Season three of The Handmaids Tale was pissing me off
Until episode 8.
You know how everyone else can see why you don’t like that person, but you just can’t seem to put your finger on it?
Well, 14 minutes into the latest episode, “Unfit,” and we’re brought into Aunt Lydia’s origin story and it hit me: I don’t like this show right now because it’s echoing what I don’t like ABOUT RIGHT NOW.
When we finally see what formed Aunt Lydia’s character’s core beliefs, and perhaps why she can stay in a place like Gilead — we see what so many of us have seen, those of us who’ve taught or done childcare anyhow. The unapologetically late, seemingly unattached or nonchalant parent who arrives to grab their child like it’s nothing. Sometimes only a few minutes late, sometimes almost an hour. I’ve seen it personally. Were those parents bad parents? I have no idea. Their children were always lovely, so, my guess is the parents were totally fine.
Right now we are more hateful, more closed, and more judgemental than we’ve EVER been before. We are in Gilead, if only in our minds. We are busier than we’ve ever been before as a nation of workers. A lot of us work hard and work late. Sometimes, working late causes parents to be late to pick up their children. And, sometimes careworkers and teachers form opinions about said parents.
Guess what? You don’t like XYZ because they remind you of you, or worse they are basically YOU.
The episode takes Lydia back to when she tells this late single mother that she can do better than her waitressing job, that she can be better. Most of the time, teachers and caretakers don’t get that soapbox to preach on. It put the pin in why I am angry at the writing this season: it is relatable. I have been Aunt Lydia (very mildly, mind you). No spoilers here but Lydia’s backstory went waaaaay further than silent judgment. Having a character I can directly correlate my own inner judgments to, brought me to her perspective, brought me to an understanding about the tone of this season, and finally to why the writing is the way it is.
Nothing is so disturbing as that which can bring ‘reality’ home. And so part of me, if I am reading between the lines with the writers correctly, is absolutely applauding the writers' room for this stroke of genius. Yeah, I’m mad. I’m mad as hell because The Handmaids Tale just came into my sphere, pulled out a situation I’ve experienced, showed it to me, judged it, and sentenced it to (destination) hell.
If you think these things there is a cause and effect relationship. Maybe we won’t end up in Gilead, but also maybe don’t judge a serially late single parent either. Shit could ALWAYS be worse.
Like Megan Rapinoe said today: “Love more, hate less.” A message sorely needed right now because we are living in a time when hate is in the air we breath. Spend more time finding reasons to love something, hell, even like something.
Do it today, before it’s too late.
