I'd settle for Commander Fred tripping over the ottoman.

It's implied that the Republic of Gilead is not in control of all the lower 48 U.S. states and insurgent activities abound. However we may not know much about overall events because the story will be mainly told from the POV of the main character who is essentially held captive for breeding purposes and whose access…

Pure conjecture on my part, but I believe that to achieve the goal on 100% female illiteracy, Gilead will not emphasize book learning for most of the people under its rule (male and female). Only the male children of the loyal elite will receiving anything close to a high school education. Post secondary studies…

Moira has an effective way of cutting through the bs and spelling out exactly what the Handmaids are expected to do in the Ceremony.

The Man in the High Castle posits a world where Nazi Germany has occupied the area of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains since the late 1940s, yet it's the Handmaid's Tale that's far-fetched.

I found it mildly amusing that the Euro outlasted the United States of America in the Handmaid-verse.

Even before that Martha was marched into the courtroom, she was already determined to be an Unwoman; her verdict preordained, her identity revoked, her "rank and serial number" still retained for record-keeping purposes.

The book also mentions Econowives, described as the spouses of lower status men and who solely fulfill the roles of Wives, Marthas, and Handmaids. We don't meet any and the concept isn't fleshed out much beyond that basic description.

I also heard dogs in the background. Guard dogs, maybe?

Under those circumstances, yes. Secession shouldn't even be a legal issue when the Constitution is suspended and a new brutal theocratic regime is instituted.

I can't keep my cats? Ok, that's where I draw the line!!!

In the book, Gilead is firmly in control of New England, most of the northern Atlantic seaboard and perhaps territories as far west as North Dakota. Control over territories south of Maryland/Virginia and west of the Plains States is less assured. Shipments of oranges from California and Florida are frequently…

Yes, this is a situation of being informed without consent. Informed as in "You will do this." Not informed in the sense of "Now here are all the details of what *this* involves."

Merci beaucoup!

OT, but how do I enable the spoiler block feature for the Disqus comments?

That would be an excellent plot change from the book and a splendid allusion to Underground Railroad escapees reaching Canada in the 19th century (doubly appropriate due to Moira's race and gender).

Some stray thoughts and guesses concerning the "UN embargo on Gilead" datum (3 cheers for world-building!):

It's possible that the handmaid candidates were informed they would be surrogate mothers, but otherwise weren't told about certain details until much, much later in the indoctrination process.

Comet the Super-Horse! Using Raxacoricofallapatorian tech to fit inside the pod.

Introducing CatCo's newest employee, Glorious Godfrey!