character
The first time Emily comes to their house, one scene has peaked my curiosity, and I can’t quite figure it out
He has Emily sit down at their table and he starts talking to her about who she is as a real person outside of Gilead. How she was a professor, how her son is in Canada etc. With regards to Oliver being in Canada and her stick in gilead, he says something along the lines of, “I can’t imagine losing a child. It’s like losing a limb. Although… You would know what that feels like too.”
During this scene I can’t tell if he’s intentionally stirring the pot, poking the bear so to speak, or if he’s just completely in his own odd Lawrence world and doesn’t know how to have a conversation with someone like Emily and what she’s been through
I’m curious on peoples thoughts on this scene specifically and how be phrased the things he said to her
And go!
(I love this show so much btw)
Been an avid handmaid‘s tale watch her since the beginning and now I’m watching the testament while also re-watching handmaid‘s Tale.
Just came here to say that I think Ann Dowd is absolutely phenomenal.
She is terrifying as aunt Lydia, and watching her transformation over the course of the handmaid‘s Tale, and then now with the most recent episode of the testament…Jaw dropping. I hated her for almost all of that series and now knowing how the testament unfolds based on the book (which I know will be slightly different than the show), my view of her starting to change.
The nuances of her character – how she truly believed in the cause of Gilead, how that starts to waiver, how it breaks occasionally, how the relationship with Janine transforms her… All of that comes out in the subtle acting technique of Ann and it’s just an amazing. From an artistic standpoint it’s just incredible to watch. Even though her character is fucking terrifying.
But the acting by Ann Dowd… Just wow. I’m surprised she didn’t get nominated for more awards during her stint. Especially re-watching the earlier seasons of handmaid‘s Tale (although I do believe she receives an Emmy for some of her early seasons, right?)
Just wow!