#that's commander nick blaine to you

[happy74827]

Take Me Over

[Nick Blaine x Wife!Reader]

Synopsis: In the heart of Gilead’s oppressive regime, you find yourself thrust into a marriage with Nick Blaine, a man whose silent demeanor hides a truth you’ve realized to be shared.

WC: 2189

Category: Lime/Spice, Slight Fluff {TW — Forced Marriage}

I’m back at it again with another character that no one seems to write about 🥲 (I love him your honor)

『••✎••』

The dim light of the candles flickered in the oppressive silence of the room. You sat on the edge of the bed, your hands tightly gripping the stack of letters tied together by a brown string while you contemplated what you were about to do.

It’s been a total of two days since you were placed to be a part of the household of Commander Fred and Mrs. Waterford. Two days since you were forced into a role that you were not comfortable with. Two days since a new life was placed before you.

Two days since your marriage, and now here you are, sitting on the edge of a bed, dreading the moment that the door would open and once again reveal the man who was forced to be your husband.

Nick Blaine, that was his name, and it was all that was given to you. You knew nothing about him. All you knew was that you were his wife, and he was your husband, and you both had a role to play. Though, if the letters that you currently held in your hands were anything to go by, Nick Blaine, your husband, played the role of a rebel.

Shock. It was the first thing that you felt when you discovered the stack of letters hidden behind one of the drawers in the room. Then, curiosity. What exactly were they? You were so intrigued that you couldn't help yourself. You had to find out.

You didn’t regret it.

You didn't even want to.

What you had found was something you could not believe. Something so secret and dangerous that you could not fathom. The contents of the letters, the words written upon the papers, were like a breath of fresh air.

Stories, that's what they were. Stories that you would tell in hushed whispers. Stories that were passed around. Stories of the world before Gilead.

They seemed to be all handmaids. Handmaids telling their side of the story. Brave women who would take such risks, who would defy the rules, just to let their voices be heard.

They were inspiring, and as you read through them, you realized the more dangerous these letters were, the more powerful. And the more powerful they were, the more they were needed.

It was a small act of defiance, but it was enough. It was something that could keep the flame of hope alive, and that is exactly what they needed in the current situation.

But the question still stands. What was Nick Blaine doing with them?

You weren’t sure how you were supposed to feel, especially now that you were aware that a man of his stature and position could risk everything for the sake of those who were fighting against Gilead.

So many things were racing in your mind, but then it hit you. The soft glow in his eyes whenever Waterford’s handmaiden was around. The way he looked at her. Sympathy and guilt. He cared for her.

The revelation was almost jarring, but you weren’t too surprised. Nick always seemed different from the others. Hell, it’s been two days, and he hasn’t touched you.

You could almost guarantee that all the other men who were promoted and newly married would have already taken their wives by now. They would’ve taken their wife that night after the ceremony. But not him. Not Nick.

You were grateful.

He had a heart, and that's all that mattered.

A knock on the door snapped you back into reality, and before you could even respond, the door was opening.

It was Nick.

For a split second, the two of you just stared at each other, his eyes moving in slow motion as they trailed from your face to the stack of letters you were holding.

Of course, as he did so, all you could do was look at him in admiration. He was always easy on the eyes before, with hair and eyes that were darker than the luxurious dark chocolate you once loved to eat before Gilead. But, knowing what you know now, everything about him was just much more attractive.

But then, a flicker of fear was shown in his eyes, and all at once, the atmosphere seemed to grow tense.

Without saying a word, Nick stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. You could visibly see a sweat drop trickling down his neck as he tried to compose himself, his eyes never leaving the letters that were clutched tightly in your hands.

"Nick." You whispered, and you could see him stiffen at the mention of his name. The poor man was terrified, and it was heartbreaking.

"How much did you read?" His voice was rough and gravelly, and the sound was music to your ears.

"Enough." You answered, and without missing a beat, you slowly stood up and began to make your way toward him. "Enough to know I can trust you."

Your response was met with a surprised look, and it was clear to you that he was not expecting that. Truthfully, you were surprised yourself.

This was all new to you. You've never spoken so freely before, and you never expected the day would come when you would have the courage to defy the rules. But today was a strange day.

"I’ve never believed in miracles," You whispered, taking a few steps forward. Your eyes were locked with his, and you could see the surprise and curiosity swirling around in his beautiful, dark brown eyes. "but you might be the closest thing to one I could get."

A soft smile tugged at your lips as you slowly walked towards him, and as the two of you were only mere inches away from each other, you raised the stack of letters and gently pushed it towards him.

"You need to do better than hiding them behind a drawer, though. I almost tripped on it when it fell out." You said, and for the first time since you had met him, you saw his lips curl up into a ghost of a smile.

"Noted."

And then the two of you lapsed into silence. A comfortable silence that was filled with the soft glow of the candle and the faint crackling sound of the fire.

That night was the night your trust was built and the beginning of a bond that would eventually bring the two of you together.

It was a couple of months later, when he returned from Canada with the Waterfords, that your relationship from close friends to lovers began.

He’d gotten the letters out. He’d finally gotten them out, and as the news of the failed union between Canada and Gilead left his lips, all you could think about was the relief and the excitement.

Your heart was overflowing with joy, and your body was filled with a sense of warmth that you had long forgotten. Nick had done it. Nick had finally done it.

As soon as he finished recounting, you rushed to embrace him. A strong grip wrapped itself around his waist, and your face nuzzled into the crook of his neck.

Nick, on the other hand, was stiff as a board. Even though you two were married to each other, he still felt that it was inappropriate for him to touch you in such a manner.

The thought didn’t last long, however, as you pulled away and gave him a smile that made his heart skip a beat.

Your smile was radiant. Your eyes were twinkling, and your face was glowing. For the first time in a long time, you were truly happy. And Nick didn't think that he'd ever seen anything more beautiful.

"I'm proud of you."

Your words were soft, and as you placed your hand on his chest, you could feel his heartbeat quicken beneath your palm.

His eyes were locked on yours, and he could see the emotions swirling around in your eyes.

Relief. Excitement. Happiness. Admiration.

The list could go on, but in the end, all that mattered was that he could see the love that you held for him.

And that… that look was all it took for his hands to gently grasp your shoulders and guide you backward as you told him another set of words about how he was a hero and that he was amazing.

You didn’t even realize what he was doing until your back felt the concrete wall. Once you realized you weren’t moving anymore, you paused and looked at him, and the moment you did, your breath got caught in your throat.

Nick was looking at you with an intensity that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand. His hands had moved from your shoulders to the nape of your neck, and the warmth of his skin sent a shiver down your spine.

"Nick." You whispered, watching as his thumb grazed the outline of your bottom lip. It was a simple, tender gesture, but it was enough to send butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

You couldn’t get a response out, not even a single word, as you watched his eyes glance down at your lips, his own tongue darting out to lick his.

Then, his head was moving forward, and his lips were brushing against yours. It was a ghost of a kiss, barely touching your lips, but the electricity was there. It was a spark that made your entire body tingle and your heart race.

When Nick pulled away, he was met with your intense gaze. You were almost upset at the weak display. Even though you understood his hesitation, a part of you was hoping he would be braver.

"That's it?" You murmured, a hint of teasing in your voice.

And the moment those words left your mouth, he was smirking. He was actually smirking, and his fingers were running through your hair.

"Are you asking me for more?" He asked, his voice low and deep, sending another shiver down your spine.

"I’m not asking," You breathed out, leaning in close and pressing your forehead against his. The moment you did, his grip tightened around your waist, and his free hand slid down to your hip, squeezing it slightly. "You were brave enough to get those letters out. Be brave enough to kiss me like you mean it."

Those were the magic words.

He didn't say anything in response.

He didn't need to.

Instead, his hands went back to the nape of your neck, and his lips were once again on yours. Only this time, it was not a ghostly touch. It was real, and the moment his lips were on yours, all your senses were flooded with him.

You could feel his warm, plush lips molding against yours and the gentle way his fingers were running through your hair.

But what made you absolutely weak was the taste of him. Your legs were almost wobbling the moment his tongue slipped into your mouth. It was like a dance, his tongue brushing against yours as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

And as the two of you kissed, all the tension and the desire that had been building up in the past months slowly dissipated.

Your heart was racing, and your mind was in a daze. The only thing you were thinking about was Nick and his lips. And as his fingers gripped onto the strands of your hair and the way his hips began to press against yours, all you could think about was getting him closer.

So, your hands traveled down from his chest and to his back, gripping the material of his jacket as you pulled him towards you.

The action elicited a groan from the back of his throat, and his hips began to press firmly against yours. You could feel the way his hips were subtly grinding against yours, and as his hardness began to rub against the thin material of your dress, the moan that escaped your lips was swallowed by his mouth.

The kiss was turning heated and passionate, and your lips were swollen and bruised. Your fingers were tugging on his hair, and his were clutching at the strands of your own.

His teeth gently bit down on your bottom lip, and a moan escaped your lips; the sound was swallowed by his mouth, and you could feel him smiling.

You and Nick were so lost in each other that night, so focused on the taste of one another and the way his body was pressed against yours; it created a bubble where you both were safe, warm, and blissful.

It was the first time in a long time either of you had felt that way, and that feeling continued to grow, and eventually, it blossomed into a love that was deeper than the ocean and brighter than the sun.

And that was when you realized that no matter what happened, the two of you would always have each other, and no matter how cruel the world was, the two of you would always find a way to stay true to yourselves.

[that-one-unfunny-hoe]

Okay i did not read the books, i only watched the show SO LET ME BE DELUSIONAL IN PEACE OKAY?

ALSO PROBABLY HANDMAIDS TALE SEASON 6 SPOILERS AHEAD MAYBE NOT IDK.

The way Nick and June just LOOK at each other?? The tension??? The “I would burn the world for you but we can't” energy??

THEIR EYES HAVE MORE SEX THAN HALF THE ACTUAL SEX ON TV.

And meanwhile June’s husband???

I’m sorry but he’s just there. Like a tree. A supportive tree, sure, but a non-sexy, beige tree. There’s no fire. No ache. No “meet me in the shadows and betray our regime for a single kiss” vibe.

Nick walks on screen and suddenly I can’t breathe. June says ONE WORD and he’s already undressing her with his soul.

LET THEM BE TOGETHER. LET THEM DO CRIMES. LET THEM FUCK!!!

If this show doesn’t give us what we want I’m writing fanfic out of pure spite.

They are out here acting like war-torn soulmates in the middle of a dystopia and STILL can’t get 5 minutes alone without someone interrupting or society collapsing???

BABES. THIS IS AN INJUSTICE.

June is out here risking her life, screaming at power structures, smuggling people, and Nick is just standing in the rain looking like he’s about to confess eternal love or rip off his coat and kiss her against a wall.

THEY’RE IN LOVE. LET THEM BE TOXIC. LET THEM BE MESSY. LET THEM HAVE ONE NIGHT OF RELEASE.

I’ll wait. But if episode 4 doesn’t deliver, I riot. Or write smut. Same thing.

FUCK. LUKE.

He can pack his boring-ass beige button-up, sip a lukewarm cup of Canadian government coffee, and go braid Moira’s hair in peaceful irrelevance because June?

June needs to be with Nick "I’d Burn Gilead for You" Blaine.

Like bro, Luke had YEARS. YEARS!!!

And all he gave us was guilt trips, confusion, and passive-aggressive trauma invalidation.

Meanwhile Nick???

Soft voice. Intense eyes. Absolute devastation every time he looks at her.

New Bethlehem Nick is PEAK HOT.

Diplomatic. Dangerous. Emotionally repressed with simmering passion underneath?

Sir, build June a life there. You already built a home in her chest.

Also… the baby???

The sacrifices???

I need therapy.

LIKE SIR, YOU HAVE POWER NOW. DO SOMETHING HOT WITH IT!!!

Nick, baby, you’re a Commander. You’ve got:

Access.

Authority.

Smolder.

A tragic backstory and incredible jawline.

USE THAT TO GET HANNAH OUT.

GET JUNE IN.

THEN GET. 👏TO. 👏FUCKING.

Like bro. You’re literally one stolen key and one whisper to Lawrence away from starting the greatest forbidden lovers’ revolution in dystopian TV history.

Meanwhile June is out here sobbing in the rain, writing trauma poetry in her eyes, waiting for a real man to commit one sexy rebellion.

AND YOU’RE STANDING THERE DOING THAT LITTLE “LOOKING AT HER FROM A DISTANCE WITH A PAINED EXPRESSION” THING???

ENOUGH.

Save Hannah.

Steal June.

Raise Nicole.

FUCK. IN. A. DUSTY. DYSTOPIAN. ROOM. WITH. A. SINGLE. LAMP. ON.

Honestly? I’ll write it myself if the show doesn’t.

I’m MAD.

JUNE is probably mad too, she hasn’t had a real orgasm since Season 2!!

Nick is out here Commandering like a sad little simp in a tailored coat and the writers are like:

“Let’s focus on Aunt Lydia’s diary instead.”

NO.

Give us:

Window sex

Desk sex

“We shouldn’t be doing this but do it anyway” sex

“We are broken people but somehow whole together” sex

Until then?

We riot.

We manifest.

We write fanfic with unholy levels of detail.

[glasskey]

Season 6 Chaos Theory Sample Mix

So we’ve finally received some S6 tasters in the form of trailers and press releases and having read and seen these I feel like a good old fashioned rant is in order. I’ll stick mostly to the Nick, June and Luke thing, because well that’s what most of you came for. Be warned, this will be absolutely brutal. If you haven’t seen the press releases or read The Testaments then just note there are spoilers in here. The first thing I want people to remember is that while the writers of this show have done a great job of setting up the transition to The Testaments, but in my time I have seen writers take a LOT of license with their source material. In this particular case, the show has been consulting closely with the author so that might lend some hope to the fact that it’s been respected. Atwood’s been a little intentionally obscure in parts of both texts, and it’s given the writers the ability to get creative. The Testaments DOES make mention of Nick and June (we CAN assume this regardless of the lack of names, as they’re referred to as the actual parents of baby Nicole), and one passage in particular where Elijah says to Daisy about her parents “They’re still alive. Or they were yesterday”. So either Elijah saw them both the day before TOGETHER, or he’s been running back and forth over the border. However, later on Nick’s referred to as maybe still being in Gilead, so yeah confusing. Apparently both of Daisy’s parents are “lucky to be alive” in The Testaments so I’m going to go out on a limb and say Nick escapes by the skin of his teeth. Having said that I didn’t like that sneaky “our baby” shit Luke pulled at the end of last season and writers may try to use it as some kind of weird assed loophole.

The end note in The Testaments does include him so it would be a huge violation to the actual text to kill him off. It all seems out of step with all the other elements that have been carefully laid out true to text as well. It IS mentioned in The Handmaids Tale that Nick was associated with Mayday and the trailers for previous seasons included him in the whole “we are Mayday” section, so I’m disappointed to see that show runners / writers SEEM to have back tracked here. Just be mindful that from day one we’ve seen Mayday agents, drivers and guards die; the manifestations of Nick in his many forms through the seasons. Characters often end up embodying the fates that they warn others of; Beth warned him that involving himself with a handmaid was a good way to end up on the wall (and we all know what happened to Beth). Nick told June TWICE that she could and WOULD die in Gilead. So maybe a few chants in the prayer circle for our young commander couldn’t hurt. Lets be crystal clear ALL of this is just speculation because well, as of yet just like everyone else, I haven't seen a single episode. The whole “shadow of death” phrase accompanied with a shot of Nick gives pause for thought. He’s been kicking around Gilead as the resident angel of Death for some time and make no mistake this particular shot was included to symbolize the threat of death, in particular to the rebellion. Once again, disappointing.

The press releases have stated that Blaine betrays June at some point this season but I have to say in terms of viewer acceptance, this is risky. It’s a HUGE vault to take from a character with moral grain with a deep emotional connection to the protagonist; to one that’s decided to throw all in against her, with a fascist regime he’s hated serving. These types of character transitions if not delivered properly are deadly to any sort of audience connection. If they don’t believe they are POSSIBLE, then their disbelief spreads to ALL of the surrounding characters and the entire storyline by default. If they want to 180 this character from “a good man in Gilead” to Voldemort, they currently lack the goods with which to back it up, and they don’t have much time to construct them. Seems like a fairly swift deconstruction of a character, from one who ran to June’s bedside and punched Lawrence in a room full of commanders, to one that would actually betray her. With a press release citing that without the love goggles, June now sees Nick for who he is and what he’s capable of, audiences NEED to understand that in the context of any love story, it’s hard, if not impossible to come back from that. After show runners have almost guaranteed the entire obliteration of his character in her eyes, their relationship may end up as nothing but a smoking wreck. One can only hope that love does truly keep no record of wrongs.

As always watch for character placement on screen, Blaine’s usually positioned to her right side to indicate worship, succession and the sharing of power. When he starts shifting, you’ll know the dynamics are starting to change. Minghella cited his relationship with Rose as a factor in his waning patience with June, and as somewhat of an innocent I can see her being sacrificed, to incite Blaine’s rage in the context of the story line. But the idea that he’d somehow be transformed into a cold dead eyed monster defies belief. Is this the SAME Blaine that smuggled letters? That cried over a dead handmaid? That brought her Fred? That ran to her bedside? Too often audiences simply swallow content they’re fed without question, well this season I’ll be expecting some plausible explanations. I have to wonder about the timing of daddy dearest showing up IMMEDIATLEY after Blaine’s relationship fell apart with Rose. No doubt Rose would have told him that it was Osborne who came between them and daddy may have decided to sever the two once and for all. It is true that Nick’s impressionable and I can see Wharton being cast as the evil presence who tries to break apart the two lovers by exploiting Nick’s desire for guidance. As Blaine once said “some men need to be led.” June is depicted in a red gown striding amongst an army of handmaids, the implication here being that she too is a commander and as such this season will see Nick and June go head to head, with Wharton at the leash. Will Gilead succeed in breaking them apart? Apparently Tuello ends up with only Lawrence as his ally which kind of pisses me off that he’s being rewarded with a redemption arc of kinds while Nick gets cast into the cold. We’ll have to wait and see but that WOULD be a very big fuck you very much, for all the struggles he’s endured to remain moralistically intact in the Hell hole of Lawrence’s making.

Now way, way, way up the back of The Testaments is mention of a handful of plots by commanders to off a bunch of the elite commanders that triggers the purges, and it looks like that’s where we’re going this season. I do think that a sizeable amount of handmaid’s will pay with their lives as a consequence. No revolution comes without sacrifice, it’s just historical fact so get ready for the carnage. It appears they’ve decided to paint Luke as a hero and Nick as a villain this season very possibly to show their ultimate true faces. I can't help but wonder how fair these journeys comparatively EVER were. If Nick was always doomed to fall by spending literally YEARS in the dark prison of Gilead, then how easy is it for Luke to shine having spent all of his time on the couch in a free country? To quote June herself “Gilead turns you into a bit of a cunt.” How fair has this comparison EVER been when one came from poverty and the other lived a comfortable life? While Nick has been damned for his choice to join the SOJ, the choices that Luke’s life initially afforded him, certainly made all the difference. I do wonder how fair it is to paint the vulnerable, targeted poor as ultimately villainous? Now Blaine lives in a large house surrounded by all the comforts that Gilead has ensnared him with, if he throws his lot in with Mayday, he burns his whole life down. In comparison the now transient Luke has literally nothing to lose and everything to gain by joining the Rebellion. Is the destruction of Nick nothing more than a demonstration of the corruptive society he has lived in for so long? By painting him as a villain are we acknowledging his trauma or even the rigged game that spawned him? If their plans are to send her back into the arms of her, up until very recently, sheltered and complacent hubby, I’ll want answers. Revolution can be a comparatively easy act when you don’t live under a regime for over a decade, when the fist doesn’t tighten constantly or corrupt you in increments. To Luke it would seem natural to kick against it, unfortunately for Nick he’s been “groomed” since day one with the final stranglehold of a Gilead wife and kiddy to keep him in line.

After seasons of representing Luke as a homebody who practically had to be extricated from his house in the burbs, even after someone ran over his wife right in front of it, they’ve now decided that Luke has actually been full of gun toting moxy all along. Yep, he’s suddenly going to run rampant all over Gilead with hand grenades and a machine gun….ridiculous. Last season we saw him go from “lets file paperwork” to Mr gimme a gun, in the space of ONE SINGLE episode, simply because Serena gave him some shit about Nick. Had the guy stayed in Canada and rallied with Tuello, I would have believed his character arc, but THIS is a bridge too far. I would have absolutely bought Luke as a Mayday strategist, neck deep in the paperwork he thrives on. I have to say, I am not loving this journey for him at all.

I’ve never before experienced a show try to persistently foist a character on audiences as they have done Luke. Most of the audience didn’t like him, the feedback on social media was pretty loud and the shows response seems to have been to simply include more content with the hopes that sooner or later audiences would relent and embrace him with open arms. Despite their best efforts, to quote the classic “Mean Girls”; “Fetch just isn’t going to happen.” and I don’t think it ever has. To be honest they not only haven’t been able to really endear Luke to the majority of fans, but they’ve had to work flat out over the last season to even remotely level the scores between these two men, basically by marrying Nick off and knocking up his wife. Comparative to Nick and June’s fiery romance, moments of intimacy between Luke and June felt like oatmeal through a feeding tube. Perhaps there’s a reason for this, maybe it’s intentional, like Miller said; June sees their relationship as “work”. Much in the same way they’ve intentionally built Nick and June to be far more romantic in nature, but as we keep being told again and again; it’s not exactly practical. At this point in the journey I don't know how many people are too concerned with practicalities; they've been dangling a bucket of candy in front the audience for seasons now, so the kiddies can hardly be blamed for wanting to stuff their faces.

I guess Nick’s character annihilation would make sense plot wise, because well, Luke’s so fucking boring that SOMETHING had to be done to sabotage Nick’s appeal. Ultimately their solution has been to virtually turn Luke into Nick with Luke sporting Nicks trademark black coats, ala season 1, (like we wouldn’t notice) and roiding him up with a gun and a few hand grenades. Similarly Nicks now in New Bethlehem in some cushy digs with a wife and kiddy on the way. But to quote Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale itself: “They cannot be exchanged, one for the other. They cannot replace each other. Nick for Luke, Luke for Nick.” June wasn't going for it then, and I'm not either.

There’s also the small matter of June’s right to choose. Death or betrayal in a love triangle is actually a violation of the element of choice by our protagonist. It reeks of sabotage. These outcomes subvert any ability by the protagonist to actually CHOOSE and instead determines, at least in part, the outcome for her. Unimpressed. It also calls into question writer intent. What exactly is the message here after 5 seasons of him “trying to stay out of trouble” and then finally growing the spine to stand up to Gilead? Is it to keep your head down and shut up while the fascist regime takes hold? If he betrays her, what’s the lesson here? Never trust anyone? Love is a lie? Evil triumphs in the human spirit? Redemption is impossible? Are audiences to be dragged through 5 and half seasons of heartbreak, just to have their hearts crushed once again? It seems particularly heartless to rope audiences fully back into this “Nick and June” love triangle only to cut it off at the knees. The fact that they’re resurrecting it, simply to butcher it completely speaks to a whole new level of cruelty. It’s all looking a bit Star Wars with Nick as the young Vader, right down to shots where he seems to emanate a red glow (please see below) to symbolize danger. But I do wonder, have they honestly waited until now to visit upon audiences a full demonstration of Gilead’s corruptive influences?

The press releases seem to have made a point several times of mentioning that he was a commander, while that’s true I do wonder how a “why thanks but no thanks” would have gone down when it was originally presented to him. There’s no debating that Nick signed up in the beginning for SOJ, but scripts showed that he was vulnerable, targeted and quickly disgusted by its machinations. So if this ENTIRE plot was designed to be a tragic cautionary tale of a lambs slaughter at the hands of a regime, I’ll be horrified at the lengths to which they’ve drawn it out. These maneuverings all seem so incredibly cruel that an audience could not be blamed for switching off and never coming back for any other trips on the long, slow pain train spin offs. Why would they? The pain of attaching to beloved characters only to have them utterly decimated is not something viewers tend to wish to revisit. Last seasons are tricky, there’s a lot of expectation wrapped up in them as writers attempt to bookend characters and yet leave their journeys open for a possible revisit. A good last episode on a good last season is an even rarer thing, and if the endings not done right, audiences are loathe to even start the journey. A bad last episode is like poison, and the thing that content creators don’t seem to understand is that and audiences don’t actually NEED an amazing battle with explosions and 3 separate endings….they just need good. An ending that can live beyond itself, just an act of redemption, throw in a hint of tomorrow and you’re all good. Seriously, it’s all we want.

GOT had a notorious fiery trash bag of a last episode and it’s not the only one. Films now run 3 hours long and it seems that somewhere along the way the editor either fell asleep or just went home. In the effort to always be better, bigger, louder and larger, creators will often shoot too high or go too obscure. Go too big and you can fall really hard, go too small and it can feel unfinished, do whatever you want despite audience feedback and they will fucking hate you and avoid any of your future offerings. With the Testaments in play that last one is a particularly bad idea, certainly writer integrity is important but audience engagement is key. It’s interesting to think of Nick and June, at the end of the day, being reduced to dollars and cents. Their audience participation has simply become so large that an unhappy ending between the two will literally cost the studio and streaming services a gazillion dollarinos.

It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen a couple dictate the direction of a series, determine its success or failure and consequently, the size of a studios profits. It's not unusual to see spinoffs and seasons get cancelled because a deep character connection has been dissolved and the audience has followed suit. I hate to think of one single plot twist poisoning the well of a beautiful and epic 5 season long love story. After watching seasons of painful goodbyes I really don’t have the stomach for another one and I grow weary of season finales that leave audiences hollow and despondent like a depressing 1970’s movie. It's worth keeping in mind that just maybe these show runners and writers NEVER anticipated the type of enthusiasm that they received for the connection between these two characters and they've consequently had to roll with it. Seasons later we have a PR machine cranking overtime, they drop a bit of controversy about this love triangle and sure enough everyone takes the bait. Let's face it, people have lost their ever lovin minds and the folks at PR central must be LOVING it. Nick and June’s romance all seems to have been a bit of a mish mash of Casablanca and Romeo and Juliet from the get go, and both of those ended up in a whole big bunch of fuck you to any hope of real happiness. Casablanca holds its place after 80 years as one of the most timeless tales of love and sacrifice for the greater good, and if these two see any sort of conclusion that doesn’t involve a blade or noose, I suspect that’s what they might be going for here. The fact that it was released around the time of the German invasion shouldn’t be lost on audiences either. It had a lot to say about sacrifice and courage in the face of adversity during war, specifically fascism. Regardless of the life lessons that writers and show runners are attempting to teach, after 6 seasons of drawn out heartbreak, this one is going to feel really, really unkind.

To be brutally honest I’d prefer to watch Blaine die serving Mayday than see him betray June and have their love corrupted. After all the sacrifices he’s made, I’m horrified they couldn’t even afford him that small dignity, and I fucking swear if I have to watch him turn to poison and then die in the dirt, I will burn my TV (season 3 of Severance be damned). Then again, if this is all just a set up for the Battle Royale for his soul, I’ll be absolutely gagging to see June fight for it tooth and nail.

[otp-after-dark]

June Osborne used to be a survivor. Now she’s a judge and a hypocrite. And that’s why it’s not working.

Nick Blaine was supposed to be the light. The hope. The constant in a world that takes everything.

And now? Now we’re watching the one person he’s always loved — the one he’s only ever loved —treat that devotion like it’s a burden instead of a gift.

It’s not just that June is being cold. It’s that she’s being cruel. And for what? To protect her pride? To keep her self-image clean?

If this story ends with Nick shattered and June righteous — If it tells us that the only love worth having is the kind that doesn’t ask hard questions — Then it’s not revolutionary anymore.

It’s just a tragedy. And not the kind that means something.

(It bears repeating - Fred cannot be right)

There’s a point where survival hardens into something else — where righteous anger curdles into arrogance. And that’s where June Osborne is now.

She doesn’t just lash out. She condemns. She decides who deserves forgiveness and who doesn’t. She rewrites history to place herself at the center of every moral high ground —even when she’s standing on the shoulders of someone else’s sacrifice.

Nick has always been a contradiction. A Commander. An Eye. A man who’s killed and lied. But also? A man who’s loved her with a kind of quiet, terrifying loyalty no one else has matched.

He didn’t ask to be a savior. He never claimed to be clean. He just kept showing up.

And for years, June was content to let him love her in silence. To take what she needed without ever really asking who he had to become to give it.

Now she knows. And she recoils.

“You love me. So what does that make you?”

That line was never about shame. It was a mirror. Because if she can’t hold space for the darkness in someone else — if she can’t love someone who’s done the very things she has done — then she’s not principled. She’s a hypocrite.

There’s nothing brave about only loving someone when they’re useful, silent, or safe. That’s not love. That’s control.

And that’s what June has been doing — not just to Nick, but to herself. She’s drawn hard moral lines in a world where no one comes out clean. And instead of acknowledging that, she punishes the people who’ve already bled for her.

Because real love? It’s dangerous. It’s complicated. It’s messy. It asks for everything.

It’s not “I love you because you’re good.” It’s “I see the worst in you — and I’m still here.”

Nick has always done that for her. He’s seen her at her most violent, most unhinged, most broken. He’s seen her survive in ways that cost her pieces of her soul — and he never asked her to apologize for it.

And now? He’s asking for the same.

Not to be excused. Not to be rescued. Just to be seen.

And June can’t do it.

Not because Nick is too dark — but because facing his darkness would mean facing her own.

And if she can’t love someone fully, flaws and all, if she can’t sit with the moral contradictions of the man who’s always loved her through hers —

Then she’s not brave. She’s safe. And that’s not the woman we were supposed to be rooting for.

And until she can do the same —not just for him, but for herself — she’s not a hero.

She’s a survivor who’s started to believe her own myth.

[tellingtell5]

Three Little Birds part. 1 《Nick Blaine, The handmaid's tell》

A short story about Nick Blaine.

Nick Blaine x oc!fmale

Hi: I love The Handmaid's Tale and the relationship between June and Nick, but I couldn't get this story out of my head. I’m always looking for stories about this character, but I never find exactly what I’m looking for, so I decided to write it myself. I hope it reaches someone. Thank you.

Three Little Birds Part 2.

I wish there were a mirror where I could see my reflection. It’s a recurring thought, creeping in when I least expect it. "Vanity is a selfish sin, girl." Aunt Lise’s voice follows the thought, sharp and unyielding. But this isn't just about curiosity—about seeing how they’ve prepared me for what, according to the women around me, should be one of the happiest days of my life, second only to the birth of my future children, of course. It’s about something deeper. It’s been years since I last saw myself. Would I even recognize the person staring back at me? Or would it feel like looking at someone I once knew, someone familiar yet distant, their face blurred by time and memory?

The truth is, I am not happy. I’m not afraid either, nor anxious about the tragic fate that awaits me. I suspect one of the Marthas slipped a narcotic into the tea they served me a few minutes ago. It’s a common practice on occasions like this—just enough to dull the mind, to keep the girls calm, too weary and dazed to resist, but not so much that they’d faint and delay the ceremony. That would be a disaster.

I had always imagined this day differently. In a normal world, I would have chosen my own dress, picked the flowers, planned the menu for the family I would have invited—eager to share my happiness with them. And I would have known the man waiting for me at the end of the aisle. I would have loved him enough to want to marry him.

Instead, I am in an unfamiliar room, laced into a regal, antique dress that once belonged to another girl before me and will surely be worn by another after me. "Gilead is at war, girls. We cannot afford extravagance for each and every one of you, nor grand ceremonies." And yet, this event is laughably pompous. Today, I and dozens of other girls will be married off to men we have never even seen, in front of Gilead’s most distinguished Commanders, their Wives, the Marthas, and the Handmaids.

I wish I could say I cried, that I screamed, that I fought against being sold like cattle, my worth reduced to my biological function. But I didn’t. Not a single tear fell, despite the weight of my grief. Some might call it resignation, but deep down, I knew the right word was exhaustion. If I made a scene, one of the Aunts would come rushing in to remind me of my privilege. That the only alternative paths available to me were a lifetime of servitude as a Martha, stripped of identity, or as a Handmaid, forced to bear children for another family.

"You are fortunate, given your record," Aunt Lydia had told me when they agreed to arrange a respectable marriage for me as a favor to my father. His position as a trauma surgeon granted him certain influence, even in Gilead’s rigid hierarchy. Otherwise, given my so-called advanced age and my past associations, my fate would have been much worse. By Gilead’s laws, I was an adulteress—a term they used for women with rebellious spirits. Before the uprising solidified its grip, I had been among those raising their voices, protesting as we were stripped of our jobs and our education.

I remember the day they froze my bank account. From that moment on, my father controlled my finances, as the closest male relative. He urged me to come home, promising he would try to secure passports so we could flee the country. But we never even made it across the street. A black van, its side marked with the emblem of an Eye with silver wings, cut us off. Armed men stepped out, their rifles slung across their chests. They told my father his skills were essential to Gilead.

He managed to delay my fate, bargaining for time, negotiating my place in this new order. "We will find her a respectable husband," they told him, "someone who will look after her and secure her future." But because he was not a Commander, he was not allowed to choose the candidates himself, as was customary. All I knew was that my husband wouldn’t be someone from the highest ranks—girls like me, those not raised from childhood to be obedient, were seen as too unpredictable. Too dangerous.

And now, here I am, waiting for the life that has been chosen for me.

While I enjoyed my limited freedom within the ecclesiastical regime I now lived under, I had managed to infiltrate the underground network operating in and out of the country. My father was rarely home, which made it easier to hide people—Marthas, Handmaids—those preparing to flee. But now? Could I continue my illegal activities under the watchful eye of my new husband? I highly doubted it. Still, I had contacts. And I wouldn’t hesitate to use them when the time was right—when things had settled after the wedding.

“Girls, it’s time.”

A heavy sigh escaped my lips. I gripped the edge of the opaque veil they had placed over my head and pulled it down over my face. At least it would hide the hatred written all over my expression for the duration of the ceremony. Though I could still see everything through the fabric, it reminded me of the tinted windows in certain cars—allowing those inside to observe the world while dulling its brightness, stripping away its beauty. To those on the outside, however, it offered nothing but obscurity, concealing the person within. That, after all, was the purpose of this garment: to keep me hidden until it was too late.

Since my mother was no longer alive, she couldn’t walk me down the aisle. Instead, an Aunt whose name I didn’t even know took my arm, guiding me into position. Before and behind me stood other girls—too young for what awaited them. My teeth clenched in fury. As awful as this was, at least I was old enough to have left adolescence behind. The others couldn’t have been more than sixteen. A sharp tug pulled me from my thoughts, and I stumbled forward, falling into step with the rest of the procession.

We entered the stage of an auditorium, where a line of men stood waiting to receive us. A higher-ranking official was delivering a speech on the importance of fulfilling our assigned duties, on the sacred nature of marriage.

When we finally stopped moving, my muscles seemed to loosen, my body floating as if caught in a dream. Everything around me appeared slightly blurred, the colors a little too bright. A song played over and over in my head, like a silent plea for help. Singing don’t worry about a thing, ‘cause every little thing gonna be alright. Maybe the pill they had slipped into my drink was kicking in, because I still can’t say for sure whether what happened next was real or just a drug-induced haze.

I studied the man in front of me carefully. He was tense, his gaze averted, offering me only his profile. He looked young—perhaps a few years older than me—but there was discomfort in the way he fidgeted, rolling his ring from one finger to another absentmindedly. His thick eyebrows arched slightly, deepening the creases in his forehead. Was this difficult for him? Did he oppose this, too? My heart pounded wildly in my ears. Maybe, just maybe, I had a chance to escape all of this.

When he reached for my hand to place the ring on my finger, I almost pulled away. I even twitched—just slightly—but he noticed. For the first time, he looked at me. His lips parted, as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out. I gave him another chance to stop this. His touch was barely there, light as air, as though he were trying to touch me as little as possible. I appreciated that. Gently, I took his hand in return. His palms were rough, calloused from work, but I slid the ring onto his finger anyway.

As he released my hand and reached for the edges of my veil, the urge to scream clawed at my throat. Instead, I swallowed a sob, squeezing my eyes shut as tightly as possible. This time, the tears finally fell, hot trails streaking my cheeks. The lump in my throat made it impossible to breathe, and I was forced to part my lips just to let in some air.

When the voice speaking above us finally ceased, I opened my eyes and saw him clearly for the first time—without the veil between us. He looked uneasy, even distressed, but there was something else there, too. A flicker of relief. Maybe because he realized I was a grown woman and not a child like the others.

Somewhere deep within my tormented soul, I felt a hint of relief, too. He wasn’t an old man. He wasn’t a boy raised in Gilead, one who would believe he had the right to control me.

The entire ride to his house, I didn’t speak a word. I just stared out the window. That’s how I learned his name—Nick. He worked as a driver for Commander Waterford. The esteemed couple sitting in the car with us couldn’t stop talking about how thrilled they were that their loyal servant had finally been rewarded.

I pressed my lips into a thin line. They were telling him—telling me—that I was his prize for good behavior.

My eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, where I caught a glimpse of my new husband. His hands gripped the wheel so tightly his knuckles had turned white. Did it bother him, the way they spoke about me? I exhaled sharply.

I let my gaze linger, scrutinizing him without shame. If I had met him somewhere else—at a party, in another life, in a world far from here—would I have noticed him? Maybe. I might have even found him attractive. But none of that mattered.

I didn’t know him.

And now, I was his property. A servant. A means to an end—a child.

Our eyes met in the mirror. I held his gaze, daring him, warning him. This will not be easy for you. If he thought I would submit, he was mistaken. I would make his life hell.

He didn’t look away.

What was he trying to tell me? A threat? Don’t push too far, or you’ll regret it?

Regret what? Would they hang me on the Wall?

The thought startled me, but not for the reason it should have.

Because, for the first time, I realized—

I didn’t care if they did.

When we arrived, I politely excused myself, saying that the emotions of the day had left me exhausted and that I needed to rest for a while. Nick led me to his home—a modest living space above the garage. I felt like an intruder. This was his place, and now a stranger was invading it.

He gave me a very brief tour before setting my suitcase down on the floor.

"Make yourself comfortable. This is your home now too."

He said it without looking at me, his eyes fixed on the ground, his voice tense. I thanked him, and he disappeared through the door—he still had duties to finish before the day was over.

I didn’t unpack. I just sat on the edge of the bed and cried, my whole body shaking with the force of it. I told myself I had to let it all out before he came back and tried to fulfill his “duty.” The only thing I pulled from my belongings was a set of sleepwear—much more modest than what I used to wear when I lived with my father.

Then, I sat on the bed again. Waiting.

Waiting for what?

A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of what was supposed to happen next.

What if I refused?

Maybe I could slit his throat in his sleep and then cut my own. After all, killing a man was a capital sin.

The door creaked open, and Nick hesitated before stepping inside, as if he hadn’t expected me to still be there. Maybe he had hoped I’d run away. He shrugged off his jacket and headed straight for the bathroom.

The sound of running water. He was showering.

This was my chance.

I stood up as quietly as I could and slipped into the kitchen, grabbing the first knife I saw. I hid it under my pillow and sat back down, trying to appear as obedient as possible.

When he came out, he was wearing what I assumed was his sleepwear—an old t-shirt that might have once been decent enough to wear outside and a pair of loose pants. He glanced at me warily before heading toward the bed.

I took a deep breath. He couldn’t suspect anything.

But instead of what I had expected, he simply pulled back the sheets and climbed in with a deep sigh, letting out a quiet hum of satisfaction as he sank into his bed.

I turned to look at him, but his eyes were already closed.

"Good night."

That was all he said.

I watched his silhouette for a while, lying still under the blankets. He knew that refusing to consummate the marriage could lead to severe punishment—maybe even death. And yet, he didn’t seem to regret it. He knew exactly what he was risking.

But no one would ever know.

I hesitated, fidgeting with my hands.

" I’m not an obedient woman. I don’t know how to cook. Or iron..."

It was the only thing I could bring myself to say.

Nick opened one eye and studied me for a moment.

"Good thing I do," he replied before shutting his eyes again.

Something inside me eased. It was as if I had been carrying a pocket full of stones and someone had suddenly lifted the weight away.

Could I return to my work with the resistance?

What would happen if he found out I was part of Mayday?

I slipped under the covers, careful not to touch him.

That night, for the first time since arriving in Gilead, I slept peacefully.

[vampiricalxdata]

so that just happened

and what? we just have to wait a week?!

a week?!

I’ll just leave my heart in that closet I GUESS

(the most minor spoilers below)

THAT PILLOW TALK ARE YOU KIDDING ME

and I s2g if someone doesnt get jonah ryan’s ass

but seriously what else was nick supposed to do ?? like… the repercussions would have reached out for miles if he didn’t do that. yeah luke’s plan is dead in the water but he bought them time in other ways.

was he terrified for his life? absolutely. was it still the best option? considering the corner that man was in—1000x yes.

& tbh the rebels are sloppy af (june included). it was never gonna work. june knew that from jump. that’s why she was so ready to grab janine and run. girl didn’t have faith either. mayday needs better leadership—that’s your cue rebel! commander blaine.

I don’t rly see an ending where june and nick don’t make up after this. I don’t see an ending where this isn’t a bridge to better communication for them. This is a necessary conflict to a 5 season problem. It’s the answer to the question: how do we put them back together for good?

[nickblaine]

can I get a summary of the spoilers? I was offline for 24 hours and I come to mayhem.....what is going on

they are just interviews from hulu.com for the press to use so they aren't all that juicy, mostly typical PR stuff. i'll drop the important bits here

Max Minghella on Nick Blaine

I think some of the edges fray on Nick this season. His moral center is actually shifting. He has been quite selfless for much of his life, especially in this dynamic with June. And so maybe his gas tank for that is starting to run out. He’s speaking up from himself a little bit more and sometimes in quite misguided ways. His dignity is breaking a little bit.

A lot of people who are in positions of power wrestle with their insecurities. Many of us have imposter syndrome. It’s an easy facet of Nick for me to access, and I think it is a really relatable thing about him. Obviously, there are things that Nick does that are very off-putting and unrelatable. One of the things that I’ve always found very easy to tether onto is his lack of self-esteem or his sense of not feeling like he belongs in this kind of more upper-class society. He’s a blue-collar kid who’s found himself in a very well-to-do situation.

This season Josh Charles, an extraordinary actor, joins the show playing Nick’s father-in-law, Commander Wharton. I feel a comfort around Josh. Both Max and Nick respond to his confidence and straightforward approach. The only other key male figure that Nick has had is Commander Lawrence who is an eccentric. There’s something in Wharton’s masculinity that Nick has been searching for. One of the things that this season explores is the notion that a lot of these men in Gilead have broken relationships with their fathers. I think Nick sees in Wharton a mentorship that he craves. This season is the first time Nick’s been tempted by the dark side on a fundamental level, primarily because of that relationship.

The Love Triangle

Elizabeth Moss: When Luke gets out of prison, he has such a fire within him. I think he has completely started to change as a character. He has been waiting and waiting and waiting to be able to join this fight, to be able to get in there himself and try to get Hannah back himself.  He needs to be able to do something to enact change. And you can just see it from the very beginning. He is ready to go. So as soon as Mark gives him that opportunity, he doesn’t hesitate. June is furious with Luke’s choice. She’s trying to keep everyone safe, and Luke signs up for this most dangerous of missions.

In this season, we see Nick and June together for the first time in quite a while. Finally, they can talk about things that have been left unsaid. They finally admit that they love each other now, not just in the past but now. But then, toward the end of this season, Nick betrays June’s trust. It’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened to the two characters. It’s inevitable in a way. June has been shown over and over again that Nick is a member of Gilead’s hierarchy and will abide by their rules. But, she just doesn’t listen. Love clouds her judgement. Now, finally, she is able to see who he is and what he’s capable of. It’s devastating. 

O-T Fagbenle: Luke and June share a very tumultuous, ever-changing relationship. But, even in their darkest moments, they are united as a couple to save Hannah. On the road to that mission, they sometimes have to make sacrifices. They have to sacrifice intimacy, home life and romance. They have to navigate each other’s trauma. The North Star in all of that navigation is Hannah.

Obviously things are complicated by June’s involvement with Nick and Nicole, the child Nick and June have together. Luke has become Nicole’s stepfather. But this happens a lot in real life. I mean, not on this kind of epic level, but people do have affairs. There’s no right answer to any of this. And watching Luke and June navigate that is compelling.

It’s difficult for Luke to see June and Nick together because their connection is palpable. These are two people who are deeply energetically connected. They have a dynamism that he and June lack. Also, Nick is a man of action and, so far, Luke has not been. He has been the caregiver, who wakes up at 2 a.m. in the morning because the baby’s crying and needs a pacifier or warmed milk. It’s natural for people to look at their rival and have a sense of ‘I’m not good enough.’ And Luke definitely feels that when he sees Nick - so handsome, so confident, so strong. Max plays Nick with so much nuance and charisma that you totally understand why June is drawn to him. But, of course, Nick is still a commander in Gilead.  

I think Luke is going to love June forever no matter what, although Luke fears that she might end up with Nick. I think he understands their connection is eternal, and he might have some uncertainty about how it’s going to ultimately play out. He’s a loyal guy.

Max Minghella: I don’t think that Nick has ever had any apprehensions about Luke. Nick’s always been very understanding of the fact that June has this pre-existing relationship, and they have a child together and this may also play into Nick’s imposter syndrome and self-esteem issues, but I think he doesn’t necessarily feel like he warrants June’s attention in the same way as Luke does. He’s often been quite compassionate toward Luke. I think he recognizes and understands that the situation is painful for both of them.

I think his relationship with Rose definitely factors into the changes in Nick’s relationship with June, but time is honestly a big part of it. We’ve spent a long time with these characters and in turn, they’ve been in these relationships for a long time, and relationships evolve, and resentments grow, especially when there’s so much external drama and chaos. I think it’s understandable that we would start to see the edges fray on this dynamic between June and Nick.

Warren Littlefield: Very early on, with Bruce and the writers, we talked about the power of a classic love triangle. I think for many, many people, it was an access point into a series that is not always easy to watch. June’s married to Luke but she’s in love with Nick. She’s having Nick’s child, but she still loves Luke. All of those dynamics are phenomenal – the power and drama of what each of these characters represented. Who should June end up with? Would both Luke and Nick survive? Who were the men they would reveal themselves to be? In the midst of everything else that’s going on in our narrative drive, we have a love triangle, great.

[splitscreen]

NICK BLAINE in the season 5 trailer for The Handmaid’s Tale

[glasskey]

Season 6 Track 1 - 4 Breakdown

Season 6 is here and I’m going to kick this off by dismantling the first 4 episodes and throwing in some season 6 predictions as well. I’m not candy coating any of this, I’m just going to rip it open and tell you what’s inside. Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m sure Miller and co. have insta pages so go nuts.

There’s an eery and almost supernatural quality to some of the shots this season. It’s a dream, a memory and as such the light glows ethereally, the leaves swirl and dance and conversely a veil of sinister darkness descends.

Season 6 is in effects a replay of season 1 and 2 where everyone gets a second shot at past mistakes, a do over that comes in various familiar forms. We’ve got a bit of switcheroo happening in parts as well, with Nick as the town mayor, in a big house, with a wife as opposed to “low status, lives above the garage, hasn’t even been issued a woman”. Serena is set to hook up with Fred 2.0 and start Queening it up in New Bethlehem. In episode ONE she snuck off with Holly on the train, possibly foreshadowing a return her old baby snatching ways. Nicks once again been buttered up by a creepy old guy, after a bout of fisty cuffs and everyone will now have to run the gauntlet of past regrets, mistakes and missed chances. Wharton appears as a major player in both their lives so where will Nick and Serena land because of his influence once the dust clears?

This season is a journey that both Serena and June will take down opposing roads, and on closer inspection you will see the comparisons right from episode 1. While June is reunited with her mother in reality, Serena dreams of her father. While Holly speaks of Nick with disdain, Serenas father asks to be introduced to Fred. Where will these paths ultimately end? This week we saw Junes bond with Luke slowly separate as she spoke about the loss of Hannah breaking them apart, while Serena drew closer to Wharton. Luke had refused to return to Alaska to Holly and become a family, while Serena and Wharton will soon marry and do just that. The subject of Nick and Fred was also raised in conversation with their respective partners, with Luke accusing June of “wanting to go back in to fight” a veiled allusion to her reconnecting with Nick. Meanwhile Serena referred to Fred as “an albatross”, an obstruction to her success. If Serena continues her thirst for power and her association with Wharton it’s very likely we will see June break ties with Luke and go their separate ways, while re establishing a connection with Nick.

Our initial shot of Blaine is in cuffs, set free at the family home where his dour wife and sinister father in law are waiting for him. Gilead was making it clear from the get go, if he behaved like a good little boy, he’d get out of his bonds. Let’s not get confused, Blaine wasn’t actually getting out of prison, it was just more luxurious. Rose is not June, the beach that Blaine gazes out on is not the illusive Hawaii, its empty and isolated. Wharton's waiting for him already, it’s clear Rose's worded him up about Osborne and here comes the speech about “putting away childish things” Blaine turns his back to the beach view, Hawaii is always just out of reach, a part of Blaine can’t bear to look anymore and Wharton is making it clear it’s best forgotten.

I’ve now come to know Miller as the evil genie in the lamp, tell him your wish and he’ll give you the very worst conceivable version of it. From the moment Nick walked into Lawrences office and quipped that he “didn’t have the power or the capability” to have June killed I could tell this was not going to be a cozy Nick and June season. So who did have the power Nick? We ended 5 10 with the young commander so full of gusto, to take who ever was responsible in hand and now nothing? No follow up? Perhaps it was the imposing father in law now bunking in his house, who was constantly surveilling and timetabling his day to day. Blaine was rightfully scared and it was only a matter of time before he ditched his deal with Tuello. Josh Charles is brilliant this season as the quietly menacing Wharton. Silver tongued and super creepy, he seems to know exactly what everyone wants and offers it to them like a juicy deliciously cursed apple. His ability to disarm his victim with grovelling self effacement, slide under their radar and acquire power over them with velvet stealth is truly awe inspiring. While Serena was flattered by his advances, I’d never felt more inclined to unleash some mace. It takes all of a nano second for him to start slobbering sweet nothings into Nicks ear, about being “full of potential”. Potential for what? With a C.V. like Blaine’s I could only imagine.

Personally I’m really not keen on this look for Blaine, it’s a world away from the Nick we’ve known in previous seasons and a wee bit too. Dante’s Inferno for my taste. This swing around profile shot demonstrates the beginning of his descent into darkness, figuratively turned by the imposing figure of his father in law. Blaine essentially looks like a demon which I found a touch heavy handed, but never mind, he’s now decided to go dark on Tuello and off to Hades we go. The whole scene is a call back to S4 03 when Lawrence asked Nick to let Osborne go and he refused. His actions here represent a loss of hope of a chance at a life with Osborne, it’s something he never expected anyway “a pipe dream”, and besides Gilead wants to give him more of that delicious power. He hasn’t seen her in months and something is always better than nothing at all. It seems that Gileads never done trying to tear these two apart. In episode 4 we saw Nick being pulled between Lawrence and Wharton at the High Commander ceremony with Wharton winning the bout. It’s only 4 episodes deep and Blaine seems to be falling in line already. Lawrence built New Bethlehem with the idea that a brutal regime be dismantled, but Wharton's no moderate and he has no intention of losing a very effective enforcer. Blaine’s brutal, clinical, determined and best of all malleable.

They’ve already given him a new car thats pretty much the equivalent of the figurative “pale horse” that death rode in on. Pitch black, sleek and designed to slip away stealthily at breakneck speeds, it’s headlights glowing like demonic eyes. It’s the essential accessory for every aspiring villain.

Unfortunately for these writers, this seasons Nick “fresh from the lock up” Blaine, oozing with fuck off and complete with hot new wheels just keeps scoring points. If they were trying to make the resident bad boy look even badder, hotter and simultaneously more disarming then mission accomplished. Blaine was now noir flavoured cat nip. There were signs that Blaine wasn’t exactly keen about his deal with Tuello from the get go, because of the amount of untrained civilian rebel fighters that Tuello was calmly throwing at Gilead military forces to be slaughtered. June expressed similar misgivings and while I could see their perspective, Tuello was not about to lay down and let his country be taken without a fight.

“Devotion” makes it clear that while Nick may run to June’s beck and call, he won’t come for Tuello or anyone else. His devotion was to her and her alone. He had no loyalty to Mayday and the words “I had to, I had to see you” about his arrangement with Tuello, told me that he’d been driven into his deal for no other reason than Osbornes safety. While she was touched, it fairly raised the question about how Nick actually felt about Gilead itself? He’s become very comfortable “staying out of trouble” doing absolutely jack fuck all about the Handmaids until now so in the final analysis, what WAS he actually prepared to do about it? It’s a larger question the show is circling about male complacency and facilitation in the act of violence against women. Blaine pick up your feet.

Nick and June meet in the forest in a glorious golden light, there’s an aura of peaceful seclusion and I was reminded of that majestic wooden bridge in 4 03. Previously their solitude had been broken by a Gilead van creeping down the drive, this time Tuello was waiting. These two would get no peace from either of their countries. “Why would they do that? It’s dangerous” Blaine commented when Osborne made him aware of Luke and Moiras trek across the border. The statement itself revealed that he thought the rebellion risked too much. After a bit of to and fro Blaine finally offered to go and retrieve the two himself, “I’m coming with you” June says, a callback to her and Luke’s expedition into No Man’s Land in season 5. This time I had to chuckle when Blaine wearily told her to “get in the back”. “I know, I know” June replied….here we go the old team is back together.

The deserted waterpark was desolate and abandoned and yet Nick and June’s conversation took place once again in a sheltered area covered in greenery so reminiscent of S2 12 and S5 09. Previously Blaine had been stitched closed with loyalty, but the edges were fraying and now he just seemed desperate. He was feeling isolated, lonely, used up and worst of all abandoned. I had sensed in S5 09, a deep pain in Blaine that she had a life outside of him and he’d been left behind in Gilead to rot. And rot he did. The glimmer of hope from her constant distant glow, just out of reach was utter fucking torture and to be honest he couldn’t take it anymore. ““Do you even know what it’s like to be in love with you?” Was she ignorant to his pain or did she simply not care?

It’s obviously incredibly tense at home and he’s getting a lot of shit because of June. “If I even think about you, Rose can smell it on me”, the pressure at home was enormous, even his thoughts were being monitored. Rose could sense Osbornes constant visceral presence and there was a quiet desperation that Blaine could barely contain any longer around June. He was utterly obsessed, even Tuello knew that he would drop everything and come running on the one day he was meant to show up to perform for Gilead. His preoccupation with June was starting to cost a lot, and it was all beginning to wear thin. He felt forced into his agreement with Tuello because he had to see her, he HAD to see her. His compulsions had him cornered, she may not want to put him in any danger but the fact was it was irrelevant, he could NOT help himself.

Now she was here to ask him to rescue her husband of all people. “You have a whole life” “Do I? Cause I’m not so sure I do when I’m around you” he said. It suddenly became clear, he believed she’d chosen, she appeared in his life so very briefly so infrequently, if she would just go away and “stay safe” he’d stop losing pieces of himself over and over and over again. As it was, her bi annual reappearances were a reminder of the smallness of his life, no sooner had he drifted off to a submissive slumber, than there she was again to wake him. Osborne the waking dream and nightmare all in one. I suspected this season he would try and cut her out of his heart for his own self preservation and it would break him.

I sensed an argument blossoming. Aside from the hopeless romantic something lies deep inside of Blaine, the pain of being abandoned over and over and a quiet desperation to silence it no matter the cost. With creepy Wharton waiting in the wings to adopt his new protege, dip him in the buttery goodness of Gilead power and bake him for 40 minutes, I could only guess at the monumental struggle Blaine had before him to not be swallowed whole by the monsters that dwelled within. I wasn’t so sure he’d be able to truly make it through the fire. “I can’t lose them, they’re a part of me” June had said about Luke and Moira, a call back to season 2. “I feel that way about you, I only feel that way about you” Blaine had replied. This is a callback to S2, when Blaine had first told her he loved her, and here we were again.

This episode makes a point of wheeling out the heavily pregnant Rose on New Bethlehems open day. It’s a boy and nothing is more precious to Gilead than their sons. This child itself symbolised a generational commitment by Blaine to Gilead. Which is exactly why June could barely choke out the words that he had another child on the way. Nicks been made the “mayor” of New Bethlehem, the version of Gilead that conveniently lets you live in denial of what the realities of Gilead are. He’s the spokesperson for Gilead Lite who up until now has been towing the line but on the one day he’s meant to show up and perform for them he’s bunked off with Osborne and Co. Oops. While it was abundantly clear that Disney + was inserting some sort of weird product placement into the script, I still felt a bit robbed we didnt get at least a couple of bars of “Circle of Life”. I suspect Disney’s just getting fired up though, so maybe next time.

In season 2 the heavily pregnant June almost miscarried, so would his child die this time or birth a healthy son of Gilead? What happens when he holds his son for the first time? He’d left Rose alone today for Osborne but what about next time? What about Holly? He’d had the chance to choose her, to choose a free life with his daughter, and because of Wharton he was turning his back on it. What’s the statement here? Hatred’s generational, lost fathers, wayward sons….”Children look to their fathers” June had said so what did that mean for Blaine and his future? For Nick and June? It’s telling that June is now calling their daughter by her “real name”, her mothers name, that Holly’s staying with her mother, that Blaine’s expecting a boy and Wharton keeps calling him son….it all matters. Blaine is much more chatty this season but it was immediately apparent writers were determined to make him seem distant, cold and unlikeable, with his tone now combative, surly and arrogant. In previous seasons we’d seen a softer side of him, right down to his tone of voice when approaching June but now it was gone. He never called her name, he never brushed her hand, she barely fluttered her eyelashes and the descriptive phrasing for this character went from a “Good man in Gilead” to “a Nazi” in the short space of two episodes. Fuck, that was quick work.

In one scene Blaine switches into trademark psychopath mode, shooting two guardians dead in a quick, casual fashion. Moira and Luke are horrified, who the fuck is this guy? June seemed ridiculously shocked for someone who had herself shot guardians, encouraged Mrs Keyes to gut one like a pig, beat a commander to death at Jezebels, poisoned a whole swathe of them and hunted Fred down in the forest and eaten his face off. Even Moira had stabbed a commander to death at Jezebels. Never mind, seems legit. It was a moment obviously designed to impress upon the other characters Blaines ice cold brutality, but I wondered if they would have preferred to have ended up as just another body on the fire, as Blaine so eloquently put it. Still I was expected to believe this lot were shocked at the sacrifice of two stormtroopers. Fucking please. Story wise, it’s important that June didn’t witness Blaines act of violence here. She’s aware he’s trained to do so, but she’s never seen him actually go full death dealer and I’m fairly sure they’re saving that one up. Similarly it’s just as important that Luke did, he knows now exactly how effective this man is at completing the task given, what June meant when she said “he’d do anything for me and for Nicole”.

There are signs in episode 3 that Nick and Luke will come to blows in the future, one second Luke’s waving his gun around, the next the bro vibe is just way too hard. Luke is up to his old insecurities and macho bullshit; lying about running off with Mayday just to score cool points with June, and telling Moira that he should’ve never let her come along with him. And if it wasn’t bad enough being collected from the waterpark by his wifes side piece, he also had to watch Nick clean up his mess and then had to ride home in the back seat of THAT car. It’s intimidating to say the least and in episode 4 we see Luke all the more desperate to prove himself.

Blaines direct action of rebellion against Gilead will have consequences, but as usual to protect Osborne he did it without hesitation. It’s just another sacrifice he’s made, one that may be his eventual undoing and ultimately you have to ask yourself, when is June going to show up for Blaine? If she keeps asking for more and more, it will be easy for Wharton to convince him that the cost is simply too high. He's already attached himself to Blaine like some sort vampiric gargoyle and if Osborne doesn't kick him off her boyfriends throat soon, he'll drain him dry. As Nick and June bid each other goodbye it’s clear that Osbornes had a gut full. The whole thing was useless, she couldn’t stay away from him and he’d dumped his pregnant wife AGAIN to come running. Who did they think they were kidding?

As in season 1 and 2 you can expect to see Nick and June hooking up and as usual it’s going to get fiery, but with Wharton pulling the strings, ultimately they may not prevail. Personally I’m gutted, I love them as a deadly Mayday couple and Luke and June just seem like such a watered down version of it. I’m most heartbroken about what seems to be happening to Blaine. Instead of a carefully nuanced character walking a tightrope, I’m seeing Nick being not so subtly, transformed into a believer. Watching season 1 and 2 again, it’s disturbing to note how the lines are blurring between Fred then and how Nick is evolving. It’s not a mistake and neither is the fact that Fred was expecting a son and now Blaine is too. It’s not hard to see why audiences would rightfully be concerned about Blaines ability to make through his final tests. Miller keeps going on and on about characters revealing their true faces, and it’s not hard to see where they’re going with this. There's a lot of talk about those simply concerned with self interests being the bad guys this season. In episode 4 Rita commented on Nicks transformation since season 1, and he replied that being a commander in New Bethlehem was the safest thing to be in the safest place. In season 5 Nick told Lawrence that having Osborne in New Bethlehem was “Full of risks”. The fact that Nick was scared enough to break with Tuello so early on in the season and began his trial by fire, shows promise.

It hopefully demonstrates an arc where he finally steps out of that constant looming father figure shadow and demonstrates some bravery. I’m wary though, this season seems to be running in reverse. In season 1 Nick could be trusted, this time we know he’ll betray her. In season 2 Nick chose June over Fred, this time he might not choose her over his father figure. If he’s to be reduced to a true believer, I now expect to see some backtracking through the seasons and revelations of sufficiently unforgivable acts, coupled with his act of betrayal just to bring it all home. I saw this distinct possibility unfold before my eyes with perfect clarity as soon as I heard the words “fucking a Nazi” come out of Hollys mouth. Her mothers horror that Nick had been an Eye and was now a Commander, combined with June’s denial of any malignancy in his nature, solidified him as nothing more than a fascist that had somehow slipped under her radar but not dear old Ma’s. This moment is a call back to season 1 when Holly had warned her not to take her energy and give it all to a man and June had married Luke nevertheless.

Holly’s warning indicates Nick will probably reveal himself to her as such over the course of this season. It was such a bold call out that it completely negated any other future story line or character developments. It had about the subtlety of a sledgehammer, for the writers to have the most prominent feminist, matriarchal figure, in the protagonists life, yelling it in her face. This show loooooves mothers and as such the protagonists mother occupies the highest position of authority when it comes to wisdom. Serena too was called a Nazi in the first episode, and June saved her from a train carriage of angry handmaids. It made me wonder if June would ultimately feed Nick to an angry pack, if she finally resolved that he was simply no different to all the rest. Moss constantly calls June and Serenas relationship “The Love Story” of the show. That’s not love, it’s abuse. I will be disgusted if they actually give Serena a redemption arc this season. She has expressed the most meagre level of regret and committed horrific acts of abuse.

If they have resolved to drag audiences through seasons and seasons of a love story only to turn the ENTIRE thing to poison in the eleventh hour then they can expect their audience to be understandably hurt. The reality is, it’s cruel and it comes at a cost, one that writers better be prepared to pay. I can only conclude that they’ve either waited THIS late in the piece to strip the love interest of any possibility of redemption OR that was their plan all along. At the end of the day both are a great big fuck you, if you really think about it. I’m also a bit horrified that they would also take a clear socio economic underdog, and ultimately grind him into a fine powder. Comparisons began between this show and the current politically charged climate several seasons ago, and I guess they felt somewhat cornered by it so now they’ve decided to run with it full tilt. As a result Blaines personal history acts only as an asset to demonstrate the vampiric nature of powers that promote gender violence and discrimination. The self cannibalising consequences as those that benefit are polluted with power and lose their humanity. His past wont be used to draw any quarter, it just acts as a tragic exhibition.

Don’t get me wrong, I get why they’re doing it, it’s a valid commentary, but it doesn’t mean I don’t get to hate them for breaking my heart and it DEFINITELY doesn’t mean that I don’t get to be pissed off they waited this long to do it. I honestly hope I’m wrong, I hope that instead Blaine will finally demonstrate the required fortitude, that he’ll decide that “staying out of trouble” was always just a life half lived. I was assured that this season was a love letter to the fans and I hope to God I won’t want to send this one back.

[otp-after-dark]

6x07 – Shattered: This love was never meant to be easy. But real love is choosing someone — even when they’re at their worst.

Alright I'm here to offer a little bit of hope despite cussing the writers every few minutes during that episode.

I knew this episode would break my heart — and it did. But it also laid bare everything this story has been circling for years.

And despite how painful it was, I’m still holding onto the belief that all of this — the silence, the anger, the devastation — is building toward something. A resolution. A sacrifice. A moment of truth. Because I refuse to believe that the story they want to tell ends with tragedy or conditional love.

💥 Nick: Fractured and Finally Honest

This episode cracked something open in Nick — and it needed to.

For the first time, he says the things we’ve all known were simmering beneath the surface:

“You pretend like I’m not a Commander or an Eye unless it suits you.” “You never cared what I did when I helped you.” “One of those men was nineteen.” “You didn’t face it. And now you have to.”

He’s not just lashing out — he’s finally drawing a line.

Nick has lived with guilt. He’s held her pain. He’s sacrificed his own soul to keep her breathing. But he’s done hiding who he is to keep her comfortable. And it’s long overdue.

“You’re just like them.” “And you love me. So what does that make you?”

That last line gutted me.

Because it’s the truth. The heart of their entire dynamic.

Nick is not clean. He’s not perfect. But he has never stopped loving her. And now, June has to decide: Can she love a man with blood on his hands — just like she asked him to love her?

Or was this love only real when it was wrapped in denial?

💔 "Not without her." – Nick Blaine, Devastated

Nick’s scene with Rita broke me. This man — who has always held himself together, who has carried everything in silence —finally says it:

“She thinks I’m a monster.” “Not without her.”

He doesn’t just miss her. He doesn’t just love her. He doesn’t believe he’s a good man without her love.

That’s not co-dependence. That’s grief. That’s heartbreak. That’s a man who gave everything and was left standing in the wreckage.

Rita reminds him of who he is — and he can’t hear it. Because right now, he doesn’t feel like that man.

And yet, buried in all that sorrow is the seed of where I think we’re going:

Doing the right thing whether or not he ends up with her.

That’s the arc. That’s the full-circle moment coming. Nick’s redemption isn’t about earning June’s love. It’s about believing he’s still worth something even without it.

🛑 June: Not a Hero Right Now

This is where it gets hard.

Because I love June. But in this episode?

She’s not the hero.

She’s angry. She's hurt. She's unraveling. And instead of seeing Nick’s truth — of finally acknowledging everything he’s done for her —she walks away.

Yes, she’s shattered. But so is he. And the lack of grace she gives him in this moment is devastating.

Because she of all people should understand what it means to make impossible choices in order to survive. She’s done it. Over and over.

And if she can’t give Nick even a sliver of that empathy — if she can’t acknowledge that his love for her is the thing that’s kept her alive —then she’s not as emotionally honest as we thought she was.

❤️ Moira: The Friend She Needed

Moira continues to be one of the few characters who shows up with real empathy.

No judgment. No emotional manipulation. Just care.

She sees June. She sees the devastation. And she reminds her — gently — that Nick has been there.

Always. Even when June wasn’t ready to admit what that meant.

❌ Luke & Lawrence: The Bad, the Worse, and the Manipulative

Luke’s behavior in this episode is... a lot. And not in a good way.

From the start, his dynamic with June has always carried an undercurrent of control masked as concern. But here? It fully crosses a line.

“Don’t be in love with a fucking Nazi.”

That’s not love. That’s emotional abuse. It’s not about protecting June — it’s about punishing her for loving someone else. And the worst part? He’s not wrong that Nick has done terrible things. But the difference is: Luke says it to wound her. Nick says it to be honest with her.

Let’s be clear: June didn’t come to Luke because she wants him. She came to him because she’s angry and heartbroken over Nick. Luke is winning by default — not by love. And he knows it.

His outburst doesn’t come from moral clarity — it comes from jealousy, desperation, and the inability to accept that June’s heart has always belonged to someone else.

And June? She doesn’t push back. Not because she agrees. But because she’s shattered, and Luke’s rage is easier to hide behind than the pain of what just happened with Nick.

She’s not choosing him. She’s surviving him. And that’s not a love story — that’s emotional resignation.

The truth is: If you love someone enough to almost leave the country with them — you don’t stay with someone else out of guilt or fear. But that’s exactly what June is doing.

This relationship is over. It has been. She just hasn’t admitted it yet.

And Lawrence? A manipulator in full swing. He uses their love now because it suits his strategy — the same way he used it in Seasons 4 and 5. And frankly, I’m done rooting for his peace plan. He doesn’t care about June or Nick — just power.

🔮 Where We’re Going

This episode hurt. But it clarified so much.

Nick and June were never going to survive on a fantasy. It had to break. Because the real question was never do they love each other — we know they do.

The question is: Can June love Nick for who he is? Not who she wants him to be?

Because he’s always seen her fully. It’s time she did the same.

And I still believe she will.

Because this story? It’s never been about perfection. It’s about choosing love anyway.

Even when it’s messy. Even when it’s painful. Even when the world tells you to let it go.

There’s something bigger coming. And when it does — Nick Blaine will still be standing. Not for power. Not for politics. But for her.

[onyxstorms]

The Handmaid’s Tale 2.06 - First Blood

“The future and the future of mankind depends on what we do today! What we do now!” 

[nickblaine]

Okay but more importantly...has Nick been issued another wife?! 👀 😭

the real One Burning Question

[scarlettatg]

The Handmaid’s Tale

Nick Blaine

Episode 501 Morning

In episode 501 Nick arrives home the morning after he delivers Fred to June. He knew (maybe even saw) what Fred’s demise was at the hands of June. We know just how violent Fred’s salvaging was. Nick knows the extent of June’s rage and it doesn’t really affect him or make him see her different. I think it contrasts to Luke’s reactions to June in season 5 (like when June tells him about Fred’s finger). This is one of the many reasons Nick is so important for June. He loves, accepts and understands all of her and this is why she can be herself. He doesn’t expect anything so she doesn’t have to pretend.

We find out Rose has some kind of knowledge on his relationship with June but not to what extent. She seems ok with whatever she thinks June is/was in Nick’s life but there’s a sort of closure in that conversation:

“Did you see her? Yeah. And what she needed to do was done? Yes. Praise be his mercy. Maybe June can find some peace now.”

Maybe Rose believed that this was supposed to be the last thing Nick did for June. He was supposed to let her go so they could both carry on with their lives. Rose hopes this gives her closure, peace, a way to start moving on with her life and in the same way, Nick can also move on with his life with her. Nick seems worried, like he knows this won’t give June peace and he wonders if she will be able to find some sort of happiness. After all what he wants is for her to be safe and happy, even if she’s not with him. Maybe it’s a reflection on his own decisions, will he be able to happy? Will he be able to move on?

Episode 510 Safe

By the end of season 5 Nick realizes he not only wasn’t able to let June go, but he’s unable to keep her safe. Her safety has been his only purpose. It’s stronger than his longing to be close to her and his daughter. No matter what he does to help change Gilead he cannot guarantee her safety. Throughout the season we get glimpses of Nick maneuvering Gilead, aligning himself with Lawrence and trying to move on. Still June and Holly are always present. As he appeared to move along he seemed more trapped in a life he clearly doesn’t and didn’t want. He’s once again stuck and as the possibilities of being close to his family appear the more Gilead seems to be pulling him in, pushing him into someone he doesn’t want to be. June has always been his driving force and as much as he tries to distance himself from that, he can’t. All of that stops the second he finds out she’s not safe. He basically gives himself up for her safety.

His reaction to seeing June in the hospital, mirrors his reaction in 501. He is lost in thought as he touches his lips maybe thinking about his decisions or what he said or didn’t say to her. In 501 he might have been thinking about that kiss they shared in 410 while in 510 he might be thinking/regretting that he didn’t kiss her when he clearly was dying to do so. He’s clearly devastated and he probably feels guilty. There’s also regret. Nick told her her he wished he would’ve ran away with her and in 509 June wished the world would just stop. They both wish they could be with each other without their obligations and without pretending to be something they are not. Just like in 501 we see that he is clearly worried. How can he keep her safe? The only thing he has to trade for her safety is his own.

He also touches his tie, maybe it’s just a way to ground himself so he doesn’t lose it. Perhaps it’s like a symbolic noose around his neck that represents Gilead and the decisions he has made that have gotten him to where he is. A tie can symbolize power but it can also symbolize submission and slavery. When Nick was a driver/guardian we saw him wear a tie on occasions as part of his uniform. As a driver he was working class and low status. Now as a commander the tie symbolizes power but he’s still trapped and a slave to a system he doesn’t align himself with. The more power he gets the more he feels that noose around his neck tighten. He has to do things he doesn’t want to do, he’s married and he has a child on the way. Gilead has a hold on him and June and Holly become more of a pipe a dream.

[nickjunesource]

5x10 Spoilers

Since the Deadline article has been removed, we've compiled the spoilers about Nick and Osblaine. They've been placed below the cut:

When June was in the hospital unconscious and recovering, Nick Blaine (Max Minghella) risked everything to rush to her side. To ensure her continued protection, he even made a deal with Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger) to share intel on Gilead even though it could cost him his life. He loses his mind a bit over how close he came to June dying and he punches Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) right in the face for supporting whoever ordered the hit on his beloved. Oh, and his wife Rose is tired of playing second fiddle and wants out of the relationship. *Shrugs*



DEADLINE: Nick has officially risked everything for June. What does the future hold for them?

MILLER: I feel like this is the most romantic Nick/June season that there’s ever been. I love the fact that they spend the entire season saying they can’t be together. What I was hoping is to show that she’s tangled with these people, inextricably, all of them. And just as much as she couldn’t forget about Fred, she breaks up with Nick 70 times this season. She cannot let go of him and the last thing she says is, “Make sure you tell him that we’re okay.” And when she says, “we’re okay” she means the rest of his family. So I think in that last episode when Nick sees her and doesn’t even wake her up is just the most romantic thing.



DEADLINE: What can you tease about the consequences he could face?

MILLER: Well, I think he’s kind of pathologically dangerously romantic and that’s his problem. He genuinely loves June and that’s gonna cause all sorts of problems. Any genuine emotion that’s driving you that isn’t survival— which was his his and June’s only emotion most of the time— anything other than that distracts you. I think the problem is he feels like he needs to have this semblance of an emotional life so that people take him seriously and so he doesn’t get in trouble. I think he’s incapable of doing that because he’s either silent or he tells the truth. I know what we’re setting up for Nick, which is exactly what you think it is. He’s the guy who we think he is. And even if he tries not to be the guy he thinks he is, it’s either going to be very uncomfortable for him like he is with Rose, or it’s going to fail and he’s going to end up not being able to stop himself from punching Lawrence. I think the nice thing is he’s he follows his heart, and the scary thing is he follows his heart.



[lycanth0t]

Of Lambs and Cigars (Handmaids Tale Oneshot)

Nick watched as Lieutenant Stan rubbed his hands in anticipation - he doubted the cold blooded fuck was sensitive to the cold - before slapping his fist twice against the door. A terrified, high pitched scream emitted from the inside, and for some reason the tenor of it made Nick’s blood turn to ice.

Stan swung open the door, and it took an eternity for Nick’s eyes to adjust to the thick blackness of the truck until he regained focus, and saw her.

He would have known Hannah Bankole’s face anywhere.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Set in Season 4 when June is tortured for information about the missing handmaids, it follows how Agnes was brought to the prison, and Nick’s role in protecting her

Since he wasn’t permitted to oversee June’s torture, Nick forced himself to watch through the multiple twelve inch screens of the control room. The air in the room was thick with cigar smoke; the scent of which trickled to the back of his throat to the very base of his chest.

Naturally, June wasn’t the only prisoner being tortured - just the only one that he cared about. Still his eyes flickered to the screen slightly to the left, where a man was having his face branded with an iron poker; screaming so loudly it was as though his face would split in two. In the screen above from him, a woman was in the grips of starvation; being fed just enough to stop her internal organs from shutting down, but not enough to stop her hair from completely falling out. She’d taken to gnawing at her forearm like a feral animal; blackened teeth splinting against alabaster skin. Nick’s hand twitched ever so slightly before he instantly regained composure.

Composure, afterall, was his only asset.

“It’s like liveleak” a male voice chuckled beside him.

Nick turned; one of the head guards - who he knew to be called Marcus - sat slumped in a desk chair, haphazardly throwing an apple from hand to hand.

“Excuse me?” Nick said quietly, and Marcus laughed; he was a tall, wiry guy with narrow features, and his dark hair was kept inches longer than protocol allowed.

“Come on man, from before? Don’t tell me you’d never browsed on it before. Used to be able to see cartel shootings, or people offing themselves. Nothing on this though, this is some high def shit”

The glint in his eye made Nick want to punch the man straight in the face, but before he could; the sound of a glass door sliding open redirected his attention and the scent of cigar smoke and sweat was now accompanied by a sickly sweet aftershave.

“Ah, Commander Blaine, just the man I was looking for” Lieutenant Stan’s silhouette was obscured by the red hue of the corridor, “I was hoping you would accompany me in unloading a delivery”

“Of course Lieutenant” Nick responded, suspicion curled in the pit of his stomach as he followed the older man through the windowless corridor. He knew that Stan wasn’t referring to a last minute import of linen and scotch.

“Is it another Martha to testify for the missing Handmaids, sir?” he asked, his words were punctuated by the echoing screams of prisoners.

“Is it another Martha to testify for the missing Handmaids, sir?” he asked, his words were punctuated by the echoing screams of prisoners.

Lieutenant Stan scoffed, “Have you really that little faith in me, son? Once you’ve met one Martha you’ve met them all, frankly bringing two was an indulgence. I’m confident this is a far more effective tool to relieve our dear June”

As the men descended the concrete steps into the loading bay Nick pondered, not for the first time, what a cold blooded psychopath like Lieutenant Stan did before The Fall. Judging by the 80’s style glasses and Cheshire cat grin, Nick pictured him as a pastor in a sleepy little town in Utah, preaching purity to ten year olds while his porn stash was buried beneath the pews. He wouldn’t be entirely surprised if he’d chosen the vocation of torture for his own sexual satisfaction. Instead of voicing these thoughts, however, Nick dutifully responded;

“Praise be, Lieutenant”

As the shutters drew upwards, it let in a stream of ice cold air that howled furiously around them, beams of sharp white light permeated Nick’s vision, so he could barely make out the military grade truck that roared down the slope.

Nick had lost count of how many trucks he had unloaded over the years; how many people he’d assisted out of the back and straight to their death, like cattle being slaughtered. On one occasion, a Handmaid had sliced open her wrists and gone into rigor mortis by the time he’d arrived. It was therefore with a dulled, morbid curiosity that he watched the truck park in front of them.

He watched as Lieutenant Stan rubbed his hands in anticipation - he doubted the cold blooded fuck was sensitive to the cold - before slapping his fist twice against the door. A terrified, high pitched scream emitted from the inside, and for some reason the tenor of it made Nick’s blood turn to ice.

Stan swung open the door, and it took an eternity for Nick’s eyes to adjust to the thick blackness of the truck until he regained focus, and saw her.

He would have known Hannah Bankole’s face anywhere.

He’d spent hours studying her picture, listening to June describe in painful detail the curl of her daughter’s eyelashes, the freckle just below her right eyebrow, the plumpness of her lips. Nick knew she’d liked oranges, the colour yellow, and that her first word had been “cat”. He also knew that if June saw her in the state she was in now, it would plunge her head first into insanity.

Her heart shaped face was streaked with tears, and wide brown eyes filled with such terror that Nick felt as though a punch had been landed to his stomach. She was dressed in just a soft pink night dress, meaning that she’d been snatched straight from bed by the Guards.

“Oh my dear Agnes! We are so glad you made it here safely” Lieutenant Stan said theatrically, “come, come my dear let's get you inside” he beckoned, reaching out his hand.

Tentatively, Agnes edged forward, one hand desperately clutching at a stuffed animal of a soft white lamb.

“Why isn’t an Aunt or Martha with her? She shouldn’t be here unaccompanied” Nick said, his voice harsh. He only realised his mistake when Hannah flinched away from him and closer to Stan.

“We tend to find that women get a little over emotional when it comes to handling the children, and I’m sure our dear Agnes is brave enough to be here, aren’t you Agnes?” he cooed.

“Yes sir” Agnes replied obediently, teeth chattering against the cold air. “We should get her inside, it’s freezing” Nick said decisively.

Without waiting for the other man to respond, he shed his jacket and stepped towards Agnes, who fortunately did not shy away from him as he draped the jacket over her narrow shoulders. Nick’s chest began to ache; she was too young ot be here, too small, too vulnerable.

“Of course! You’ll be perfectly safe here Agnes, now that your Bilhah isn’t out hunting for you”

At the mentioned of her Bilhah, Hannah flinched violently, and her head whipped around as though she expected a monster to materialise from thin air.

“Is my Bilhah here?” she asked in a terrified whisper. Bilhah was a term used by children who were old enough to remember life Pre-Gilead, and came from the all important bible verse that had founded so many policies of the republic. It referred to the woman who carried them in their earthly shell and gave them to their “true” mothers as ordained by God. God of course being a group of fifty or so aged white men in a conference room, deciding which children belonged with which family.

“I’m afraid so, but there’s no need for you to be worried my dear, she’s all chained up and has Guards watching her all the time, and you have Commander Blaine to protect you” Lieutenant Stan said with a conspiratorial wink, “Isn’t that right Commander?”

Nick looked over at Hannah, and saw June’s almond eyes staring back at him, in the face of a terrified child.

“Yes” he answered firmly, still holding her gaze, “I’m here to protect you Agnes”

“Excellent, let’s make our way in, shall we?” the Lieutenant announced, he offered out a hand for Hannah to take, but Nick pretended not to see and promptly hoisted her into his arms, ensuring to wrap his jacket tighter around her against the bracing cold.

“After you, Lieutenant” Nick said, as he followed the old man straight into hell. —--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Sir, we can’t question her until we have the necessary paperwork in order” Nick said. They had been walking for a solid five minutes through the maze of corridors and staircases, he’d told Hannah not to look, and she had promptly closed her eyes shut and buried her face against his shoulder, while he pretended not to notice the drops of tears that spilled onto his shirt.

“Am I in trouble?” Hannah queried suddenly, lifting her head abruptly. “No” Nick replied instantly.

“We’ll have to see about that, dear,” Stan replied in a sickly sweet voice. “Look at her Lieutenant, she can barely keep her eyes open” Nick argued, trying to ensure no venom bled into his tone.

He watched the Lieutenant consider this for a moment, taking in the child’s dark under eyes and pale skin. It took every ounce of self control Nick had not to pull away when the old man reached out his large hand and cup Hannah’s face. To her credit, she didn’t flinch.

Nick was going to be sick.

“I suppose you’re right” the old man said after an age, “we can begin in the morning, I’ll send a guard to - “

“That won’t be necessary” Nick said firmly, “I’ll see to her myself”. He would rather have his eyes plucked out than leave Hannah alone with any of the depraved men that worked in the building.

The lieutenant raised his eyebrows at this, but subsided. “Very well son, then this is the room for our treasured guest”

The room in question was more of a squalid cell; there was a fold out bed on the far right corner - devoid of a pillow or duvet - and a sink on the left wall, letting out tiny droplets of water that bounced against the metal basin. Above them, the fluorescent lights hummed with electricity.

Every fibre of Nick’s being shrieked in protest; it was wrong to have Hannah here, but he had no other choice. He didn’t even wish to set her on the ground; knowing that the place was infested with rats, and that human blood had been shed in the very same room.

The Lieutenant must have spotted the resistance in Nick’s eyes, or the way Hannah recoiled against the harsh light.

“Say Agnes, why don’t you recite a passage for this blessed night” Stan began, “how about, Peter 3:14?”

With barely a moment’s hesitation, Hannah dutifully resited the passage in a distant, almost robotic voice.

“But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear their threats and do not be frightened”

The seriousness of her tone disturbed Nick greatly, as it reminded him all too well of Eden.

“Praise be Agnes! You may wish to pray on your suffering tonight” Stans advised. He took a step towards them, and it took all of Nick’s self control to not shove the man away. Instead he focused his mind on Hannah’s trembling form. “I’m afraid I’ll have to take Mr Lamb into custody, until you’ve shown us what a good girl you can be”

Sick fuck.

June would tear that man apart piece by piece, if she saw him snatch the stuffed toy from her daughter - the only comfort she had in the world - before turning on his heel and marching out.

Hannah’s bottom lip began to tremble, and Nick watched in growing despair as she choked back the tears that were desperate to fall.

“You’re okay” he said quietly, “you’re going to be okay, here” he set her down on the metal bed and crouched in front of her. He wished more than anything that June was here, or Rita, or anyone with experience in comforting a distraught child because he was completely out of his depth. His mind flickered again to Luke Blankole, caring for a baby he knew wasn’t his, without the help of his wife.

“I’m scared,” Hannah uttered.

“What are you scared of?” Nick asked, knowing there could be a thousand answers. She could easily turn to him that she’s afraid of him; a strange Commander she’d never met who had taken her to a grimy little cell and asking her questions.

“I’m afraid that by Bilhah is going to escape and - and she’s going to hurt me” Hannah whispered.

Nick forced himself not to think of June, which was near impossible given the likeness she shared with her daughter. He had to remain composed.

“Do you remember her from before?” he asked genuinely. He saw her freeze, sas this was clearly a subject she had been taught never to speak of, “it’s okay, you can tell me” he encouraged.

“Yes sir, I remember a little” she answered eventually. “And did she ever hurt you then?”

She paused again, and he saw her genuinely consider his question, trying to distinguish her actual memories from what she had been told. After a moment, she shook her head, and ringlets of curls bounced around her face.

“Your Bilhah” the word stuck in Nick’s throat, “would never hurt you. Sometimes she gets confused, but that’s because she misses and loves you, and people sometimes do strange things when they love someone”

“But Aunt Sabine says she’s a godless woman and - and she wants to drag me to Hell with her” Hannah said in a horrified whisper.

To the children of Gilead, hell was a very real place. Nick had heard complaints from countless Commanders that their young ones were having nightmares about a burning inferno. They would never change the curriculum though, as fear was the most powerful method of control.

Nick paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. He didn’t stand a chance at undoing years indoctrination in one night, all he could hope to do is release her from the sheer terror with which she thought of June.

“Do you want to know what I think?” he asked, and Hannah nodded dutifully, “I think that only God gets to decide who goes to heaven and who goes to hell, and that frightens grown ups, because grown ups want to be the ones to make decisions and to know everything, so sometimes they pretend that they do”

He watched her attempt to process his words, the cogs turning in her exhausted mind, though she said nothing.

“I used to live in the same house as your Bilhah, did you know that?”

Hannah’s eyes snapped at him, “was she your Handmaid?” she asked innocently.

“No” Nick replied instantly, “I was just the driver of the house”

“Oh” Hannah said, mulling it over, “was she always upset? When I saw her in the woods she was crying?”

He remembered that day too, and how long June had wept after she’d left.

“Why don’t you get ready for bed, and I’ll tell you what I remember” he promised.

Hannah shuffled back onto the bed, and Nick adjusted his jacket as a make-shift duvet, before settling himself back down onto the damp concrete floor. He was fully aware of the girl’s eyes on him, soaking in every word he spoke like gospel. He breathed in deeply, trying to quieten his fears of saying the wrong thing. It was important that Hannah knew about her mother.

And so Nick spoke.

He didn’t lie, either, he didn’t tell her that her mother was a meek and pious woman, fulfilling her godly duty. He told her how good she was to her friends; that she looked out for those in need, that she was brave - and would take out wayward spiders even when the Commander was too scared to go near. He told her she sang a lot, when she thought no one could hear her, her favourite season is Spring.

The next time Nick glanced at Hannah, she was asleep, and looked as peaceful as he had ever seen her.

It was surprising even to him; the burning protectiveness that bloomed within hin when he looked at the child, and he made an oath to himself that for as long as his heart was still beating; no harm would come of Hannah Bankole.

He wasn’t naive enough to think he could do it entirely himself, and only one other name sprung to mind.

Commander Joseph Lawrence.

[splitscreen]

NICK BLAINE in every episode └ 4x10 — The Wilderness | "Do not be deceived. God is not to be mocked. For whatever man sows, so shall he reap. You did this to yourself, Commander."