History NightmareFuel / TheHandmaidsTale

* Offred seems to have found an ally in a doctor who freely uses the forbidden word "sterile" and offers to help her. Then it turns out by help, he means having sex with her right there to possibly impregnate her when the Commander can't and avoid future punishment, with the implication that he's done this extortion to a lot more women, all while keeping the same FauxAffablyEvil tone. Then you add the FridgeHorror that the Commander suffered from TheLoinsSleepTonight that month, meaning if she'd agreed and did get pregnant, she would have been immediately found out.

* We find out early in the season that Mexico and Gilead are trying to form trade relations--but while Mexico will be supplying Gilead with crops, Gilead will be supplying them with ''Handmaids.'' To better their chances of the deal going through, Gilead makes all the Handmaids look like they're women who stepped up for their country and are happy living there. Offred finally manages to talk to Ambassador Castillo to tell her the truth: all Handmaids have been forced into sexual slavery, and they are beaten, raped, and mutilated on a daily basis. She ''begs'' the Ambassador to help them, or at least not traffic them...''and she refuses.'' Mexico's population crisis is so bad that even after learning what the Handmaids suffer, they will ''still'' be traded like cattle. While Canada has become a safe haven for Gilead refugees and tries its best to help those trapped in the country, Mexico has decided to ''profit'' from Gilead's terrorism.

* The punishments for disobeying, include the psychological torture. In addition, they are made the kneel in the rain, each holding a heavy stone. Next, they are lined up inside the cafeteria in a straight line, and made to listen to the screams of Ofrobert. Alma gets more punishment than the others. Because Aunt Lydia cannot punish June, due to her condition, she uses the next unruliest Handmaid. The others are lined up in the cafeteria of the Red Center ForcedToWatch, as she and Aunt Elizabeth drag her screaming and kicking into the kitchens, where she handcuffs her hand to the stove and turns on the gas, her screams filling the entire cafeteria.
* June is forced to listen alongside. As she was being rebellious, the Aunts took her to a prison room, where another pregnant Handmaid, Ofwyatt was chained up for being DrivenToSuicide by drain cleaner, with the implication that she'll be killed after having the baby. June knows that if she acts up, she'll end up like her, and is forced to eat the lunch Aunt Lydia prepared for her and act as though nothing happened. We also don't see it but the implication was that all of the handmaids but Offred were burned like Ofrobert, so they all had to listen to her being tortured knowing it was about to happen to them, as well.

* June's descent into HeWhoFightsMonsters territory in her revenge on Ofmatthew, ultimately watching the woman's psychotic, murderous breakdown with a satisfied SlasherSmile even with a gun pointed right at her. Also keep in mind that Ofmatthew is pregnant during all this, yet June still watches her dead body being dragged out without a hint of regret. Although the pregnancy part might be seen in the opposite way, when we realize that June seems to think that being born a girl in Gilead is FateWorseThanDeath - meaning that Ofmatthew future child would be ''saved'' by her death, just like Ofandy's daughter was by being stillborn.

* The arrest, trial, conviction and punishment of Ofglen and her lover. The Martha is sentenced to death, and we see every single moment of it: her in the van with Ofglen, sobbing in terror, her being taken away, and her slowly being hanged to death by crane, ''all while Ofglen watches.'' Ofglen is spared death simply because she's a fertile woman, but her crime of "gender treachery" is punished by genital mutilation.

* As punishment for speaking up for Janine, Ofglen #2 is given an ironic punishment by having her tongue ripped out. The only literate women allowed in Gilead are Aunts and for all others, it warrants the removal of a finger for the first offense, and the amputation of an entire hand the second offense. They removed her way of communicating with the outside world!

* The last scene of the third episode. On their way to the Magdalene colony, the Handmaids--June, Janine, Alma, Brianna, and a few others--make one last break for it. They break out of the van and take off running for the tracks as a train barrels toward them, smiling and elated. Then one of them is gunned down. Then another. June and Janine make it to the other side, and June looks back at Alma and Brianna...just in time to watch them be '''run down by the train.''' June manages to get a hold of herself to encourage a sobbing Janine to keep running. For now, of all the Handmaids that fled to the Keyes' farm in the first and second episodes, ''only two are still alive.''

[[/folder]]

* The fact that the entire premise -- a takeover by religious fundamentalists, the utter loss of rights for women -- ''is inspired by true events.'' UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} had been developing into a modern, secular country over the 20th century, but made a complete turnaround after the 1979 revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Since then Iranian women have had to live under a barrage of restrictions, including laws about how they dress, though thankfully they still have access to education. [[note]]As long as they are Muslim[[/note]]

* The revelation that Handmaids in DC have their mouths wired shut is as horrifying to the viewer as it is to June. It really doesn’t help that all marthas and handmaids wear cloth mouth coverings. Some scenes suggest its not done as a punishment. ALL handmaids and marthas seem to have their mouths wired shut. It really doesn’t help that the mouth covering looks like its clasped on like bdsm gear, with each clip giving a loud ‘SNAP,’ like shackling.
* The idea that Handmaids' mouths are wired shut at all is horrifying. The idea that they might still be wired shut even during natural, painkillerless childbirth.

* June's descent into HeWhoFightsMonsters territory in her revenge on Ofmatthew, ultimately watching the woman's psychotic, murderous breakdown with a satisfied SlasherSmile even with a gun pointed right at her, to which she actually nods, seemingly fully prepared to die if it means the person who hurt her goes down with her. Also keep in mind that Ofmatthew is pregnant during all this, yet June still watches her dead body being dragged out without a hint of regret. Although the pregnancy part might be seen in the opposite way, when we realize that June seems to think that being born a girl in Gilead is FateWorseThanDeath - meaning that Ofmatthew future child would be ''saved'' by her death, just like Ofandy's daughter was by being stillborn.

* June continuing to descend into cold calculation, allowing Eleanor to commit suicide rather than save her and risk her [[LooseLips blabbing about the child rescue scheme.]]

* The arrest, trial, conviction and punishment of Ofglen and her lover.

* The idea that Handmaids' mouths are wired shut at all is horrifying. The idea that they might still be wired shut even during natural, painkillerless childbirth, when a women can't help but cry out?

* The whole concept of being a Handmaid. You're forcibly indoctrinated (including such charming little exercises as the one shown above) and then passed around the upper echelons of the military as a brood mare. Your very name is taken away from you, to be replaced with the designation of whatever man currently owns you, e.g. Offred, Ofwayne. You're blamed if you're not fertile, even though it's most likely the ''men'' who own and use you that are sterile, and the Wives resent or even hate you regardless. If you don't manage to get pregnant in one of three "assignments", you're declared defective and packed off to the colonies to die of radiation poisoning or slave labor. If you ''do'' actually manage to get pregnant ''and'' carry the child to term, it's removed from you except for feeding times and, as soon as it's weaned, you're bundled off to ''another'' family to start the whole miserable process all over again. And while you're given a sop of never being sent to the colonies if you bear a live, healthy baby, there's always the possibility that the baby's a "shredder", born with a mental or physical defect that only appears later. ''You will never be safe.''

* The fact that the entire premise -- a takeover by religious fundamentalists, the utter loss of rights for women -- ''is inspired by true events.'' UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} had been developing into a modern, secular country over the 20th century, but made a complete turnaround after the 1979 revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Since then Iranian women have had to live under a barrage of restrictions, including laws about how they dress, though thankfully they still have access to education. [[note]]As long as they are muslim[[/note]]

* June's descent into HeWhoFightsMonsters territory in her revenge on Ofmatthew, ultimately watching the woman's psychotic, murderous breakdown with a satisfied SlasherSmile even with a gun pointed right at her, to which she actually nods, seemingly fully prepared to die if it means the person who hurt her goes down with her. Also keep in mind that Ofmatthew is pregnant during all this, yet June still watches her dead body being dragged out without a hint of regret.

* Serena despite getting a finger amputated for the ‘crime of reading’ doesn’t seem to really seem to care about the fact that ALL the 2nd class women in DC have had their mouths wired shut. Not only does she want to raise a female child in THAT environment, but there isn’t really anything protecting 2nd class women outside DC, or the Gilead wives either.

* The revelation that Handmaids in DC have their mouths wired shut is as horrifying to the viewer as it is to June. It really doesn’t help that all marthas and handmaids wear cloth mouth coverings. Some scenes suggest its not done as a punishment. ALL handmaids and marthas seem to have their mouths wired shut. It really doesn’t help that the mouth covering looks like its clasped on like bdsm gear, with each clip giving a loud ‘SNAP.’

* The revelation that Handmaids in DC have their mouths wired shut is as horrifying to the viewer as it is to June. It really doesn’t help that all marthas and handmaids wear cloth mouth coverings. Some scenes suggest its not done as a punishment. ALL handmaids and marthas seem to have their mouths wired shut.

* The revelation that Handmaids in DC have their mouths wired shut is as horrifying to the viewer as it is to June.

** Now factor this in: they were talking about ''a 14-year old girl being gang-raped.''
* [[AFateWorseThanDeath The Colonies.]] [[spoiler: They're used for cleaning up nuclear waste until they die from the radiation poisoning. It's basically gulags. At one point Moira tells Offred that her mother ended up there (she saw her in a propaganda video) and when Offred expresses relief since she thought her mother was dead, Moira simply says "She might as well be. You should wish it for her." Also hinted is that "the Children of Ham" (black people), who are supposedly sent to "national homelands" (a la South Africa) may in fact be suffering extermination]].
** While we learn the (possible) fates of the black and Jewish populations, there is no mention of other ethnic or religious groups. What about the Asian, Middle Eastern, First Nation, etc, groups? We don't know, but we can imagine that it was ''horrifying''.

** Even better, Gilead is the sort of nation that would consider perfectly normal things to be "defects." What if the kid grows up to be gay or transgender? What if they're autistic? What if they're schizophrenic or otherwise mentally ill? In our society, any decent parent would love them just the same, but in ''Gilead''...
* Particicution, where the women vent their frustrations on a male "criminal" (in one case a political dissenter) by ripping him to pieces with their bare hands. During that scene in the book, Janine, who's had at least two "shredder" babies, finally loses her shit and wanders around with a bloody chunk of the person's scalp in her hand and a vacant grin on her face.
** The epilogue theorizes that Gileadean society came up with the custom of Particicution not just to get rid of unwanted elements (they had the Wall for that), but ''expressly'' to provide a stress outlet for otherwise terribly oppressed Handmaids, to the point where instead of just having one in the rare case the occasion arose, after a while they started to hold them on every equinox and solstice, that is 4 times a year.

* Nick hearing Rita's screams of horror and [[WhamShot running in to see the]] [[spoiler: [[DrivenToSuicide previous Offred's body hanging from the ceiling]].]] What makes it even more terrifying is that [[MoodWhiplash the scene almost comes out of nowhere]].
* The HumiliationConga orchestrated by both Wives and Commanders that leads to Janine [[spoiler: attempting suicide with her child in her arms.]]

** The possibility that the doctor was sincerely trying to give her the best chance he could might be even more horrifying than him being a predator; it says a lot about how hideous the situation is when a genuinely good guy's options to help a woman in June's situation are limited to making an offer which would be utterly repugnant in any sane society.

** The punishments for disobeying, include the psychological torture. In addition, they are made the kneel in the rain, each holding a heavy stone. Next, they are lined up inside the cafeteria in a straight line, and made to listen to the screams of Ofrobert.
** Alma gets more punishment than the others. Because Aunt Lydia cannot punish June, due to her condition, she uses the next unruliest Handmaid. The others are lined up in the cafeteria of the Red Center ForcedToWatch, as she and Aunt Elizabeth drag her screaming and kicking into the kitchens, where she handcuffs her hand to the stove and turns on the gas, her screams filling the entire cafeteria.
** Even better, June is forced to listen alongside. As she was being rebellious, the Aunts took her to a prison room, where another pregnant Handmaid, Ofwyatt was chained up for being DrivenToSuicide by drain cleaner, with the implication that she'll be killed after having the baby. June knows that if she acts up, she'll end up like her, and is forced to eat the lunch Aunt Lydia prepared for her and act as though nothing happened.
*** We also don't see it but the implication was that all of the handmaids but Offred were burned like Ofrobert, so they all had to listen to her being tortured knowing it was about to happen to them, as well.
--> Aunt Lydia: You're first, Ofrobert.

** During the marriage the men have no idea who they are marrying until after the vows have been said and the rings placed on the fingers. It certainly would have not have been what they signed up for...or even more horrifyingly, it's ''exactly'' what some of them signed up for.

* Nick consummating his marriage to Eden. The only reason he is doing it is because June forced him, as he doesn't feel any attraction to Eden, but Eden is brainwashed by the Gilead regimen and believes that Nick is gay, which merits execution if she were to report him. The consummation process involves having to pray beforehand, and then have them each strip, with Eden using a special sheet in a hole in it. Keep in mind that Eden is roughly 15 and brainwashed to be pious and a dutiful wife, which means Nick is committing statutory rape by doing so, while Nick is twice her age and old enough to be her father. Sex-via-coercion is still considered rape.

** In the same episode, June is DrivenToSuicide and falls out her window the night that Nick marries Eden, as now she feels she has nothing to live for. She is found by Nick, heavily pregnant and her lower abdomen covered in blood. Imagine the AdultFear: the woman you love is pregnant with your child, but is mentally broken and so gone from life that she decides to take her own life. Only, that also entails taking the life of the child you both share.
* The way Waterford slowly takes the heavily annotated Bible and reads from it before [[spoiler: whipping Serena with his belt]]. How many other awful things have little blue tags that Gilead uses as justification? There are a lot of tags...
* Serena Joy being given a schedule with only illustrations in Canada. Why? Because women in Gilead were not allowed to read- even though they were out of Gilead territory, even though Serena Joy was an educated professional before the takeover.

* Fred [[spoiler: raping June in "The Last Ceremony" while Serena holds her down in order to induce labor. What makes it absolutely chilling is the fact that June has never fought back in the Ceremony before, and here actually tries, which includes screaming for help and fighting Serena.]] Their looks sell it all. If it's that hard to believe, Serena Joy and Fred Waterford both crossed the MoralEventHorizon.
** In the same episode [[spoiler: Nick and June are spotted by Guardians after Hannah - now Agnes - leaves with her Martha. Nick tells June to stay inside while he talks to them, and he ends up being beaten and taken away, leaving a heavily pregnant June in an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere and in the freezing cold, no less.]]
** Just the fact that in the description for "The Last Ceremony" it was given a Warning beforehand. No episode of the series has gotten that so far. In a show featuring female circumcision, rape, slow death via radiation poisoning, suicide, the almost death of an infant, and among other things, this episode received a ''warning'' in the description.

* [[spoiler: The drowning. It looks almost like everyone is at a swim meet as it is held in a old swimming pool. The juxtaposition of the location and what is happening is chilling.]]
** Also, note [[spoiler:there are several other iron balls at the bottom of the pool. How many people have been killed this way?]]
* [[spoiler: Serena revealing her amputated pinky to June after the former gets taken away to be punished for reading in front of The Commanders. Another example to Serena that all of the misogynistic, inhumane laws she helped write do very much apply to her.]]