Misadventures in Blissville

Previously on As Gilead Turns … If you want rape, this is the episode that has lots of rape! We’ve drifted away from the Ceremony, but now we’re back in full force. We start with Emily, who gets into “crash position” with an old Commander and his wife. He thrusts in slow-motion. He looks like a mannequin, betraying no emotional conceit. This is like whip-stocking, or forcing cattle to breed by means of dangerous looking contraptions and gloved hands. The Commander collapses in mid-rape. The wife runs out of the room, hysterical. Emily stands over the Commander and kicks him repeatedly. I believe it was around this time that I became frustrated at observing what seemed like an extended “snuff” movie being played out on my television week after week. I came to the conclusion (my “come to Jesus moment,” if you will) that we, the viewers, were the handmaids to the disturbing desires of the writers (the Commanders in this scenario). That we were the victims of torture and rape in having to share the misery of the central characters. There was one of two reactions from viewers. Disgust or exultation. It’s strange to consider but the second reaction could be attributed to a form of Stockholm Syndrome. As I questioned and pondered the motivation (or lack thereof) of Offred/June, I was ridiculed and attacked by “true believers,” the people who go with everything the story tells them. They began sharing stories of abuse and molestation. I tried to tell these people the show was being manufactured by people who do not understand abuse and it’s psychological implications (among other items). The show is not the real world.

This is emblematic of the responses I’ve gotten:*

This is where we’ve gone (as a people) and what we’ve come to.  I pray one day people will wake from their very long, very deep slumber and embrace reason and logic.  It’s just a television show.  Sorry.  This is turning into a speech.

June begins to have painful contractions, and because only “selective” science is utilized, it’s time to make preparations for the new arrival. Fred breaks out the cigars for his fellow Commanders, among them a Black Commander, which effectively eliminates the racist undertones of Atwood’s book. According to the book, Blacks were sent “back to Africa” by means of boats. Apparently, Margaret Atwood cannot tell one black person from another, but that’s none of my business. After a few hours of Serena pretending to experience labor with the other wives, Lydia announces “false labor pains” and our little get-together ends. An impatient Serena asks the Doctor (Orphan Black’s Kristian Bruun) to induce labor. He doesn’t advise inducing labor under these circumstances. The baby is healthy, just not ready to be born. Lydia suggest a certain tea. Serena scoffs at this. The hatred has returned to Serena’s face. Offred, the worker, dares to exist in her house, fertile and always able to carry babies. She has no place in Queen Serena’s hive. Offred tries to appeal to Fred that she should be moved closer to her daughter, Hannah. Either she implies or Fred picks up on the idea that the child she carries is not his. When June** tells him he’ll never truly know what it means to be a father, Fred is filled with rage. It’s almost as if Fred and Serena are being held hostage by this pregnant woman, so they decide to take action. With Serena holding her down, Fred rapes her, and I mean this is a serious rape, with the kicking and the screaming. They seem to think that intercourse (or rape, depending on who you ask) is the most natural way to induce labor.

I don’t know what I find more disturbing about the scene. The ideas presented by Fred and Serena or that nearly everyone I discussed the scene with advocated for the idea that “intercourse” is a proven method of inducing labor. It’s a disgusting scene I cannot watch. In fact, as I write this, I have the program muted. From what I understand, it’s an old wives’ tale, an old-fashioned “midwife” philosophy. I tried to explain that there is no medical science or even Biblical passage that claims intercourse (forced or not) will somehow induce labor. I don’t know where they (either Gilead or the writer) get their information. Unless it’s just another reason to hate Gilead and Fred. I really didn’t need more of that. It was a completely tasteless, terrible scene executed with no subtlety or tact, and then lacking credibility on any level. No doctor I have ever known (including my Mother) has ever recommended this, nor have I ever heard of it. Perhaps the writer knows a lunatic down the street who said something about it. I would gather anybody in medical science would say this sounds extremely dubious and incredibly dangerous. I’m desperately grasping at logic straws to find some justification, but I can’t, because all of this is absolute bat-shit and it makes me angry. Later, Eden meets up with Guardian Isaac and they share a kiss in the garden as Nick watches them. They have it out in Nick’s Fonzie style apartment. Eden begs forgiveness. Nick tells her, “don’t worry about it.” Eden wants to know why Nick is so distant. You’re a 15-year-old girl, Eden! I beg of you to get a clue. Instead of figuring it out for herself, she turns it around on Nick, accusing him of being in love with June. Oh, Eden. I think we’ve found a character to rival one-eyed batshit-crazy Janine’s stupidity.

Perhaps out of guilt (though I’m not entirely sure), Fred arranges for June to see her daughter, Hannah. Nick drives her up to a big house in a rural area covered with snow. Inside the house, the furniture is covered with white sheets and it looks as though the occupants are moving. When she sees Hannah, she’s overcome with emotion, and this is one of the few moments Elisabeth Moss earns as an actress on this show. Most of her performances can be summed up as moments where she stares menacingly either into the camera or off to the side as though she’s contemplating a china cup resting on a saucer as ominous music or an inappropriate needle-dropped song plays. Here, she earns it. Hannah has the temerity to ask June why she didn’t try harder to rescue her. Shut up, kid. Before they take Hannah away, June tells her to “enjoy her life.” What? Enjoy your life? This “enjoy life” shit really irritated me. I would’ve whispered to her, “Do you know where they keep the knives? Okay, I want you to get up in the middle of the night, grab a knife and start stabbing people and then run like hell, maybe get that nice lady to help you? Stab as many people as you can. You have Mommy’s permission. Because this, Hannah, is not life. This is a slow death. Best to gun it when you’re running on fumes, okay?” I’m a father myself. I have a daughter and I would tell her to fight. I would tell my wife to fight. I would tell anyone who meant anything to me (and a few who don’t) to fight. To always fight. Putting up with this nonsense instead of fighting back is what led to Gilead. We don’t know anything of June as a true mother (the flashbacks don’t help), and based on Luke’s capabilities, it’s a miracle he’s alive at all. I wonder if any of the writers are parents. I wonder if they understand they’ve created deliberately helpless characters.

So they take Hannah away, speeding off in a jeep as June cries and clutches Nick. This is a nice moment. Just then, a vehicle comes up the long driveway. Nick takes June inside and tells her to hide. Two Guardians appear and place Nick under arrest. I assume this trip was unauthorized and Nick’s not supposed to be at this house. Isn’t that on Fred? They take him away leaving June alone in the house. This is why I keep watching The Handmaid’s Tale.

* It’s very interesting for me to consider the enormous amount of antipathy my reactions to the episode caused among “fans.” I had likened it to the groups of Christians who would assemble for the live reenactments of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Onlookers seemed delighted at the torture and death of a religious figure, just as fans of the The Handmaid’s Tale seem to delight in June’s torture for the benefit of a television story.

** The diligent reader will observe I sometimes refer to the main character as June, and sometimes I refer to her as Offred. This is because I view her as two people. When she is Offred, she is the dutiful, disciplined handmaid. When she is June, she is thinking, fighting, or exercising self-determination. I know it can get confusing, but we should always remember that these characters are two halves of a whole.