I think people are actually picking up on something that's really important to deconstruct: that damaging systems aren't always unpleasant feeling. I can't tell you how many misogynistic ideas were presented to me as "girlhood girlboss girlpower," and just underneath the surface was a festering pit of rot.
I think a really good parallel to use here is the scene from Midsommar where all the women are holding the protagonist as she sobs.
To this day people bring up how it was an example of "girlhood" when Dani was comforted by the women. But in reality the cult has manufactured a traumatic scene for her to witness so they can exploit it and trauma bond her to them.
Gilead does something similar to it's women. If you only give the people you're trying to control constant torment, they'll eventually riot with nothing to lose. It's harder to do that when there's a veneer over what's occurring.
I was so uncomfortable during Janine's labor in the Handmaid's tale specifically because of how pleasant and appealing it seemed at first glance.
It's not really an secret that in the modern day there's a lot of push back on hospital births for how sterile, cold, and unfeeling they can be during labor. A lot of women don't trust doctors for how they were treated in labor, and the "husband stitch" is something women still live in fear of to this day.
Gilead frames itself as the healthier alternative. Women aren't pressured into c-sections or unneeded interventions, community is present and supportive, there's no hospital bills...
But obviously, it's not healthy.
Women aren't given a choice on who's allowed in the room, nobody gets medical treatment unless it's to save the baby, and the whole performance basically exists to make the Wives feel important and part of the process.
So yeah, in The Testaments, you're supposed to have a few "awe, I wish I had something like that." Because that's the point.
Gilead WANTS them to have fun in this scene:
because right after comes this:
It creates an intentional dichotomy. "You're safe with our girlhood. the outsiders are who want to actually hurt you."
