A Creature Feature...that Wasn't
The Handmaid's Tale 5.8 "Motherland"
Sometimes, yelling at the screen has to happen. It just does.
Lawrence is building New Bethlehem, a beautiful island settlement (no doubt cleaned up by the Colonies) with houses that look like an expensive gated community. The goal is to tempt the refugees back by offering them an enclave where they don't have to live under Gilead's oppressive rules.
He seems sincere.
It's the rest of Gilead I don't trust. Seriously, Lawrence will be on the wall within six months.
Gilead needs to be brought down, not reformed.
Don't. Do. It. June.
Fortunately, U.S. intelligence has found Hannah and is preparing for a rescue. Will this work? Hannah is in a boarding school being prepared for child marriage.
Lawrence says he can't save her. (There is actually a way he could, but he won't...he could marry her himself and then not consummate the marriage...)
Gilead seems less cracked now, but I have a feeling that's an illusion.
This can't end well.
Cinema Disaster: Z/Rex: The Jurassic Dead
I pulled this out of my queue expecting a creature feature starring a zombie T-Rex. Was there a zombie T-Rex? Yes.
Would I call it a creature feature? I don't know, because I don't really know what was going on with this movie.
Neither, I fear, did the people who made it. This movie was, in fact, trying to be several things - a creature feature, a zombie movie, a terrorist thriller, and a disaster movie. Needless to say it failed at all four.
Its one redeeming quality was some very sharp dialog, including this gem: "You're carrying a loaded gun?" "I'm responsible and I have the right."
(Narrator: He was not responsible).
But even the sound track was jarringly incoherent, resulting in tonal whiplash that left me going "what happened there?" or on more than one occasion just "what the..."
There was some iffy science, too...a meteor caused a substantial EMP. In fact, meteors can cause EMPs due to the heated plasma in their trail...that you can detect with the right instruments. They don't cause significant EMPs that take out electronics. Fortunately. And for some reason the EMP came with a visual effect that reminded me of Gandalf blowing smoke rings. Not in a good way.
It was entertainingly bad, but I still need my creature feature...
The Handmaid's Tale 5.9 "Allegiance"
So, June should probably have realized Lawrence sent that proof of life video and would deal with the raid.
Which he did.
Of course, in doing so he alienated June completely. There's no new plan to retrieve Hannah, who is breaking the rules and likely to get herself beaten or, worse, demoted to Handmaid.
And June is definitely not interested in New Bethlehem now, but then, she never should have been. Such a bad idea.
And now somebody, presumably a Gilead somebody, has shot up a memorial service. Nice going.
Serena is on the run. Keep going, Serena. You might deserve to be treated like a Handmaid, but Noah doesn't deserve thatfor parents. Eww.
The Handmaid's Tale 5.10 "Safe"
Ooh boy.
So, first off, if you are walking down the street, know somebody is gunning for you and a vehicle pulls up behind and drives slowly, you go somewhere the vehicle won't fit June. You know better.
(Sometimes protagonists do things that they wouldn't do for story. This is one of those times).
So, June gets run over. Luke beats the driver to death, because of course he does. The inevitable result of this is that June has to flee Toronto without him, while he faces murder charges. Does Canada allow for a crime of passion defense?
Oh, and for especial fun. Trullo sneaks June onto a train taking refugees west, to Vancouver and ultimately to Hawaii. Toronto has just become too hot for most to tolerate.
Guess who he (presumably) also sneaks onto the same train. Seems Serena finally took him up on it.
Back in Gilead, we have a suspect for the attacks on June...Lawrence says it's not him and I believe him.
It's Rose's dad, in support of his jealous daughter who can't do polyamory. Good thing she won't need a Handmaid...
Oh, and Janine has been arrested and disappeared on Lawrence's orders after pissing off his new wife.
It being Lawrence, though, he's up to something...
The Handmaid's Tale 6.1 "Train."
So, we all know June and Nichole aren't going to Hawaii as planned. It would be too far. We all know they're going to wind up in Alaska.
Serena Joy is less lucky. The doctor on the train blows her cover and June basically pushes her off the train before she gets murdered by the other refugees. Who knows where she landed. She'll be fine, of course, it's Serena.
Luke is still in jail, with Moira trying everything to get him out, but it appears the refugee office is closing down, Canada is normalizing relations with Gilead, and...they've won.
Maybe they are going to win.
Maybe they always do or never do.
But June does get a surprise in Alaska.
Seems her troublesome mommy dearest is alive after all.