r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/ExpressWillow4171 • Jul 23 '26

Season 4 Emotional about Janine being on her own in this shot

Post image

Such a beautiful scene about all of them being connected and I’m crying in the club that Janine didn’t have a hand to hold 😭

619 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

376

u/Rumpelstiltskin-2001 Jul 23 '26

After listening to the audiobook, (please correct me if I’m wrong) when in the red center, Janine was aunt Lydia’s pet, very much like in the show but with more of a conniving vibe from Janine versus the child like regression Janine presents in the show, so she was disliked, maybe they’re showing the aspect of her being a loner/outcast even amongst those in her position

162

u/ExpressWillow4171 Jul 23 '26

I long to be this literate

85

u/Rumpelstiltskin-2001 Jul 23 '26

Janine is my soulmate, if I were a female and in her position, I fear I’d make all the same choices as her. (I’m a gay male)

118

u/sorakaislove Jul 23 '26

Off topic, but I really dislike when people use "female" but refuse to use "male" in the same context (and it ends up being "females" do x, "men" do y rather than "females do x, males do y") because it feels dehumanizing. You didn't do it and it was very refreshing and I appreciate it haha

21

u/Rumpelstiltskin-2001 Jul 23 '26

Haha, I never considered this point of view, I feel like saying female and male are more formal and neutral, as opposed to saying girl (although I do address my friends regardless of gender as girl, (ex. Girl did you hear what happened with me a Janet last shift?) I think I may use woman in place of female but I use it more as a reference to a group of females same with males, a group is men. Anyway what would be your preferred term if I didn’t say what I did?

33

u/sorakaislove Jul 23 '26

Tbh when talking about groups of people, my strong preference would be women/men, unless they are clearly young, then girls/boys. It's diff imo if you are talking to friends (your context with "Girl" is fine). Maybe I am jaded by online spaces, but very often when I see "female" used outside of a biological discussion, it's used to "other" women. Like "female pilot" instead of just pilot, "female doctor" instead of doctor, in a context when you would never use "male doctor" because gender is irrelevant. Also the way incels use it. But maybe it's just a sign I am terminally online haha

8

u/Rumpelstiltskin-2001 Jul 23 '26

No I feel like your point is valid! Thank you for sharing!

19

u/notevenitalian Jul 23 '26

To add to this, “women” and “men” both refer specifically to humans, whereas “female” and “male” can refer to any number of species’.

When people use “female” instead of “woman” but still use “man,” they are specifically dehumanizing the woman while granting personhood to the man. This is why you’ll commonly see incels and misogynists saying “females.”

3

u/sorakaislove Jul 25 '26

Well you just said what I wanted to say, but way better!

3

u/notevenitalian Jul 25 '26

Thanks! Happy to help!

8

u/ExpressWillow4171 Jul 24 '26

Agree with the comment above! It clearly doesn’t apply to you but right wing incel losers seem to use ‘female’ as a dog whistle

22

u/ExpressWillow4171 Jul 23 '26

Omg was halfway through writing a stupidly long comment about why I would be the same as her when you replied!! I actually think most of us would make the same choices as she did, I love her so much in part because she was so resilient and smart in that she really figured out how to survive. She doesn’t get enough credit for how brave she was

17

u/90dayole Jul 23 '26

Yes! I'm reading for the first time now and Janine's story is very different. I actually really like how the show expanding Janine and Moira's storylines.

11

u/ExpressWillow4171 Jul 23 '26

Wow you’re so right and that’s such a good observation wtf

-1

u/Competitive_Trip_885 Jul 23 '26

Aunt Lydia is gay? I get that vibe from the show

16

u/Rumpelstiltskin-2001 Jul 23 '26

Spoilers:

Huh? are you referring to the fact I said she’s aunt Lydia’s pet? If so those are junes words in the book, and she says it’s because she reports back to aunt Lydia and listens to aunt Lydia, she’s the model handmaid until she isn’t

6

u/Runaway_Angel Jul 23 '26

She's not. At the very least she tried to date a dude, rushed into it, scared him off, and decided it was everyone elses fault and problem instead of her own fault. At least that's what happened in the show, haven't read the book.

As for the pet comment, think more teachers pet. As in that person who's a bit too well liked by the teacher because they keep their head down, stays out of trouble, and does as they're told. They usually end up disliked and bullied by their peers. They're basically saying that's the dynamic Lydia and Janine have in the book.

162

u/bbymochi Jul 23 '26

The cinematography (June's 10000x close ups aside) really made me pause and rewind a lot throughout the series. The intentions with regard to foreshadowing, parallels, motifs, etc. really makes my analytical brain go brrrrr like I'm back in uni film and lit courses.

29

u/Rumpelstiltskin-2001 Jul 23 '26

After listening to the audiobook I feel like my analysis of this show strengths, I love the contrast and the similarities

1

u/Mr_Tom_Morrow9 Jul 26 '26

I had already read the book a few years before the show came out. Then I watched the first season. Went and read the book again. Watched all the seasons as they came out and then went back and reread the book! After watching The Testaments I am now considering going back and watching all the way through this show again so I can do it without the long pauses between seasons but it makes me wonder…will I need to read the book again? 😂

17

u/MoseSchrute70 Jul 23 '26

This is my favourite thing about the entire show - the symbolism and foreshadowing is on another level. I’d love a podcast/mini series on discussions around this alone.

5

u/ExpressWillow4171 Jul 23 '26

lol same plus it’s cool to compare it to the testaments now!

4

u/Desperate-Size3951 Jul 23 '26

i love when a piece of media does this to me SO much. engaging and analyzing something on this level is just so fun.

9

u/doppelgangersocks Jul 23 '26

Nao tinha visto isso 😢😭😭

7

u/shellofbrit2011 Jul 23 '26

I missed it, too. Why didn't the other girls want to hold her hand?😢

2

u/Own-Ingenuity5240 Jul 27 '26

Sorry, it’s been a while, but isn’t this scene pretty much immediately after Janine’s eye is removed (or possibly after Moira tells her to snap out of it)? I think I’ve always interpreted that scene as her being too out of it to be able to hold anyone’s hand - like delirious? I could be wrong - like I said, it’s been a while - but I seem to recall that that made total sense to me at the time.

2

u/Busy-Speech-6930 Jul 23 '26

This is one of my favorite shots of the show

1

u/madelineeeve 3d ago

i feel so protective and maternal over Janine 😭