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| “ | You need to understand that everything you value, all the things you're clinging to, democracy, liberty, justice, all that feel-good crap defined by a bunch of slave owners talking about how all men are created equal. All of that collapsed under the weight of late-term capitalism and rampant consumerism. It broke our pretty little planet, almost ended the human race. And Gilead, for all of our faults, we fixed that particular problem. We're having babies again. | „ |
| ~ Lawrence justifying the creation of Gilead. |
Joseph Lawrence, also known as Commander Lawrence, is a major character in the Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale, based on the 1985 novel of the same name.
He is one of the architects of Gilead, the misogynistic totalitarian regime that took over the United States. Despite his role in its creation, Lawrence's actual motivation was to save the Earth from environmental ruin, and he used the religious fanatics in Gilead in order to achieve this even though he does not agree with the majority of the actions that Gilead takes.
He was portrayed by Bradley Whitford.
Personality[]
Lawrence is a very complicated individual, his role as a Commander in Gilead makes him inherently complicit in the war crimes that the country commits. He is objectively far less cruel that pretty much every other official in Gilead, as he refuses to take part in the ceremony and eventually does begin helping people to escape Gilead, as seen when he smuggles Emily out of the country and helps June with Angel's Flight. That being said, his views on America and the society before Gilead are extremely negative, to the point that he will sometimes defend Gilead to others. He also has shades of being a misogynist, as he does sometimes talk down to June in a demeaning way, and while this is usually because she did something extreme reckless, he will often insult her for being a woman at the same time. The death of his wife Eleanor does spur him to become actively working against Gilead, but this doesn't completely change his views on other societies, as he will constantly talk up the fact that Gilead stopped global warming, and in the process downplays the horrific crimes that have taken place in the country. At times he is extremely hypocritical, as he dislikes America for being founded by slave owners, even though Gilead also enslaves people as well. Ultimately, Lawrence does want to improve Gilead as he has seen other countries evolve, but he is willing to stand by the country's terrible actions if he believes it will benefit the world as a whole.
Quotes[]
| “ | I'm getting myself in deep shit. | „ |
| ~ Lawrence on helping Emily escape Gilead. |
| “ | Women like you are like children. Asking for too much, taking whatever you want, damn the consequences. | „ |
| ~ Lawrence berating June over getting someone killed. |
| “ | See? Women can be useful. | „ |
| ~ Lawrence talking down to June. |
| “ | Gilead doesn’t care about children. Gilead cares about power. Faithfulness, old-time values, homemade bread, that’s the just means to the end. It’s a distraction. I thought you would have figured that out by now. | „ |
| ~ Lawrence admitting Gilead's true goal was never solving the fertility crisis. |
| “ | You think I don't know? You think I don't know the misery that I've caused? You think... You think I'm unaware? I was trying to save humanity. And, you know, I did. I fսcking did it. Then it got away, away from me. It went septic. You think I wouldn't take it back? I would take it all back. I'd let the whole fսck¡ng human race just die out, just so I wouldn't have... have Gilead on my conscience. | „ |
| ~ Lawrence professing his regret for what Gilead became. |
Trivia[]
- Lawrence's character is mostly completely original to the television series, he does appears to have some elements of B. Frederick Judd from the original novel series, due to them both being considered architects of Gilead, although the two of them differ completely in terms of characterization and personality.
External Links[]
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 Villains
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Republic of Gilead Wives Aunts Other | ||