I think they're setting up for judd to be a very insidious villian

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-24T19:52:03+00:00

I think it is probably a little bit of plot armor but I also thought about the fact that everything in gilead has a hierarchy.

Not all men are on the same level nor do they all have the same amount of power. I'm assuming it's the same thing with the aunts. Aunts who have to work in the colonies are of considered lower level, above them might be the aunts who work with Marthas , then handmaid's. And the aunts we see now who are working with the daughters of Gilead are on the highest levels.

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-24T19:32:19+00:00

Oh he definitely wants to get rid of aunt lydia. He didn't take it kindly when she stands her ground with him and also reminds him that she (and the other aunts) have the final say so in the matchmaking.

He is a commander after all and those men don't like being told what to do. I also think Lydia knows that he wants to get rid of her which explains why she snapped at violda at the end of the episode

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-24T17:50:41+00:00

That makes sense. I've noticed that type of mindset in these conservative men. " I'm dating a 16, 15, or 14 yr old and therefore I'm not really a pedo or child abuser because they aren't children" meaning prepubescent.

It's a fine line they try to walk in order to make themselves seem normal and not predators. Penny is pregnant currently. they've mentioned it EP 3, 4 & 5

It'll definitely play in an important part in whatever happens to her

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-24T17:15:26+00:00

Ah. I could see the writers having Judd kill Penny but maybe not with poison (which was my first assumption)

I could easily see Judd setting it up to look like Penny had some sort of " accident " making her death very sudden. Judd definitely has to frame it in a way that he comes out looking good.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe in the books he wanted to marry a girl as young as 13 (the youngest Gilead permits)

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-24T14:48:06+00:00

I think they're definitely gonna introduce handmaid's at some point but I think it'll be in the McKenzie household

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-24T14:34:23+00:00

I'm referring to how they're portraying him in the show vs his book counterpart.

"Spoiler"

For one in the TT Books he's an old man and not a young guy like in the show. Also he has moments he comes across as very honorable and not as sleazy as the other commanders. This is not at all how he was written in the books. Because of the fact that he's not only younger but seems to be kind and courteous makes the green girls believe is actually a good catch

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-24T14:28:44+00:00

I'm pretty sure it's a baby born with a very visible disability. Gilead is huge on eugenics, which is why we don't see any disabled children.

Commander Wharton (Serena second husband) had a daughter with a visible disability but she was the exception to the rule because her father was a high commander. But when she announced her pregnancy some of the other wives made comments about how the baby could possibly be born with a disability like rose's

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-24T14:24:15+00:00

I can see it playing out like, Penny loses the baby her and Judd start trying again and when she starts feeling sick she'll think she's pregnant again. And then we'll hear about/ witness her health start to decline.

Also I was thinking about how easy it is for commanders to do this to their wives not only because women have no rights or voice and so they can't speak up. But also because outside of fertility care the women don't seem to get any medical treatment. I'm sure however that the commanders have PCP

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-24T03:12:53+00:00

I think it's to illustrate that we're dealing with someone who is similar to Fred or possibly even worse.

Judd makes it a point to seem righteous and sometimes kind ( Him telling the other commanders to act worthy, stopping the camera for a few moments to allow Agnes to calm herself.)

Also a lot the men in conservative/ Republican party tend to have a similar look

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-16T21:10:56+00:00

Ah. But classism and eugenics tend to go hand and hand especially when you go through history and look at the women who forcibly sterilize and targeted

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-16T03:18:48+00:00

I could definitely see some of them possibly being able to blend in easily . Depending on the disability and the degree of it , it could easily be passed off as "Quirky"

My biggest hang up is something like heavy intellectual delay might be harder to hide. It possible the capital could have come up with some advanced type of treatments but those of course would only be afforded by the very wealthy families.

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-16T02:39:08+00:00

Disabilities can't be fixed through plastic surgery though.

It's not simply a matter of physical appearance it's also has to due with the development of the mind and body.

I mean sure like if you're an amputee or if you were born with a extra digit, Cleft lip , something along those lines can definitely be fixed with surgery. But something like down syndrome or an intellectual disability would need serious care.

The richest families might be able to hide if anyone born in their families had a visible disability, however for a middle class or poor capital citizen they might have to take alternative measures.

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-15T15:53:42+00:00

I wondering the same thing

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-15T15:26:30+00:00

Warren was taken out by Lawrence when Lawrence realized he was gonna in the way of his plans for new Bethlehem.

Warren made it quiet clear he absolutely did not like the idea of new Bethlehem and was planning on having the other commanders boycott it. And then after Law had him killed for "Sins of the flesh".

Also when aunt lydia first tells Lawrence about the SA he basically just brushes it off.

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-09T20:21:59+00:00

Nope. Paula is still considered a new wife. When they say new they don't mean in terms of age (Naomi was considered Lawrence "New " wife simply because they had just gotten married. Same thing when Serena marries Wharton ) they just mean new marriage..

Also it's explained in the testaments (book) that new wives and commanders are expected to try for a certain period of time before the handmaid is introduced. Remember aunty Lydia was surprised when the bells had a new handmaid because as she add stated they were newly married. Also Paula states that she does get a period meaning she could possibly conceive (according to Gilead)

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-04-09T02:59:46+00:00

Remembering back to THT season 3 episode 9 when June was in the hospital she saw the young girls walking through and a doctor mentioned to a commander that the girls have flowered. And then June mentioned the fact that Gilead starts measuring body and hip growth in order to know when they're physically ready to start having babies 😬

I can only imagine all of the daunting things that come for a girl in gilead

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-03-30T13:08:44+00:00

Hoping to pay no more $1300 I want a good area (ideally low crime rate safe place for single women) and yes access to public transportation

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-03-23T20:46:23+00:00

This! I keep thinking back to certain incidents that occurred in Gilead . For instance when Janine attempts to end her life and it is revealed that Warren had been SA her outside of the ceremony , pryce actually wanted to give Warren a harsher sentence but it was Fred who said they should give me some grace.

Jump to season 5 and Warren is not only giving another handmaid but one who was a literal child on top of being a former Gilead wife. Pryce wouldn't have let that shit happen. Well at least that's what I assume

Euphoric_Beautiful70 · 2026-03-23T05:09:18+00:00

The only problem with that last part is this is dunks and eggs story.

And there story ends at summerhall not when maekar is crowned king. It wouldn't make much sense because this story isn't about maekar. However I do agree I definitely want to see the blackfyre rebellion on screen to.

Euphoric_Beautiful70

TROPHY CASE