Tag: reviews

The Handmaid’s Tale

Season Six Episode Two Exile and Three Devotion

Episode two starts out with the reunion of mother and daughter. Could you imagine finding your mother again. How that would feel especially after you thought she had died. What a great reunion. There is alot going on in this episode but very interesting.

Now, what happened to Serena Joy. Well, after she jumps off the train, Serena Joy is found getting up from the ground and starts to look for a place to help her. Noah is crying a little and she seems desperate. The irony of this is so good. Are you feeling sorry for her. Don’t. Serena Joy comes across a church, but it is closed. Serena Joy then sees a woman who drives her to a camp for women and children. Serena Joy was asked her name and of course she gives them a false one. Serena Joy is helping in the garden at her new camp. She starts to have flashbacks about her father when she use to help him in the garden.

June wakes up in her mother’s house. She hears Holly playing with Nichole. Holly tells June how she survived the colony, which it states it helped being a doctor so she helped take care of the guardians. She tells June she held on hoping she would find June again. Holly was convinced that June was still alive.

Luke is released from jail due to Mark getting him out. Luke looks rough but he is ready to go to work with helping to get Hannah back. Mark tells him his trail was not for two months. Luke being impatient joins May Day with Moira and ask Mark what he needs to do. Luke and Moira are getting supplies together so they can go to the May Day headquarters, when Rita tells them that she is going to visit New Bethlehem. Rita has been told that they can help her be united with her family.

Commander Lawrence has a meeting with Nick and Nick’s father-in-law, Commander Wharton. Lawrence praises New Bethlehem and speaks to how previous residents are wanting to return to the new part outside of Gilead. Commander Wharton ask where Serena Joy is and why she is not welcoming the new arrivals in New Bethlehem. Commander Lawrence makes the excuse she is taking a break, but he has no clue where she is. After Commander Wharton leaves, he tasks Nick to locate her.

June is trying to get used to her new life at the refugee camp. And she is worried about Luke who at this point she thinks he is still in jail. We all know June, she cannot stay still for very long. She finally gets up Moira and finds out that Luke is out of jail now. June is so happy that Luke has been released. June putts Holly on the phone and Luke is very happy that she is alive. Luke and Moira choose not to tell June that they have joined May Day.

TWO MONTHS LATER

Serena Joy gets a visitor from Commander Lawrence. His sleek car pulls up at the camp and he gets out and so does Naomi. What a pair. He has a conversation and a meal with Serena and the other women; in an attempt to get Serena Joy to join them in New Bethlehem.

June continues to call Luke every week, but her calls go silent, and she gets worried. She finally gets up with Mark who tells her that Luke and Moira are somewhere in No Man’s Land had haven’t made it back to the headquarters. At this point, June goes into rescue mode. June gets into it with Holly when she tells her she must get Luke and Moira out of No Man’s Land. Holly finally understands and agrees to have Nichole stay with her.

Serena Joy decides to go New Bethlehem and so far, things are going as she has hoped. She does not have any restrictions being a woman. She meets with other diplomats, and tries to convince them to send people there. She paints the perfect picture, and everyone looks interested. Commander Wharton has his eye on Serena Joy, and seems interested into going out with her.

After the arrangements are made by Mark, June arrives at the May Day headquarters, and starts to put a plan together to find Luke and Moira. And of course, she calls Nick to help her out. At first, he is hesitant, but he finally gives in.

Nick meets June in No Man’s Land. At first, Nick does not want June to go with him. But you know June. She convinces him to let her come along. They search several places and finally comes across one where Luke and Moira have been hiding. Luke and Moira are happy to see June but hesitant when Nick comes in behind her. Nick insist they must leave because there were guardians checking for activities in the buildings. They do run into two guardians, and Nick tries to explain that he had everything under control. One of the guardians insist that they have to call in any activity. Nick sends June to his car. While June, Nick and Moira are out of site, Nick shoots both guardians. And Nick just leaves them there.

Everyone is praising Serena Joy after the visit with the diplomats. She is pleased with herself. My question is, does she really believe half the garbage that comes out of mouth. I will say she is true survivor. Does she really think she is doing God’s work? Later Commander Wharton walks her back to her house. On the way, he admits he has always admired her. He brings up the dance she did with Fred in DC and then ask her to dance. While they are dancing, Aunt Lydia sees them and calls her name. She stops dancing instantly looking embarrassed that Aunt Lydia saw her. Aunt Lydia looked surprised to see Serena Joy so relaxed.

Nick drives June, Luke, and Moira back to No Man’s Land where Mark is waiting for them. Luke and Moira thank Nick and they walk away. June stays behind to has an exchange with Nick and then he leaves headed back to New Bethlehem.

What an episode! There is a lot going on in this one. I’m sure I left a few details out. I don’t want Serena Joy to end up on the safe side of this; she needs to really know and remember how the handmaid’s were treated. She really thinks she is safe in this new community. And as you can see, June is in fight mode again. Poor Luke and Moira have no idea what they are doing and may get hurt in the end. Things are starting to shake up a little. Hope you liked the episode.

Disclaimer

Season One Episode VII

This episode brings everything together and the question is if it’s true or not. You will hear Catherine’s side of the story and it was not what I was expecting.

Catherine is at Stephen’s house, and she begins to tell her story as to what really happened in Italy. She admits that she fell asleep at the beach because they were sick the day before and she was very tired. Nicholas insisted on going to the beach, so she took him. When she woke up, Nicholas was in the water on his raft and had no idea he was in danger. Catherine goes to the edge of the water but could not bring herself to go that far out to get him. Catherine is yelling asking for help. Catherine sees the stranger going into the water to rescue her son. Two other men come to bring Nickolas back to the shore. Everyone was concentrating on bringing Nickolas to safety that no one saw the stranger in the water struggling. But she did. Why didn’t she let anyone know he was out that. Here’s why.

Catherine talks about how she got back into her room after having a drink with the stranger. She says she must have left the key in the lock and suddenly, she sees the stranger in her room. Catherine states that he was very violent talking and had a knife to her throat. Catherine is screaming and wakes Nickolas up. The stranger hears Nicholas, and she begs him to let her go to his room. The stranger follows her into Nicholas’ room to make sure she gets him back to sleep. Afterwards, the stranger followers Catherine back to her room and begins to tell her to take her clothes off to pose for him. The stranger becomes aroused, and Catherine is hoping that’s all he wanted. The stranger then proceeds to rape her. Catherine does everything he ask and after three hours, the stranger stops and gets up to leave. The stranger thanks Catherine and tells her it was nice.

Of course, Stephen is in denial. After finishing her story, she realized that Stephen has put something in her tea. She proceeds to get up but falls before passing out. Catherine wakes up several hours later and realizes that Stephen is gone. She calls for a ride to go to the hospital. She also calls Robert to warn him that Stephen is on the way, but he denies the call.

While Catherine is passed out, Stephen gets a cab and to return to the hospital. Stephen gets to the hospital and proceeds to see Nicholas. Stephen gets to his bedside and proceeds to put the syringe in the IV. He stops. Nicholas is calling for his mom and saying he wants to go. Stephen freezes and becomes very emotional and walks away. At this time, Robert walks and sees Stephen upset. Stephen then tells Robert that everything he said is a lie.

Catherine gets to the hospital and when she gets up to the floor, she sees Stephen coming out of the room saying to her that he is sorry. Catherine immediately breaks down crying falling to the floor. Robert rushes over to her saying how sorry he was, but that Nicholas is fine and awake. Catherine gets up and runs to be by Nicholas’ side.

After everything has calmed down, Robert and Catherine are sitting in the lounge area. Robert continues to talk about how sorry he was and ask Catherine why she didn’t say thing. Catherine explains that at the time she didn’t want Robert to look at her differently so she kept it to herself. Then Robert asks her why she didn’t say anything when the book came out. Catherine reminds Robert that she did try to tell him; he didn’t her out; and that he made her feel guilty all over again. Robert ask Catherine to forgive him. Catherine says she could not forgive him. Catherine states that Robert seemed relieved and wanted to forgive her since she had been raped instead of her having the affair. Catherine says could not forgive him for that reason.

Stephen goes home and into the backyard to burn all the books he had left along with the manuscript and photos. He looks into the flames and notices a picture he had not recognized before and pulls it out. It reflected Nicholas standing outside his room looking at his mother being raped. Stephen could not believe what he was seeing and then throws the photo back into the flames.

Catherine and Robert get a divorce. Nicholas comes home and Catherine tells him what happened to her. Nicholas is so ashamed and apologizes to his mom, but he does not remember what happened. Now Catherine will have to figure out what’s next with her life.

So, what do you think? Stephen has ruined peoples’ lives based on a novel written by his dead wife. Who is telling the truth? Like Catherine said, pictures did not tell the entire story of what had happened. Then, Jonathan is not there to defend himself either. Nancy was so upset about her son drowning that she had to blame someone. And who does not look at their children and think they can do no wrong. Has Jonathan done something like this in the past. Remember how upset Nancy was from the phone call she received from Sasha’s mom. Did Jonathan also rape her? Stephen didn’t seem too surprised after Catherine told her side of the story. Is that why Stephen didn’t proceed with the syringe injection. So many questions and speculations.

This is a show that I will go back to watch later just to see if a missed something. I enjoyed the show and I hope you get a chance to watch it too. You will come away upset and angry but things like this happen in real life. Not sure if this will be worth a season two. What do you think?

Disclaimer

Season One VI

In this episode, I don’t see Stephen as a victim. He is after any revenge he can get that will cause Catherine harm. The sad part is, he is hurting other people in the process.

Flashback. Catherine is watching Robert get into the cab to leave the hotel. She is sad to see him go. Now it’s just her and Nicholas alone which makes her a little nervous.

Nicholas is dropped off that the emergency room door as a car speeds away. Whoever drops him off does not want to get blamed for what has happened to him.

Catherine goes over to her house to look for Nicholas after the phone call she received. She goes into her bedroom to wake Robert up. Robert has no clue what is going on. Catherine is worried sick about Nicholas. Catherine goes into Nicholas’ room and looks around for clues that could lead her to where he is. While Catherine is looking, she receives a phone call letting her know Nicholas is in the hospital.

Flashback. Stephen hears Helen on the phone with Sasha’s mom. Her mom is letting Helen know that the two had a fight and that Sasha came back early. Helen gets upset over the conversation with Sasha’s mom and hangs up angry. What did Sasha’s mom say to Helen to make her so upset? According to the flashbacks early on, Sasha left because her aunt was in an accident. What really happened between Sasha and Jonathan? We will never know.

Catherine and Robert are at the hospital talking with the doctor. Nicholas had a stroke and is in a coma. Even at the hospital, Robert is acting funny, so they take turns visiting Nicholas in ICU instead of going in together. Robert is still hurt and does not want to be around Catherine at all.

Stephen deletes his Instagram account. Robert calls Stephen to let him know that Nicholas is in the hospital in a coma. After the call, Stephen is pleased but not too happy that Nicholas is still alive. He prepares to go to the hospital to see Nicholas with a syringe filled with drain cleaner.

Flashback. Catherine is at the beach and sees a young man watching her. She gets very uncomfortable and gets up to leave with Nicholas. She was thinking it was nice to have someone look at her but that was her only thought. Catherine puts Nicholas to bed and decides to finish her night with a glass of wine. She goes downstairs to the bar to get a glass to go. When she looks up, the same young man is staring at her. She smiles politely but he then invites her to sit and have a drink with him. She doesn’t want to be rude, so she sits down for one drink. Now, does this sound like someone who is trying to seduce anyone?

Stephen gets to the hospital and after getting directions, he goes to see Nicholas. Just as he is about to put the syringe in his IV, Catherine comes up asking why he is there. Catherine pushes him away from Nicholas’ bed and Stephen falls over and hits his head. Catherine is escorted out and the nurses run to Stephen to help him up. After getting patched up, the nurse gives him some sleeping pills before letting him go.

Stephen gets home and later that night; he wakes up because he hears someone in his house. He goes to the door and the window is busted. He walks around to look for an intruder. He sees the patio door open, and there stands Catherine. She comes inside and takes a sit at the table while Stephen fixes them some tea. Stephen puts a sleeping pill in her cup before giving it to her. Catherine does not notice. She is there to tell her side of the story.

Has Stephen gone too far with his grief? What is he planning to do once Catherine continues to drink her tea and passes out? What does Catherine have to say to Stephen? She is not leaving his house until she tells her side of the story so let’s get to it!