Going to try to keep my initial thoughts (somewhat) brief within this structure (spoiler, I may have failed).
My thorn from the first three episodes of s6… definitely (mom)Holly ACTUALLY calling Nick a Nazi 😭 as unlikely as we all thought this reunion would actually be I think a lot of us have maybe played out this scenario in our fondest fanfic minds complete with Nick revelation and we did not exactly picture it playing out like an antagonistic Reddit thread… In hindsight in the perspective of purely what we know on the show her reaction should really not be that surprising. But man it still stings like a slap in the face to hear this kind of unnuanced rhetoric voiced out loud by a long lost loved one whom June trusts. And obviously stung June too, not to mention having her judgement called into question. ESPECIALLY after having her choices being called into question by her mom her whole life and then finally now having her mom call her tough and strong and a survivor, only to then essentially say she’s a collaborator/ being manipulated by the man she loves, father of her baby. But I will say her reaction is also somewhat mitigated for me by the way Moira reacts to Nick in the next episode, as the quintessential feminist activist mentee of Holly and knows firsthand many of the horrors of Gilead, and also ostensibly knows so much more of the detail and nuance of the relationship from June directly).
My rose(s)… a three way tie between
(a) June reuniting with her Mom (yeah I was sobbing as soon as I saw the shoes and then the stethoscope). Her meeting Nichole/bb Holly and declaring her a genius. Yes, even with her having some problematic views responsible for my thorn (every rose, as they say…) What can I say, it's complicated.
(b) osblaine spy club quality time—listen I hate that Nick is putting himself in danger here but I love that they’re together, I love that he still can’t help it with June and I love that he’s finally EXPRESSING that to her and voicing his thoughts and frustrations about her and him and Luke and June is expressing back. And yeah I’m really not concerned that she said “loved” at first just like I’m not ultimately concerned he speaks of her “choosing” Luke when that was a default all along not really a choice (“he waited" is a declaration of eternal burning love?? No, it’s guilt and relationship by default.) Really they’re both in consolation relationships by default, ok his may be a bit more state-mandated while hers has historical precedent pressure. Regardless , clearly there are these external issues that are a real factor right now in them BEING TOGETHER but not in them LOVING EACH OTHER) and I really hope at some point they get to hash that out further because at some point maybe there may not be so many external obstacles(????) And I love that June called out their eternal “be happy”/“have a good life” goodbyes as if they won’t continually be drawn back together like freaking magnets. It’s inevitable, and I don’t care what they’re trying to sell us with this scary future “betrayal” shtick: it’s another “Swiss meeting”: Nick is not Fred and he never will be. I can’t fathom a world in which after everything coming before and then Nick risking it all this episode and then they give us this “it’s never over" scene then have him go and do June so dirty that there’s no going back? Makes no sense. Not happening. Not in my world. Bye.
(c) I guess this is partially covered in b but 👋HI NICK SPEAKING UP FOR YOURSELF👏; with Lawrence and with Mark as well as with his feelings to June. I think we may have heard more words and more importantly more opinions out of this man’s mouth in the first 3 episodes of s6 than in the last 5 seasons combined. I’m not kidding. It’s glorious and I’m here for it. I’m still definitely worried about daddy in law’s continued influence, as Nick seems to start out as wary as he ever is, but we’ve heard and now get a taste of how charismatic and gently manipulative C. Wharton can be. Mix that with actual threats and it could be a very powerful weapon. I pray Nick doesn’t lose his voice and become yes man fodder for daddy in law dearest. But absolutely loving hearing him be more vocal, standing up and giving sass. Yes, king, slay (are the kids still saying that?) More of this please.
The Handmaid’s Tale 6x01 - "Train" (or "Are we There Yet? I Knew we Should have Just Flown")👀
OH MY, SEASON SIX, we have we been waiting for you for almost as long as Nick has been waiting for June to run away with him so long and you're finally here, you're really here!! I'm as relieved as I am scared as I am thrilled (and honestly operating on a bit of a high from the first three episodes since I consider them better than the WHOLE of s5), but well aware we'll likely be on a serious roller coaster from here on out. So hanging for dear life onto my seat and with no further ado...
(also apologies for the shitty screencaps, for some reason this function is currently not working on my laptop so I am literally taking pictures of the screen with my phone, idk.....🥴)
The sixth and final season of our beloved Tale opens with a gorgeously cinematic (and gorgeously scored) shot of a train gliding across a lush landscape of forest and river, as June and Serena head to their new semester at Hogwarts out west.
(the girls' trip that was not on my bingo card)
So June and Serena are... friends(?) now? And Serena is of course the kind of thoughtful, observant friend who always notices when you get a new haircut or blouse or you know, a giant sling and bruised up face and sudden lack of 1 count husband you seemed previously attached at the hip to for the whole last season, whilst showing up on a train full of desperate refugees fleeing west. Yes, she's just that kind of friend (or not). When June admits her arm is killing her Serena offers super helpfully: "Oh yes your arm is broken, that must hurt quite a bit" which honestly is equally disconcerting because she seems to have just noticed, and because this is Serena seeming to express concern and sympathy (as best she can manage anyway). Like an alien freshly landed on earth, Serena seems to be extremely out of her element and trying very hard to figure out this whole "how humans interact with each other" thing. But seriously, is she really just now realizing June's state? It was nighttime when they got on that train and it's light out now so SOME time has passed, does this woman just never ask anybody else about themselves? Not once before this was she like omg what happened? I guess she really is a narcissist. And yes, this is swiftly confirmed when June tells her that her injuries are actually from Gilead trying to MURDER her, and Serena uses that as another tone deaf opportunity to try and bond.
Exhausted, June finally drifts off to dreamland, where we see her follow who we must assume is an older version of Hannah dressed in purple through an ethereal sun-soaked meadow full of purple flowers at golden hour. She rudely wakes from this gorgeous pensive dream to find Holly/Nichole's stroller ominously empty, and begins to rush through the train car in a panic. It turns out her new BFF has just taken her daughter to the other compartment while June was getting her beauty rest as she didn't want her to be a sleepy grumpy gus, heavens(!) and then of course proceeds to act super offended at the ridiculous idea that she would EVER try to steal June’s child! (flashback to all of season 1... Season 2... 3... Some of season 4? I don't know, at some point she found out she was pregnant and I guess decided kidnapping was too much work if she could pop one out herself because as we all know of course all kids are interchangeable, you just need one). Serena now notices June physically struggling from her injuries though and decides to notch up her weird new obsequious personality to an even higher level, hovering like the aspiring helicopter mom she hopes to be (ohpleasepleaseplease LIKE meee, June!!), which of course causes June to be all like ew wtf get off my JOCK Serena(!) and is really kind of a hilarious dynamic for a beat. Serena insists on going to fetch a doctor (which as we see will end up being her downfall but I'm getting a bit ahead).
Hoo boy, I just knew Serena was going to get herself in trouble as soon as she started playing Hall Monitor for pregnant ladies and children (does this woman just have no clue how to keep a low profile or what ?). And then she really started playing with fire arranging her own former handmaid/Martha therapy circle, cosplaying as one of them... or at least as someone who truly understands and empathizes with their plight as opposed to one who helped cause it (and in June's case did directly cause the suffering). "it seems like we've all been a part of some violence” ...ummmm yeah, with YOU being the one perpetrating it, Serena! (facepalm).--Sidenote: my ears perked up when one of the women says she was liberated at from an agricultural colony, and “we had a really smart doctor who gave a shit”... for full disclosure I was (not with 100% certainty) but fairly spoiled as to the possibility at last by the trailer, although I did not expect it to happen so soon.
Serena continues to just be completely clueless but trying REALLY. HARD. so that when June tells her of Luke's arrest she assumes June that God will bring him to her and their family can be together and just forget any of this ever happened (because of course she's also the kind of friend who remembers about your eldest daughter who was stolen from you by the same evil regime she helped set up and is still trapped in Gilead and who she has cruelly used as bait/a threat for June multiple times… oh wait, not that one either! Hm). For whatever reason though (I blame the pain) June is finding herself still being crazy open and vulnerable with her former prisoner and torturer, admitting to her "I don’t know if I can be alone again." Serena offers to help however she can, as a means to amends, and while June resists at first she is apparently weary enough or desperate and devoid of current allies enough to finally say "ok".
But back to Serena's "I'm just a regular human person and refugee, praise be!" act; listen, we all knew it was only a matter of time before her charade was found out. And ironically it was the doctor she went to fine for June who outs her so if she hadn't she might have gotten away with it. I mean probably not with her level of ego and out-of-touchness but maybe. When, despite June's protests, the police officer (who of course has a sad Gilead killed/stole his loved ones story) arrives and gleefully refuses to take Serena into custody (thereby providing physical protection from train mob justice), shit really hits the fan. Of course as soon as she's outed and the refugees start to turn all "feral June in the woods with Fred", Serena willfully ignores June's advice to chill and completely 180's from her "look I'm a nice, normal refugee victim like you!" game to revert back to full on unapologetic fox news lady dictator screaming the favorite classic Gilead tagline "you were unfit!!" Yep, this one really knows how to win friends and influence people. A far cry from the murder happy ex-handmaid of last season, June tries to physically block the rabid crowd from getting to Serena. Look I guess I get that at this point June's blood lust has been sated and I guess acting as Serena's reluctant midwife (hey, from handmaid to midwife!) in the woods like weirdly life-bonded them, but COME ON, June, are you really trying to sell that fuckhead Fred taking her finger is sufficient "payment" for all of Serena's various horrific crimes, in and out of Gilead (not even to mention her instrumental role before).
I guess the lesson is that there is a middle ground there somewhere less extreme than tearing a person limb from limb but that is also not putting your (recently survived assasination attempt) self and small young precious baby child in potential danger to protect your kidnapper/rapist/torturer/proud co-creator of the evil regime that has caused death and suffering for like A LOT of people. I mean the middle ground would have been the police officer arresting her. But whatever the (largely incomprehensible) reasons, and fairly ironically in fact, when faced with the refugees being pretty much exactly where June herself was at the end of s4 and throughout at least half of s5 (murderous insatiable revenge rage), June is suddenly horrified. Either she really has done a TON of healing in the last season or she's been hopelessly stockholm-syndromed again. She suddenly looks up and sees the solution... and pulls the emergency brake, sending the train screeching to a halt and the would-be particicutioners stumbling for purchase. She tells Serena to RUN and then JUMP from the back of the train... unfortunately Serena waits a bit too long and the train starts moving again, and with the angry mob breaking the glass of the compartment door down, June finally takes matters into her own hands. I have to say, I find it ironically satisfying and hilarious that June did in fact end up pushing Serena off the back of the train (as was read in one fan prediction on instagram). Only in a twist of fate it was actually in a desperate attempt to save her, not kill her (I bet it felt at least a LITTLE BIT GOOD anyway, though). Thankfully the mob, though scornful, doesn't target June further for her role in Serena's escape, leaving her and baby Holly/Nichole alone for the remainder of the journey.
Sometime later June awakes in her lonely pariah train car and is informed that this is the last stop for they have arrived in Alaska (you don't gotta go home but you can't stay here!). As they tentatively enter the refugee camp, she sees the American flag flying high, rightside up. For the first time in YEARS June is on official US soil, but it is with a bittersweet sense of relief as she finds herself (with Nichole) alone again and faced with starting over in yet another unfamiliar place that is not home.
And then, AND THEN, we get the most incredible heartwarming surprise, on par with the Moria/June reunion in Chicago in s4. MY GOD as soon as they start slow mo zooming from the sneakers to the stethoscope I am WRECKED. June has repeated her mantra of "I don't want to be alone" in this episode, which was introduced in the s5 finale. And now we see that, in the most beautifully unexpected turn of fate, here in the most remote outpost of the remaining continental USA, she's not alone. Because incredibly, her mom is here, just when and where she perhaps needed her the most (mommies always come back). And as we know, they have a lot to catch up on, but for now, it's more than enough to see them holding each other as the miracle this is.
(Gulf of Gilead? Surely that can’t be right)
Back in Canada, Moira (like the good loyal friend she is) bursts into Tuello’s office ready to fight tooth and nail for Luke's freedom. Mark, while seemingly sympathetic, sounds like he's got some bigger fish to fry, and indeed he confesses that his American office in Canada is soon to be shut down and America officially "de-recognized" as a country, as Gilead rises in international power and negotiations (YIKES). So that's it??, she wants to know. But while he's beat down, maybe, Mark's not beat yet. For as Moira contemplates the disturbingly relabeled map of her former home country, he takes a beat and then says: “Mayday’s fighting back” and OK HI MY MARK TUELLO TESTAMENTS CONSPIRACY THEORY IS BACK ON, bayBEE!—I mean, maybe... I don't know... UGH--What I DO know though is that Moira wants to help—after years of helping refugees but overall "playing nice" in Canada, it seems the fierce fighting spirit we saw in s1 is back!! She alludes to her time in Jezebels seeing black market goods come in and out, and Mark is shocked and impressed at her story of escape--and then clearly the wheels are turning as he contemplates his new recruit with fresh eyes.--Side note, he says "No one leaves Jezebels", and is this perhaps foreshadowing (or reverse foreshadowing, hopefully) for Janine's fate?? Hmmm.
(When you know the Gilead honeymoon is over)
Meanwhile, in Gilead... or sorry, Gilead 2.0?....a black van pulls up to a lovely large beach house in scenic New Bethlehem, and who should hop out in cuffs but our favorite love-lorn Commander, looking every inch the rebelliously disheveled bad boy SNACK (praise be). He's fresh from his brief stint in Gilead drunk tank jail, where I guess they put commanders overnight as a slap on the wrist when they get a bit too frisky about their handmaid mistresses (that stuff's all fine of course as long as you keep it on the down low, everyone knows commanders need a little kink, hey?!). Definitely relieved that this particularly hypocritical quirk of the Gileadean power structure seems to have spared our boy too much grief, though (at least for now). As Rose glares disapprovingly down from the porch at her wayward hubby, Nick is informed that his father-in-law has arrived and has been waiting for him (duhn duhn DUHN). Nick however does not seem very interested in having a fatherly chat at the moment, seemingly blowing off the good commander to go have a smoke on the beach like the sad emo bad boy he is (and we love him for it).
Daddy in law soon tracks him down anyway, though, and if we were expecting the big bad wolf, that is not what we find with Commander Wharton (well, perhaps big wolf baddie in fatherly teddy bear clothing, but we shall see). Daddy Wharton's not mad, just maybe a little disappointed. It's time for Nick to put his childish playthings (namely, of course, June) on the shelf and focus on his life-long marriage that he's entered into for life that is going to last his entire life (did he mention it's a life-long commitment?) Gulp. Daddy Wharton continues his affably folksy misogynist (veering into mildy racist territory) lecture to say "don’t you think it’s time to prioritize what’s best for you and your family?" and "You have a bright future, it’s yours if you take it" and I can't help but think there is a larger double meaning to these statements depending on the very different directions Nick could end up choosing (come ON, Nick, choose NOT GILEAD, man!!). Wharton happily informs him he’ll be sticking around for a bit as they await the birth of his grandson, and as he walks off Nick lets out a quiet little “fuck” under his breath (yeah, no shit, boo).
...........
And so we begin with our various players spread out across the northern continent, but with seeds of plots set in motion (and only 9! episodes to go), we know it can't be too long before paths start criss crossing again and shit starts hitting various fans. Will Serena (and Noah) survive?? (Hmm I think they will, she's the most gorgeous cockroach of them all). Will June stay in Alaska and peacefully live out her days there with Holly squared? (I think we know that's a no). Will Luke stay in prison? (Probly not) And Nick? You know I'm always rooting for our boy to defect or make a bold anti-Gilead play but I mean at this point I'm here even for just more smoking and sass, PEAK Blaine content (may the lord open).
