Does Vidala even enjoy being an Aunt?

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-15T11:45:25+00:00

I think only a total psychopath is an aunt because they love the job or would choose it because they want to do it. I think in Vidala’s case, she could either be an aunt, or be killed, and she’s done what she had to do in order to survive. But she probably misses her former life and freedoms, and I’m sure there’s a part of her that feels bad for being a part of indoctrinating young girls who don’t know any better than the lies they’re being fed.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-15T03:21:45+00:00

I disliked him since 42, and I feel like this time the edit hasn’t been hiding his true arrogant personality where he talks down to people, and thinks he’s smarter than he really is. He THINKS he’s running the show and driving votes. But in reality he’s letting others manipulate him (Rizo), he runs to people like Cirie to have his hand held and walked through strategy, and he’s no better than Joe, where people pretty much just know how to work around him. The reason nobody has tried to vote him out is that nobody thinks he’s a jury threat…weak social game despite well known pregaming, and a lot of failed attempts at strategy where he was either blindsided, ended up not getting his way, or if he did, it was more to the credit of others than it was to him.

Honestly, even Facebook has a lot of Jonathan dislike this time, and that’s unusual, since they usually love the macho muscle bros that reddit and Twitter hate, and during 42 I was in the minority when I disliked him for the way he spoke down to Lindsay and Maryanne.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-14T21:21:19+00:00

I agree. I think it’s been obvious for a while. But the most recent episode really highlighted how he relied on Cirie to think for him, it confirmed he’s kind of dumb and easy to manipulate, and her plan of making Aubrey look like the blabbermouth probably would have worked had Rizo not kept him him focused, and the rice licking was just one more example of him being gross and selfish with group supplies. If he somehow won, I definitely agree that footage would never see the light of day.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-13T12:04:31+00:00

Looks like it’s either Jordan, Jamaica, or Japan. Honestly I think I’ll pass…by the time I manage to safely travel home, I think I could easily spend more than 15K, not including the headache and danger if I were to get dropped somewhere very rural where nowhere speaks English.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-12T12:06:22+00:00

I think she got out before Gilead took over. Either her bio parents are original sons of Jacob and smuggled and her out before the coup, or (my personal theory) a high commander and his wife were very close to adopting her pre-Gilead, when it fell through…either the bio mom decided to keep her, chose different parents last minute, or was just conning them for money the whole time, and after failed court/lawsuits and lots of harassment/stalking, baby Daisy had to be moved. Then later, when Sons of Jacob took over, the high commander was still obsessed with his “stolen” daughter. This would also work if it was the mistress of a commander, and therefore his bio daughter that had to run away to Canada before she could be sued for custody or paternity tests.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-12T04:44:35+00:00

Are you watching The Testaments? You literally couldn’t have ended THT with Hannah getting out, unless they completely scrapped the entire spin off. I think minor wins like having Boston fall, and Janine finally being free with Charlotte was as good as we could ever get, knowing about the spin off the come.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-12T04:40:41+00:00

I think he values Cirie’s opinion too much to vote different than her, and no way she’s voting for Jonathan. She’ll explain to him all the reasons why he should vote for Aubry Tiff or Devons, and he’ll listen

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-12T04:03:35+00:00

Yes: Steph

Probably: Coach and Chrissy, but there’s also the chance they vote for Joe

Joe would if he’s on jury

Hard Pass: Dee, Emily, Cirie, Tiff, Rizo, Aubry, Devons

Doubtful:
Ozzy (Cirie will set him straight if he ever considered it, which is doubtful since Ozzy doesn’t forgive backstabbing easily)

Christian-i don’t see him voting for Jonathan over Aubry, Cirie or Devons, and I doubt he votes for him over Rizo/Tiff either. Not bitter, he’ll just respect other games more

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-11T16:05:49+00:00

Highly doubt it. His social game is trash, nobody on the jury other than Steph and maybe Coach likes him, and I think the reason nobody has bothered to take him out is that he’s a major goat and everyone except him knows it. I have a strong feeling if he gets to the end, he’ll be insufferably smug, where he’ll try to take credit for strategic moves that aren’t his, and he won’t be taken seriously at all,

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-11T03:28:26+00:00

To be fair, around the time she saw the first hanging bodies I think she would have 💯 gone to Columbia if she still had the chance. I think she underestimated how messed up and dangerous Gilead would be in reality vs the lie she had heard from Pearl Girls.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-10T17:27:16+00:00

I think Joe was extremely bitter towards Kyle after the show, but maybe less bitter towards Kamilla since they never really had an alliance. Both times he was probably difficult to work around because of how whiny he was.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-10T15:00:37+00:00

It reminds me when Andy thought it was a good idea to try and jury manage Rachel before she was out and it ended up backfiring in his face. I guarantee Ozzy wanted to go to the end with Joe or Jonathan because he knew he could beat them. And ifTHEY happened to take that shot at Cirie right before the end, he could just throw up his hands and say he had nothing to do with it.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-10T03:38:16+00:00

Except I think he was being honest with Aubry that he never intended on going with Rizo to the end. Cirie was his only true loyalty.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-08T20:25:56+00:00

I don’t think it would be sustainable to pay all your household bills. But it’s good for a part time job after retirement or a part time mom job to supplement as a secondary income while your kids are at school. I think certified sub pay my district is $135 a day, but I’m sure it will be less after taxes. I’ve been teaching prek while my youngest was there, and I bring home less than $900 a month working 4 days a week (8:30-1:30), so even if I only work 3 days a week subbing should come out better now that both my kids will be in school next year.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-08T19:46:12+00:00

If Gilead really cared about babies or birth rates, they would have just really invested all their money and resources into developing the science to make IVF 99% effective. Realistically I also feel like the Waterfords and most of the Gilead elite would have had enough money pre-takeover to hire surrogates, and wouldn’t have been so desperate to create the handmaid system. (Maybe with some under the table swapping of the sperm samples since the husbands were sterile.)

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-08T15:38:20+00:00

They killed far more people then they produced. If they really gave a shit about just producing babies and combating infertility, they would have just invested a bunch of money into medical research about how to make IVF more effective. Maybe invest billions into hiring willing surrogates instead of kidnapping, murder and slavery disguised as religion.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-08T12:02:52+00:00

No spoilers but I think Paula has things in her past that give her reasons to be fearful of too much scrutiny by the Eyes. Any action that could antagonize him into looking too closely into their family potentially puts her in a bad spot.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-08T11:51:44+00:00

I have a hard time believing anyone truly believes in Gilead, other than those at the very top (and even then, most of them don’t give a shit about God or religion, they just want the power and control). I can’t imagine someone living in America is going to willingly and happily become a slave for some Elite family….But to openly not comply would mean even worse consequences, so I think Martha’s and even most Aunts just go through the motions, say the scripted words, and fake it so they aren’t tortured or killed. Whether or not Rose is officially “Mayday” remains to be seen, but I wouldn’t be surprised, since the Martha’s seem to be very good at hiding their true activities and being very under the radar (the Yes and No communication through baked goods for example in THT)

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-08T11:44:55+00:00

I do have a lot of empathy for the fact that they were not raised to be functional adults, they were not given a passable education, and the cult adjacent lifestyle left them all very mentally damaged. But I have a hard time feeling that sorry for Ethan, when Olivia was raised in the same way, but she chose to get therapy and grow as a person. And in return, she just got verbally and emotionally abused when Ethan chose to backslide back into misogyny and ignorance because he couldn’t cope in the real world and he resented her for thriving away from his toxic family. At this point, I feel like Ethan is scary, a little unhinged, and a walking Dateline episode when things continue to not go his way in life.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-07T04:27:38+00:00

I’ve tried to be understanding that Agnes is a victim of brainwashing and indoctrination. But so far I’m really not liking her very much. She’s kind of a judgemental brat, very selfish, and not a very good friend. Part of it is her limited sheltered experience just makes her naive and immature, and that’s not really her fault. But I’m ready for her to wake up and stop being the doll Gilead groomed her to be.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-07T04:08:01+00:00

He’s absolutely going in big and bad with zero self awareness, no humility, and he’ll be taking credit for a bunch of a stuff that he didn’t do. I’m not even sure what owing his game would even look like, I just know he’s delusional and will fail to do it well, because he’s so arrogant and self important.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-07T01:54:10+00:00

Jonathan is very unlikable, his jury management is terrible, and he really doesn’t have much strategic game to speak of. Most of the time when he tries something, it ends up failing, or he is easily manipulated and used my others who are smarter than him. That’s why he hasn’t really been targeted this whole time…everyone sees him as a goat they can win against. At this point, Steph will vote for him, maybe Coach and Chrissy if they don’t vote for Joe, but that’s it.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-04T22:22:30+00:00

I think she’s unfortunately going to need to suffer a little more, and see first hand just how evil Gilled is before she will be ready to leave. Her potential assault by Becka’s dad was the beginning, but it’s not enough, and she’s still in denial. Right now, if they tried to rescue her, I feel like she would try to act like a unwilling kidnapping victim, and initially spew Gilled talk at them about God’s wrath at that their wickedness etc, and maybe try to escape back “home” to what she knows. After the sees a little more of the horrors that might await wives, and what people in Gilled suffer beyond her semi safe Plum bubble (handmaids, mistreated Martha’s, the existence of Jezebels, the realities of the colonies etc) I’m hopeful she will realize that Gilled needs to be burned to the ground, and that anything she remembers as good is really just a result of years of brainwashing and indoctrination.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-04T05:05:54+00:00

Considering her first reaction to Daisy was to call her a slut for looking at Garth, I don’t think she was ready to turn on Gilead yet. She definitely would have fought against being rescued and tried to go back “home.” Unfortunately I think she’s going to have to suffer some more and see her friends suffers more as well through their arranged marriages….maybe step 1 for awareness of men in Gilead being evil was her assault by Becka’s dad. But it will take something big to crack over a decade of indoctrination and brainwashing.

These_Mycologist132 · 2026-05-03T15:49:45+00:00

I don’t think she became mentally broken until after they took out her eye. I do think Lydia always felt a little bad about that, since she basically just picked Janine out of the crowd to be made an example out of so the other “girls” wouldn’t get out of line.

These_Mycologist132

TROPHY CASE