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glasskey · 7 days

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THT True Love and Double Trouble Remix Part 1.

Over the next few mixes I’m going to talk about the embodiment of themes and concepts in character constructs, in particular for the participants of our infamous Handmaid’s Tale love triangle, Nick, June and Luke. I first wrote about Nick and June’s character concepts in Nick’s Playlist last year, but let’s face it ALL of these characters are intimately bound to one another and it’s finally time to talk about how and why. Welcome to the True Love & Double Trouble Remixes.

JUNE

In general when constructing a character for the purpose of telling a story, they’re written with themes and concepts in mind which form their history, motivation, journey and final destination. In Atwood’s text June is meant to represent the everyday woman, nameless, caught up in the whirlwind that is Gilead. She acts as an unreliable narrator, providing her unique perspective that seems simultaneously fantastical and horrifically true. She is propelled from a life of relative peace and tranquility into one of slavery and subjugation. Gilead’s expectations and restrictions are used throughout to not only contrast against our understanding of basic freedoms, but also highlight an existing undercurrent of societal gender bias in June’s pre Gilead life. She engages in acts of rebellion that give her a sense of freedom and ultimately launch her into unknown territory. In the series June transforms from someone who’s “not that kind of person” into Gilead’s worst nightmare….hope.

Those stolen from a free country and forced to live in slavery, still recall their liberty and therefore relentlessly seek it through constant acts of rebellion. A generation born into it however, may easily be taught to accept it as ordinary, as Aunt Lydia observes in S1; given time the abnormal will become the new normal. When June smuggles out a plane load of children, she steals Gilead’s ability to normalise its fascist ideals in the next generation. It gives those trapped in Gilead hope and in S4 and 5 we see Gilead’s relentless campaign to eliminate her, extinguishing her legend and therefore any ensuing acts of rebellion.

In S4 when Osborne is recaptured as a handmaid her notoriety and subsequent incarceration is used to create a loss of hope amongst the Handmaids. If June Osborne a handmaid of such repute can be bridled by Gilead, their power must be complete. By the same logic, once June Osborn escapes their grasp, her freedom cannot be tolerated. June represents the spirit of rebellion who along with Nick Blaine, gives birth to her countries future liberty; Holly. June reclaims her sexual freedom in the form of her relationship with Nick, but it’s not just sex, it’s the seeds of rebellion, liberty and love that are being sown here. Her bond with his character is a clear statement about her need to journey into deeper personal uncharted territory, in order to achieve freedom. It’s a message about the necessity of love to sustain us as human beings, the need for community and family, and how intimately these are tied to free will. As their relationship crystalizes his sense of freedom and her power grows.

“No one dies from lack of sex, it’s lack of love we die from”, “Grab love wherever you can find it” June states as her relationship with Nick deepens. The tenor of these statements and the recording to Luke “I am ashamed……..He helped me to survive” speak loudly of a sense of guilt that she has found love somewhere else, painting it as a matter of sheer survival. Despite this when June returns to Canada, Luke becomes increasingly aware that far from being merely a matter of necessity, this bond is actually something much, much more. He grows to understand that his wife’s view of him as a “complete” partner has been permanently changed and that he would actually never be enough for her. Luke epitomizes the country June left behind, a landscape she now finds alien and uncomfortably unfamiliar.

Instead of grieving acceptance, we see June’s growing desperation and distress that the daughter she conceived in a once free country is now slowly being swallowed by Gilead’s maw. In the S4 bridge scene, Nick assures her that Hannah still loves and remembers her but it’s debatable as to whether this is true, or she is much like her country slowly falling under Gilead’s spell. Throughout S4 and 5 there are several moments that Nick and Hannah are mentioned, together they represent the figurative “reward” June will receive once Gilead is defeated. Lawrence flaunts Nick in an attempt to have June submit to Gilead but it’s nothing but Fools gold, for neither of them will be truly free.

June is like a barometer, an indicator of the shifting winds of change. While she stays in Canada with Luke, the spirit of rebellion lies dormant, like the gun she buries in the snow. Lawrence observes that she is “losing her edge”, meanwhile Gilead grows in strength and the people she left behind are bent to its will. We see Hannah begin schooling to be a wife, Janine demonstrating a new level of compliance and Nick is swallowed by his surrounding influences, “groomed” by Lawrence to become a dutiful and brutal fledgling commander. These characters say a great deal about Gilead’s power structures. Hannah represents a new generation of believers, Janine; the walking manifestation of all the horrors Gilead visits on the Handmaids. Nick represents the next generation of the power structure, its ability to exercise will and force, he’s “a puppy” in training.

As June breaks her bond with Luke and Canada, we see these influence of Gilead’s power begin to crumble. Hannah remembers her name and writes it down. Nick rejects his allegiance to Gilead completely, sacrificing everything for those he loves. And Janine refuses to comply with Aunt Lydia’s demands no matter what the cost. June’s relationship with both Luke and Nick are designed to signify two separate states of grace (passivity or rebellion) and as the season’s progress, and she develops her relationship with each counterpart, we see a distinct shift from one state to the other. The nature of the love she has for each is noticeably different too; her love for Nick is romantic, passionate and enduring, while Luke conjures feelings of devotion and commitment. Throughout S5 we watched June attempt to return to her “home” finding instead distant memories and simmering tension, which comes to a boil in ep10 as we hear her say “America wasn’t Gilead until it was. We have to run. Now.”

In Ep 10, Luke bids June farewell, finally acknowledging her autonomy in the form of her maiden name. It signified a breaking of this bond with her former life and a return to her original state of independence. S5 Ep 10 is the metaphorical Tabula Rasa for all of these characters. Everything they have attempted to build is rubble, their homes are gone and they have been scattered to the wind. June tells Holly on the train “we’re going to a beautiful island”, Hawaii the recurring elusive destination of idyllic safety. But she is shortly confronted by Serena, promptly reminding her that the ghost of Gilead will follow her, no matter where she runs to. As Nick so succinctly says “they’ll keep coming for her….”

Back soon with the second installment in our latest remix.

#handmaids tale #june osborne #june x nick #nick x june #the handmaids tale hulu #osblaine #elisabeth moss #max minghella #hulu streaming #nick blaine #THTplaylists&mixtapes #love triangle #the handmaids tale #hulu tv #tv series #analysis #luke bankole

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aishathetaurus · 2 years

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I said this in a much longer post, but I wanted to dedicate a post to it... but a lot of y'all's hatred towards Luke is just racism. You're racist.

The show's refusal to address race and y'all's obsession with Nick being with June is having an effect on y'all. I mean, you were racist before ever seeing the show, probably, but the show's refusal to just say it outright isn't helping. Its touched on in the book, but not so much in the show or movie... I'll solely address the lack of understanding towards Luke's circumstances and just... leave the whole Osblaine thing alone.

In the book, the racism is just as clear as the misogny. JUST as clear. You barely see black people (and nonwhite people in general, but I'm talking about black people and the book actually touches specifically on black people as well) in this setting simply because in Gilead black people are not allowed unless their ovaries are promising. Black women didn't become handmaids. They were just killed or sent to the colonies, and if they were lucky maybe they'd get to be a Martha. Its silly and naive to think the gendered slavery or horrids stopped at just forcing women to be bastardized surrogates when there's room for so much more horrendous realities, whether it was shown on screen or not. This isn't something you had to read the book to get a grasp on. Its just... heavily implied either way. This isn't saying much because there were few, but most black women we've seen on screen at once is when we saw Unwomen...

Some of us have noticed the few times the show has hinted to how race is being handled and how it affects everything. To some of us, even without those hints, its obvious... The racism of it all is implied actually. Its so implied, it almost, doesn't need to said. However, to most of you? You're oblivious, so it should've been said. Over and over, actually.

Luke is doing the best he can in a system that was literally built to go against him. Even the current system, where the focus is mainly on women, is built against him despite the fact he's a man... he's still black. Imagine the fear of living as black man of America... Now take all the worst parts of America and put them into their own country... Now imagine the fear navigating that... Imagine what the level of fear does to you... Again, this isn't something you'd have to read the book to wrap your head around... There's a lot of pressure on Luke not only as a man, but as a black person and he's clearly just very very scared, as he should be.

With all things considered, he's doing great. He's been doing great this entire time. He didn't ruin anything this episode, nor has he ever. He did what needed to be done. He didn't need permission or extra context. He has never had the time or space to pause, consider context, and be gentle with his wrongdoers the way people like June or Serena has... This being a hard time for women, doesn't erase the reality of how black people are treated. In fact, with so much freedom to treat people however, it just heightens the racism towards black people. Again, not necessarily something you needed to read the book to grasp.

Either way, Serena is a literal war criminal and a serial rapist that stepped foot out of her allowed space. Whether he called or not, immigration was coming for her ass, and he did the right thing by speeding up the process.

After being kidnapped AGAIN... calling immigration and the police on the woman that helped enslave, imprison, and rape his wife was the only option... How do you see that and then still rage? What else was he supposed to do? What are your expectations of him? Not just in this episode or the last, but this whole time... What the hell was he supposed to do as a black man? Try to save her and stick out like a sore black thumb and end up getting himself and June killed?? He's not Nick. There was no helping her. The anger literally doesn't make sense and its getting to the point I have to assume its simply racism.

The inability to understand his circumstances... How harshly he's judged... yeah...

Luke was just as "useless" in the book and 1990's movie, yet its only when it comes to the show, where he's portrayed as a black man, do I see any commentary on how truly "worthless" he is. Its interesting.

#luke bankole #june osborne #the handmaid's tale #handmaid's tale #handmaids tale #so annoying this nuance is missing from the show #its so annoying reading y'all's takes on luke having the understanding i have on how fucking scary it was to be black in gilead #even if i didn't read the book years ago #this is all information i would've gathered just from watching the show and really taking in every scene #just a reminder that majority of this show's audience are white women tbh #this isn't the original story but its the story now #luke in the original story didn't have to navigate any of this #but its the story now so...#anyway #a much needed race analysis #we cannot just pretend that him being black doesn't play a role in this story just because the writers weren't outright with it #its a story based on a real country that really had slavery and is actually violently misogny #if luke is gonna be black in the show then it has to be acknowledged when doing an analysis #it means something and it was a choice #black people played a role in the original story and it would be a disservice to ignore this reality now #especially when its been hinted at multiple times

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astro-tag-9 · 1 month

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The Handmaid’s Tale Astrology

June Osborne - Capricorn Sun, Sagittarius Moon, Aries Rising

Serena Joy - Scorpio Sun, Aries Moon, Taurus Rising

Moira - Aquarius Sun, Pisces Moon, Leo Rising

Nick Blane - Gemini Sun, Scorpio Moon, Capricorn Rising

Luke Bankole - Virgo Sun, Virgo Moon, Gemini Rising

Rita - Taurus Sun, Taurus Moon, Sagittarius Rising

Aunt Lydia - Libra Sun, Cancer Moon, Aries Rising

Fred- Leo Sun, Leo moon, Virgo Rising

Emily - Pisces sun, Capricorn moon, Capricorn Rising

Janine - Cancer Sun, Libra Moon, Leo Rising

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tv-moments · 4 months

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The Handmaid’s Tale

Season 5, “Allegiance”

Director: Bradley Whitford

DoP: Nicola Daley

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hufflepotato-18 · 1 year

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THE FINALE WAS SO DAMN GOOD.

#the handmaid’s tale #the handmaids tale season 5 #tht spoilers #nick blaine #mark tuello #janine lindo #june osborne #luke bankole #serena waterford #HOLY SHIT #THIS FINALE WAS…#DAMN #nice way to REALLY FUCK ME UP #WHAT A ROLLER COASTER OF EMOTIONS

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mytvjunk · 2 years

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Serena chose war

#the handmaid's tale #handmaids tale #serena waterford #fred waterford #june osborne #elisabeth moss #hulu #morning #ballet #luke bankole #nick blaine #hannah bankole

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nickblaine · 1 year

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season 4 script summaries

previous script summaries: season 3, season 2, season 1, seasons 1/2 cont’d also, check my tht scripts tag for gifs, excerpts, and more details

good news! there are no deleted Nick/Osblaine scenes in season 4. i’ll just be summarizing the subtext that is written into the script and comparing differences to the onscreen version.

before i begin:

• everything described here is from the official scripts that are archived at the Writers Guild in Los Angeles. • the scripts i read are final drafts. there is no “writing in the margins.” everything described here is from dialogue and script direction that was used on set during filming. (you can see an example of what these scripts look like in the 4x07/4x10 links below.) • the library has strict no copies/photos rules in place which is why i can only summarize what i read. • anything in italics is a direct quote for the sake of clarity. • feel free to ask questions and i’ll answer to the best of my ability. my private notes are pretty detailed, but if i need to do more research i may save the answer for a future library visit. • please do not share this post without my permission. thank you in advance for respecting my wishes.

4x01

In prison, Nick is very aware of the Guardian in the room and can’t speak openly because of it. He speaks in code to warn Lawrence that he’s going to be executed and thank him for helping June. This establishes a pattern of Commander Blaine using Gilead code to communicate, as seen in several future scenes.

4x02

When June sees Nick at the farm, she knows immediately that he is there to arrest her.

It’s implied that Nick asking where the Handmaids are is code to June so she knows they are okay. (This is confirmed in the next episode when he does it again.)

June spends a good minute considering shooting the Eyes in a blaze of glory and making this her last stand. Nick “jerks her attention away from the decision” by saying “don’t” and telling her that he’s trying to keep her alive.

The scene ends with June saying “fuck you” before the Eyes swarm her, but this line wasn’t in the final cut.

4x03

In the van, June is “stung by [Nick’s] betrayal.”

Nick can’t speak freely to June because he assumes there are eavesdroppers. He uses code to “pass along news” to her that Mrs. Keyes is safe and the Handmaids are still free. June finds this news a relief.

Nick asks where the Handmaids are and when June doesn’t give him an answer, he actually warns her in a low voice (uncoded) that she isn’t strong enough to take what the Eyes will dish out if she doesn’t turn them in. This wasn’t in the show.

When Nick quotes the bible to her - “June hears this for what it is -- an honest wish for the woman he loves.” But Lydia “breaks the connection.”

Moving onto the Nick and Lawrence scene... I want to be clear, Nick does not expect Hannah to be used against June. This is not present in the script at all. All he asks of Lawrence is to get June to talk before the Eyes kill her, with no expectation of how it’s done. He is only thinking of keeping her alive.

Also, throughout the Nick/Lawrence scene, Lawrence thinks about Eleanor a lot. “Some women just don’t want to be saved” was a direct reference to her. Lawrence compares Nick’s love for June to his love for Eleanor, and is struck by “the simplicity of [Nick’s] wish [to keep June alive.]” But he really believes Nick needs to just let her go, like he had to let go of Eleanor. This is why he refuses to help until Nick threatens him.

Speaking of, Nick’s veiled threats are what makes Lawrence decide to take him a little more seriously.

The scene where Hannah doesn’t recognize June was written to be much shorter than what we saw onscreen. Hannah was actually supposed to be muzzled, and just the sight of her crying through the muzzle is enough to shake June into giving up the Handmaids.

The meeting on the bridge was scripted a little differently than what we see onscreen. Lizzie's directing softened the scene quite a bit.

June is muzzled, and being transferred to the Birthmobile on foot when Nick joins her side, whispering apologies as he walks with her. She ignores him until he says Hannah is safe at home. June stops and starts breaking down crying. Nick reaches out and touches her shoulder, “letting his finger trace the skin of her neck.” June reacts by embracing him. The guards try to pull them apart, but Nick just gives them a look. “He’s a Commander,” so the guards stop and let her go. Nick removes her muzzle and she cries about Hannah being scared of her. There’s a line here that I love, I have to quote in full—

“NICK: She loves you.

June tries to believe this.

NICK: I love you.

This, June believes.”

June then realizes she may never see Nick again and kisses him goodbye. Very little script direction here, it’s simply described as “just one long moment.” Then the guards lead her away.

Also, it says in the script that Alma and Brianna are hit by the train because one of the Handmaids was shot and they both reached back to help her as she was falling, causing them to miss the opening before the train hit. Janine was just dissociating and humming songs to herself the whole time, not as upset as we see her onscreen.

4x04

I just want to note here that the script confirms Janine’s current age is 23. After she changes out of her Handmaid uniform, “she looks like the 23-year-old kid she is.”

4x05

June spends this whole episode irritated at Janine and Stephen’s relationship because she feels like she failed to protect Janine, which is part of a recurring theme of June feeling like a failure throughout this season. Janine has to remind June by the end of the episode that she doesn’t need saving, and June is only trying to do so to make herself feel better.

There is no scripted response to Lawrence’s “would your heart glow” line. So Nick’s laugh was entirely unscripted lol.

The script specifically refers to Lorraine and Reese (the Marthas) as Nick’s “black market contacts.” As we know from s1, Nick has always had a connection to Gilead’s black market.

When Lorraine goes off on Nick about June, she and Reese expect a scolding from him because it’s “a suicidal way for a Martha to talk to a member of the Eyes.” But Nick just apologizes on June’s behalf, surprising them both.

In the show Nick says “I care about her” but in the script it was: “She’s all I care about. In the world.”

The Marthas are “surprised by his vulnerability, but Lorraine stays icy.” Her scripted response was actually supposed to be: “Swipe left. You’re better off without her.”

Reese hangs back and offers help to Nick because, as she says to him, “I loved someone in Gilead once, too.”

In regards to the council meeting - if I’m understanding correctly (because the scripts are kind of vague and more focused on the soapy aspects of the political standoff in this episode) - Lawrence’s goal is to get sanctions lifted, but when the council turns him down he shifts his plan to get on the council himself so he can pursue his reformation goals unopposed. This is why he agreed to bombing the ceasefire that he proposed in the first place.

Not much is said about Nick’s reaction to ordering the bombing, besides the fact that it catches him off guard and he “looks shaken by his orders to bomb June.“

4x06

When Moira confronts June trying to abandon ship and tells her that Luke never gave up on her after all those years, there was a cut part of that line where Moira said: “[Luke’s] a good guy. And he handled it pretty well when you had a baby with another man.“

4x07

Click here to read the full script that is available to the public.

4x09

When Luke suggested they ask Nick for help with Hannah, there’s not too much script direction, but there are a few interesting lines. When she says Nick would do anything for her and Holly, Luke finds that “both hurtful and hopeful.”

June is floored that Luke “is encouraging a meeting with her former lover? It’s incredibly strange. And also enticing.” It also says she had “put her relationship with Nick behind her. Locked it away. Now Luke has opened the door again.”

When she agrees to meet with Nick, Luke is described as “pleased, yet uneasy.”

As June heads off to see Nick, she and Luke are both “on edge.”

There was actually a cut moment between them and Mark before she leaves. After Mark tells her his officers will be nearby, he gives her a panic button FOB to call them if she needs help. This makes Luke freak out a little. He tells June she’s not going unless it’s safe. She doesn’t like that and insists she can take care of herself. Mark explains that while he has used this location for meetings before, he “can’t vouch for the party involved” because - in Mark’s words - “[Nick] does have a history of violence and allegiance to Gilead.” But June shuts both men down with: “He’d never hurt me or Nichole. I vouch for him. Completely.”

Once June is in the car, she exhales. “There’s no facade to put on for Luke, now that she’s alone.” She looks back at Holly and says, “Okay, we’re off. Excited to see your Dad? Yeah?“ then she smiles at Holly and says “me too.”

When she finally sees Nick, “their eyes lock. They’re both tentative. Unsure. It’s amazing to be together again, yet it doesn’t feel real.”

Nick is described as “almost overcome, so happy and relieved to see June alive and healthy.”

When they move inside, Nick tries to help June with the stroller and he’s described as “awkward” lol.

As we see in the episode, June is moved by Nick’s folder of Hannah intel. After this, “her official mission has been accomplished. She can leave. She doesn’t want to.”

The kiss has very little direction, as usual it’s all Max and Lizzie’s chemistry that makes it so good. “They can’t resist. They kiss, with longing and passion.” Then they move apart “both knowing they shouldn’t go any further.”

Nick was supposed to hold Holly “with love and wonder” per the script, but they couldn’t because of Covid protocols. It does say Holly loves her doll, though.

Their goodbye was also much different in the script. June simply buckles Holly up in the car, tells Nick she can’t thank him enough, and “tries to keep it together.” Nick tells her “keep yourself safe, and be happy.” They share a final look before she gets in the car and leaves.

On the drive home, June is just described as “[getting] emotional, but keeps moving on.”

Nick is described as “stoic, but drained by the experience” before he puts his wedding ring on.

When June returns home, Luke is “relieved” that she returned to him. June collects herself and “she has so many more steps to take, but she’s trying her best to move forward.”

4x10

Click here to read the full script that is available to the public.

#rae.txt #the handmaid's tale #the handmaids tale #osblaine #nick blaine #june osborne #janine lindo #joseph lawrence #luke bankole #holly blaine #mark tuello #moira strand #tht scripts

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scarlettatg · 2 years

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The Handmaid’s Tale

Thoughts on 505 and 506

Even before Gilead June had doubts and insecurities about her relationship with Luke which I think is completely normal, but what has always been interesting to me is that the flashbacks that weren’t her idealized memories of her family, were about the red flags of her relationship with Luke. How they met, June’s guilt over the infidelity, Moira and Holly’s warnings and his reactions to when Gilead started taking over. Season 4 was even more brutal in terms of showing how out of touch he unfortunately was and even with these “changes” in Season 5 I still see the same issues being portrayed.

When I watched episode 505 this particular scene came to mind. In the bowling alley when Luke starts singing there’s a look of doubt and sadness that reminded me of the look she had in episode 207 after she walks in on Luke screaming into Annie’s voicemail. June looks back at Jayden and that’s when we see her expression. It’s kind of hard not to associate Jayden to Nick. I would love to think she’s probably thinking about the fact that she’s in love with Nick and maybe she was, but the show loves to make it seem like June doesn’t think about him (which I believe it’s impossible) but in this particular case I think it has more to do with Hannah. June has always felt that Luke’s love is conditioned to her ability to be a mother and we have seen that portrayed in the show. The fact that she couldn’t save Hannah and bring her back to Luke weighs heavily on her. The whole dancing sequence and the way it was shot seemed idealized like the flashbacks she used to have of Luke and Hannah. It felt like a dream or like the title of the episode, a fairytale. Even though by the end of the scene there is a connection between Luke and June I keep feeling that connection is in a way centered on guilt than in the love she had before. Ironically by the end of the episode they end up once again separated in the woods.

Then in the next episode, we see these 2 characters physically together (like the title of the episode) but it felt like they were more apart than ever. I think the cages symbolize the striking contrast of having them together but separated by those huge cages. There’s just so much space around them yet they’re trapped with each other - by who they are now and how much they’ve changed. Luke is now seeing and feeling a small part of what June went through and June is in complete control, disassociating to her survival self. She’s not worried about herself, she’s worried about him.

I'm sorry. Sorry. I just... it's just when I... When I think of you in places like this, by yourself, I just wish... I wish I could've been the kinda guy that could've come and got ya. And I know how that sounds, I just... I just wish I could've been with you through that.

You were with me. You were.

In this interaction Luke is clearly and obviously panicking. He’s frustrated because he knows once again there’s nothing he can do. His inability to save and protect June is once again out in the open. So he gets mad. He says I’m sorry I’m being such a man about it. This comment made me think that I’ve always seen Luke as written to be a subtle misogynistic character product of being raised in a patriarchal society. And just like in our society some people see it some people don’t. We expect Luke to be prepared (at least somewhat) but he clearly isn’t. Then we see June and everything she’s gone through and it’s painful and frustrating to watch her babysitting someone who doesn’t seem to at least acknowledge that this has to be triggering for her. I’m not saying he isn’t worried about her, he obviously is but it’s more about how he feels in that moment. Obviously June doesn’t show it and that makes him feel even more inadequate.

The second thing he says is how he wished he could be that guy. It’s a constant guilt Luke has had to live with and 2 episodes ago Serena pointed it out bluntly. This is what gets him mad at Serena not the things Serena’s done to June but the things he couldn’t/didn’t do. There’s no way that in between the lines who both of them are thinking about is Nick. June knows the risks and the things he did for her and Luke recently got more confirmation that Nick took care of her in ways he couldn’t. I don’t want to be unfair so I will point out that there were times Nick had to literally stand by knowing June was being abused and he couldn’t do anything; but he did sacrifice himself for her safety and paid for it as well. She also did say on the tape that Nick helped her to survive. June’s expression when she tells him that he was with her is interesting. It gave me the impression she really didn’t mean what she was saying and he didn’t believe her either.

You listen to me, okay? Okay. Okay. Last time when we were apart... No matter what happened, I never gave up hope. And you never gave up hope, because we knew... we just knew... that we would find each other again. So, we're just gonna do that again. Right? I love you. I love you. And we are gonna do that again. Do you understand? Yeah, we're... we're gonna stay alive. That's right.

This is one of my least favorite lines of the whole series. (Both dislikes in the whole series for me are in this season and it’s simply because it seems like a change of narrative and storyline). I had issues with it because it makes no sense with what I have been shown in terms of June and her longing for Luke, which is basically non existent. Every scene of her thinking back to him was always conditioned to Hannah.

In Episode 105 she says why does it feel like I’m cheating on Luke? This was the first time she went to Nick’s apartment ordered by Serena. It was something she had no choice in the matter like all the other ceremonies before and she didn’t think of those as cheating on Luke. She also still believed he was dead. I took it as she wanted and was attracted to Nick which we saw since their first interaction. The flashback to Luke in this episode shows the first time they were together and the awkwardness between them since they were being unfaithful and it contrasts to the second time June goes to Nick willingly. She says she felt invincible the same way Luke had described the way she looked in her in the picture when he met her at the food truck. Luke told her he looked invincible, Nick made her feel it.

In Episode 307 she sees Luke with Nicole at the protest on the TV. She longs for him in a way and says she wishes she could be held and told her name, things we know Nick who just had left for the front did for her many times before and she kept doing even after she knew Luke was alive. But let’s take Nick out of the equation. She saw him, she longs for him; yet that flashback is to the night they made Hannah. This is also when she sends him the tape where she says she’s embarrassed, because she knows she’s being unfaithful just like Luke had done with Annie; and where she says Nicole was made out of love and that it was Nick who helped her to survive.

In Episode 405 she reminisced about their first time again while Janine and Steven are having sex. It isn’t an intimate setting, they’re in the middle of a war front. She believes that what Janine is doing is wrong so I have no idea why she thought back to that.

In Episode 406 which is called Vows interestingly enough, we get the flashback where Moira says that Luke left Annie because she couldn’t conceive. We then see June talking to Luke about their and his vows with Annie asking what if she can’t give him kids, if she disappoints him or isn’t who he thought she’d be. Which is interesting given the context that she comes back a completely different person and without Hannah. She even says it to Moira on the boat. She didn’t want to come back to him without Hannah and you can see how worthless she feels when she tells him I’m sorry it’s just me.

She also says she never gave up hope and well she did many times and after season 3 she was suicidal, and in season 4 she tells Aunt Lydia to kill her.

After her first escape, what happened with Omar, her pregnancy and Nick’s marriage she was extremely hopeless. June has always had the will to fight and has drawn strength not only from Nick but from her friends. After planning Angel’s Flight she had nothing left to lose and her plan wasn’t to escape. Luke even questioned her decision to stay making it about him not realizing June stayed behind for Hannah. In season 4 she runs back to Nick while she was scared of going back to Luke. Nick didn’t save June, she saved herself but he tried to help and his love helped her survive. That has been a constant for 4 seasons. We see her struggling to connect and it’s not until 409 that we see a semblance of peace and safety when she sees Nick. I know it was also a struggle for Luke to connect with her but I think it’s because unfortunately he expected her to simply go back to who she was and she doesn’t feel safe enough to open herself to him. He expects her to be someone she isn’t.

I can understand the moment they’re in, about to die but the lines could’ve been entirely different and still been accurate to the storyline. I don’t doubt June loves Luke, but she’s not in love with him and we can see it clearly even in this intent to reconnect. Even Luke doesn’t seem to buy it. That conversation made me think of the way she spoke to Hannah in 210 when she’s giving her hope so that she can go back to her other parents. As much as they seem to be trying to change the direction of the storyline it makes no sense and in between those lines I can still see the remnants of the same issues I saw in past seasons.

#this was long as fuck #sorry #had to get it out of my system #the handmaid's tale #june osborne #gilead #nick blaine #osblaine #the handmaids tale season 5 #luke bankole

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frimoussette88 · 2 years

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Disagreeing with June, a contrast.

5x01 | 2x02

#the handmaid's tale #osblaine #thtedit #nick x june #june x nick #nick blaine #june osborne #luke bankole #max minghella #elisabeth moss #contrast #fanart #gifset #my edit #am I being petty?#probably #but at the same time #i'm merely stating facts

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juneandnick · 9 months

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Source Video: Tik Tok

#the handmaid's tale #osblaine #june osborne #nick blaine #luke bankole #season5

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abovethegaragepodcast · 1 year

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How lovely is this!!!??? This cast is amazing.

Video courtesy of OT Fagbenle’s IG account

#above the garage #above the garage podcast #the handmaid's tale #june osborne #nick blaine #osblaine #nick x june #serena waterford #fred waterford #gilead #aunt lydia #janine lindo #luke bankole #moira strand #emily malek #commander lawrence #the handmaids tale season 5

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glasskey · 11 months

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Justice THT Style - Part 1

When is Justice not actually justice? When it’s the wrong type. There are several types of justice: Procedural, Distributive, Retributive and Restorative. Each one of these will feel reasonable and justified depending solely on their context. Characters also by their nature will tend to have a taste per se for one or the other and it takes a definitive catalyst to change it. Over the next week I'll be taking a look at which ones our favorites prefer and what that means for them. I'm doing this in parts - Today its June and Luke, but coming up we have Nick, Serena and Tuello. Stay tuned. First up June.

JUNE

Vengeance, thy name is June. “Before embarking on the journey of revenge, first dig two graves”- Confucius. Season 4 and 5 made me think that either June hadn’t read a lot of Confucius or by that point just didn’t give a fuck about his wise, ancient musings. I’d like to think that it had taken quite some time before June turned into someone capable of the brutal salvaging of Fred, but then I remember that she did exactly that in Season 1 when she learnt of Moira’s supposed demise. At the end of season 4 June chased Fred down and tore him apart and in season 5 we saw her kneeling before a grave like mound. Laurence had tempted her with the offer of Nick and Hannah and in response she’d furiously ripped up the garden that symbolized the burgeoning home she was trying to nurture. 5 10 is drenched in an aura of darkness and horror, something has died but as June lies wounded, ironically she only gathers more power. She is becoming a leader and Nick even FINALLY crosses the border to pledge his allegiance (and didn’t we all cheer our brains out over that one?). It struck me that as she lay in that hospital bed, she was metaphorically buried until Nick came to kiss her forehead handsome prince style, figuratively raising her from the dead. Like the phoenix she is reborn just in time for season 6 to rain down the pain.... It’s worth remembering that June chose to ignore a blatant warning about the nature of retributive justice, but honestly who could blame her? “It will never be enough for you” Lawrence says when she bargains Fred for a group of female POWs. Love him or hate him, Lawrence seems to be able to make observations of her character with pinpoint accuracy.

I find it interesting that this bloody act of retribution comes the episode directly after she meets with Nick, she’s absolutely devastated that their family is being separated and someone is going to pay. Fred’s more than earnt her vengeance by now and Canada has failed to deliver. She’s fucking angry and no one except Nick and a bunch of fellow handmaids will ever understand why the only fit ending for him is a brutal salvaging. At the end of the day the scales of justice in this scenario were never going to be fully balanced by Fred enduring some sort comparatively cushy Canadian procedural justice. However it’s still necessary in the majority of story lines that conventional justice avenues be cut off to allow the protagonist to “take the law into their own hands” and exact old fashioned retribution. Writers were so clever ultimately giving Fred a double dose, he was involved in an official prisoner exchange for women no less (an act of procedural justice), and hand delivered to June to pay for his crimes Gilead style. Luke is horrified when she gleefully boasts about her murderous act of retribution. Dear me what possessed his sweet loving wife to do such a thing? Time to wake up Lukey, June pre Gilead is gone, welcome to June 2.0.

LUKE

Luke wants to believe in a procedural sense of justice but nothing’s ever that simple or fair. When societal systems begin to crumble we see June’s access to money and freedom slowly stripped but Luke feels somewhat empowered as it means he now holds the reins. Luke believes in the system so long as it serves him, but later when he actually loses something valuable and attempts to seek justice for June and Hannah, he can’t believe it actually fails him. Fred’s a wealthy, powerful, educated, white man. He’s just who the justice system is designed for and he gives Luke a small taste of utter helplessness in the face of a prejudiced system, much like what June endured. When first given the opportunity to get some answers out of Fred and some well-deserved vengeance, Luke chooses to show up with a binder expecting reason and logic from an extremist. When Fred manipulates Canada’s justice system, he is naïve enough to believe that Fred will be given a trial and then jailed in Gilead. I’m still not quite sure how Luke would have come to this conclusion, having witnessed an entire church full of hanging bodies. As of season 5 Luke seems somewhat ignorant to the brutality of the Gilead justice system and the savagery of what his wife was subjected to at its hands, even after witnessing her testimony. He can’t believe his wife would tear apart a man with her bare hands and cut his finger off as a trophy, meanwhile Nick didn’t bat an eyelid and Tuello wished her well. Goes to show there’s a difference between actually witnessing Gilead and hearing about it 2nd hand. S5 Ep10 shows us Luke's finally about to get a taste. Luke can be emotional when things don’t quite go his way, he screams at his ex, he punches Fred in the face, he shoves Nick when he approaches him with news about June and he yells at June when he learns about Fred. He’s a guy who wants to make rational decisions, he wants to follow the system but quickly bottoms out and becomes erratic when he doesn’t get his way. He’s a character study in casual misogyny and part of this is the undercurrent for the potential for violence in even the “nicest guy”. Luke is often dismissed as “boring” but this deeply underestimates how skillfully he’s been crafted and the amount of subtext his character contains. Throughout season 5 I witnessed Luke becoming increasing violent. Baited by Serena he warns her “next time I see you I’ll fucking kill you myself” his eyes filling with tears, his hands trembling with barely contained rage. In ep 10 he beats a man to death and is shown carrying a gun in their home, dismissing Junes concerns about having a gun near Nicole. In S 5 we also saw Luke attempting to secure his wife’s love with an act of ill-conceived vengeance: arranging for Serena’s baby to be taken from her, gloating with satisfaction while instead his wife looks on in horror. Throughout the seasons we’ve seen him be fairly even tempered, but in S5 there seemed to be increasing incidences of overt alpha physical violence that spoke loudly of outdated societal expectations of male roles and his personal insecurities. I believe Luke has had enough of procedural justice, he’s now blatantly dabbling in retribution and all these incidences are revving up to create a much more vengeful Luke.

Stay tuned. Tomorrow we have Nick Blaine....

#literature #nick x june #june x nick #june osborne #luke bankole #hulu #hulu streaming #osblaine #the handmaids tale hulu #bruce miller #vengeance is mine #hulu series #hulu tv #the handmaid's tale #handmaid's tale #handmaid's on hulu #elisabeth moss

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