Episode 6 - "Love Letter"
To say the recent bust up of Nick and June was seismic would be completely underselling it. From the beginning these 2 were no ordinary tv couple and this break up has a litany of facets to it, making it far more complex than most. Iāll be honest the mechanics that were employed by these writers left me vacillating between nauseous and enraged ever since it occurred. For those lining up to criticize the emotional investment in this romance, stay with me. Iām not arguing whether or not associated issues of fascism and patriarchal power are legitimate, my beef is HOW and WHEN these were made, why the fuck it wasnāt done earlier and WHY they dressed this character and connection up as something completely different.
These last few weeks have been a flood of what I can only term ādamage controlā in the press due to the episodes of The Handmaids Tale regarding Nick and Junes break up. Clearly the writers underestimated the audiences attachment to the couple and complexities involved in breaking them up. They clearly underestimated the brutal response that they would receive at trying to villainise one of their fan favourites in the final hours, and they deeply underestimated the anger which would be levelled not at the character but at themselves for it. Years of experience should have told them that sudden changes / reveals in beloved characters, in the final hours are received poorly. This type of character change was similarly lambasted in GOT, and for some strange reason they had not learnt. These writers also misjudged greatly the intricacies of this romance, and the consequences of the mechanics that they used to bring it to a close.
The writers and show runners bear full culpability for the audiences devotion to these two and the ensuing tsunami of disappointment at their break up. They bear the entirety of the blame for the damage that has been done and the anger they have received. They used every possible mechanic to construct an exquisite and epic love story, fanned the flames of itās popularity right up until the last possible moment, dragged it out for ratings and then ended it in possibly the most callous way Iāve ever seen. They cast the participants as star crossed lovers separated by the regime for 5 years and then tried to swiftly rewrite the underlying mechanics of their relationship entirely in the final season. They used the slaughter of vulnerable women as an excuse to sever a relationship with a brutal finality, under the guise that it was a statement about soft fascism. By placing the murder of these women at such a quintessential moment in the series history, they lost all hope that any constructive dialogue would be undertaken about these womenās sacrifice for patriarchal power. They stole away its space as viewers became fixated on the seismic occurrence between the two after years of waiting. How could the writers be so shortsighted? Weād been told that this relationship would be brought to a āsatisfying conclusionā during the course of this season, is this what they meant? I was horrified.
In the following weeks writers then had the audacity to act surprised that audiences would feel angry and betrayed by a needlessly drawn out love triangle and the accompanying press that had baited them for years. What the fuck did they think was going to happen?
These people either knew what they were doing for years, or they entered into this season having changed course radically. No matter which way you slice it, the method of this take down, made them look either incompetent, ignorant, cruel or all of the above. I think about the pages and pages of romantically laced PR released by writers and show runners to actively encourage the belief in this union and I feel physically ill that they would actually construct something so emotionally manipulative.
Lines of dialogue used by characters during the final analysis of this relationship, contained references to the fact that theyād reduced the character of Nick and Nick and Juneās relationship to one of simple necessity, lust and physical attraction. This was after years of firmly establishing a loving, emotional connection with a fully fleshed out character. It turned the writers exercise in āenlightenmentā about soft fascism, into a pointed thinly veiled accusation of superficiality. Fans of the two who were ENCOURAGED to believe in the genuine nature of both this character and their relationship, were now being accused in the most underhanded manner, of being nothing but pathetic āfan girlsā.
For years writers had delivered Nick and Juneās love story as one of ālove between the barricadesā, but they were now suddenly stating that both the protagonist and the audience were blind to soft fascism as long as it came in attractive packaging. It was the equivalent of luring the audience with a genuinely beautiful love story and then accusing them of condoning fascism, simply because they had been naive enough to BELIEVE them and become entangled in it. The fact is, you donāt get to package something up like a Hallmark greeting card, and criticise your audience for appreciating it, when you decide you want to rebrand the whole thing. It is little wonder that audiences were seething with indignant rage.
From season 1 weād been told that Blaine had forsaken his own happiness to care for his family, was loyal and caring and was manipulated and targeted for this regime. Weād been told repeatedly in the press that he was a āgood manā riddled with regret. A Blaine that was made to perform heinous acts (often at Juneās behest or for her benefit), surveilled and entrapped. A Blaine that had endangered his own life to help others, a man who had to sneak around for the chance to HOLD HIS OWN CHILDā¦ā¦ and I was now being asked to believe that this same man had full autonomy all along. Writers had constantly labeled Blaine the only āGood man in Gileadā with Tuello calling him an āhonorable manā in the final moments of season 5. NOW I was being asked to accept that heād actually been an ambitious ladder climbing fascist the entire time, refusing to leave, dripping in Nazi war spoils.
A free man does not have to marry a child bride while the woman he loves watches on. That's just not a fucking thing.
I always enjoyed Blaine as the noir drenched assassin, slipping into no mans land covertly to visit Osborne, trade intel and slaughter the odd foe. But this weak, pathetic, greedy, dutiful yes man was just a sad shadow of his former ambiguous complexity. After seasons and seasons of building him to be nuanced, writers reduced him to nothing more than a 2 dimensional, egomaniacal, self indulgent, spoilt brat and claimed heād just been keeping it well hidden all along. Fucking please.
The sudden twisting of Blaineās acts of sacrifice into oneās of selfishness defy belief. Suddenly everything heās ever done has been simply to possess herā¦..including helping her escapeā¦.twiceā¦.and that file about Hannahā¦.which he never thought heād give to her in person. I mean at least make this shit believable. Instead of the āgood manā weād been led to believe Blaine was for the last 5 seasons, I was now being asked to believe that there was nothing he wouldnāt do to save his own skin. Worse still, the writers actually thought it would be believable that Osborne had the right to judge him for the death of any innocents on the path to survival. Excuse me?
In season 2 June demanded Blaine sleep with his 15 year old child bride, because āI canāt lose youā. While Eden had given consent, she was a minor and technically this constituted rape at Osborne's behest, for the sake of keeping Blaine alive. In season 4 when Osborn poisoned a swathe of commanders at a Jezebels, she was well aware, from former experience that Gilead would clean house. She did it anyway. She handed over the handmaids to ensure Hannahs safety, even though the idea that a High commanders daughter would actually be sacrificed was utterly ludicrous. The audacity of Osborne now stomping her feet self righteously, forsaking Blaine after previously ordering him to rape and murder for her, was absolutely unbelievable.
June has more blood on her hands than most and quite often the casualties of her personal war are innocents. The multitude of Marthas and Jezebels killed in the course of Osborne's crusades caused a Martha to warn Blaine in season 4 āyouāre better off without her, everyone who helps her ends up on the fucking wallā. Heās ignored repeated warnings not to get sucked into cyclone Osborne and doubtless heāll end up paying the price.
In season 2 Blaine recited Corinthians to Osborn as a reassurance that he loved her, in season 4 he recited The Armor of God to her to give her fortitude as she underwent torture. At the end of episode 7 Osborn recited Psalm 23 as a pointed message about having the fortitude to kill Blaine. Itās just one in a swathe of examples of how writers have made a swift about face in this character relationship, and I for one will not sit idly by and have it fed to me as though it was some sort of pre determined natural progression.
I remain unconvinced that Blaine would have ever chosen Gilead above June, and Iām basing that opinion on years and years of plot lines, character information, and press releases that were FED TO ME by the writers. I am not alone. I also donāt believe that spilling the beans to Wharton about Maydayās plot when cornered and terrified, constitutes making a free autonomous choice about loyalties. Um no. Thatās like saying that coercive control equals full autonomy, and that's just not a thing Iām afraid.
Nick Blaine is by nature a planner and honestly, Iām a bit fucking sus about the whole thing given that Blaine had passports and papers all good to go for he and Osborne to leave permanentlyā¦ā¦call me crazy but fleeing the country doesnāt really scream loyalist. He also dropped everything on the one day he was meant to get up and perform for Gilead, in 6 03 to come running to her. The fact was he chose her, and ultimately sheād chosen him too, they were a breath away from leaving, but yet again Gilead fucked them.
June returned to Luke after the horrific incident in episode 7, having had her autonomy in the decision between these two men completely stripped from her by a mans actions. Once again nothing more than an archaic love triangle. In episode 6 she was a breath away from dumping said hubby and running off with Nick, and any āTeam Lukeā fans should actually be pretty pissed off, that the best that these writers could serve them was some paltry left overs after everything with Nick went sideways. It was also all a bit distasteful and pathetic that she practically crawled back to him in the same episode, after an ugly and humiliating confrontation. In front of a room full of strangers Luke had yelled at her for being āin love with a Naziā. Ironically not several episodes prior Luke had called Nick ābroā and hugged the man for saving him. Now he was actually berating his wife for trusting and loving a man who had cared for and ensured her survival for years. I was stunned by the hypocrisy and quite frankly I was just utterly confused as to what the writers message was. Was he a fascist or not?
The majority of the audience have not viewed this marriage as a realistically sustainable nor healthy bond for years. Despite the writers efforts to reconnect them, most audience members have viewed their efforts as less like rebuilding and more like constant attempts to resuscitate. The fact that Luke and June had failed to discuss June still being in love with Nick for years, did nothing to testify to the health of communication in their marriage.
These writers seem to be confused between what exactly they are trying to depict; a thinly veiled reflection of reality or a fictional scenario, because in the real world the chances of June and Lukeās marriage being intact, statistically are absolutely fucking zero. You combine the loss of a child, separation for nearly a decade, the love for another partner and deep trauma, and the math is clear. In reality Nick would not be running to and fro across the border either, heād have been discovered and shot by Gilead for being a traitor years ago. Luke and Juneās marriage is a rampant fantasy legitimised as somehow an actual reality, if it has merit, then so too does the scenario where Nick and June get to run away to Hawaii, and thatās been painted as a complete daydream.
In the end if the writers intention is that June be alone, Iāve no doubt it will be framed as her āfinding the strength to stand aloneā, but given that these two relationships are being whittled down to such pathetic options, itās hardly a āfeministā outcome to give her little recourse.
After the disaster with Nick it seemed unbelievable that the actual Architect of Gilead was then paraded out to scold her for her poor judgment. Ironically he seemed pretty buddy buddy with the person whoād admitted involvement in the death of his beloved Eleanor (oops thereās another body Osborne). June composed herself and joined forces with THE most complicit individual in the construction of Gilead, responsible for the murder and enslavement of millions of women, happily rearranging her plans without hesitation. This not only put a gaping hole in the protagonists (and writers) reasoning for cutting ties with Blaine, but also proved his point entirely and almost immediately, about her not giving a shit about the dirty side of patriarchal power, as long as it served her purposes.
Meanwhile Mayday and Luke, not 15 minutes earlier, having unleashed scorn on Osborn for being stupid enough to trust a commander, allowed Lawrence to calmly stroll into their camp and were now gathered around detailing their next super secret mission to him. The SAME commander that had foiled their attempt to retrieve Hannah in season 5 and told June point blank that he wasnāt giving her daughter back. The SAME commander who had told Blaine that it was okey dokey if they took pot shots at her. This was a fucking joke right?
Osborn seemed happy to selectively kill commanders leaving Lawrence as the last man standing, but what did she think Lawrence was going to do with New Bethlehem? Was she actually naive enough to think that he wouldnāt go straight back to his old world building ways? Did Hollyās words āTheyāre all like that!ā just apply to Nick when scolding her naivety about the nature of commanders? Exactly how selective was this messaging to audiences going to be? This character arc of Blaineās feels personal, and how could it not when he seems to be being held up to an entirely different moral standard than all the others in the room? I couldnāt help but suspect that the entire thing was simply a manipulation to correct previous character construction, while disposing of a contender in a love triangle of their own making, who was persisting to dog the writers.
If the characters relationships werenāt consistent, why on earth would I believe that character constructs were? Particularly when all of a sudden out of the blue the writers were claiming the right to cite character information that theyād neglected to mention for years. If the character construct of Blaine, a central character in the protagonists life, wasnāt consistent, whoās to say any of the others were? Why would audiences accept these schizophrenic maneuverings as cannon? I watched as the audiences disbelief rippled outwards, calling into question all of the characters and their plot lines and inevitably causing the 4th wall to crumble. Suddenly they wanted answers, and as well they might.
Whatās to say that Naomi wasnāt about to suddenly sprout horns and start running around her parlour room giggling manically? Perhaps Serena could start inviting June and Rita over for scones and teaā¦..oh hang on. Apparently Luke came out of jail magically transformed from essentially a bookworm to a wannabe revolutionary. Certainly itās very valid that he actively wants to be involved in the retrieval of his daughter but the fact is for the last 5 seasons the man never dipped toe over the border. He had to be extricated from his house in Canada under threat of arrest, still refusing to take the impending threat from Gilead seriously even after his wife was run over right outside the front door. Now suddenly heās tinkering with explosives, something he has no experience with and shown absolutely no aptitude for. I would have bought it if theyād just given him a chart, a map or some authority to delegate because by nature heās clearly a very capable strategist. It would have also gone a long way to establishing him as an individual with some inner strength, instead of merely Juneās shadow.
Now here we have Nick vaulting from dark guardian to a self interested traitor lurking under the protagonists noseā¦despite all evidence to the contraryā¦.for 5 long seasons. Yep, sounds legit.
Minghella recently gave an interview stating that now he felt as though heād been playing his character incorrectly all along given his current transformation. Itās extremely telling that the actor themselves has been completely blindsided by last minute character developments that re alter their perception of the character theyāve inhabited for years. The character that they were given meticulous direction for throughout the last 5 seasons. The evidence of which lies in detailed scripting notes for the entire world to see. I donāt believe these writers when they say that this was always their intent to deliver this transition all along, and neither should he. I donāt know how emotionally invested he was in this character but I do know that if you feel that after years of effort and work, you should have done your job differently, it must fucking hurt. Iāll say this right now, this wonāt be any failing on his part. If they planned it and didnāt entirely fill him in on character aspects, then itās on them, if they changed his character in the final hours, then itās on them. A large portion of the audience seem to feel betrayed and I wouldnāt blame Minghella for feeling the same. Like any actor would, heās dutifully towed the line about what āa bold and interesting choiceā this all was, I think thatās being incredibly kind, which seems on brand.
A self confessed romantic, he stated that heād always viewed the romance as a source of light but now he viewed it under a more nihilistic lens. This really was the most polite way Iāve ever heard anyone say that something beautiful had been turned it into a smoking fucking wreck. The image of Blaine and Osborne holding their child together at the end of season 2 and in 4 09 will be burned forever into my psyche. The shot of them standing in that golden window naming their daughter, dreaming of a better life, is forever suspended in amber. And Iāll be fucked if I let them snatch it back, all the while mocking me for ever believing any of it was real. Not on my watch. If they wanted me to see a weak willed, duplicitous, monster, then they shouldnāt have draped him in loyalty, love, righteous justice and yearning for years. They built him over 5 seasons, and now they want to hastily reconstruct him over 10 short episodes? Well itās too late. These writers should have known better than to simply think they could rewrite history and get away with it. Personally Iām not surprised that fans circled the writers like a bunch of vicious handmaids at a Salvaging.
Iām not debating whether or not Nick has benefited from patriarchal power. He has, thatās just a fact. Youāre a man in Gilead, you benefit, itās a patriarchal societyā¦..and so is oursā¦.which is kind of the point. See the difference here is merely in degrees, and weāre having a mirror mashed into our faces. Just a shame that they failed to truly establish that image of him in earlier seasons, in fact they made pains to edit out parts of his persona and instead constructed a portrait of the dark, romantic protector. Now theyāre wondering why people are confused.
The fact was that heād moved well beyond his role as merely a driver and an eye, a simple cog in the wheel, and was now acting as the hand that turned it. Heād been a commander for years, yet writers continued to label him as āa good man in Gileadā, insinuating that he was the exception to the rule. Now in the final season they wanted to undo this entire image, giving the majority of the audience whiplash. They wanted to backtrack and say āwe know we called him a Good man in Gilead for FIVE SEASONS, but hereās all this other shit we forgot to tell you aboutā. Itās just not good enough. Suddenly the writers were screaming phrases like āNaziā and āfascistā about a character they themselves had painted as extremely benevolent throughout the years, opening fans of the duo to online āPro fascismā criticism, when theyād simply been following the writers own cues about the character for years. What the actual fuck?
This relationship has established itself as a thematically timeless love story, over 5 seasons and now they expected audiences to detach from that in the space of 4 short episodes. In the process they have also in effect poisoned this entire, beautiful love story that they worked so hard to construct right down through the seasons, making rewatches excruciating if not impossible. They were like a port in the storm and with this one act, they took it all away leaving nothing but death, darkness, betrayal and PTSD.
I also sensed that writers would not be content with the brutal severing of this relationship, they were seeking to convince audiences that Blaineās love for June had never actually been genuine. Instead it had been a selfish desire to posses her, much like Fredās. Blaine stood up and declared in episode 6 08 at Serenaās wedding that Roseās child was his āmine own child first and foreverā, effectively relinquishing his parentage over Holly. I was disgusted. These writers would not be content until the last vestiges of this union were dead. This cold severing of any parental bond served the writers as a "deal breaker" for the relationship. With Blaine now having disowned his own child, writers would be guaranteed that the audience saw him as a monster and easily hop on board with the protagonist trying to kill the father of her child, whom sheād loved for years. This will of course be presented to the audience as āa final test of strengthā but itās not, itās a disturbing depiction of domestic violence being justified under the guise of righteous justice.
At the beginning of the season the writers and show runners had claimed this season was āfor the fansā but they knew full well that at least 80% were invested in this character and duo and THAT is entirely on them. I donāt know how they convinced themselves that the majority of fans would want to see these two broken up because they couldnāt have been clearer about it for years and years. Fans have also been begging for Blaine to be moved underground for years as well and I seriously doubt thatās ever going to happen. So no, itās not for the fans, itās for the writers. The writers whoād fucked up and decided at the last minute to try and fix their mistake. Itās for the writers, so they could console themselves in the last few short episodes that they did their duty of pointing out the soft fascist in the room after feeding their audience the very opposite of it for years. Itās for the writers so hell bent on covering up their mistake that they want to erase it entirely by rewriting history. I have no doubt that they thought they were being āedgeyā and clever by having the two pitted against one another this season, but letās face it, it has simply served to highlight some serious fundamental shortcomings.
This is not a ālove letterā, this is not even the apology they owe their audience for this incredible campaign to gaslight them, this is more like a finger in the mail. I'm a pragmatist so I actually never expected the two of them to end up together, but neither did I expect this absolute annihilation of their relationship and ridiculous character assassination in the eleventh hour.
