What is Happening Inside the Republic of Gilead? (A Map Analysis)

Yeah we are talking about Gilead from The Handmaid's Tale again, but this time its not a fan made map. This was something created presumably by professionals...so does it hold up?
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[@KVIA01]

Florida is red because disney wouldnt abide having another totalitarian competitor. Blessed be the Mouse.

[@AnthonyRobinson-rc9yd]

Under his ears. 🛐🙏

[@AnthonyRobinson-rc9yd]

Under his ears.

[@JamesSerapio]

This comment needs more love.

[@karamymassageclinic]

🤔👇👂👂👇😂😂😂

[@shannalese]

May the mouse open.

[@kvoltti]

Actually the misspelling of produced may be intentional. Often map makers will misspell words to help prove that a map was produced by them. So if someone just photocopies the map and prints it out they can point to the error and say that it’s their work.

[@katwashere194]

100% correct, and I am a cartographer

[@yourinnerlawyer4035]

@@katwashere194 uh...ok.

[@katwashere194]

@@yourinnerlawyer4035 uh...ok to you too

[@kalki3060]

they can't crop out the words?

[@laureneaton244]

@@kalki3060 It's not just in this specific scenario. Sometimes maps will have towns in them that just don't exist, or spelling mistakes so that when someone else (like google maps for example) copy their map, the mistakes are still there. And people who copy maps won't be bothered about fact checking every town in the world to make sure they exist, as they've obviously copied the map to save themselves the trouble.

[@caseyspaos448]

I'm interested in this 'No Man's Land" where Canadians, Handmaids, Gilead military and rebels can all sneak into and back out so easily (according to S01E10)

[@CarolinaRodriguez-mn7sx]

You can't wear those Gilead clothes in Florida (or south or southwest for that matter) or you'll die of heat stroke. Fashion is stopping them from taking over the whole country lol

[@CSGray-nf2hx]

Even if they got different fabric, the fashion police would've held them off. Clashing is a no-no

[@ginadelsasso288]

Nuclear winter?

[@yourinnerlawyer4035]

I actually was thinking about that the other day. What the heck do they wear when it's August? Or it's always cold there?lol

[@tootieq6527]

True, but I’d give anything to own a pair of those Handmaid boots. I love those boots!

[@ianarn]

You can actually feel much cooler covered in linen.

[@LeahWalentosky]

In season 4 it is revealed Texas became its own country, which makes a lot of sense if you think about it.

[@Judy-pi5zz]

Don’t mess with Texas

[@LeahWalentosky]

@@Judy-pi5zz I’m not from Texas and I know this, in one line says it all “The Texas Republic is letting refugees in”

[@gromm93]

I thought Texas was already trying to become it's own country. ;)

[@yourinnerlawyer4035]

It's a rumor, we don't know that's true.

[@LeahWalentosky]

@@yourinnerlawyer4035 it was confirmed in Season 4

[@benjamingrist6539]

When the book was written, the Southern Baptist were much more liberal than they are today. Not to mention that the Southern Baptist were never fans of legalistic views of the Bible (like Gilead’s twisted interpretation of it) even after the denomination became the ultra-conservative block it is today. That’s why the Baptists in the South were in open rebellion against Gilead instead of supporting them.

[@darthcole4668]

Being raised Southern Baptist, can confirm this lol

[@Gungho1a]

How about that Gilead was actually exterminating them? The book was clear on that point.

[@sherryburrows2252]

@@Gungho1a I think in the book, all religions that wouldn't get right with the Jacobites were "cleansed." It's probably like the military intelligence "parrot song"--one parrot flies and one talks. It's said, though not admitted openly, that as a method of getting information the DEA/DIA wanted, in South America they'd put two guys that knew what they wanted to know in a helicopter, go up to a few hundred feet and throw one out. That gave the second guy quite an incentive to tell them what they wanted to hear. The downside, of course, especially since they threw the second guy out after he got done talking, is they never knew (at least till later) if they'd been told the truth, or just what they wanted to hear. That's the downside of using torture to get information--if the torturers don't already know what they're torturing someone to find out, the tortured person, in almost all cases, will tell them anything. It might be true and it might not be--their only goal is to get you to stop hurting them. Actual agents and soldiers know that, but regular people don't. That's why so many stupid civilians are so hot to see people tortured, especially if they are considered enemies, like brown people and Muslims and whoever else they've been brainwashed to hate. The fact that "those people" are suffering touches a nerve that runs right straight into their pleasure center, kind of like a shot of cocaine but cheaper. They don't give a fuck whether torture actually succeeds in getting the information the torturers are after, which it almost never does. The people doing the torture know that too, mostly, but they have that same nerve...

[@s.l.3281]

@@sherryburrows2252 I think John Oliver did an episode on torture, because I learned a bit about this recently. It's true, once you give some thought to it.

[@Pushnotificationsalwaysoffbye]

Sherry Burrows whose theory is this? Thank you for explaining it, btw.

[@aelinluna3434]

Blessed be the fruit loops

[@shannalese]

May the loops open

[@carolineteixeira3796]

May the box open.

[@theoriginaleb9616]

May the Lord pour milk.

[@oswaldogomez2313]

may the Toucan Sam open.

[@KCR0506]

May the sugar give me energy

[@creatoruser736]

The Atomic Wastelands have to be from a nuclear power plant meltdown if they're still wastelands. People don't seem to understand that when a nuclear bomb is detonated its radioactive fallout degrades to safe levels within a couple weeks. Power plants have a lot more nuclear fuel and can leak continuously, which is why Nagasaki is safe today while Pripyat is still considered hazardous. Either that or the creators misunderstand that as well and thought nuclear bombs would create radioactive wastelands forever.

[@felixleidinger1670]

May I interject that the scope of use of radioactive material as well as the materials employed today or even at the time the novel came out are in no way comparable to the bomb used at Nagasaki? There is something like dirty bombs made directly from reused reactor material who hold their name for a reason, and that the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki relied on their explosive force for fear factor alone, one could argue the use of longer half-life materials in modern bombs is used as its own comparable factor, with the harsher longer lived fallout that employs, also getting the stuff higher into the atmossphere. Probably not that easy to compare that and fallout is also dependable on the nature of the deployment- are we talking nuking military bases with nukes on them- as well as local weather systems for obvious reasons. You cant put a" relatively fallout clean" stamp on modern nukes because a city destroyed by a progenitor is habitable now. That might be a bit disingenious towards how horrible this weapon has been designed to be in the era of mutual assured destruction.

[@creatoruser736]

@@felixleidinger1670 The difference in the design of WWII nukes and ones from the 80s is moot in regards to duration of lethal radioactive contamination. Their effects will only last a matter of weeks in either circumstance. And "dirty bombs" would not achieve the results shown on the map. They use contaminated material mainly as fear factor rather than for harmful effects. A dirty bomb affects a very small area and the radiation it gives off isn't actually that lethal, much less would cause 'wasteland' type effects. It's logical and far simpler to attribute the zones to reactor meltdowns.

[@Nostripe361]

CreatorUser they could be salted nukes. They are illegal because of how bad there fallout is.

[@bigredjanie]

Haven't places like Bikini Atoll been permanently irradiated due to testing?

[@creatoruser736]

@@bigredjanie Because of testing, which is different than this. Bikini went through repeated tests in a localized area, so that caused a lot of fallout to accumulate in a single area. Having all that build up in a single spot makes even degraded amounts stronger. Plus it's not "kill you if you linger for a day" exposure; the main problem is isotopes having been absorbed into the soil and passed through the food chain. This means sustaining in the environment can get you exposure, which small amounts over time can build up. Even then the danger is cancer, not radiation poisoning. Unless a bunch of nukes were dropped in the wasteland areas you wouldn't die just from breathing after a short time, and at least the plant life would have recovered.

[@manochu]

Living in Puerto Rico myself, the island is mostly catholic and hispanic, therefore I believe we wouldn’t support Gilead, and we had support from latin america and europe to get independence, Gilead will be too involved in civil war to care about the island.

[@Dbbrainer]

Being Puerto Rican myself, I would think that would be a natural consequence. We are a mainly Catholic population with a significant, albeit minority radical protestant population. I was born and raised in a catholic household, went to a private catholic school which is actually an Abbey called San Antonio Abad and, not one, not one of my friends would stand for Gilead. We are essentially taught to be scientific minded by Jesuit and Benedictine priests in most of our private school and would never swing to the right. We live our lives according to civil law principles and are open and or tolerant with gays, alcohol drinkers, weed smokers and gender equality. In reality, Catholics in Puerto Rico are secular agnostics who believe in god, but have doubts as to the existence of the Jewish God. We frown upon the Old Testament believers in Puerto Rico (aka Protestants) and see them as lower class, uneducated and primitive beings who have a passion for repression, backwards thinking and superstition. One good example is my first cousin, who is a protestant, of lower middle class and went to public school. He now lives in Ohio, where he has a church and is a pastor. His wife and daughter wear ¨christians veils¨ to the congregation. When I first saw it I could not believe it. I do not doubt that most of this people resent the present world and would do anything, even if they had the slightest chance, to have women be dominated again the way they have historically been dominated, they would purify our society from LGBTTQI and possibly of Catholics since our forgiving ways and New Pact world views are not really christian for them, something which is quite paradoxical since they do not behave according to the principles of Christ and almost entirely cite the Old Testament in their sermons. Anyways, Puerto Rico would have gotten its independence and would have finally be rid of the protestant fanatics.

[@Gungho1a]

The book makes it clear Gilead is exterminating catholics, except for fertile nuns who they either convert or send to labour camps.

[@sherryburrows2252]

@@Dbbrainer Good points. I was raised Roman Catholic and though I left due to views on birth control and women's rights, I have always admired their stand on science and education. I've really never figured out what the Christofascists--"evangelicals"--see in denying science and calling evolution "the spawn of Satan," other than just brainwashing children to deny the evidence of their own senses, which is convenient when they grow up uneducated and start telling people that the planet's only 6,000 years old. Then their moron parents can park them in front of FauxSpews and they'll be ready for their political, as well as more religious, mind control.

[@annas.5894]

Jesus Jimenez Pence is Roman Catholic.

[@edhern619]

Esto esta lleno de PNPs que es basicamente lo mismo

[@reginald3874]

Los Angeles wasn't nuked. That radioactive symbol is right on-top of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, southeast of Los Angeles. That plant was decommissioned in 2012, however, so that portion of Southern California being an atomic wasteland becomes very unlikely (take into account that the book was written in 1985, while the San Onofre plant was still active). I live about 30 miles away from San Onofre so in the show's universe, I'm apparently dead anyway. :D

[@heatherdolores]

Yes, and the last working nuclear plant is Diablo Canyon, up by San Luis Obispo...

[@gromm93]

Maybe they nuked the San Onofre Nuclear Generating station? ;)

[@TimShundo]

San Onofre aka The Tits

[@mikoto7693]

Also… Spoilers from the second book I think. There was also some kind of super-STD and environmental pollution that caused fertility drop in both men and women.

[@pixelcount350]

Yooo don't worry bro. I fought for you're life and mourned your death😭

[@rosemarycat5]

7:50 In the show, and i think the book as well, they mention that "the fighting in Florida must be going well" in reference to the presence of oranges at Loaves And Fishes

[@BriarwoodJulie]

This map was also displayed in High Commander MacKenzie's office, shown in the Season 2 episode "Holly". I think the radioactive sites are actually of incidents/accidents at nuclear reactors rather than the result of nuclear weapon exchanges.

[@kathypease1711]

The book Handmaids Tale talks about the earthquake in California that took out a string of power plants, making the area one big wasteland.

[@ChristyHD27]

Update: In season 4, a Burlington, VT library is mentioned as a location a group of Handmaid's are "hiding out" in.

[@davidpietarila699]

My whole problem with the concept of a Gilead take over, is the US Navy. Since Hawaii is still part of the US, there is still US control over the Pacific. Additionally, as things start to go bad on the continental US, the Navy would almost certainly put its west coast fleets, and ESPECIALLY carriers and subs to sea and out of reach of Gilead. On the east coast, while some of the major bases might be taken by surprise, again the majority of the fleet will be spread out across the Atlantic, the Med and the IO. Plus the US Navy is HIGHLY technical. Unlike ground forces where you can fill your ranks with just about anybody, it takes some considerable knowledge to operate a modern ship of war, and I just don’t see a Theocracy like The Sons of Jacob being able crew enough ships with scientific minded officers to creat an effective navy. So east and west coast get blockaded and Gilead can ONLY look to Mexico and Canada as trading partners. If you then reduce your socio-economic workforce by literally half... the math for Gilead to be successful just doesn’t work out.

[@karankenZ]

What if majority of the navy is the religious people who are also following sons of jacob

[@taiwandxt6493]

@@karankenZ Highly unlikely since I believe the official lore is that Gilead's Navy and Coast Guard are relatively small, given it's fandom uses the phrase "a small navy", and also the fact that the U.S Navy is proportionally the most apolitical/Liberal branch in the United States.

[@CloroxBleach-nu8vo]

As a navy sailor I would say that most sailors are inclined to go towards a liberal way of thinking. They are very much conservative…but I’ve never run into problems being openly bisexual here. I do find it interesting how gilead would find the manpower and expertise to build a functioning navy. I just don’t think solider would be inclined to join the sons of Jacob lol

[@taiwandxt6493]

@@CloroxBleach-nu8vo I agree. If the Navy is more conservative, I'd say opinions are more fiscally conservative rather than socially conservative. In the official Handmaids Tale Fandom, it's wiki pretty much, it says Gilead has "a small navy" so I can assume that around 75% of the U.S Navy went to the Rump U.S, as generally the upper echelons of the Navy are very liberal and would've rebelled against the alt right government of Gilead.

[@howard1852]

@@CloroxBleach-nu8vo ah navy and gay makes sense

[@tomsmith5584]

In the show, there is an active insurgency in Chicago, and they are talking about a "troop surge" there early in season three. I would submit Gilead is in a weak position here. They don't control the Gulf Coast with the oil reserves and refineries there. Further, rebels effectively control the Great Lakes with Canada controlling the Saint Lawrence River and the Welland Canal, and the rebels controlling Huron, Michigan, which cuts off the upper Great Lakes. If the rebels can hold Chicago, a surge south to Saint Louis with a corresponding surge north along the Mississippi River to Memphis would effectively cut Gilead in half separating the resource rich west from the population centers in the east.

[@KobaLenk]

I'm bit surprised the SoJ didn't do enough to take control of those strategic locations and resources. I mean if you want to take over, you'll will take care of those things first, right?

[@taiwandxt6493]

What's going on in Chicago isn't active Insurgency, but rather it's a U.S holdout. U.S Army and the Illinois National Guard are trying to defend the city.

[@kingofthings7929]

Also, don’t discount the ports and population of the Gulf Coast. Those rebels zones include Houston, a hugely important city and port. Plus, all of Florida. Florida alone would be an issue, a state of 20 million swamp dwellers who will know the land and be used to the heat and wildlife. As well as the resources of the major cities in said state. Combine that with likely Federal Influence of California and a major enemy to the north? If Gilead ever falters, the rest of the planet will happily aid the Rump US in retaking the mainland.

[@fatalshore5068]

@@kingofthings7929 Yep, they really are surrounded by enemies and geographically speaking in a bad tactical position. America's geographic strength is that it was an ocean away from enemies and is the backbone of it's military success. Gilead has no such advantage.

[@goisles6728]

That may explain why Chicago ISN’T shown as being in Rebellion on the map. If Gilead were to admit they didn’t control Chicago, they’re essentially admitting they can’t control the most geographically important city in this alternate history scenario.

[@soniacattley1186]

For those of us who do not live in America - I would appreciate you point out (arrow etc) the places you are talking about - I have no idea where in the map you are referring to.

[@claytonwhitman1608]

Well, a simple google search would take care of that. That's what I do when searching for data on foreign countries when I am watching foreign films. Chicago and Boston are easily found as they are Major cities here in the US. Just saying.

[@OhLisaScott]

the map is in the video.

[@danielkerr4100]

Are you blind?

[@soniacattley1186]

A simple mouse cursor indicating where he is talking about is all I am asking for. Being required to Stop a video every 10 seconds to look up a town to find it on the map is not ideal

[@soniacattley1186]

@@claytonwhitman1608 and Adelaide and Queenstown are major cities in Australia/New Zealand but I don't expect Americans to know where they are located

[@DavionLoyalist]

I imagine the troops overseas are loyal to Anchorage

[@aquila4460]

I'd imagine those that wheren't would either keep their head down or be quickly dispatched, considering most overseas bases are in countries either friendly or outright allied to the US.

[@easysnake205]

To me the only realistic way Gilead could exist is if the movement that took over had a huge percentage of military support. I think if there were still hundreds of thousands of troops loyal to the us government in anchorage, an attempt to militarily invade the us would have happened.

[@canuzzi]

@@easysnake205 Well from the example of the split of Germany into a capatalistic and a communist ideology, there were great concerns how long loyality stands in the rangs, when you fight your brother, uncle and at all former common country men. Most troops will stand on one side or the other only by chance not by choice. Especially if you include the nuclear options. During cold war NATO excercises west Germany always pulled out of the excercize, when NATO Gernerals started to use the nuclear option on East Germany during attack from the East block.

[@easysnake205]

Enzo Canuzzi In my mind the gilaed movement included military officers. The US government has massive military forces under its control. Even if you conducted a decapitation strike on Washington DC, the governors and state legislatures still would exist. In fact governs are part of the continuation of government plan of the United States. The only way this story makes sense is if the gilaed movement had a huge amount of buy in by a large proportion of the military. This would also explain why NATO had done nothing to aid the US government in anchorage. Also the colonies seem like the outskirts of a nuclear strike. Which I suspect was a show of force by the gilaed government. Probably a submarine captain loyal to gilaed conducted the strike.

[@randbarrett8706]

Following the introduction of the all-volunteer force the US military is no longer a cross-section of the American population. As a self-selecting group it almost resembles a sort of military caste i.e. most personnel have family members that were also in the military. I wouldn’t assume that the attitudes of this small, relatively concentrated segment of the population were necessarily aligned with the attitudes of the nation as a whole. The US military irl had problems with combat troops in the Middle East conceiving of themselves as soldiers in a crusade. If, instead of actively suppressing that cultural tendency within the military, the state gave credence to it, I think the troops would respond.

[@BillyReichard]

Thank you for not doing many spoilers in this video. I'm just now watching the show and was curious about Gilead. So I appreciate that you didn't go into much details on the story itself.

[@badasslove]

He's the historian but he never mentioned the fact that in the book all black people around it up and sent to horrific reservations/concentration camps in The Dakotas

[@iloveprivacy8167]

This map is brilliant in its portrayal: uses UTM Zone 18 (suitable for portions of the Eastern Seaboard) to show the entire country, creating an increasingly distorted view going West. Fictionnally created by ideologues who can't really control the country because they can't truly see it; who have some knowledge & tactics (knew how to compile data to a single projection), but no wisdom or strategy (understand the options and choose the right one for the purpose). Absolutely brilliant.

[@Jhonmz]

I keep hearing “counties” when he says colonies

[@johnnielsen7413]

He's such a mush mouth - very distracting.

[@bioticheart]

I think he was saying counties cuz I had the closed captions on to double check and it says counties. That's annoying me too though.

[@idobackflipz]

@@bioticheart no he was definitely intending to say colonies , you could see the slave labor clips in the colonies as he’s referring to them. He just does a poor job pronouncing words , likely do to blowing other guys . Typical liberal behavior .

[@Thesngian]

@@johnnielsen7413 Not really. You just had to overdo it?

[@goatiboat]

It’s the regional accent, I believe. Syllabic enunciation isn’t as ‘pronounced’ with that accent and words tend to flow together, vs the “generic” and even other regional American accents. For example the standard west coast accent may slur slang words a bit, the separation between the syllables is usually distinctive. Here’s the surfer accent as an example: “Duuude! Supp mann! Really brooo? Man ‘that’s a bummer, dude!” I realize that’s very stereotypical but it’s simply to demonstrate my point! :) Even with the stoner/surfer ‘vibe’ a clear separation is present with the syllables, even if words are slurred together at times. This gentleman, in comparison doesn’t do that.

[@WilliamsLibrary]

I like to imagine that Gilead from The Handmaid's Tale is in the same universe with Norsefire Britain from V for Vendetta (the film version).

[@taiwandxt6493]

doubt it, considering The Handmaids Tale actually has a lot of crap from our world. If we were living in like 2012 America, we would technically be living in both our world and the Handmaid's Tale universe. The takeover happens in like 2014 I'm pretty sure. This is evident by the fact that when June visited the Boston Globe, she actually finds a lot of Red Sox memorabilia and a DVD copy of Friends, the sitcom.

[@WilliamsLibrary]

@@taiwandxt6493 V for Vendetta gives no firm dates in the chronology. The film has passing references the the "former" United States falling on difficult economic times (you can see that in the colonies and the limited availability of goods in the shopping centers in the series) and a civil war (Gilead's war with the rump United States).

[@taiwandxt6493]

@@WilliamsLibrary Yeah but you forgetting one small thing. The U.K is normal in THT. The U.K mentions that they house many American Refugees and sanction Gilead. I don't think Norsefire would sanction Gilead.

[@WilliamsLibrary]

@@taiwandxt6493 They are separate works of fiction so this conversation is irrelevant anyway. But sure you got me there. My personal head fan fiction can easily re-word certain lines referencing the UK in the THT. You are right obviously but I'm just having fun.

[@taiwandxt6493]

@@WilliamsLibrary My headcanon mainly revolves around territory. In my personal headcanon the West Coast are completely integrated U.S Territory rather than just Rebel Occupied areas. Like the states still exist and many of the cities are still populated.

[@Gungho1a]

The book is clear that the Sons of Jacob had a racial aspect central to their culture. Don't make the mistake of thinking that all conservatives would fit the SoJ measure, again Attwood was clear that the SoJ was ruthless in eliminating any threat, cultural, political or religious. The book highlights a massive breakdown of moral standards, followed by a serious back swing to conservative moral standards, possibly precipitated by the SoJ as field tests and for pre-coup preparation. Searches and shop closures happened in city after city, before the coup, in a form of public backlash it is assumed. I would consider that the reality is that the situation would be more fluid than the map would indicate. There is a war going against the remnants of the US, with mention made of fighting against baptists, and from the series we know that untrained levies of guardians are being thrown in to recover Chicago. Strategically, Gilead faces the same problems the South faced in the civil war, only magnified...limited industrial base, food and resource shortages, lack of skilled labour, limited trade, and manpower restrictions. The opposition only need to kill enough of them, and Gilead falls by default.

[@TheDutchRabbitMafia]

Florida man is too powerful of an adversary

[@DamanHillard]

"I don't know kah-rah-tey, But I do know KAH-RAY-ZAY!" --James Brown, anticipating FLORIDA MAN.

[@SoulShines4Music]

The fact that Detroit isn't red on this map makes no sense whatsoever. Detroit's extreme proximity to Windsor, Ontario Canada (the cities currently share two border crossings with billions of dollars in trade passing through annually) it makes much more geographical & political sense for that city to be a larger threat/problem than Chicago. During Prohibition Detroit was a hot bed for smuggling alcohol in from Ontario, Canada. It was also one of the primary routes for slaves to escape into Canada via the Underground Railroad. One would think that for Gilead the city of Detroit would represent a huge problem in terms of uprisings and defectors illegally escaping to Canada. 🤷‍♀️

[@sherryburrows2252]

There's also the fact that Detroit, along with other Rust Belt cities, are dying. We are far beyond the book now, so things that are current can be really current. I'm having trouble with the timing of this. We still have handmaids who were adults before they took over, yet they also have girls who've been under Gilead, like Luke's arranged wife, for 15 years. There are a couple of other things that make me wonder how long in the future this is set, the future from Gilead's coup, and the future from, say, right now. I actually could see this happening tomorrow--or tonight, for that matter, except that we certainly don't have an infertility problem, we have a population explosion problem that I'm afraid Mother Nature, who's kind of a hard-hearted bitch, especially at this point in time--species disappearing, poisoning the air, water, and soil, especially under the Orange Anus, general disrespect for her power, which she keeps demonstrating, with bigger hurricanes, heat waves, tornadoes, etc.--is going to fix, since we keep refusing to make any effort in that direction. I guess that would be a different movie, eh?

[@s.l.3281]

@@sherryburrows2252 keep in mind that Gilead has been on the quiet rise for years before they bombed the White House and began their coup. As is seen in the flashbacks with Serena and Fred, she was writing her novels and they were practicing their specific religion (called 'Sons of Jacob' in the book) for probably a decade or two, or it's possible that their parents even raised them with those religious beliefs. Families like that of Eden's were always loyal to that religion, but that was before Gilead came to power. So Eden was NOT raised under Gilead rule. She went to school like any American child, learned to read, and THEN Gilead took over -- and she was probably around 10 or 11 years old at that time. So Season 1 gave us flashbacks of coffee shops, workplaces, vehicles, fashions, songs, and the age of Hannah that hint toward June only being a handmaid for maybe 2 or 3 years at the time of Season 1 Episode 1. The Waterfords were apparently her second posting.

[@kathypease1711]

@@sherryburrows2252 Think about the folks who have been living in Quiverfull societies for decades. These cults are just waiting for a Gilead-type coup and would have an abundance of offspring to fill the necessary roles of Wives, Quardians, Eyes, and Commanders. Their whole motto is to raise a gazillion children to be an army for God.

[@itseggzy8545]

It is possible that Detroit had been pacified to a point where it's main issue was civil disturbance in the poor neighbourhoods during the five years of Gileads existence before the show. In addition, maybe they did resist but almost all of the population had been wiped out and replaced with those who lived in the colonies before Gilead.

[@leonamay8776]

@@sherryburrows2252 the timeline makes this somewhat confusing, I agree. I suppose it might not have happened in one go / certain places were occupied sooner and others later. But I don't know... In the book is less confusing. Also due to Serena's age.

[@h1ghy1eld25]

It makes me proud to think that the Ozark foothill had to be nukked multiple times to bring it under some form of gilead control. Those would be my boys fighting this monster

[@randallbesch2424]

The idiocy of using soul destroying nukes on your own country is insane.

[@jonathanbuzzard6648]

The map is guff because according to "The Testaments", Texas succeeded from the USA as Gilead took over after a short war.

[@douglaslally156]

Seceded.

[@blackwaterhousecork5182]

The Map can be Propaganda and everything it Portrays need not be Accurate or Honest. In fact with the lack of travel to verify Information it can be Grossly Inaccurate and even Good Maps contain Deliberate Errors. Just as in The Amtrak Wars the Maps did not Reveal the Truth.

[@nayandusoruth2468]

On that point, it is worth considering that the map in the tv show upon which it is based seems to have been for the commanders, and other leaders of Gilead. As such, such a map would be produced accurately, as it isn't meant to be propaganda, it is meant to inform the leadership of the current military state of the region.

[@darwoodtechnology]

In the type of coup that takes place in the book/show, it is possible that Los Angeles would become a de facto capital of the United States government in exile. It hosts two of the largest ports on the West Coast, has a massive population, and its movie industry could become a propaganda center for the entire resistance movement. The nuking of Los Angeles was likely a strategic decision by Gilead. Many ultra-conservative Christians see the city as a modern Sodom and Gomorrah. There is also the possibility that a large military force was offloading troops, getting fleet repairs, or re-supplying at the time of the strike. So this could be a scenario where Gilead nukes Los Angeles and (apparently also) San Diego to effectively cripple an organized resistance movement on the continent. The United States government then moved their capital to Anchorage. Resistance is still ongoing with Gilead not in full control of even half the former United States, but the immediate threat of a large military invasion or push eastward by the United States military has been stopped. This would also explain the total isolation forced upon them by the United Nations after nuking roughly 5.5 million people. In regards to the colonies, I always envisioned two scenarios happening. The first being that the outbreak of civil war causes a lot of the social and political order in the Midwest to break down. Supply lines to grocery stores are disrupted. Unemployment skyrockets or people cannot get paid or lose their savings when Gilead seizes American banks. Militia groups supporting either the United States, Gilead, or their own secessionist movement form and begin openly fighting each other. The West Coast would survive a lot more easily since the ports would easily allow the import of aid from other countries. The same cannot be said for the Midwest that might have devolved into a chaotic warzone. The second scenario is what the United States military does with their nuclear silos stationed in the those regions. They won't use them on American soil to since the goal is to liberate areas under Gilead control not destroy them. They also won't want the United States' nuclear arsenal to fall into the hands of the Gilead military. My guess is that various nuclear silos initiate processes to destroy or wreck their nuclear weapons. This could easily lead to horrific environmental damage in the area depending on how that destruction happens and what happens to the nuclear material in each warhead. As for the red areas on the borders, I view those as markers for major control issues for Gilead. Meaning that the borders in those areas are highly insecure allowing near free flow of refugees, resistance fighters, and smugglers. Anti-Gilead forces can and do use those regions to enter into former United States territories and carry out their planned actions. Given my own interpretations in these comments, I feel like Gilead has likely crippled the United States government in exile. Large portions of the U.S. military and maybe its fleets have been decimated in nuclear strikes on Los Angeles and San Diego. The remaining U.S. military forces left on the continent itself are fighting Gilead but with little to no supply lines or strategic coordination. The big question becomes is the United States military recruiting and reorganizing in a friendly country (Canada, Mexico, etc) for a future invasion of their former territory. Or has the United States government in Alaska become the Taiwan to Gilead's China? The book claims that the novel's events took place in the Early Gilead Period with many of the ranking commanders getting later purged in the Middle Gilead Period. Since the epilogue in the book takes place after Gilead has fallen several decades after its creation, it is safe to assume that two things happen: 1) the United States military eventually wins the Second American Civil War and defeats Gilead, or 2) Gilead collapses due to decades of economic sanctions and the security apparatus keeping the population in check falters.

[@nikopaseman7147]

To be honest, without agreeing with the majority of Christians ideology, even I'd say southern California is almost exactly on the mark thinking it's like sodom and gommora. Since those cities house more than double the average gay population, and because the biblical cities were punished for oral and anal sex, I'd say they match. Plus even outside the gay community, anal, oral, and sex out of wedlock have risen to unprecedented acceptance levels since just prior to the fall of Rome, so... yeah. Modern sodom and gommora sounds almost dead on. Btw, that event isn't limited to Christian ideology, and compared to the others that do believe, christianity is currently the most accepting of sexual promiscuity (though I think less so of when the story was written).

[@MrMGR1986]

James Van Sickle my guess is that the Ozark Mountains was a major resistance pocket consisting of the bulk of US military forces and militia(probably the main rear echelon and reinforcements for the remnants of what is left in Chicago) that was absolutely decimated by Gilead controlled nukes. By the looks of the fallout radius, they nuked the fuck outta the Ozarks.

[@midsyntax]

Except that radiation sign lines up with the nuclear power plant in San Onofre in San Diego County.

[@sherryburrows2252]

@@MrMGR1986 They probably faced serious guerilla warfare from the Oakies. They may have their own weird religious culture, but they don't bow down too well.

[@leafpratt]

@@sherryburrows2252 Okies

[@ortezma17]

The New California Republic is like Dorne. Unbowed, unbent, unbroken.

[@chibidakis1]

...or Fallout NV 😅 NCR Rangers!

[@sherryburrows2252]

@@chibidakis1 Maybe the aliens they have hidden at Area 51 will save us!

[@kimberlyupton8143]

Anyone living in California knows that the state government is FAR more repressive than it was 30 years ago.

[@awsomeadam2]

​@@kimberlyupton8143 I don't know what your smoking, but Pete Wilson literally tried to scapegoat Angelenos and Jewish people after he nearly bankrupted the state lmao. California is far better now than it was in 1989.

[@brandonn.1275]

@@kimberlyupton8143 so you're telling telling me the state that legalized marijuana and infamous for public nudity is repressive compared to 30 years ago.

[@stephaniemomma]

As an Indigenous person, I can't help it, I want those red borders to be the border tribes... Those from the High Way of Tears, and even my cousins, the Micmac and Maliseet, who for so long didn't have federal recognition because they were on both sides of the northern border. I hope it's the same through the south too, Trump wanting to put a wall in the middle of an Indian Reservation, severing it in two... Even though we're never even mentioned in the books, I'm still crossing my fingers it's us, working with the Underground Railroad, helping to ferry women to safety. North and South.

[@tonydean6684]

Oh shut up.

[@sherryburrows2252]

I think that was left out of the book, actually, though I've read other dystopian futures that do include Native areas, especially those that straddle borders.

[@andrewphillips8341]

Um . . . OK?

[@KobaLenk]

If it truly happens, tribes might be able to take control in those areas during the chaos the Gilead takeover would cause

[@greenbird777]

Yes.

[@jcee2259]

I reside west of the Republic but did locate past public sector hire amid Gilead. Military, State Hospital for the Criminal Insane, and a Maximum Penal Slam. These days I usually carry firearms to defend myself from hungry bears.

[@canopusstar5157]

Whoo Hoo, Nov 6: now we will find out how this plays out in the ‘real’ world. Sarcasm font fully deployed

[@dianeridley9804]

I was always under the impression that Gilead occupied only a section of the geography of the US.

[@randallbesch2424]

In the book they have it all the way to the Rocky mountains.

[@nerag7459]

2024 here. Anyone who wants to say the political direction of the US is unrealistic can go to hell.

[@isaacmchale8832]

Bernie Sanders became known as "The Angel of Brattleboro" for his heroic acts. Never forget his sacrifice.

[@dennisxyz5784]

😂

[@wongtimefunguy]

Take away beer and bars from Wisconsinites and see how long they put up with your theocracy.

[@theresajv5055]

They actually did a damn good job with railroad mainlines on the map.

[@Nightshift10000]

The 2016 election did prove that the northeast might not be as liberal as we initially thought yes, however I still see a state like the Republic Of Gilead happening in the Southern States rather than the Northeast

[@dzod]

The southern states are by and large demographically Baptist. They are the No1 enemy of Gilead or a Gilead style regime if it were to happen in real life.

[@erwin669]

@Deirdre Morris Except for Gilead isn't pro-Israel. It is mentioned that the Jews are expelled from Gilead and that an ocean liner full of deported Jews had an "accident" after it left port

[@blackjac5000]

Except the margin of victory in Pennsylvania was less than 1% in 2016 and over 1% in 2020.

[@Stinger522]

@@erwin669 Accident my ass. More like intentionally sunk.

[@randallbesch2424]

@@erwin669 i dare say it wouldn't happen now that a Reich Winger like Netanyahu is there.

[@bridgetgihl9613]

I think that a lot of what is going on in the south just involves a lot of attempts to separate. Look at how much of Texas is dark red. I suspect that not long after Gilead took over a lot of groups would take advantage of the chaos. Texas especially is known for advocating for independence. It's not a stretch to say that very conservative but independence and states rights groups would seize the opportunity. Those areas may be controlled by independent militias attempting to establish their own Governments. That would explain the separation the different areas may have completely different philosophies to their resistance.

[@randallbesch2424]

The Texas plutocrats rule here.

[@kathyknight3896]

What was Moira's route out of Gilead into Ontario? There is no way to drive directly from the U.S. into Ontario without crossing what, one presumes, would be a heavily guarded bridge border crossing.

[@aelinluna3434]

I'm curious about her route as well!

[@lilymack4028]

Unless the actual border crossing was dismantled to confuse & confound Gilrad military.

[@forensicgirl]

I'm two years late replying to this but I would guess that when the car ran out of gas, Moira ditched it and made the rest of the journey on foot. The area where we see her discover she is in Ontario looks very rural.

[@kathyknight3896]

@@forensicgirl On foot, perhaps. But the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence would block her regardless. Unless, as someone suggested, they had moved the border south. A water border makes it much easier to defend.

[@forensicgirl]

@@kathyknight3896 Hmm.. That's also possible. The current border runs through the middle of most of the Lakes so that may have changed in Gilead.

[@breeburrows6608]

At the time Atwood wrote the book there was a company called Rocketdyne that actually had a nuclear reactor somewhere in the L.A. region. There had also been a nuclear disaster at one of it's facilities that was swept under the rug.

[@mattbillings3224]

Every guardian thinks they are Gangsta until the cotton fields start whistlin’ Dixie.

[@CoffeeDragon1138]

And the Appalachia's start playing Dueling Banjos.😁

[@randallbesch2424]

Dixie one of their anthems in Gilead the south is with them and the mid western states.

[@Marylandbrony]

Head Cannon for the pacific territories and Puerto Rico: The pacific territories are still under the Authority of the rump US government in Anchorage. For Puerto Rico it declared independence but dissolved into a civil war between Gilead backed unionists wanting to create a Catholic theocracy, Left-wing rebels backed by Cuba and the Puerto Rican government supported by most of the international community. Mainly Europe and continental Latin America.

[@DavionLoyalist]

I can also see Puerto Rico looking back to it’s mother country, Spain

[@Marylandbrony]

@LordOfTheEdge Well American Christians aren't really divided enough o the point where diffrent branches would outright not support each other if their politically aligned. While Gillead might considering reuniting "All" of the former U.S. a higher priority than keeping standard religious doctrines. For the pope Francis. He would mostly likey be dead and either the successors have either excummaited the Catholics supporting Gilead and Gilead or some other ultra-conservative nation have set up an antipope to challenge or the Catholic church became more conservative since Francis's death

[@alejandrobraganza8728]

@@Marylandbrony Don't know about the book, but the series is pretty clear about the anti-catolicism of Gilead. There is a former nun in the serving as a maid and June watched a catholic church being demolished (his father's church). I thing that there is even a scene where a chatolic priest appeared being hanged. I don't see Gilead as a ecumenic theocracy (there are even mention to baptist rebels) but more like the Islamic State: we're the only true christians and the others are as just as bad as the infidels.

[@mariposa9506]

@@alejandrobraganza8728 Yes, neither catholicism nor protestant teachings are compatible with Gilead's philosophy.

[@wesmorgan7729]

@@alejandrobraganza8728 you're correct on that. Gilead's religion also isn't really Protestant either. They seem to only abide by certain passages of the Old Testament where they interpret them very strictly. June recited a New Testament passage to Aunt Lydia and she was beaten for it. I think you're right in that they are they're own pseudo-Christian sect akin to ISIS than to existing conservative or fundamentalist mainstream Christian denominations.

[@rct3LP]

Ah yes. Topical

[@dash-x]

I’ve been to the podash mines in SW New Mexico. The rocks glow in the dark, even after taken off site will glow for days. We also have the Labs here. So accident, or coordinated incident perhaps could be likely.

[@anthonybanchero3072]

Might render Gilleads nikes unusable if Los Alamos is a colony. Perhaps Oak Ridge as well. Hanford today is a Colony.

[@dairyfairy6166]

This map doesn't fully make sense with the show though, since at different points the show mentions the Gilead orange groves in Florida (season 1), the front lines in Chicago (season 3), and that California is a part of Gilead (season 2 and season 3).

[@user-uc2he9wb2f]

Remember when they mentioned the oranges June said something like “must mean talks of peace” the frontlines of Chicago could reference that Gilead doesn’t have complete control of Illinois

[@beatrixpo1956]

There’s a mention of oranges in the show- and I can’t totally recall but I think a Handmaids made mention of her commander saying they were doing well on the FL front

[@sherryburrows2252]

Yup. They'd be minus a lot of things, like bananas, pepper, probably meat if the hinterlands were all poisoned, avocados, lettuce, tomatoes. I was gonna say you'd get naked hamburger buns, but if all the grain-growing areas were either poisoned or combat areas, they wouldn't even have bread, much less buns.

[@rcairforceone]

Since there is a functioning US government, it's likely the existing US military installations abroad would remain functional to a degree. You would never knowingly give up the bases abroad to mount an offensive against Gilead for a few reasons. Plus, there's no rush to take over irradiated, scorched earth. See Pripyat.

[@bobwalsh3751]

I like your headcanon about Bernie! Feel the Bern, Gilead!!!!

[@NikonRaccoon]

SoCal does have two decommissioned nuclear power plants, that would have been operational in 85. San Onofre and Diablo Canyon. And would correspond with the map. There is also the possibility that a nuclear carrier stationed at San Diego may have gone up as well. Also there are quite a few research reactors as well.

[@AtomicMama42]

I'm gunna need Marget Atwood to lay out a whole timeline

[@sharonspears-mandeville2369]

Especially with the end of the first book and the Testaments,yeah-Maybe a proper timeline is in order though..

[@randallbesch2424]

Right now we are still in the pre Gilead stage.

[@erinprather3793]

It is clear why Gilead has conquered what it has. It was willing to nuke its own cities just to make it's point loud and clear! How do you beat someone like that who dose not give a shit how many lives it has to take in order to win?

[@Lonsoleil]

You don't. Best choice is probably escaping to the border of a neighboring country that takes in refugees.

[@plaguedoctormasque8089]

Ask Trump Erin hes going to.let countless lives be lost just to get reelected.

[@mattbillings3224]

It’s easy, take a nuke and destroy Gilead capitol, thus destroying their chain of command lol.

[@Exodon2020]

@@mattbillings3224 Not as easy as you believe. They inherited a good chunk of the US Military Infrastructure and just because they banned most people from accessing most technologies it doesn't mean they hold themselves to the same standards. The Elite of North Korea also leads comfortable lives with all amenities of modern Civilization while the people are toiling away in absolute poverty. Chances are this Doomsday Cult would be able to turn most of America's former nuclear Arsenal against anyone attempting such an Attack. That's probably why the rump-US didn't just activate Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty pulling Canada and most of Europe into the Conflict.

[@jalicea1650]

@@mattbillings3224 Not as easy as you believe remember canon of Gilead is that the ultra conservative faction of the United States took over in a coup led in part by the Sons of Jacob which would have their ties to the American Airforce which is deeply evangelical, and much of the US military have strong conservative streaks which would easily defect if the prospect was viable. We forget that in this imagined universe the United States was already fracturing and very weak due to Climate Change, and facing human extinction due to humanity losing the ability to easily reproduce. All conservatives have to do is ask is "Christian fascism" good enough for them and as we've seen with Trump far too many of them are already considering that better than living in a liberal democratic republic with LGBT, BLM and Socialist/Progressive factions. To them, ridding the country of the Left is worth it and remember which liberal cities dot the country and out number the rural areas those places are probably the easiest to take out with siege warfare, carpet bombing or simply marching an army to the city who's civilian population lack many weapons to defend themselves and who's police would quickly betray for a chance to bash in the skulls of hippies just look at NYC police.

[@holl4nder]

I have an interesting theory for Florida and the South, since the US 4th Fleet is headquartered in Jacksonville, and Puerto Rico is a US dependency, it is likely that the US Government continues to have presence here, with the support of US Marines, ships and aircraft to fight against Gilead, we could also back up the theory of Baptist rebels working with Federal forces as they seek to prevent the Gilead administration.

[@thewinnerisds2759]

Exactly why I have a hard time buying the "just hawaii and Alaska" bull. I think the US gov controls WAYYY more than it tells.

[@randallbesch2424]

You have a hypothesis.

[@rickgrimes3192]

Where the hell are the Marines? I know damn well some Female Marine fighter pilots would get into an F18s and be wreaking havoc. Wished they expanded more on the show, would make it a whole lot better.

[@cplpetergriffin1583]

All 2 of them? this show is just some lesbian feminists rebellion fantasy

[@taiwandxt6493]

I know this is a late comment as I've just gotten into this show, but it was mentioned that many U.S Marines are still loyal to the Anchorage Government. This is displayed because U.S Marines are seen guarding the U.S Government-in-Exile Consulate in Toronto.

[@oh.hey.2045]

@@cplpetergriffin1583 go cry your tears somewhere else

[@melissadunton3534]

They’re already taking about a spin off about the war and the sons of Jacob movement. Hulu recently made an announcement about the possible spin off.

[@Exodon2020]

Female Military Personnel probably got released from the military at about the same time companies had to lay off female staff, if not earlier. The descend into a totalitarian theocracy wasn't sudden. It was a slippery slope. And as it already happened in other countries people probably missed their mark on when to truly stiffen up the resistance.

[@joeharris3878]

I didn't know The Handmaid's Tale was made into a TV show , seems an impossible job .

[@MeDecade]

Mentions typo on map a few times Goes on to mispronounce "nuclear" several times

[@tomasqwerty]

bernie Sanders leading the Vermont insurgency? what a plot twist (RW)

[@johndavis8669]

He is already dead.

[@stephaniemomma]

In conjunction with the Native American and First Nations Border Tribes....

[@bob494949]

Bernie Sanders couldn’t lead a game of tag.

[@tessierashpoolmg7776]

There is alot more going on in Vermont that has nothing to do with Bernie Sanders. He's a good guy but doesn't control our state. Vermont is the best place in the world to live.

[@bhbh820]

@@stephaniemomma is this in the book ?

[@stanyeeast3508]

Am I the only one that keeps hearing county instead of colony? Great video though haha

[@fozziebean]

I did, too!

[@midsyntax]

Me, too.

[@christiegreenwood2642]

So did I.

[@calinasagilitypartner4444]

Margaret Atwood was part of the Hulu adaptation. She gave her stamp of approval.

[@waynesimpson4081]

The nuclear symbols in the SW correspond to Diablo Canyon, San Onofre and Palo Verde power plants.

[@Lee-sd1vx]

Maybe the wasteland in SoCal is the San Onofre nuclear generating station? It’s decommissioned now but was operating until 2013. Maybe when they designed this map the station was still operational or had just shut down

[@Cian66]

I need a spinoff about rebel Bernie Sanders

[@volk4523]

Red World: "NazBol Bernie Sanders saves the Commonwealth from Bill Gates, and Noam Chomsky to form a Communist American utopia."

[@abpetrini1]

It was declining birth rates across the world. It wasn't isolated to just white Americans.

[@PrincessKLS]

Knowing what I know about Independent Baptists they would be more likely be the ones creating Gilead not fighting it.

[@milomilo55]

With people like Steven Anderson et al. I gotta agree.

[@melissadunton3534]

That’s true now, but in 1985 not so much. I’d like to thank Westboro for that crap. 🙄 💩

[@fatalshore5068]

Not in 1985

[@randallbesch2424]

@@melissadunton3534 the books are set in some undefined future time.

[@outstretchedwings]

As a native Floridian, it makes me quite happy to know that Florida Man exists even in Gilead.

[@krisshnapeswanipeswani3190]

reme,ber. donald trump wants this. remember to vote

[@randallbesch2424]

@@krisshnapeswanipeswani3190 we lost Trump the dark messenger comes.

[@krisshnapeswanipeswani3190]

@@randallbesch2424 we still have hope. Cary on the fight. The resistance begins(peacfull ofc). To get hope just read nemiks manifesto and replace empire with maga. It's star wars but they have the best speeches

[@marykatherinegoode2773]

Here is what I think the map should look like: First off, flashpoints- If I had to name a few places where Gilead would be having trouble, it would be in these spots, in no particular order: 1. Seattle, Washington 2. Detroit, Michigan 3. Buffalo, NY 4. Chicago, IL 5. St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN 6. Large portions of Northern Montana (for non-Americans, go to the Northwest corner of a real map of the USA. Scooch over a little bit to the right until you are under Alberta, Canada. You are in Montana. 7. Large swathes of New Mexico and portions of Arizona 8. Cleveland, OH 9. Niagara Falls As you can see if you whip out a real map of the US that includes make cities and topographical features, it adds up. Seattle Washington face is Puget Sound and a large portion of that area is covered by water, sea water. It would be very easy for Vancouver to back up special ops missions into Seattle to support the rebellion there. Chicago is much the same story: it is right Lake Michigan. Thunder Bay in Canada is just within range of Apache type helicopters. The US has long shared intelligence and weaponry with Canada, going back to World War II. So the answer is yes, they do have Apaches and know how to fly them. Detroit would be a big center of guerrilla warfare with very bloody fighting as would Niagara Falls and Buffalo. There would be a lot of places to play hide and seek with abandoned homes that predate the conflict. Meanwhile, California has lost Los Angeles but there are survivors from Santa Barbara to the north. Big portions of what used to be King's Canyon and Sequoia National Park. are occupied by rebels and the Sierra Nevada has proven more challenging for Gilead than thought: remember, these are religious fanatics, not soldiers. It is easier for them to take cities than natural terrain, and after Alaska, California has the most preserved land. It also has several disused military bases...and San Francisco's in contact with Vancouver and has been feeding these insurgent cels in the mountains with supplies. St. Paul is a surprise on this list, but mainly because they wiped out Gilead's defenses by unleashing the old rapids and waterfalls that used to surround the area. They were captured initially, but they waited, they waited, they waited.....and then they drowned the bastards. The Mississippi River's original rapids were HUUUUGE. As in, only the stupidest kayaker with a death wish would even think of it. Many civilians died, but navigation of the river has become hell as copycats on the Ohio and Missouri in other rural districts heard through the grapevine how to create bombs that destroy the dams. (California, btw, destroyed several of its dams on the Sacramento River to free it and it worked. Unbeknownst to captive Boston, the whole world saw a bevy of tanks get carried away by big water not seen in over a hundred years.). The Grand Canyon is a place where Gilead fears to tread because the Havasupai have taken over the canyon bottom and most of the general area. They have commandeered most of the wild horse herd in the area and are also not above using water from the Colorado as a weapon. (Hoover Dam affectively got blown up as did a few others on that river to aid Canada and the UK getting access from the river mouth in Mexico...without telling Mexico City.) This will become a flashpoint since the Colorado River supplies so much water to the West. Native tribes are secret allies to Canada and the UK, but this is top secret information. Tribes like the Mohawk try to ferry American women over the border into Canada from upstate New York. They are also equally ruthless about sabotaging the Welland Canal and some have even done the impossible by rescuing the desperate to try to cross into Canada just below the rapids on the Niagara. In the southwest, the Navajo are very good at hiding escapees from what was once the City of Angels and have a whole network with other tribes to pass these women and men onto their lands. Unfortunately, most do not take it well that the City of Angels, Los Angeles, could be easily cleaned up without using slave labor at all and the technology exists. Ditto Phoenix. It is equally hard to hear that Toronto has a monument to what was once Los Angeles, but large swaths of the former US, don't even know it is gone. New York still exists. Chicago still exists. Houston is free. But LA, for all its faults, for all the faults it was hard, will never be again. "Our Lady, Queen of the Angels, the real Queen of Heaven, you gave your name to LA many years ago. Pray for us all and mourn with us what we have lost." PS - Puerto Rico decides not to gain independence. Not after hearing the stories of freedom fighters in Florida, many of them relatives. That, and it was disgusted by attitudes coming out of other parts of Latin America; some, like Mexico, are a little too eager to copy Gilead. (Pope Francis is also furious. Many priests and bishops have been slaughtered like cattle and churches desecrated on a scale that would rival the Ottomans. Reports he gets on his desk every day just get worse and worse. Only the cardinal from Boston survives, because the one from New York was burned alive in his own home. The cardinal for L.A. is dead. DC and Baltimore and Philly cardinals are dead. He scolds PR for its hard heart.) It is a secret port for smuggling weapons to Miami and it is in contact with Oz. It is also making a small fortune on manufacturing weapons. It intends to negotiate a new treaty in. a very different position of power after the war...which may or may not annex Cuba. (Long story as to why.)

[@anthonybanchero3072]

With Seattle, it would depend on where the I Corps at Fort Lewis’s loyalties are. If the 1st Special Forces Group reports to Anchorage, they could do a lot of damage and the Cascade Range has a lot of good hiding places. The Tri-Cities would be amenable to Gillead, but they are already a Colony. Accidents during the war could make a large swath of areas west of Seattle a Colony. Naval Base Kitsap. The Bremerton facility works on, and dismantles Nuclear Powered vessels, and the Bangor facility is the home port of Ohio class SSBN’s.

[@randallbesch2424]

AH-64 "Apache" gunships UH-60 "Blackhawks" the Gileadeans change their names to Christian ones they don't like "heathens" and if you die at their hand you are converted to the "True Faith" either that or slavery or maybe verbal.

[@patforden2365]

Thank you for doing this presentation! I have long been driven crazy by just what the map of Gilead looks like and had only a vague notion.

[@legallyoverton]

I appreciate your study here. Great job!

[@stefangherman8408]

In my head canon, overseas US troops have remained stranded and are isolated and under the comand of the state who where stationated.

[@baneofbanes]

Yah that’s not how it works.

[@TheChristina7273]

Fun with flags !

[@annabelkeith8167]

Omg I’m so glad i found your page! Excellent video and i am OBSESSED with this book (and anything by Margaret Atwood) and the show! Thanks so much x

[@foxsparrow8973]

I hope the next season gets to show more of the Gilead world and maybe what's going on in Chicago.

[@williamlong1428]

I love how it the show cites like Chicago and other cities are fighting back agents Gilead

[@williamlong1428]

If this were real life I’m sure a ton of cities would be fighting back agents this form of cruel government like in this show, if this were real life

[@ardhisyaifuddin4966]

Plot twist: Gilead is being used as a land for proxy war between two international superpower countries.

[@lucaswood9624]

The Man in the High Castle already did that

[@randallbesch2424]

No it isn't. Billionaires fighting over control---American ones.

[@henrya3530]

About those areas of radioactive contamination on the map... When it comes to having nuclear weapons go BOOM! you generally have two choices - air burst or ground burst. Air burst is preferable for most military applications since it causes maximum structural damage with the least long-term radioactive fallout. However, the delivery systems tend to be fairly complex, e.g. ICBMs, etc. A ground burst does not cause as much structural damage as an air burst but more material from the ground is irradiated leading to long-term contamination issues. Does not require a complex delivery system - any truck capable of hauling the nuke to its point of detonation will do. It is entirely possible that those complete nutjobs (a.k.a. Sons of Jacob) would have contemplated the use of a "dirty" bomb. Extra radioactive material is packed around the nuke. This material is spread by the explosion rather than adding to its detonation. Setting off a nuke next to a nuclear power plant may have the same effect. It is also possible to create a "dirty" bomb using conventional explosives to spread radioactive material over a large area. To date, no-one in our world not even the most fanatical terrorist organisations have used such a weapon even though the means to do so have existed for decades. This should give you an idea of how utterly appalling such weapons are.

[@ROBERTODUZZ911]

i think los angles was nuked because all the marines forces from camp pendelton and 29 palms dug in defences to hold a landing area for the us pacific fleet to land

[@Andrew2k18]

I did find it amusing that Gilead has a power base in Boston, one of the most liberal non religious areas of the country. But the book was written in 1985 when America wasn’t as divided by red and blue states. Just a year earlier Reagan won re-election in a landslide winning 49 states (including Massachusetts). Also I think Atwood was living in New England at the time and you write about what you know.

[@happyseal7202]

me: * looks at thumbnail * Also me: "Well boys we did it, Arkansas and Missouri are no more!"

[@Casey_HZD]

I'm assuming one reason the epicenter of Gilead being a movement around the Boston/New England areas is perhaps to give viewers/readers a reference from our own history to the Independence war against England? Just like in the video game Fallout 4 the post apocalyptic world designed drew heavy influence on the Independence war, it even included a faction known as The minute men, or also like Battlestar Galactica with it's 13 colonies being inspired by or reference to the original 13 colonies that formed the U.S. Though in the show there were only 12 colonies that were named after the 12 signs of the zodiac (colonies had zodiac like names) however they talked about a mythical 13th colony which might just be the reference to the historical colonies IRL. Pretty much like many sci-fi/dystopian futures in film/book/tv shows, they just used a historical reference to set it against that would resonate with readers/viewers.

[@kayosiiii]

It's more a reference to the puritan culture that flourished there in the 18th century particularly the culture surrounding the Salem witch trials (the show makes quite a few subtle references to the witch trials)

[@blackjac5000]

Nah, it's because of Puritanism. In reality Gilead wouldn't take hold because New England is a bunch of stuck-in-their-ways civil libertarians who wouldn't go for any of their schtick.

[@randallbesch2424]

@@blackjac5000 Rhode island broke away from the Puritans.

[@zs9710]

What about the people of ham (ie. black people) who were exiled from Gilead? The tv show didn’t touch on this but the book did. Is this map just an adaptation from the details of the tv show?

[@calinasagilitypartner4444]

Yes. The books "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Testaments" didn't give a lot of detail about the map or how the government actually ran. So this map is prolly from the show. I know for a fact that Margaret Atwood was part bbn of the production for at least the first two seasons, so she gave her approval for the various changes and new details. "The Testaments" uses a lot of the same characters as "The Handmaid's Tale", but isn't necessarily a sequel. The Testaments is set further in the future. It's a really good book. I've listened to it multiple times.

[@randallbesch2424]

@@calinasagilitypartner4444 for some reason the white racism was canned off the tv show and where are the National Homelands?

[@nannunbgd]

Question is,NATO still exist? Because in NATO is USA not Gilead. And NATO help USA to defend Chicago?

[@dzod]

Most likely not. NATO would dissolve. The story is set in the 90s which is post soviet union. Europe and the former soviet union most likely have their own problems with fertility and war is counterproductive to their survival. Former NATO nations wouldn't commit military to retake USA.

[@jalicea1650]

I can see NATO dissolving or simply not responding to an internal civil war of the USA due to how NATO cant really do much with a nuclear backed empire destroying itself. Why would the EU even attempt to intervene knowing that America has nukes and it's conservative faction wants to destroy the socialists. EU by American standards would be seen as deeply liberal and socialist deserving of extermination once Gilead is fully controlled by the sons of Jacob.

[@christiegreenwood2642]

I think it's interesting that the show is not set in the future but the present. It's like a parallel universe. Also, Bernie Sanders headcanon accepted.

[@aikhis]

margreat atwood wrote a couple novels that were placed in a time capsule before anybody read them.

[@iloveplasticbottles]

It's so weird how reality's tryina copy The Handmaid's Tale.

[@maeror1022]

Well, this is rather topical now.

[@kbo8029]

Gilead is such an interesting alternate history. The plotline with June is starting to get utterly repetitive (seriously, it's like the same season played slightly different 3 times now). I really wish we could get more screen time devoted to the world it takes places in, the ongoing rebellion, etc.

[@theodore23sanchez]

1:35 to be fair, I'm a geologist who literally uses specialized applications for map making (geographic information systems or GIS), I can create a perfect map but could accidentally typo a word.

[@aztalyido]

I wonder what happened to the U.S. military overseas... did they tried to help in the fight?.. are they loyal?

[@sherryburrows2252]

Maybe we'll get to find out. My guess is that a fairly large portion of our military will have already gone over to the Jacobites on a religious and ethnic cleansing basis. (You see black people in Gilead, but no Hispanics or Asians at all. No people that might have a loyalty to anywhere that actually exists.) I don't know if that's by design. I saw in a video talking about Season 2 that they had considered bringing up the racial thing and maybe having the black Commanders assassinated. Obviously they chose not to do that, for whatever reason. Probably because they are focused on June and Emily. God, I wish Emily would stop being so timid and act like she used to! I also think the writers didn't quite know what to do with this season. So far it's really uneven, and I'm sick of seeing close-ups of June's face. She's not THAT expressive--hardly anybody is expressive enough to justify that many facial shots. Let's get some action going!

[@mr.imperial8721]

You had my curiosity...now you have my attention...lol seriously I'm now interested in this book/series

[@olivegreenpants7153]

I find it interesting that part of Michigan's thumb would be rebel territory since it's notorious for being extremely conservative

[@jalicea1650]

I think the surviving people not loyal to Gilead fled there. I can see California, Texas and Texas being rebel/own countries and an AU version of Bernie Sanders leading the New England coalition of the surviving liberals loyal Americans. Vermont is very free spirit and while New Hampshire and Eastern Massachusetts could fall. I could imagine the western half of Massachusetts and the Hartford, CT fleeing up the Connecticut River fleeing into Vermont to act as a new Minute Men faction.

[@randallbesch2424]

They would love Gilead.

[@biggybrolunch3809]

Looking forward to this map becoming a reality in 2025.

[@bakomusha]

The theory about Nuke plants being the cause is still a really good idea, as the show started, and the book was written before the closures of both the plant at San Onofre, (Just north of San Diego) and the plant at Devil Canyon. The two nuclear hazard symbols overlay almost on top of them. Also as a SoCal native that wasteland in SoCal lines up with Half of San Diego County, and about half of the OC. (Orange County) It curves slightly because of the Santa Ana range, meaning that the people who did this map are locals, or a HUGE geography, and topography nerds.

[@Zarastro54]

If Gilead can’t even pacify all of New England, I highly doubt they would/could waste resources maintaining control of possessions outside the continental US. Hawaii and the other US territories probably either just declared independence or were absorbed by other nations.

[@Οέντιμοςάνθρωπος]

I can guarantee you that Puerto Rico wouldn't give a crap and that they would secede taking advantage of chaos

[@AcornSandCheese]

For the Southern California nuclear hazard zone, there is an old nuclear power plant in san Onofre between San Diego and Los Angeles. (Writing as a San Diego native)

[@emmastanley7263]

What happened to the native Americans cos they are not mentioned and you do not see them were the Native American tribes wiped out or did they form their own land in Gilead

[@sherryburrows2252]

Good question. Atwood doesn't go there in the book, so neither does the series.

[@randallbesch2424]

There are National Homelands in the 1985 book & 1990 movie NH5 is for the Sons of Ham we see trucks full of black men and women being taken to it. Various white Reich Wing groups worked out places for ethno-states. For Asians and Amerinds and French and others though all Jews go to Greater Israel as part of a deal. One Gilead will not break.

[@randallbesch2424]

@@sherryburrows2252 not a very good series the movie was better.

[@tk423b]

Good episode. Well prodiced.

[@taliakellegg5978]

oh i see gilead destroyed the best military in the world and pushed them back to alaska and Hawaii

[@MyNamesNotOlaph]

Apparently a bunch of hicks are able to shoot down UAVs.

[@RaptorOfTheWest]

I'm pretty sure a huge chunk of the military was in on it. Besides after the coup, there probably was a major power vacuum, and that made a lot of the country go the Jericho route (if you're not familiar with that show there were multiple governments claiming to be the legitimate one.) So it probably isn't *just* Gilead, but multiple players with Gilead coming in the lead. Also, "The Handmaid's Tale" universe is more related to the future seen in "Children of Men" not three days from today, so the politics and social structure are a lot different than what it is now.

[@TheAdamantia1]

A military can split based on what groups decide to fight for, and kill any subordinates that do not represent the majority of their own. Gilead hypothetically would be an extreme case of a separation of people fighting for a flag, while others fight for their god.

[@OmegaJuggalo]

@Chara I thought of it more as Chicago being gang controlled considering it already being the most violent city in America, not even the sons of Jacob can take over good old "chi-rac" lol

[@sherryburrows2252]

Or converted them. I have a long post elsewhere on this page outlining how that could've happened. Easily. Through religion, of course.

[@pop5678eye]

Based on the map even the California nuclear zone is centered on the location of a now decommissioned nuclear plant dozens of miles south of LA. Decommissioning however does not mean they removed the nuclear fuel. In American nuclear plants most spent nuclear fuel is stored on site.