#nick blaine

[splitscreen]

THE HANDMAID'S TALE | 6x03 - Devoted

[withallthingslove]

Nicks in a tough spot no doubt this season. 1. he practically exposed himself at lawerences wedding 2. Tuello is pulling at him 3 his wife and baby are pulling at him 4 the women he's in love with and has a child with is pulling at him 5 his father in law is threatening and manipulating him 6 there are about 50 things he could be hung for

i wanna ask any nick hater how they would handle all that

Yeah Luke is an example of a civilian who can do nothing but sit around and feel guilty over it. Obviously he did things like volunteer with refugee aid and helped raise Nichole, but a lot of Luke's arc is feeling powerless, and his defenders point out that people would do the same and that he still stayed loyal.

I think Nick is the same but the opposite. Being manipulated and pulled into a bunch of different directions in a life or death regime. You can point fingers but a lot of people would probably make the same choices as Nick while hating themselves.

Both Nick and Luke are examples of what could and would happen to people in their positions.

[zalrb]

OK! 6x03 Osblaine Thoughts

So, admittedly, it's a little difficult for me to talk about Osblaine when that spoiler of Nick betraying June and her being blinded by love kind of looms over their interactions because I can't be too confident in the conclusions I draw until this apparent betrayal and its fallout happens. That being said, let's get into it.

I love this episode for Nick and June because I think it speaks to the staying power of their bond on June's end and more interestingly, she communicates that to Nick.

Throughout the series, the viewer can see it physically, the way she smiles when she hears his voice

or, like in this episode when she hears him approaching

the other characters see it just by watching her with him or listening to her speak about him

Holly sees it after hearing June speak about Nick and seeing how she acts about Nick once but Nick is left with

and throughout five seasons, he never let June see how it must be for him to have this love for her that is like a state of being, and feel as though that's not reciprocated because that's not Nick but in this episode, he's having this sort of reckoning with how impulsive and reckless he acts and kind of bizarre the situation is

because he loves someone who chose someone else and who he's nothing to

only for her to be like, no we're in this together

this feeling

is very much mutual, I have never left you, I have always been here with you

and it's also her answering the question her mother asked in 6x02 where she asks point blank, is Nick included in the people that you love and June can't bring herself to answer what is pretty clear to anyone with some modicum of awareness and she's answering that question verbally now to Nick who is asking the same question, and she confirms it again when they say goodbye where she tells him, let's cut the bullshit,

let's stop saying the right, honourable thing with our goodbyes

because it's never going to be goodbye because I love you

we will always be connected, I will see you again

and I say this because, the response to Nick's conflict could've been June saying I've been unfair to you, thank you for everything that you have done for me, I will leave you in peace now, but she refuses to do that because she's in love with him and they depart with a smile, their smile

so this episode is yet another reaffirmation of her love for him.

Another thing that I quite enjoy about this episode is how it showcases that Nick and June operate on this level together

where there's a kind of "we need to protect them, they're not like us" vibe

kind of going back to what Elisabeth said about June's character:

Over the course of the series, June becomes a completely new person, a person who does find her voice, an angry voice, a powerful voice. She’s a different person than she was. A lot of the romance with Nick is because of that. They are two people who understand and share the burden of Gilead’s tyranny.

and I think this is further compounded by - and this isn't to shit on Luke or anything - but his attempt to be active and it going disastrously and June and Nick being the ones to get him out and doing so together.

June holds on to Luke when the patrol car comes and her instinct is to protect him

she holds onto Nick after he did what he had to to continue that protection and she goes to him for comfort after the shock

I don't know, I watched this episode and I just saw how these two characters were very much in love.

Anyway, there will be so many vids.

[nickblaine]

nick speaking up for himself for the first time ever

[nickjunesource]

Can I just say that after rewatching the show and the trailer for the final season, smh I'm not that confident about how they're gonna handle OsBlaine relationship? Like I know Nick will never move on from her one way or the other but, as of now I don't think him and June are on the same page anymore(?) and ofc with Luke always in the picture......yeah I guess that I might already have an idea about how it's gonna end-

I really hope I'm wrong but I'll always cherish their story and possibly whatever they will throw at us :') *finger crossed*

We do not blame you for feeling that way. The show has treated Nick and Osblaine pretty poorly since 3x01, with a few small exceptions in the fourth season. And the writing quality as a whole has taken a hit beginning in the second season in small bits but really taking off in the third season. So it's good to enter into any season of this show with a degree of skepticism about the ability of the writers to do a good job. They're more interested in shock value than in consistent characterizations, growth, and proper story arcs. Alas season four appears to have been an aberration of improved quality and that has set a lot of our expectations a bit higher than they should have been since the disastrous season three.

We don't really have any information about the final two or possibly three episodes when it comes to Nick and Osblaine- the press release seemed to only cover the first seven episodes for Nick and June up to when June finds out whatever it is Nick did and is left spiralling. (Other characters seem to have had a bit more, with Tuello, Lawrence, and Serena getting mentions that cover episode ten, while Moira was never even mentioned at all!) So it's likely that both Nick and June seem to spend part of the season on different pages, with Nick focusing more on what he can do within the Gilead structure and his powerful connection to Wharton while June is about violently burning it all down, and then they'll end up on the same page. (Though we see Nick having to meet June's goals and plans more than her meeting his, and we wish this was a more of meeting in the middle thing as June's harebrained plans always get people killed or hurt and so Nick's more measured responses do have value too.)

We do appreciate that the one steady thing in all of this is Nick's love for June. And we're excited that June's selfishness towards him seems to be addressed with Nick feeling like he's starting to run on fumes and things beginning to fray a little after him giving so much and receiving so little, especially so with June seeming unable to give up Luke despite them no longer being in love. It'd be great for June to recognize that and be more emotionally supportive toward Nick. He really needs that.

Honestly we're not really that concerned with Luke anymore? We might be speaking too soon, but the information we have makes it seem that that is finally, finally, finally fizzling out as they seem to be focusing on Hannah (great!), acknowledging how they're not in love anymore (also great!), and having Luke see what June and Nick have together (another great thing!). Very few fans like June and Luke together. When you look at fanfiction, fanart, fanvids, and posts on social media, Osblaine gets significantly more attention than Juke ever does. Hell, June and Serena get more positive attention, and that is a victim/abuser relationship that many fans hate. If that doesn't say how little people care for Juke, we don't know what does. If the show is making this season about the fans, that's not the relationship to do it with.

It's certainly the healthiest position to approach this with a mix of trepidation and hope. One doesn't want to be too positive or they run the risk of being hurt (as we all have been with fandom meltdown #394), but one doesn't want to be too negative either or they'll struggle to enjoy the good bits that we will get. And we're in for a lot of good! It seems like the most Nick and Osblaine content since the second season! That itself is very exciting, even if it's not what we've expected and hoped for over this long break.

Buckle up, Osblaines! We're in for a much bumpier ride than anticipated.

[glasskey]

Season 6 Reviews and Podcasts

Above The Garage has just written a great review on the first 8 episodes of Season 6 of The Handmaid’s Tale, which you can find here: https://www.abovethegaragepodcast.net/reviews/season-6-review If you haven’t started listening to their podcasts and you’re an Osblaine or even just a Handmaid’s Tale fan, you need to hit them up on Insta and Spotify IMMEDIATELY. While you're there here’s a show I did with them some time ago, bear in mind this was some seasons back, but all the same rules apply.

Thanks for all your questions and comments, while I don't answer sent questions directly, I will try to address them in my posts.

[osblaine-tht]

Season 6 - Posters

SOURCE: Photos

[ember-not-amber]

get yourself a man that arranges the hunting and killing of your rapist/abuser, that is straight up soulmate material right there, no one else will come close to being as perfect for you as he is.

[osblaineswiftie]

i was listening to happiness by taylor and i had a thought about osblaine. remember all the things about nicks betrayal that will supposedly happen in season? taylor sings this bridge, who’s one of my favourite that she’s ever written : “I can't make it go away by making you a villain /I guess it's the price I paid for seven years in Heaven/ And I pulled your body into mine/ Every goddamn night, now I get fake niceties/ No one teaches you what to do/ When a good man hurts you/ And you know you hurt him too”.

to be honest, i’ve always wondered, in osblaine’s case, what would the thing that the good man (Nick) did to hurt the protagonist (June), even though i’ve always related this song to them. and now, i think it’s this potential betrayal. but what i love about those lyrics is that taylor says then : “All you want from me now is the green light of forgiveness/ You haven't met the new me yet/ And I think she'll give you that”. so, the protagonist (still June) would forgive the man.

this is reminder, dear osblaine nation, that June knows Nick. June knows Nick and she will forgive him, because she also knows the atrocity of Gilead and what it makes you do. and June can’t make go away the love she had for Nick by making him a villain, that’d be too easy. long live osblaine<3

[fruitcakexo]

def nick.....but why is Luke fighting him....thats my only pause that he's on their side

Yes. Luke fighting him is strange. Unless somehow Luke doesn’t realize it’s Nick? Maybe Nick may have his own plan?

Someone on FB said maybe they’re fighting so Nick could stealthily give him his weapon? We know Luke would LOVE the opportunity to sock Nick a good one…

Seriously, though. Such a mystery! It needs to all make sense though because this is a big moment for him to be on the wrong side of things.

[splitscreen]

also nick blaine’s favorite disney movie is now canonically the lion king. i don’t make the rules, he’s the one that offered to sing circle of life

[withallthingslove]

I'm starting to think this whole nick/June thing has to blow up (temporarily)because nick needs to decided to be against Gilead on his own not just for June(like the biggest critique of the character) for him to actually get a full circle moment

Yep that's the point I was trying to make the other week. I'd love it if his path was more clean cut or at least more obvious like you are able to draw from the books.

But the way he's been written on the show and with current events I can see why it might have to go this way. If he's going to be resistance, it needs to be because something wakes him up besides his love for June and Nichole

[bo-kryzze]

JUNE OSBORNE & NICK BLAINE 5.10 "Safe"

[jesperfahxey]

THE HANDMAID'S TALE 1.08 Jezebels

[thehandmaidsdaily]

THE HANDMAID'S TALE Season 6 Teaser Trailer

[glasskey]

Hey June. See you in New Bethlehem?

Be right there.