2x10 'The Last Ceremony'

[Lori]

This episode was a shocker on many levels. We probably thought that the horrors that had already happened had been the worst that could possibly happen and that a shred of humanity and some decency were left inside the Waterfords but as we witnessed first hand, there is no limit to how low they can descend into the abyss of cruelty and pure evil.

Psychopaths are known to objectify their victims before they perform unspeakable horrors on them and so are Serena and Fred. It dawned on me that this is how they have been treating the handmaids from the very beginning. Victims get used to the abuse and they numb themselves to it in order to survive but it does not make it any better or any excusable.

Isn't that the truth? I think even as viewers we succumb to the hope in the bread crumbs thrown at the handmaids. The pliability of the human psyche and spirit is on display here and I think even reaches out to us, making us measure our willingness to forgive. Were we not rooting for Serena and June to pair up and become Wonder Twins? It makes us examine and wonder where that line is when we no longer can forgive?

The most horrible aspect of the rape that has been going on from the beginning, was June's advanced pregnancy. Serena couldn't care less about June because by now, she is a mere vessel for "her baby". If she could have her way, she would have arranged a C section immediately. Aunt Lydia put her foot on that and Serena's dark heart concocted the horrible plan we've seen unfold.

The Waterfords have done it before and it seemed perfectly okay for them to do it again.
I think they already were this kind of people way before they became the elite of the Gilead regime. We saw Fred kill in cold blood before, it has just become a routine to them. They are past having a conscience or anything that resembles human decency or empathy.

I think we probably collectively have reached our limit in believing there is redemption. There may be ongoing restitution, but not redemption.

Serena is lying to herself through and through. She believes that the new born child would make her life so much better but once the child will show any sign of a will of his/her own, she would punish him/her. Gilead uses harsh physical punishment as a tool in the service of total submission to their own will, so Fred and Serena won't hold themselves back when they are opposed or challenged.

I was thinking about this too. Additionally, it is incredibly dangerous that the violent vindictive Commander is acutely aware that this is not his child. How long before he would take his frustration and jealousy out on the child? June was frantically trying to procure protectors for this wee one within the household. It is nearly an exercise in futility due to the power imbalance. If Nick were out of the household, what hope would this child have for a safe future? The cat is solidly out of the bag with June's comment about the Commander being infertile....the highest of insults in this horrific dystopia.

Who took Nick? Perhaps a Waterford rival kidnapped Nick for illegal questioning or the resistance staged the kidnapping so that Nick can't be easily accused of being a traitor, or it is something else entirely.

Interesting thought. That had not occurred to me. Perhaps the resistance circles back for June now. It seems a handful of people knew of this meeting and address. Had Nick orchestrated any of this, he would have clued June in. I think another plot hole is that the household hasn't been watched more closely since June nearly escaped and it was so public. Nick's activity would have been exposed fairly quickly.

June will have to survive somehow and she will need to move out of that house and escape but as Dee mentioned, she won't have much of a chance if she does not get help soon.

3 episodes to go! Maybe she will escape to Canada too but that would be very challenging for her, Nick and Luke. All the damage Gilead caused them is really crippling to say the least.
Will a new life with Luke even be possible? Will June want to live with Nick and their child?
One thing is certain though, June would do anything she can to try and save Hannah.

You've also raised another interesting question about the future. If June made it to Canada and got reunited with Luke, how would that work? And I think that's where we might be heading. June will make it to Canada, with the baby, or have the baby there. Nick and Hannah remain in Gilead. And June will struggle terribly. Not only because of Hannah, but I think she will miss Nick too. I once thought I could not possibly handle watching yet another love triangle, but this is certainly a very interesting one.

I wonder if Nick and June will be in Canada at the same time. She will be torn between two lovers, certainly. Luke will not completely understand June's Gilead experience, and I think that will provide barriers and be a challenge. Whereas Nick saw firsthand the abuse...the mental anguish and conditioning, and the many horrors that photographs can only brush the surface to depict. They share this bond like prisoners of war in the same camp. Luke will think he gets it, but there is no way that he can since he didn't experience the depth of this evil personally.

Dee and Lori, I read your thoughts with great pleasure, thank you !. Please keep them coming.
I am sure that if June gets the chance to rid the world of the Waterfords, she will take it and who would blame her?

Thanks for your review, DF! We are on a harsh, interesting, beautiful ride are we not ladies (and I use that term loosely )? I see a parallel in this story to The Book Thief where Death states, “I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race - that rarely do I even simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant...
I am haunted by humans.” ~ Death

[Dee]

Yes, we are definitely shown the worst in humans but also some amazing displays of dignity, compassion, resilience and bravery.
This is what I love most about TWD as well.

I think you're right, Lori, about this gulf formed by circumstances between Luke and June. Even if rationally they will be able to find excuses for one another and the changes they will feel in their relationship, it won't change the fact that the events of the past three-four years have created an irrevocable wedge between them. Yet she still loves Luke. This will be very complicated. How would she even start explaining to Luke her relationship with Nick?

And I wonder if it will be June's turn now to help rescue Nick?

[Lori]

And I wonder if it will be June's turn now to help rescue Nick?

That would be a wonderful twist to the story. How long can this series keep June a Handmaid after all? Of course, she will always be a Handmaid to an extent much like a branding or scar on the heart. With the incredible stuff she is made of, she will be a perfect warrior. If she does escape and get recaptured, it would be a fun twist to have her placed in a household that is secretly with the resistance and see how they operate from there.

We've wondered how she doesn't kill the Waterfords. My guess is she will have her opportunity and rather than murder them will take a higher road and model restraint, showcasing just what a soul should look like. They will be left with their deeds. Serena has a malformed conscience, but it does exist. I'm not sure the Commander does - his motivations have never really been due to any semblance of a heart.

[DawnFae]

I love this discussion guys! You are amazing !
I had a strange idea:

what if the commander, as evil as he is, sent June and Nick to that house and reported them so they will get killed or at the very least severely punished?
Wouldn't that be a revenge plan the commander would revel in?
At the same time, he would punish Serena by taking away from her the thing that she desires the most?
Commander Waterford is evil but not stupid! He must have guessed that June and Nick conceived their child with Serena's complicity at some point.
Of course I could be wrong.

Another possibility is Eden herself. The other guardian is in love with her and if he can get rid of Nick and bring about his fall and disgrace in the Gilead hierarchy system, he could eventually win Eden as a reward for his good services...

[Dee]

I agree, June will be a great warrior. In a way, she already is.

Considering where we are in the story, I think it might be the perfect time now for June to escape the Waterfords' household for good. They were gonna send her away anyway.

I quite like the idea of her being positioned at a different household where they are in fact working for the resistance. That would be exciting to see her working from within Gilead. But that would only be possible if her baby ended up with the Waterfords. Somehow I feel the baby won't get separated from June. Perhaps because we have just had this excruciating separation scene with Hannah, I feel it would be an overkill to have another separation scene in the next few episodes. I think/hope that this time June will be successful in her escape. Different kind of battles lying ahead with Hannah, Nick and her friends still back in Gilead.

And now it might be time to see how the resistance will bring Gilead (and the Waterfords) down in Season 3. When this series should end, in my opinion. Go out on a real high.

Regarding revenge, I agree. You know that I'm always on the opinion that letting live is a better kinda punishment/revenge for all concerned, see Negan. But hell I would understand if she was to kill them, or at least consider it, that's all I'm saying. But you're right, she would probably rise above it.

[Dee]

I like your ideas, DF, but how do we explain then that they didn't search the house? They've left June there?

[Lori]

Excellent points! I do wonder how the 2nd household (Hannah's) was included in this. Was it without the heads of households knowledge? Did they agree? Was it simply the driver who went rogue? It isn't out of the realm of possibility the Commander was literally killing two birds with one stone. I do wonder how many Handmaids are allowed to filter through households. Because they are valued as a commodity, wouldn't they monitor and prevent persons who end up with dead Handmaids in their household from having yet another? The Waterfords already have one expired Handmaid under their belts and June is all the more a precious resource being pregnant.

I don't understand not searching the property either. Did they seriously believe that Nick was hanging out there for no reason other than to trespass? That supports part of a resistance theory where they abduct Nick, put him back in the household and move June forward with Nick having an alibi. However, if that were the case they would have clocked him on the head and "stolen" June instead.

[Dee]

Regarding Serena's conscience... I really hoped that her experience in Canada would have a bigger impact on her. Luke saying the words "He raped my wife" bringing it home to her. But then we just saw what happened. If anything, Canada made her even more vicious. She knows exactly what she has done, and seems to have no qualms about it, if she could go through with what she did in the last episode.

[DawnFae]

Yeah, there are still unanswered questions about what happened in episode 10 last scene. Maybe there are many "forces" at work here and their actions overlapped somewhat?

I wouldn't put it past the commander to concoct such an evil revenge plan but while "his intervention team" was on his way to collect Nick and June, another fraction intervened and got just Nick?

We will find out what happened in the next episode. It is intriguing to say the least!