episode 06-07
Not going to talk much about these since there are some plot twists that you just need to hit cold. But hooray for backstory / flashbacks! I do appreciate the brutality of much of the action. The show remains tasteful in the visuals in general with everything that typically goes down, but they don't have any compunctions about what happens really. Some of it can be quick, cold, brutal, etc.
episode 08
Here's why these utopian societies don't work if the rules are too stringent: Those with power don't want to change, so they continue to indulge. THose without power are crushed by the rules, those with power continue to indulge, and it just all continues regardless. This episode is not SURPRISING in the least, although the audacity might feel staggering. Humans are humans, they have certain desires, and if you suppress your primal urges, either you crack or you create an "allowable" outlet for those who have enough power to escape consequences. Others also indulge in their own pursuits (as we are seeing with June) but are in grave danger if they are caught -- they will be the scapegoats used to prove "the system is working to suppress immorality" while it continue unabated for those with enough power who indulge through the "allowable" channels.
That being said, there's some hints at crazy shit going on here. Almost more something you'd see on AHS. Also, all the women are enslaved, even the ones with some freedoms.
episode 9
One things I love about the series is that often you can see where a particular plot point will resolve sensibly, and it actually will end up going that way -- but the entire journey to reach that end, it's not clear IF it will. There's always a sense of pregnant possibility for things going in other directions. This basically engages the viewer to imagine where things are going and provides fulfillment in that you anticipate what will happen and feel good about being right but it still keeps you on your toes since it's not a totally clear thing.
There are also moral dilemmas for the protagonists. June has to do something in this episode that she is entirely conflicted about. And I'm not even clear exactly what I would have done either. If you love your friend, what do you recommend she do? What a fucking mess.
Serena Joy is still a bitch on many levels but the season offers her more context and nuance, there are some good things about her / sensitive things, and you can sense her own life disappointments and see when she's trying to be more. She's as trapped as everyone else and isn't necessarily happy, although she continues to wield power to serve herself mostly... it's just that as a woman and the wife of the house, she really doesn't possess as much power as it seems she would. Also, Aunt Lydia is a part Ann Dowd has done before, and she's exceedingly good at showing matronly concern while brutalizing others; so she's also a bit complex. She abuses others with impunity if they flout the system, yet you can tell she views herself as caring about the girls under her care. it's her values system that is fucked up. You could see her running a brothel or some other such thing... and I suppose actually that is what she is doing here. Faint hints of Zidler from Moulin Rouge (although he's more sympathetic); you are basically running a business and have to fulfill a goal, but trying to care for the people under her so they can reach that goal.
---
Nick is kind of hot, in that broody quiet way. And those eyebrows.
This is definitely a female centric show. Despite men having the power, they are always shown from the female perspective (you can detect whiffs of Lifetime channel). Having one episode essentially dedicated to a man was kind of an odd one out. But as opposed to malecentric shows, the plot (while there is one) is more about women and how they are positioned with others in their lives, that kind of internal relating drama.
June has a number of "men" in her life, all her relationships are different, and you see how she works each one of them without having any direct power in the relationship. This is most obvious with Commander Waterford; June is basically able to "soft manipulate" him by planting ideas in his head and making him think he came up with them, and by reflecting back to him a mirror of himself -- the self he wants to see himself as. [I really love it when he thinks he has been crafty enough to recognize how she has been manipulating him but ends up being entirely wrong about her goal. Wow.] It's a time-treasured tool used by women for a long time (since western culture often has granted men more overt power). But she can also be demanding with men she wants to actually build relationships with. There is that conversation with Nick at end of episode 8 (?) where she just needed to stop talking, because it's clear that Nick cannot find words and it's too much for him -- dealing with his feelings in that moment -- so he gives her the only thing he can at the time and it's not good enough. But the exchange is very relatable.
Waterford is dual-layered as well. In some ways he seems kind and wanting to offer June some luxuries, seeing her as more than a handmaiden. However, what that "more" actually is (you figure out eventually) is still an object to hang on his arm to make him feel good about what a great person is OR to win prestige from others. He's still ultimately self-focused and despite allowing her exceptions from the system is still keeping her trapped in the system under his own thumb. He cares about her more like one would care for a well-liked pet.