# Anybody watching "The Handmaid's Tale" on Hulu? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 27, 2017, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352 "2017-04-27T12:13:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/61 "2017-05-11T20:43:17Z")
In this society that might just accept women are bad drivers. I’m saying nothing … ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/62 "2017-05-12T01:20:21Z")
Imagine how ironic it would be if Cmdr. Waterford were to have to meet with a _Saudi_ trade delegation with women in it. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/63 "2017-05-12T12:16:05Z")
It’s been so long since I read the book that I really don’t remember much and can’t tell which is added for the series. In a way that’s great because part of the reason I’m enjoying it so much as that I have no idea what’s going on!:o Well, not \*no \*idea, but I’m truly surprised / puzzled by some plot points (in a good way). Very powerful when, just as you start to think the Commander has feelings for Offred, he makes it clear that bearing a child is all “her kind” are meant to do. I’m also not sure I totally get O’s motivation for initiating sex with Nick. On the one hand it would make sense to have him as an ally since he’s an eye. On the other, the way the scene played out it looked like we’re supposed to think she actually likes him. That, and the closing music, IIRC, was a jazzy number about "getting some lovin’ "(?) So, is she just playing him or what? I too could live with less flashbacks, although it’s only realistic that she’d be constantly looking back on her previous life. Still, I think it’s the weakest aspect of the show. Love Elisabeth Moss in this and am hoping for more Samira Wiley. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/64 "2017-05-12T12:52:28Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > It’s been so long since I read the book that I really don’t remember much and can’t tell which is added for the series. In a way that’s great because part of the reason I’m enjoying it so much as that I have no idea what’s going on!:o Well, not \*no \*idea, but I’m truly surprised / puzzled by some plot points (in a good way). Very powerful when, just as you start to think the Commander has feelings for Offred, he makes it clear that bearing a child is all “her kind” are meant to do. I’m also not sure I totally get O’s motivation for initiating sex with Nick. On the one hand it would make sense to have him as an ally since he’s an eye. On the other, the way the scene played out it looked like we’re supposed to think she actually likes him. That, and the closing music, IIRC, was a jazzy number about "getting some lovin’ "(?) So, is she just playing him or what? Once she knew he was an Eye, I think she had to get something on Nick - she already has the Commander and wifey bagged up for seriously breaking the rules. Now she has something on them all, and probably a baby of unknown fathering … Never read the book, fwiw. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/65 "2017-05-12T13:19:05Z")
Right before she went to Nick’s room, she was thinking hard about something and seemed to have some kind of insight that led to her doing it. I can’t remember exactly what–does anyone? I’ll go and watch that part again and see if I can find it. Something to do with Emily or whatever rebellion is brewing? ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/66 "2017-05-12T13:44:33Z")
She was thinking about the car hijack and how they ‘didn’t get everything’ from her friend (the FGM), how she looked invincible (that word again). I guess that gave her courage. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/67 "2017-05-12T14:44:54Z")
I don’t think Offred really has anything on the Waterfords yet. Fred’s breaking protocol seems like something that would get swept under the rug unless the regime had already decided to purge him for something else (assuming anyone would take Offered’s word against his). “Cuckholding” him with Nick is a more serious offence, but that’s on Nick & Serena Joy. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/68 "2017-05-12T16:59:16Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > She was thinking about the car hijack and how they ‘didn’t get everything’ from her friend (the FGM), how she looked invincible (that word again). > > I guess that gave her courage. Thanks. Yes, I remember. It was the invincible thing–that was what Luke said about her dating site picture, that she looked invincible. I think going to Nick’s room was her behaving like a woman who felt invincible. I don’t see how her “getting” anything on the Commander would matter. In the Old South, could a slave “get” anything on her master? She is of no account and what she knows is also of no account. However, I think she can get something on Nick. And that might protect her in some way. Are the Commanders the only men allowed to have sex (such as it is). Could the Nicks of that world have sex with the Marthas? What happens if a Martha gets pregnant? I know we don’t know all of this yet. And may never know. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/69 "2017-05-12T17:46:38Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I don’t see how her “getting” anything on the Commander would matter. In the Old South, could a slave “get” anything on her master? She is of no account and what she knows is also of no account. Maybe. Offred has spoken (in voice over) about things being “forbidden”, I have no idea if Commanders are above that stuff. This 9 o’clock Scrabble club is that, the alcohol and magazines, sharing his diary and work life. Not one thing but perhaps a few that could mount up … and there’s even now, heaven forbid, a touch of affection in the sex. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/70 "2017-05-12T21:08:13Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Maybe. Offred has spoken (in voice over) about things being “forbidden”, I have no idea if Commanders are above that stuff. This 9 o’clock Scrabble club is that, the alcohol and magazines, sharing his diary and work life. Not one thing but perhaps a few that could mount up … and there’s even now, heaven forbid, a touch of affection in the sex. True. But one wonders if the Handmaids and others are told things are forbidden, implying that there is a higher authority than the Commanders. Kind of like a parent who threatens with the specter of the boogeyman. Or God. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2017, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/71 "2017-05-13T10:34:52Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > However, I think she can get something on Nick. And that might protect her in some way. Are the Commanders the only men allowed to have sex (such as it is). Could the Nicks of that world have sex with the Marthas? What happens if a Martha gets pregnant? I know we don’t know all of this yet. And may never know. My understanding is that fertile women (from outside the elite) become Handmaids, and the rest become Marthas. The only “respectable” women are the wives like Serena Joy. If the society lasts long enough, the daughters of the Handmaids become the next generation of “respectable” women. It’s possible that some of the elite women are fertile, but it’s also stated that the infertility is usually of the men anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/72 "2017-05-14T08:10:07Z")
I’m also assuming that the non-elite men get to marry the Marthas, because a society where only the elite males get to have sex and the mooks with all the guns don’t… isn’t going to last very long. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/73 "2017-05-14T16:44:59Z")
I haven’t been able to watch the series but I have a question. Some in this thread have been asking about Emily’s fate. I read the book, and if that’s a certain character I remember then she was caught and sent to work in a sort of “nightclub”. The commander snuck out to the place, it being forbidden, and took Ofglen with him, where she saw Emily. The latter’s hands had been partly crippled. The commander took Ofglen to a bedroom and proceeded to have regular, non-Ceremonial sex with her. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/74 "2017-05-14T17:01:34Z")
Jesus, I read half way through that post. Is it a spoiler? ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/75 "2017-05-14T17:39:03Z")
There has to be some authority over the commanders (a “supreme commander”?). Such societies always will wink at rule breaking by those in authority as long as it’s discrete and minor. Let it become public or big and they throw him under the bus so fast your head will spin. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/76 "2017-05-15T00:44:24Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > I’m also assuming that the non-elite men get to marry the Marthas, because a society where only the elite males get to have sex and the mooks with all the guns don’t… isn’t going to last very long. In the book… …the wives of non-elite men are called “Econowives” and combine the roles of Wife, Martha, & Handmaid (if fertile). They wear multicolored green, blue, & red dresses. Offred was an Econowife before she was caught trying to escape to Canada (well technically she became an adulteress after the regime annulled her marriage to Luke). Given that Gilead is less than a decade old most married couples would’ve still gotten married under the old regime. Handmaids are mostly drawn from fertile women who’ve been convicted of crimes against the state; they’re given allowed to “volunteer” for service in lieu of being sent to the Colonies or executed outright. It’s implied there are also true volunteer Handmaids (female religious fanatics who chose to become Handmaids instead of getting marriage). ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/77 "2017-05-15T07:40:51Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > In the book… > > …the wives of non-elite men are called “Econowives” and combine the roles of Wife, Martha, & Handmaid (if fertile). They wear multicolored green, blue, & red dresses. Offred was an Econowife before she was caught trying to escape to Canada (well technically she became an adulteress after the regime annulled her marriage to Luke). Given that Gilead is less than a decade old most married couples would’ve still gotten married under the old regime. Handmaids are mostly drawn from fertile women who’ve been convicted of crimes against the state; they’re given allowed to “volunteer” for service in lieu of being sent to the Colonies or executed outright. It’s implied there are also true volunteer Handmaids (female religious fanatics who chose to become Handmaids instead of getting marriage). Thanks for that. I have read the book, but so long ago that I barely remember it. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/78 "2017-05-15T08:40:02Z")
why don’t you just watch the show then. ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/aeb1de/32.png) [@Lee\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lee_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/79 "2017-05-16T00:38:51Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Thanks. Yes, I remember. It was the invincible thing–that was what Luke said about her dating site picture, that she looked invincible. I think going to Nick’s room was her behaving like a woman who felt invincible. > > I don’t see how her “getting” anything on the Commander would matter. In the Old South, could a slave “get” anything on her master? She is of no account and what she knows is also of no account. > > However, I think she can get something on Nick. And that might protect her in some way. Are the Commanders the only men allowed to have sex (such as it is). Could the Nicks of that world have sex with the Marthas? What happens if a Martha gets pregnant? I know we don’t know all of this yet. And may never know. FTR, some of these questions are addressed and discussed in the book, so they might be addressed in the series at some point, if not this season then next. Same with something someone said upthread, about it seeming odd that the Ceremony seems so unarousing, given that men are running things - wouldn’t they want to create a (for lack of a better word) sexier ceremony? Setting aside that the Ceremony as-is surely is plenty arousing for lots of men, given the power dynamics involved (not just over the handmaid but also the wife), the book explains that Ceremony is not the only sexual outlet for most of these men. Won’t say more, in case it’s too spoilerish. Hopefully the series will delve into some of these details – there is a lot that hasn’t even been touched upon yet. Looking forward to how it all unfolds. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352/80 "2017-05-17T23:11:11Z")
E6: Heavy shit. It’s like fertility is Bitcoin. Not really. Probably. I think I’m maybe watching this now for the backlash, the resistance, rather than, say, the feminist stuff. Smash the system, maan, [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-watching-the-handmaids-tale-on-hulu/785352.md?page=5)