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Spoilers The Handmaid's Tale (TV series)

For the really dedicated fan for whom the novels, 1990 movie, TV show, and fanfiction aren't enough... The Handmaid's Tale is also a ballet.

If I had the funds and transportation, I could go to either of these, as my city is within 90 minutes of both Edmonton and Calgary. I lack both, however, and am not into ballet anyway. But maybe some folks here might get a chance to see it some day. The original ballet was first created many years ago, and performed in Europe.
 
Second trailer:

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Oh the show is still going on? Hmm maybe this season will actually advance the plot.

Sorry, I really liked season 1, but after that it just seemed very static.
By this point I'd prefer if they'd jump ahead in the time line and start to adapt the Testaments.
 
Orphalesion said:
Oh the show is still going on? Hmm maybe this season will actually advance the plot.

Sorry, I really liked season 1, but after that it just seemed very static.
By this point I'd prefer if they'd jump ahead in the time line and start to adapt the Testaments.
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June is out and about in Canada. Fred is taking a dirt nap. Serena is in jail.
 
Nerys Myk said:
June is out and about in Canada. Fred is taking a dirt nap. Serena is in jail.
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Are we really going to tiptoe around with spoilers over what happened last season? It's all over YouTube.

All I ask is that when the new one starts in 2.5 weeks, that whoever posts be considerate that not everyone get Hulu and can watch it at the same time. Having 3 episodes' worth blabbed before I've had a chance to see even the two that the Canadian viewers are allowed - which might not even be on the same day as the Hulu episodes are dropped... was inconsiderate, to put it mildly. 24 hours isn't too much to ask, to use spoiler tags, is it?
 
theenglish said:
The thread doesn't have a spoiler tag, so I think that's why.
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The point is courtesy. Even those of us watching and discussing Big Brother and Survivor observe a 24-hour spoiler tag courtesy for the critical information like revealing nominations, comp winners, and evictions.

Imagine you're in Canada, watching the TWO episodes allotted, even though the Hulu watchers in the U.S. get three. Imagine going into this thread and seeing someone happily babbling EVERYTHING in the first THREE episodes, including major character deaths. And that's less than 24 hours after it was dropped on Hulu, so even other Hulu watchers who didn't see it the moment it dropped were given any courtesy, never mind anyone in other countries.
 
Timewalker said:
Are we really going to tiptoe around with spoilers over what happened last season? It's all over YouTube.

All I ask is that when the new one starts in 2.5 weeks, that whoever posts be considerate that not everyone get Hulu and can watch it at the same time. Having 3 episodes' worth blabbed before I've had a chance to see even the two that the Canadian viewers are allowed - which might not even be on the same day as the Hulu episodes are dropped... was inconsiderate, to put it mildly. 24 hours isn't too much to ask, to use spoiler tags, is it?
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The poster didn’t appear to be up to date on the show. So as a courtesy to them I spoiler coded.
 
The show will end with season six.

Honestly, I'm relieved by this news. I'm pretty exhausted by this show at this point so it's good to know there's an endgame to look forward towards. That and how this season (and presumably the last but you never know...) won't feature Emily, which is a major bummer for me. I've found her character just as interesting as June, maybe even more so at times, and I was especially disappointed last season didn't spend more time focusing on Emily's attempts to reacclimate in Canada and renewing and repairing her relationships with Sylvia and Oliver.

Considering Hulu is working on adapting The Testaments, I imagine this show won't have the bright happy ending many have been hoping for and expecting. Unless the adaptation of The Testaments is intended to be a separate continuity but I don't think they've said such a thing will happen or even if Ann Dowd will return (hopefully she does!)
 
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I won't miss Emily. Her story is basically done anyway. It's Janine I find interesting. I want her to get her own baby back from the Putnams (of course she'll be a toddler by now). I want Janine to have as happy an ending as possible, since she's one of the characters who just disappears in the novel and Offred never even wonders what happened to her.

It would be pointless to do The Testaments without Ann Dowd. She's not the only person to ever play Aunt Lydia (Victoria Tennant played her in the 1990 movie), but by now I can't imagine anyone else being able to do justice to the role (no pun intended if they want to use her Testaments backstory rather than the pathetic one they came up with for the TV series).
 
I agree that Janine deserves a happy ending. Reunions between mothers and stolen children is pretty much the only aspect I'm interested anymore at this point. I'd care about the revenge aspect, but since we know Gilead won't fall within the confines of the show (unless they do a epilogue time jump which I seriously doubt), that's a pointless endeavor for me.
 
The Nth Doctor said:
The show will end with season six.
Considering Hulu is working on adapting The Testaments, I imagine this show won't have the bright happy ending many have been hoping for and expecting. Unless the adaptation of The Testaments is intended to be a separate continuity but I don't think they've said such a thing will happen or even if Ann Dowd will return (hopefully she does!)
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The Testaments is indeed a separate continuity, according to Atwood. An adaptation would probably function very similarly to Doctor Sleep, which incorporated elements from both King's and Kubrick's The Shining.
 
theenglish said:
The Testaments is indeed a separate continuity, according to Atwood. An adaptation would probably function very similarly to Doctor Sleep, which incorporated elements from both King's and Kubrick's The Shining.
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Oh, that's a good allusion. I loved the film adaptation for precisely that (and other reasons).
 
The Nth Doctor said:
Oh, that's a good allusion. I loved the film adaptation for precisely that (and other reasons).
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Me too. I wasn't expecting to see the Overlook except in flashbacks. Like Blade Runner or Kubrick's The Shining, I really thought it helped the film stand on its own. The movie, Doctor Sleep, is unfairly underappreciated I believe, and that's a shame because it is quite good.
 
theenglish said:
Me too. I wasn't expecting to see the Overlook except in flashbacks. Like Blade Runner or Kubrick's The Shining, I really thought it helped the film stand on its own. The movie, Doctor Sleep, is unfairly underappreciated I believe, and that's a shame because it is quite good.
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You get no argument from me!
 
I didn't get to the two new episodes until today. Minor spoilers to follow.

Lots of post mortem and June dealing with what she caused (not just the trauma of committing such vengeful murder but also the monsters she released in others...). Most of it was reflection and set-up for the rest of the season except...

What the hell, Esther?! :eek:

(Also, it's severe whiplash coming back to Esther after seeing sweet, dorky Phoebe in Ghostbusters: Afterlife twice over)

Also, they quickly addressed Emily's absence and I don't like it (I get it but I don't like it). But at least they brought back Clea Duvall one last time to handle it. Still really bummed out about Emily's absence this season but I don't blame Alexis Bledel for wanting to move on.
 
I haven't seen the last half hour of the 2nd episode yet. There was a scheduling conflict with Big Brother, and I had to record THT's second showing in the wee hours.

So far my big WTF moments surround Canada's laws regarding refugee claimants who commit crimes. There is no way in hell June should not be in prison, awaiting deportation both for leaving Canada and returning, and for committing a murder (this was pre-meditated, and so she couldn't possibly claim self-defense). Even the fine for the severed finger is ridiculous, as she committed an indignity to a human body.

And Tuello saying Serena could claim refugee status in Canada? OH, HELL, NO. She's a war criminal. War criminals do not get refugee status in this country.

I get this series is based on a novel, and that it's filmed in Canada because it's cheaper. The showrunner has made it perfectly clear that he does NOT respect Canadian viewers (at first the show wasn't even going to be available here since we don't get Hulu), what with the nonsensical elements of the Canada storyline. Honestly, it makes NO sense that Luke and Moira could afford that huge house. Housing prices in Toronto are insane, even for rent. I guess they might manage it if Luke, Moira, and Rita all chip in and social services covers some stuff. Luke would qualify for a number of tax breaks and programs because of Nicole.

As for the rest of the Canada storyline, much of it is just the showrunner making shit up. June getting told to run along, she did nothing wrong in killing Fred, is just so wrong. Her being able to waltz back and forth across the border is wrong. And if the cops find that gun and don't charge and deport her, I will call a huge bullshit to this series.

Serena's followers... okay, reading between the lines, this as well as the other scene in which Fred was greeted by a cheering throng, tells me that the definite difference between these scenes and the one where Fred and Serena were mobbed by the anti-Gilead protesters is because there's been an offscreen change in the Canadian government, from Liberal to Conservative Party of Canada. There are actually people in the CPC who would be quite okay with a Gilead-type society and would see Fred and Serena as the good side. I know the showrunner probably never gave this any thought at all, but accidentally made it possible for me to figure out why these slimy supporters are coming out in public.
 
Well, this episode pretty much closes the door to the rampant theories that Tuello is the actual father of Serena's baby. Between that kiss on the cheek and him not arguing for the safety of the baby when she decided to stay in Gilead, it wouldn't make any sense at this point.

But the biggest development is Hannah's clock is ticking. The level of brainwashing Gilead is doing to her is going to kick into high gear with "commander's wife training." Just typing that out sickens me.

Although not nearly as much as the McKenzies' genuine belief that June is a craven, mad woman and that she should be grateful that Hannah is in their "loving," "capable" hands. Good to see Amy Landecker back (and this time getting to share scenes with her real-life husband, Bradley Whitford) and Ozark's Jason Butler Harner is top notch casting. I already loathe his character.

Speaking of great casting, nice to see Only Murders in the Building's Christine Ko pop up as a border Mayday worker. I loved discussion between June, Moira, and Ko's Lily about Mayday's work and actual existence with a nice callback to the novel's supposition that perhaps Mayday was just in June's and everyone else's heads.
 
I'm not familiar with most of the supporting cast of this show.

Why is everyone saying Hannah's outfit was purple, when it's clearly blue? Purple was never one of the colors in the novel. Daughters wear white until they marry, and after that they're supposed to wear blue (what the show changed to teal).

At any rate, it looks like they've started the events of The Testaments a bit early, not 15 years later.
 
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