The Handmaid's Tale - Hulu Original (**Spoilers**)

beebah

cumulonimbus wrote: »

Why would Serena not go with the child? She has no reason to stick with Fred, and she said in last episode that a baby was the one thing she wanted when they initially set up the dystopia.

Remember when Serena went with Fred to Canada & the CIA (or whatever) agent approached her in the hotel bar to offer her a way out, so long as she writes her story so it can be used by the exiled USA government? Serena told the guy that she would never commit treason, and he responds, "I thought you already did." That was a clear signal that Serena was in no position to dictate the terms under which she would leave Gilead.
Nevertheless, she pockets the matches from the Hawaiian bar and brings them back with her to Gilead. I thought the scene when she throws them in the fire was a manifestation of her losing any hope of leaving. If she goes, she loses what power & comfort she has as Serena Joy, Commander Wollingford's Wife, and both the US in exile and Gilead would consider her a traitor.
Furthermore, while losing a Handmaid would embarrass the powers that be in Gilead, a Wife defecting would be devastating, and Serena must know that the search they did when June ran away would be nothing compared to how they would chase after her.

Tipsy McSwagger

I enjoyed the season but it got to the point that every time they showed a close up of June’s angry seething face I started to laugh. I also felt they were going for style over substance with this season. With the overhead shots, slow motion and score it was starting to resemble a big budget music video than a serious drama.

Rfrip

I’ve complained about it all season 2 but stayed watching it. That ending just sealed the deal there, couldn’t give a feck what happens her now!!

Max Prophet

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

I enjoyed the season but it got to the point that every time they showed a close up of June’s angry seething face I started to laugh. I also felt they were going for style over substance with this season. With the overhead shots, slow motion and score it was starting to resemble a big budget music video than a serious drama.

The sour puss closeups were the worst. Most people have 50 inch HD TVs now. We don’t need to see offred’s pores !

iamwhoiam

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

I enjoyed the season but it got to the point that every time they showed a close up of June’s angry seething face I started to laugh. I also felt they were going for style over substance with this season. With the overhead shots, slow motion and score it was starting to resemble a big budget music video than a serious drama.

By the end I wondered if they filmed an angry fuming raging close up and re used it over and over and over . Its not like we would notice she had different clothes on in scenes !

Tipsy McSwagger

The opening scene of next season will be a close up of June’s angry seething face when the camera slowly pans back to reveal she’s on the bog constipated.

Rothko

Rfrip wrote: »

I’ve complained about it all season 2 but stayed watching it. That ending just sealed the deal there, couldn’t give a feck what happens her now!!

Yeah, I'm finished with it too.

Alicano

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

I could watch Bradley Whitford all day.

I thought he was the Dad from Family Ties :D:P

hollypink

I thought Serena's arc in season 2 was well done - it showed her progressing from believing in and being instrumental in building a better society, to finding that there were flaws in that society but still willing to accept those as compromises, to being shaken by Enid's fate but believing that Nicole would be safe because she would be raised to be obedient to God's laws, to finally recognising when she is punished for reading the bible that no girl or woman will be safe irrespective of their devoutness. None of this redeems her of course, she is still monstrous but I thought it was interesting character development.

I hated the ending - a review I read pointed out that June has shown herself throughout season 2 to be useless at evading the authorities so how can she think she has a chance at saving Hannah? I will probably watch season 3 though but I can't see myself sticking with it if she ends up back with the Waterfords yet again.

Footoo

AfterLife wrote: »

I liked the first season but that entire second season was atrocious.

That's because the first season was based on source material by one of the great modern novelists and the second season was based on a tv companies desire to make as much money as possible.

What in the fnck kind of ending was that?

TheValeyard

Ah well, at least we finally got to see a map of Gilead and its territory

NinetyTwoTeam

Footoo wrote: »

That's because the first season was based on source material by one of the great modern novelists and the second season was based on a tv companies desire to make as much money as possible.

Definitely. The whole tone and voice of the series was set up in the books too. they were able to imitate the tone in s2 but don't have anywhere near the inventiveness or imagination that Atwood has and it was only carried by great performances and gorgeous cinematography. the writing in s2 had some great parts but also some misfires and glaring plot holes and went downhill over. and obvs it's just a milk it for more seasons job now.

i enjoyed season 1 a lot and s2 wasn't bad (had one really great episode that was fast paced, think it was the one where eden went for a swim with the guardian fella) but i am not gonna bother with s3 after that ending.

wakka12

I dont think S2 always began as a milk it for money job, I was actually really glad there was a season 2 as I found the ending of Atwoods book actually very unsatisfying and frustrating
And it was a well directed and written and superbly acted season to be fair but they just really fell flat in that they didnt have any strong story arc to carry through the season

wakka12

wakka12 wrote: »

I dont think S2 always began as a milk it for money job, I was actually really glad there was a season 2 as I found the ending of Atwoods book actually very unsatisfying and frustrating
And it was a well directed and written and superbly acted season to be fair but they just really fell flat in that they didnt have any strong story arc to carry through the season

Yeah, I was aware of the bad reviews, but found it actually brilliant..up until that last scene..

Sleepy

TBH, some parts of Season 2 did come from the book (the wedding ceremony / some of the bits of backstory etc.).

If Season 3 doesn't start with June being pretty much immediately re-captured and sees her morphing into some heroic resistance fighter/leader, it's descended into pure fan service for the purple hair brigade that were cheering the ending on Twitter.

Sleepy

Sleepy wrote: »

TBH, some parts of Season 2 did come from the book (the wedding ceremony / some of the bits of backstory etc.).

If Season 3 doesn't start with June being pretty much immediately re-captured and sees her morphing into some heroic resistance fighter/leader, it's descended into pure fan service for the purple hair brigade that were cheering the ending on Twitter.

None of it came from the book from what I recall of the book!

Basq

(averting eyes of thread)

Just watched season 1 over the last few days and niggles aside (dreary flashback episodes, and Max Minghella's terrible acting!), it's a fantastic show.

I admit avoiding it for so long as the synopsis sounded so dreary - starting on season 2 tonight although I'm hearing by and large it's quite disappointing.

CassieManson

Basq wrote: »

(averting eyes of thread)

Just watched season 1 over the last few days and niggles aside (dreary flashback episodes, and Max Minghella's terrible acting!), it's a fantastic show.

I admit avoiding it for so long as the synopsis sounded so dreary - starting on season 2 tonight although I'm hearing by and large it's quite disappointing.

Season 2 is definitely worth watching but not as good as Season 1. Hope they finish it with Season 3!

gingernut79

I'd been putting off watching the last episode based on reviews here. Why she would stay just makes no sense for her character. Disappointing.

theteal

I didn't hate season 2. I don't get why staying is such an issue/surprise. When we were watching it MrsTeal was shouting at the telly that she can't leave Hannah behind. We very much expected that ending.

Walter Bishop

She was all ready to leave Hannah behind when she was sitting in the plane at the end of episode 3. Anyway, she clearly can't go back to the Waterford's so a season of her underground as a rebel leader could actually be good, save us all from yet more 'she escapes, she's caught' cycles.

johnpatrick81

Walter Bishop wrote: »

She was all ready to leave Hannah behind when she was sitting in the plane at the end of episode 3. Anyway, she clearly can't go back to the Waterford's so a season of her underground as a rebel leader could actually be good, save us all from yet more 'she escapes, she's caught' cycles.

She met Hannah since though, that changes everything.

Personally I woulda thought she had a better chance of orchestrating a plan to get her back from the safety of Canada, but I hope she can prove me wrong and go full Liam Neeson in season 3.

quickbeam

Walter Bishop wrote: »

She was all ready to leave Hannah behind when she was sitting in the plane at the end of episode 3. Anyway, she clearly can't go back to the Waterford's so a season of her underground as a rebel leader could actually be good, save us all from yet more 'she escapes, she's caught' cycles.

She was alone and pregnant then. This time she'd had Nicole and Emily was there. I mean, yeah, it's fairly convenient that the script-writers helped her out by having Emily there to hand the baby to, but still, I could see how somebody could make a rash, on-the-spot (and very possibly disastrous) decision to stay based on the circumstances. All the while giving us something for another season.

Sleepy

Walter Bishop wrote: »

a season of her underground as a rebel leader could actually be good, save us all from yet more 'she escapes, she's caught' cycles.

What makes her leadership material other than fans wanting her to be?

She's repeatedly shown herself to be tactically inept, not to think through the consequences for herself, or others, of her actions (remember the poor truck drivers family?).

Without a total personality change (which would make very little sense), she'd be a liability as a leader and I can't see what she offers the resistance as a "footsoldier" either: she didn't have the nerve to kill the Waterfords when she had them in her sights, she's not exactly able to go back to living "undercover" as a handmaid in their house either since she no longer has "their" baby.

In Canada, she can be a figurehead. A symbol of all that's wrong with Gillead that can heap international pressure on them to release her daughter / lead to further trade sanctions against the government there etc. In Gillead, she's useless to any resistance movement and will likely get herself and others killed.

Hande hoche!

Serena seems to have better organisational and leadership skills. June is good at getting people killed that try to help her.

blazard

season 2 has much more bite to it.

nomdeboardie

From
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/nov/28/margaret-atwood-announces-the-handmaids-tale-sequel-the-testaments

"The Testaments will be set 15 years after Offred’s final scene in The Handmaid’s Tale and narrated by three female characters. It will not be connected to the television version, which has extended beyond Atwood’s 1985 novel to continue Offred’s story."

Unconnected? Given Atwood's involvment in the Hulu series, and the intention to continue the series for an unspecified/undecided number of years, I wonder how they're going to orchetrate that little entnglement - or will it just be ignored so that the book becomes a parallel universe? Talk about milking it... :pac:

kunst nugget

I'd be much more interested in the Netflix series with Atwood's involvement than the third season of this series. Season one was great but two was pretty uneven and I'm not holding it much hope for season three tbh.

wakka12

Yeh season 2 was a big disappointment. I was so excited for it after season one, but dont really care for watching season 3 now