#tht emily

[onyxstorms]

The Handmaid’s Tale 3.01 - “Night”

“Lord Jesus, you revealed from heaven with his mighty angels with flaming fire thou shalt take vengeance. Burn motherfucker, burn.”

[evanbuckiey]

i just saw this episode and i think i will never stop crying

[carnations-in-october]

The Handmaid’s Tale S2 Finale - How We’re Set Up for Season 3

There’s 3 points in the finale that I think might point to some plot points in season 3: June staying in Gilead, the escape of a Handmaid, and the baby being known as Nicole.

So firstly, June is definitely joining Mayday, presumably to save her other child - how that will play out remains to be seen. Does Mayday have a headquarters? Where are they based? Radio Free America, which may or may not be affiliated with Mayday, said that they are broadcasting “from somewhere in the great white north.” I doubt that they are operating from within Gilead, so maybe they’re just over the border in Canada. Maybe June will be in Canada, but only going as far as just over the border (if there’s any sort of rebel hq or hideout there) but not go far enough to alert Canadian authorities. Maybe she’ll be able to contact Luke and Moira, who knows. The possibilities are endless.

Emily’s escape

This is huge, not just because of everything Emily’s been through, but because Emily can tell her story to the world! Remember what the letters from women in Gilead did? It got talks between Canada and Gilead shut down and the Waterfords thrown out of the country. If that’s what a few hasty words scribbled on scraps of paper can do, imagine the effect the tale of a real Handmaid would do! It seems that no fully fledged Handmaids have ever escaped - you have someone like Moira, who went through the training but never actually “worked” (that is definitely not the right word, but anyway) as a Handmaid. Emily has seen it all - she’s been a Handmaid in at least four houses, she’s been put on trial, she’s been mutilated, she’s been sent to the Colonies - she has quite a tale (heehee) to tell. It seems that the world is lollygagging when it comes to taking action against Gilead. They’ve put economic sanctions on Gilead and they’ve accepted American refugees. This is in line with the real world, as countries are often reluctant to take armed action against each other after a century of near constant wars. But upon hearing Emily’s story, how can they not take more action? We know from Luke early in season 2 that Canadian forces, bolstered by British forces, are manning the border. He thought that they had to be planning an invasion, and this was before the letters and before Emily’s escape. So maybe (hopefully) Mayday won’t be the only people working to bring down Gilead. 

“Call her Nicole”

In the heat of the moment watching the finale, this was a big “wtf???” moment for me. My first thought was June was changing her mind about the baby’s name, and choosing to name the baby in tribute to Serena (vom). However, I know don’t think that’s the case, because of all the times she’s called the baby Holly, of how Nick also names her Holly and because of how June has constantly asserted herself as the baby’s real mother, by breastfeeding and pushing Serena and Fred about the baby’s long term welfare. I don’t think the “call her Nicole” is for Serena, I think it serves a different purpose at least in the minds of the writers if not June’s - it did take her about 2 minutes to make the decision to stay behind and “call her Nicole,” after all. I’ve seen people speculate that Serena named the baby after Nick, her real father, to get at Fred, but I don’t think so. Serena has wanted a baby for years and years, actively trying to get pregnant before Gilead and after Gilead with her Handmaid. I think she’s probably had the perfect baby name picked out for a long time - just look at all the baby clothes she’s collected! We’ve only seen baby’s given Biblical names or names with religious connotations - Hannah was renamed Agnes, which means pure or holy according to Wikipedia, and Janine’s baby was called Angela, which means angel or messenger of God. Nicole is a modern name without a religious meaning (it actually means “victory of the people” - funny). I don’t think Serena chose it because of Nick, but the connection to him is unmistakable. The writers could have chose any name, but they specifically chose one that is the feminine version of her father’s name, Emily does not know June’s name for the baby is Holly - she just knows that June wants her to be called Nicole, she might not even know that Nicole is Serena’s name for the baby. She just knows what June said, “call her Nicole. Tell her I love her.” But what will happen to the baby in Canada? Will she stay with Emily? Will Emily seek out Luke? Luke thinks the baby is Fred the rapist’s, as that’s what Nick told him, he probably won’t want anything to do with her. However, he’s met Nick and knows he’s June’s “friend.” It’s known in Gilead that most of the Commander’s are infertile. Most of the Handmaids have probably been offered extra “services” from their doctors, as we saw with June in season 1. Emily had probably been offered this as well, so if she meets Luke and he’s raging about “the rapist’s baby,” in the interest of conflict resolution Emily might say “Well we don’t know that, loads of the Commander’s are useless and Handmaid’s often have to look elsewhere. Having a baby is key to a Handmaid’s survival.” And that’s when it might click: Nick = Nicole. I know a lot of people don’t like Luke (I don’t understand why, but that’s a different post), so people might read this and think “who cares what Luke thinks about the baby,” I just think in the interest of baby Holly having a nurturing and loving environment and honouring June’s wish for the baby to be grow up free and happy, it would be great to see Emily, Luke, Moira and maybe even Erin rally together to raise her until June can escape Gilead. I think the show runners choosing a name so similar to her father’s is too much of a coincidence for it not to serve any purpose. June could have told Emily that the baby’s name is Holly and that would have been enough of an indication that June loves the baby (she would have to to name her after her mother) and that she wants her taken care of - but Luke and Moira would be doing it despite the fact she is a “rapist’s baby” (not that that would mean she doesn’t deserve love and care, just that it would make it harder for June’s loved ones to fulfil her wishes). The baby being known as Nicole is the only way for the truth to potentially be known while June is still in Gilead. Personally I can’t wait to see them all trying to raise the baby together lmao. 

[the-beacons-of-minas-tirith]

Emily was like:

[onyxstorms]

The Handmaid’s Tale 3.02 - “Mary and Martha”

“One day when we’re ready, we’re coming for you.”

[onyxstorms]

The Handmaid’s Tale 3.04 - “God Bless the Child”

“We come together in peace to celebrate the babies born in our district. We dedicate ourselves and our children to God. It takes a village -- and machine guns. Who among them can be persuaded? Who can be turned, ignited to burn this shit place to the ground?”

[onyxstorms]

The Handmaid’s Tale 2.02 - “Unwomen”

“What will happen when I get out? I probably don’t have to worry about it, because there probably is no out.”

[onyxstorms]

Me: *thought I wouldn’t be an emotional mess after this week’s The Handmaid’s Tale*

Me after this week’s The Handmaid’s Tale: