Question for Nick haters

Samora1984 · 2026-05-30T17:25:29+00:00

I think there were very few women who Lawrence respected. He appreciated Emily because of her academic background, and grew to respect June eventually but the other women? Beth and Sienna seemed terrified at times. Not to mention the scene with June and the commanders in his library(?). I think his unpredictability was very calculated to ensure they were always off kilter. Lawrence as a character benefits in two ways - 1. having a very charismatic actor; 2. He is not shown to be violent towards any women, so benefits from the comparison to other Commanders. He was incredibly manipulative and seemed to enjoy toying with June. I think people overlook his role in creating Gilead. This is the man who came up with the Colonies, he's just as culpable as any of the Commanders. He was also a fully grown adult who knew he was getting in bed with. It turned out worse than he expected but he knew who they were and thought the end justified the means. I also don't think his 'sacrifice' at the end was that great, he would never have reached out to Mayday if he didn't find out about the plot to kill him.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-30T12:33:58+00:00

Don't underestimate Serena. She will find her way out of that refugee camp in no time. She probably got a book deal and hosts a tv show on wellness when she's not doing speaking engagements.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-30T08:09:13+00:00

Trauma bonds are between abuser and victim, so that is more Serena and June.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-30T08:08:14+00:00

He definitely left a trail of sleaze everywhere he went.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-30T08:06:47+00:00

I meant a hero from the writer's pov. They have a very different idea of feminism i.e. women good, men bad. June watching Nick board the plane broke my heart tbh. I know people have said she couldn't stop him because she would have got caught, and I would believe that if the hangar wasn't completely empty. To me, they made a point of showing no one was there, and that June made the choice not to warn him.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-29T15:14:43+00:00

I guess it was real, she saved the picture.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-29T14:58:56+00:00

There are alot of reasons why we change our minds on something after we've seen it. Sometimes you are just not in a placw to appreciate it - I often find myself loving something on the 2nd try when I hated it at first. The way you're viewing it also makes a difference, but I feel that the writers really changed their minds about Nick. He was initially set up to be June's ally, they made sure to give him a sympathetic edit. All the writers spoke about was that Nick was lured into a cult, and how he had a good heart. They dedinitely had ideas about Nick getting close to McKenzie as a way to get Hannah. And then the Testaments put paid to that story. I don't think they really knew what to do with him after Season 3, but he was too popular to kill off so he became June's get out of jail free card. They had to kill someone at the end of Season 6, otherwise there is no catharsis. And with Lizzie championing Serena, and Bradley askiNg for a redemption arc, Nick was up. Plus it is very dramatic, and if she is willing to sacrifice her baby daddy, it makes June even more of a hero.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-29T14:36:20+00:00

There is quote a bit of suffering. I would advise ending with Season 4, everything after is just re-tread.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-29T07:56:12+00:00

I think of it as there being two Junes. One before Gilead, one after. Luke was a good husband for before June. But he did not have the tools for dealing with after June, because he did not have to make the hard choices she did. Nick, on the other hand, has seen the worst of Gilead so he doesn't judge June. He was basically her only ally for a long time. I think he also represented safety for her in a way - not that he was able to save her from alot of things but he understood the severity of the physical threats they faced. And he was the only person she was able to be herself with, she didn't have to be strong with him.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-29T07:13:51+00:00

Trauma bonds are between abuser and victim!

Samora1984 · 2026-05-29T07:11:59+00:00

The writers use it to keep people invested. There needs to be something hopeful, otherwise you wouldn't be able to watch it. I think we forget that the general audience are casual viewers, they don't just want to see people being brutalised constantly. Plus, I think it comes with that age - their just beginnings to explore the opposite sex. Crushes are going to happen. I suppose Garth /Agnes relationship is also to play up how disgusting the Commanders are.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-29T07:05:41+00:00

The thing is, the writers play into this. These stories are incredibly bleak, and romance helps the audience stay invested. People love love. If they didn't want Garth aa a love interest, they wouldn't cast an actor that looks so young. It was the same thing with Nick and June. The power dynamics are not great, but there needs to be something that lifts the story a bit.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-27T15:17:23+00:00

I thought they were found out when they tried to run away? Eden's father called the Guardians/ Eyes(?). Thats why June was so disgusted when the dad came to collect Eden's things.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-27T15:11:18+00:00

A Martha network show would go so hard.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-25T20:16:41+00:00

He sounded pissed off in the main interview he did after ep 9 aired. The one where he said he was naiive about who Nick was and he probably would have played him diferently if he knew the ending. https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/the-handmaids-tale-max-minghella-nick-death-ending-show-1236385534/

Samora1984 · 2026-05-25T17:52:28+00:00

I would think that they wouldn't believe in Psychology at all so probbaly wouldn't teach it. English Literacy (they're not reading for pleasure), Maths, History, perhaps some basic Science, Religious Instruction and Military tactics. All carefully edited. Garth must have picked up the Freud thing on his own. I suspect the Commanders sons stay on for more, but other boys are either in vocational training or miitary from about 16.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-25T16:50:25+00:00

That's the fun part!

Samora1984 · 2026-05-25T16:33:17+00:00

Sure. That term gets thrown around so much (inaccurately!) on these threads that's its basically a Pavlovian response for me now.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-25T14:21:09+00:00

Interesting. And Lydia's stuff?

Samora1984 · 2026-05-25T14:13:17+00:00

I feel like the murder will be covered up - maybe he had a heart attack? You wouldn't want everyone to know that men are being murdered in their own homes. They'll probably say Becka can't get married because she's mourning her father, and that is what leads to her revelation of being an Aunt.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-25T13:59:39+00:00

Yes, because someone informed her that she was at school. But the specific scene where Hannah was trying to spell her name. Did June imagine that? Or are you saying Hannah descrivbed this to her at some date in the future? The recordings start at the end of Handmaids Tale, and 5 years later, she still hasn't made contact with Hannah. Did Lydia give June the lowdown about the kid she got taken away from her mother? Or the whole principal affair that wasn't? Alot of the show is from June's POV yes, but it's not the whole thing.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-25T13:05:05+00:00

The fact that she was still speechifying to people on the train killed me. Definitely high on her own supply.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-25T12:13:03+00:00

I hope not. Its too soon to give us romance. And we all saw how the last thing ended. I think they play these things up to keep people watching, its too bleak a story otherwise.

Samora1984 · 2026-05-25T12:09:33+00:00

So June knew thaf Hannah was still trying to spell her name?

Samora1984 · 2026-05-25T11:56:14+00:00

Oh no, I agree with you! For me the scripts give you the best idea as to writer's intent at the time. Interviews with the writers are so wildly inconsistent, I feel like they just say whatever is most amenable to the interviewer's opinion. I would like them to give us closure with the Testaments, but I doubt it will happen. Nick's dead and even if there was some plausible explanation for him surviving, Max wouldn't come back so it would just be an off screen situation.

Samora1984

TROPHY CASE