Les personnages

• Nick is GOOD. so so GOOD. even though he is a bit mysterious and aloof at first, his strong sense of morals come across very clear in the script early on. he’s written as a sympathetic character and an ally from the very beginning. we are meant to like him in spite of his status, as June does.
  
  
• anyone who thinks June is too traumatized to want physical intimacy is so wrong. June has a crush on Nick since episode 1, even though she knows in her gut he is probably an Eye. in fact the first few episodes almost read like a romantic drama because June thinks about him so much.
  
  
• Nick and June’s first kiss was not 1x05, it was actually 1x03. when Nick brings her ice for her bruises and tells her they should’ve driven away together, June becomes overwhelmed by the attraction and kisses him first. in fact, they fully make out and it’s described as “hands everywhere” until they abruptly stop. not sure why this was cut, but it explains why Nick is so breathless when he leaves her room 
  
  
• did i mention June thinks about Nick a lot? because she thinks about him a LOT lmao the thirst was so real
  
  
• the scene where Serena Joy orchestrates the Nick and June thing - the script points out that June was not mad about having to sleep with Nick, she was mad because she liked Nick and Serena was taking that away from her by forcing Gilead weirdness on them. also, during the actual act, it’s as awkward to read as it is to watch, but June is kind of excited about it, Nick is... horrified, and Serena Joy ruins it for everyone by being as creepy as possible. (i reeeally wish they made this scene true to the book by keeping Serena at a distance)
  
  
• Nick telling June that he’s an Eye was huge. this was a real milestone, he took a massive risk by being truthful with her and they both recognized it. also his “now go to bed” was meant as a joke, which they both understood.
  
  
• their (real) love scene actually had dialogue! it’s a lot different from the final cut. June jumps Nick and starts kissing him pretty much as soon as she walks through his door. he also does try to undress her but fumbles with her handmaid dress. June says, “Let me. It’s complicated.” and does it herself. Nick says, “Mine’s simple.” and just pulls off his shirt. it was adorably casual tbh and they read like a couple who had been courting for awhile. (alsoooo the script straight up says she guides his hand to where she wants it and Nick can take a hint, so like, there’s that )
  
  
• during the meeting the next day, when they secretly touch hands, Nick is described as “unable to breathe effectively” and tells her all the guards leave at 11:30 so she can visit him lmaooo this boy is in shambles
  
  
• from this point on June thinks about Nick like, constantly. during scrabble she was literally starting to spell out his name on the board.
  
  
• when June is going through the things in Nick’s room, he isn’t bothered at all. he understands that she’s curious about him, but their moments together are so limited and precious so he just wants to snuggle. sigh.
  
  
• Nick flashbacks!!!! Nick is 100% baited into joining SoJ. that whole conversation in the cafe was about Pryce trying to work out Nick’s achilles heel and seizing on it, which was his brother. Nick had never even heard of SoJ, but he is “intrigued and desperate for a lifeline”
  
  
• the flashback in the car when the commanders discuss the handmaids - this is the scene i was looking forward to most since Max is all body language in it, but i was disappointed. it’s 99% dialogue. although it did explain the “it’s better not to make attachments” line - Nick was actually referring to his brother when he said this, whom he “had to leave behind somewhere along the way”
  
  
• in June’s voiceovers she mentions more than once that she believes Luke would understand why she wants to be with Nick
  
  
• at Jezebels - Nick is described as seething the whole time, but none of his lingering touches and intense stares are in the script. those were all Max and Lizzie.
  
  
• apparently Nick and Beth’s deal is that they trade goods for intelligence. it doesn’t specify if the intelligence is for the Eyes or Mayday, though.
  
  
• in the flashback when Nick finds the first Offred hanging, he goes as far as to give her mouth-to-mouth CPR even though it was clearly too late. he tried so hard tho
  
  
• also, this death totally broke him. when they take Offred 1’s body away is the moment Nick becomes “awake for the first time” and “sees Gilead for what it really is” - until that point he was just numb from the loss of his family. it’s also the reason he joined the Eyes - when Pryce offers his condolences for the dead handmaid, Nick’s inner thoughts are like “she’s the reason i’m here”
  
  
• there’s a cut scene from the Jezebels episode where Nick almost starts a fistfight with the other drivers because he’s just sf mad about Fred bringing June there, and everyone can pick up on the fact that something is really bugging him. i’m kinda bummed we don’t get to see this tbh, and it’s not the only scene showing Nick interacting with other Guardians to be removed from the final cut.
  
  
• when Nick breaks it off with June because it’s too dangerous, his reason is genuine but he’s more cold and distant in the script. he doesn’t touch her at all when he's telling her about himself, that was entirely Max.
  
  
• we already know this from interviews but when June tells Nick she’s pregnant they were both just overflowing with love for each other in that scene. she is shook to her core by his reaction to the news and it makes her realize that what they share is special and worth everything.
  

• uhh the writers get spicy with the love scenes in this season. felt like an erotic novel at times. i actually read the phrase “stroked his soft penis until it was hard” with my own eyes not once but twice... those table reads must’ve been a real treat
  
  
• June being rough with Nick wasn’t in the script, that was Lizzie. in the script Nick just kisses June and backs her up against a wall before they bone all day.
  
  
• June told Nick all about the letters and how she got them during her time at the Globe, so he knows what they are when he catches her burning them later. (this wasn’t a cut scene, it’s just mentioned during said burning) also they apparently got really used to being a normal couple during that time, and going back to sneaking around is one of the hardest things June has to adjust to when she returns to the Waterfords.
  
  
• June seeing Nick in the kitchen for the first time after she was caught was “like watching her life preserver float away”
  
  
• when Aunt Lydia shows up at the Waterford house and makes comments about the baby’s father while Nick tries super hard to look casual - this is when Fred realizes the baby is actually his
  
  
• Nick is worried sick about June “becoming Offred” again. when he asks Serena Joy to get June a different kind of doctor, he was acting entirely on his anxiety. this is what sets off Serena Joy’s jealousy aaaand...
  
  
• Nick’s wedding was entirely Serena Joy’s idea. she just manipulates Fred into setting it in motion.
  
  
• the wedding really did break Nick. him saying he’ll have a child of his own someday was not a dig at Fred, it was him “showing his belly to the alpha” and disclaiming their child
  
  
• June still thinks about Nick a lot. the scene where she walks into the kitchen and finds Fred grumpily eating a snack, she actually went in there hoping it was Nick.
  
  
• Nick told June that he loves her because it’s why he can’t consummate his marriage (besides, of course, being hella grossed out by it) so it wasn’t just a random declaration with bad timing, it was basically “i can’t do this BECAUSE i love you”
  
  
• during the consummation, good old “hole in the sheet” was not present in the script. also Nick thinks about June and touches himself before the actual act (see my first note ) then just pretty much closes his eyes and does it. he feels sick the whole time. i was trying not to scream in the library while reading this
  
  
• there was nothing fishy about the weird scene with Pryce where Nick requests a transfer. it’s mostly dialogue again. but Nick was described as “shattered” (note that this is a word usually only used to describe June) by the consummation so he was apparently just panicking. this season put heavy emphasis on the breaking of Nick.
  
  
• also the red center explosion was written from Nick’s perspective. he’s standing with the other drivers and about to light a cigarette when boom.
  
  
• the loss of Pryce affected Nick because he saw him as “an ally and protector” (i feel like protector is an interesting choice of words)
  
  
• June and Nick’s kiss at the hospital was mostly dialogue. all the touching and Nick wiping away her tears was Max and Lizzie.
  
  
• June and Nick holding hands in 2x08 was also unscripted
  
  
• Nick returns to his apartment stressing hard about June going to Fred’s office (where Serena Joy gets beaten) when Eden jumps him about the curtains
  
  
• when Eden finds the letters and Nick gets pissed - “Nick assumes the role of patriarch with frightening ease” but he later gets mad at himself for it
  
  
• the script does not clarify whether or not Eden read the letters so it must be irrelevant. this scene only brings the focus on Nick feeling overwhelmed and trapped in his own house.
  
  
• when Nick is about to leave for Canada, it says he stays cold with Eden because he has not forgiven himself for scolding her
  
  
• with all the Eden scenes there is a lot of “Nick doesn’t know what to say; chooses silence” going on
  
  
• when Nick meets Luke - the only thing different from the “script to screen” clip is that when Nick tells Luke he’s just a driver, he pauses and adds that he lives above the garage with his wife. this is why Luke isn’t suspicious of his relationship with June.
  
  
• Nick and June’s reunion after Canada was apparently the first time they had touched in months
  
  
• June was unable to process the news about Luke, and Nick was “hit by the strength of this woman” gosh darniT
  
  
• when he says “i love you” for the second time, June doesn’t respond because “it’s all too complicated to put into words”
  
  
• Eden’s breakdown after kissing Isaac is described as a “teenage temper tantrum” and Nick was really sad for her but also 100% over his life at the moment
  
  
• when Nick is sitting alone flicking his lighter, he’s thinking about how he could’ve become a father that day
  
  
• Nick tearing up during the June/Hannah reunion was not in the script
  
  
• Nick holds and comforts June as Hannah is leaving with the Martha, before Hannah runs back to her. i was surprised by this as there were still Guardians present. he also runs to her and drops to his knees in the snow to hold her again after Hannah is gone.
  
  
• there is no mention of Nick in the script during the birth of their child. June is really worried for him at the beginning of this episode, but that’s it.
  
  
• in the church when June starts leaking milk at the sound of Holly crying, Nick is “amazed and moved” by it while Fred is “repelled” because he’s trash
  
  
• Holly is referred to only as Nichole from this point on and i really Hate it
  
  
• in the Hawaii scene, Nick’s line is actually “the baby is so beautiful” but Max says “our baby” in the final cut bless you Max
  
  
• Nick walked away from June’s comfort after Eden’s execution because he knew if he opened up to her he would break down
  
  
• there was a cut scene where he goes back to his empty apartment and really does break down
  
  
• when Rita and June are going through Eden’s belongings, there was a part where Nick is bringing the stuff in and gets sad looking at it. June holds his hand and finally gets to comfort him, right in front of Rita who’s just like “we been knew”
  
  
• the “your girlfriend is a badass” scene was mostly dialogue. again, all the touching was Max and Lizzie.
  
  
• the scene when Nick holds Holly is described in the script as “a real family portrait” to juxtapose Fred and Serena Joy’s family portrait
  
  
• June saying “i love you” to Nick was completely genuine, nothing in the script implies otherwise. Nick is described as speechless. this scene is written like a sort of happy ending for Nick and June in season 2, and mirrors the pregnancy scene in season 1.
  
  
• Nick was not aware that June may escape in the last episode, but when he looked up at the house he had a gut feeling that she was going to do it.
  

• when June is going through newspaper clippings at the Globe, there’s so much info about Gilead being dumped here. she listens to recordings on a tape and the script describes everything she is finding in detail. i was running out of time at this point so i’ll need to go back and take notes on this scene specifically because it’s super interesting.
  
  
• during the false labor scene when Fred is entertaining commanders in his office, there is heavy emphasis on Commander Horace having a baby with his wife and the fact that he “hopes to make all commanders like Fred obsolete” so i think this may be revisited in season 3
  
  
• Serena Joy was absolutely VILE during the 2x10 rape scene. even Fred feels guilt immediately afterwards and can recognize that June is a person. but Serena Joy was only upset that it was more difficult than she expected. June’s crying makes Serena realize she “might actually be a terrible person” which makes her feel weak, and the weakness makes her angry. the script goes on to say that she hates June for fighting back and making it harder than it needed to be. she even holds June down by her neck at some point. remind me again why anyone is stanning for a Serena Joy redemption??
  
  
• also despite Serena Joy being complete rotten garbage, after June tells Emily “call her Nichole” she actually goes on to say “tell her about Serena, that she loved her” (instead of “tell her i love her”) because the writers apparently had amnesia while making season 2
  

• regarding that Boston Globe newspaper cuttings scene in 2x03 - basically June is just looking for any info on children of Gilead in hopes that it could give her a hint to where Hannah is. the recording she’s listening to is an interview between a reporter named Christy Cunningham and a SOJ member named Lars. Lars discusses how he got into SOJ for the kids in his community who came from bad homes because SOJ had after school programs, free meals, sports leagues and such. then June cuts out the article Christy wrote after said interview, which is dated 2014 and shows a picture of Lars with a kids’ baseball team. the article is titled “Old-Fashioned Group Raises New Hope” then the script described the newspaper’s front page featuring all the news that seemed important at the time, such as Ebola outbreaks and the missing Malaysia Airlines flight. good information for dating the universe timeline.
  
  
• in the 1x03 flashback where we see Luke holding June in bed after she lost her bank account and job, in the script he goes on to initiate sex with her here. she is described as wanting to cry, but lets him fuck her instead. then there is a cut post-sex scene where she is too stressed to sleep and Luke apologizes because he assumes she is upset about his patronizing statements earlier.
  
  
• as Luke is going through June’s photos in her phone during the 1x05 flashback, he finds a pic of her in pajamas reading Hunger Games
  
  
• in the 1x06 Waterford flashback at the theater, when Fred gets the text about the impending attack he becomes hesitant about the violence to come. Serena manipulates him into getting back on board with the idea. she recites a news story she heard about a man who had 15 year-olds chained up in his house and reminds Fred that they are saving everyone from stories like that.
  
  
• also in 1x06 there is a cut scene after June returns from cleaning blood off the wall. she’s in the Waterford kitchen covered in bloodstains when Nick and Fred enter, discussing the trade meeting with Mexico that night. June thinks about how sexy and confident Nick looks when he’s working, while she feels self-conscious because she looks like “Carrie on prom night.” then Nick turns his attention to June and flirts with her a bit, right in front of Fred who is completely oblivious.
  
  
• in 1x09 when Rita and Serena Joy are drinking wine in the kitchen, it is implied that Rita’s son was on the US side of the war because Serena can feel “the sting of her stare” when she talks about it
  
  
• there is a cut scene in 2x03 after Moira processes the Guardian refugee, where “cute coworker Dana” approaches and offers her a muffin. Dana pushes her luck and invites Moira out to the movies with friends, but Moira makes up an excuse not to go. later in the episode she goes to the bar instead, so it shows us that Moira is having trouble connecting with people.
  
  
• a lot of Annie’s dialogue was cut, but in it it’s heavily implied that Annie was struggling to conceive and this was extremely difficult on hers and Luke’s marriage.
  
  
• in 2x04 during the flashback where Luke is screaming into Annie’s voicemail, June has serious doubts about their relationship in this whole scene. when he says he loves her more than he ever loved Annie, she wants to believe him but she can’t. basically she wonders to herself how likely it is they will have a future together when their relationship has such a vicious origin story.
  
  
• June also struggles with a LOT of guilt over Annie. her feelings are described like she stole Annie’s place, especially in the coffee house scene. June doesn’t express any ill-will toward her either, in fact she feels the need to stick up for Annie when Luke is yelling into her voicemail.
  
  
• throughout season 2 June has very little thoughts on Eden, so many of her stares are Lizzie and the directing. when Eden comes to June for advice in 2x06, this is when she finally acknowledges how young, pious and dangerous Eden is.
  
  
• later in this episode when Eden enters the kitchen the day after the consummation, June and Eden share a look about what happened. June is conflicted but understands the deed was done. then Serena Joy notices that June and Eden have some kind of connection here, and in her jealousy she initiates the knitting needle nonsense to pit them against each other.
  
  
• there’s another cut flashback (but i can’t remember the episode) where June is helping Moira move in with Odette and they are talking about Luke. at this point Luke is still married and Moira expresses lots of disapproval of their relationship throughout the whole scene.
  

3x01

• nick has fred trapped in the room. after serena says, “we should give her more time to get away,” and leaves, fred turns to nick and accuses him of having so little respect for their family that he would involve them in his crimes. nick straight up tells fred, “I did it for her. For June.” it says fred knew this but hearing it shakes him up. this is the catalyst for their open disdain for each other from now on.  
  
  
• there was more to nick & june’s argument that we didn’t see, which showed june regretting staying in gilead. after she says “don’t you think i know that?” she breaks down and admits: “I fucked up. I fucked it all up. I should’ve gone. I’m a fucking idiot. But I couldn’t leave her here, I couldn’t leave her behind.” nick feels deep sympathy for her after this confession, and they let go of their anger and share an embrace. i’m real mad this got cut, it showed a lot of june’s vulnerable side.  
  
  
• after the house fire, nick is leaving and: “June searches for something to say. Goodbye? I’m sorry?” but she can’t because they’re in public. originally he said “Take care” and she settled on “Bless you.” (personally, i think i like the onscreen version better.)
  
  
  

3x03

• there was lots of nick “finding this exchange excruciating” during the commander meeting at the lawrence house. he just wanted to help june the whole time joseph is tormenting her. they are “desperate to communicate” throughout this scene. also, joseph was carefully observing nick, june and fred the whole time. they never explain why, but june seems to think he’s just amused by it all.  
  
  
• when nick came back to visit that night, he and beth share a sweet moment at the back door. nick asks her if she’s okay. beth tells him she’s scared shitless. he comforts her with a hug, during which she jokes, “You look ridiculous in that get-up,” and nick says, “I know.” (i love beth and nick’s friendship... i wish they didn’t throw away the opportunity to show it this season.)  
  
  
• when nick goes upstairs, his and june’s conversation was written to be a lot less cold than it is in the final cut. june immediately goes to nick for comfort when he comes to her room. “She needs him desperately. She needs his help.” but the news of his deployment shakes her. they are both described as infuriated by their situation, and “drowning in their own futility.” when june opens the door and invites nick back in, they share a kiss and “wrap themselves around each other. For the last time.”  then june closes* and locks the door (to juxtapose her old bedroom with the door that never locked.)   *still disappointed by that closed door? see here!  
  

3x05

• in luke’s tape, june is scripted to say, “You met him. He helped me to survive. I was in love with him." the description of luke’s emotions here say he feels stunned as well as “relief that Nichole isn’t the product of rape... and yet, June found love. She moved on.”  
  

3x06

• when nick and june reunite in DC... nick was spicy during that prayer scene june could feel him trying not to look at her. and this line killed me: “His fingers trail, just barely, over June’s hip. Across her bare fingers. On June, feeling his hand.”  
  
• nick and june’s kiss in the snow did not have much description. just lots of natural chemistry on max and lizzie’s part. also, they were supposed to share one more kiss after nick agreed to meet with the swiss. speaking of...  
  
  
• NICK. MET. WITH. THE. SWISS. people can stop claiming he ditched his daughter now. the script makes it clear. nick walks into the room with mattias and meets lena and sofia before the scene cuts. we don’t get to see what they talk about, but he tried to do the right thing for holly per june’s wishes, against his better judgement.  
  
  
• no further explanation for why the swiss don’t want to work with nick. when lena tells june she can’t work with nick, all it says is that june’s “association with Nick has left her somehow tainted.”  
  
  
• june feels “betrayed” by learning that nick was a soldier in the crusade, and continues to throughout the season. though the script never explains why she feels so betrayed by something that she has done herself (killing innocent people under orders) or why she is so quick to believe serena joy when she is familiar with her manipulation. her thoughts in that scene are described as she is “absorbing the fact that Nick was a terrorist.” take that as you will. however, the following scenes clarify exactly what he did...
  

• THE TRAIN SCENE: there’s a very important line describing how nick really feels about being a commander: “The troops salute him. Nick returns the salute, hating all the choices that led him here.”  
  
  
• immediately following that line is a cut NICK FLASHBACK! here’s the summary: nick was in DC during the coup. he was on guard duty. yep, big bad terrorist war criminal nick blaine was a glorified security guard. in this scene, nick and a young soldier named trevor are guarding an empty basement stairwell in the capitol building during the coup. trevor is complaining that they are “mall cops” while “everyone gets to actually do something,” meanwhile nick is described as “looking sick.” then there is an explosion in the stairwell, followed by a brief shootout where trevor is killed. nick shoots back “out of instinct” and it’s revealed he’s killed a capitol security guard and a bureaucrat.
  

• immediately after the flashback is the cut shot of nick (above) looking sadly out the window, remembering those choices that led him here.  
  
  
• it’s worth noting that the flashback scene contrasts starkly with serena’s words just prior, which were scripted as: “He served Gilead. He believed in something greater than himself. He was a soldier in the crusade. We wouldn’t be here without him.” so it seems pretty clear they are setting this up to be misjudgment on june’s part.  
  
  
• the shot of nick looking sadly out the window was supposed to be followed by a parallel shot of june looking sadly out the window of the winslow house, reflecting on her meeting with nick the night before.   
  

3x10

• just wanted to note here that despite june feeling “betrayed” by nick since 3x06, when fred suggests transferring her to DC she actually considers it could be a good idea because she would be “closer to Nichole. And maybe even Nick.” so he is not absent from her thoughts.  
  

3x12

additional observations:

• there is still no real explanation for why or how nick got promoted to commander, and i don’t think they ever will. it appears to me that it was just another contrived plot point so they have a reason to send a low-status driver into war.  
  
  
• while i am glad they softened the extent of nick’s involvement in the coup, it also makes it harder to understand why he said he was “due” a promotion to commander when his contributions to gilead are so relatively insignificant. again, we may never know.  
  
  
• there were several cut voiceovers of june praying to god throughout the season, and despite calling holly mainly by “nichole” in dialogue, she only referred to her as holly in her prayers. so her real name is still holly. i will die on this hill.  
  
  
• commander mackenzie mentions to nick that the move has been hard on hannah but the script does not clarify where they have moved to. hannah and mrs. mackenzie are presumably far from the great lakes region because nick’s response is, “May God bring you home to her soon.”  
  
  
• can we talk about how nick has an active plan for hannah? and how he never gave up on his promise from 2x03? and that while june has lost all hope of seeing her daughter again, she has no idea how close nick is? and that this is sounding a lot like one of my fics? hire me already bruce. these are things i think about A Lot  
  
  
• lake huron means nick is going back home to MICHIGAN so rebel commander blaine is back on the menu boys  
  
  
• nick in the script is - as always - a bit more rough and forward than what we see onscreen. max has a talent for softening nick’s interactions with june and showing respect with his body language, while maintaining the intensity between them. i also cannot praise enough how much he makes out of little to no script direction and minimal dialogue.  
  
  
• that sweet, sweet vindication of confirming yet again that nick is worth a lot more than viewers (and june) give him credit for. i only hope his value in this story isn’t realized too late. 
  

4x01

4x02

4x03

4x04

4x05

4x06

4x07

4x09

4x10

5x01 - Morning

5x02 - Ballet

Citation :

NICK: Serena doesn’t know what happened.

LAWRENCE: Doesn’t matter what she knows. It matters what she believes.

Citation :

Opaque, Nick thinks about that. How long does he think he can keep going?

5x03 - Border

Citation :

NICK: June. Hi.

June suddenly feels like everything is going to be okay.

Citation :

It’s an impossible ask, maybe, for these two to be truly happy without each other.

Citation :

Rose knows exactly who he was on the phone with, and what he said to her.

She looks worried for him, knowing it wasn’t easy.

He nods to her -- it’s done.

5x06 - Together

5x08 - Motherland

Citation :

LAWRENCE: You look a little more moody and broody than usual. Really, you sleeping okay?

NICK: I’m fine.

Citation :

JUNE: I need to know if this is for real. I need to know that Hannah and my family will be safe.
NICK: I know. You will be. I promise.
JUNE: How can you promise that?
NICK: Things are changing, people are scared of Lawrence. I’m in a position now where i can make sure you’ll be safe.
JUNE: I want to believe you.
NICK: June. You can finally be with Hannah, watch over her. Isn’t that what you always wanted?

She nods.

NICK (CONT’D): Then please. Come back.

“To me,” he means. June’s heart is torn.

At this point the searchlights return and they have to separate. This scene is written like a soap opera. “They can’t help but reach out to each other, almost brushing fingertips before they move apart and run back, escaping the lights.”

Photo of this scene from Max’s IG:



Later in the episode, Lawrence is back in New Bethlehem with Nick. Nick asks which way June is leaning and Lawrence says it’s toward yes. The script says here that Nick understands that Lawrence is trying to manipulate him, but he can’t help but be cautiously optimistic at the idea of having June and Nichole in New Bethlehem with him.

By the end of the conversation, Nick is “considering.”

5x09 - Allegiance

Citation :

She looks toward the courtyard. And there he is --

NICK
Waiting for her. Strained.

JUNE
Takes a beat to soak him in. She gets out.

OUTSIDE
June approaches Nick, their eyes locked.

Citation :

JUNE: I want what’s best for both our families.

They look at each other.

A giant chasm between them now. But they’ve shared so much. So much trauma. So much love. A daughter.

JUNE (CONT’D): Well. This is a fine mess, isn’t it?

5x10 - Safe

Citation :

Nick crosses, sits beside June.

A beat. Nick takes her hand.

Says nothing as he watches her sleep.