Handmaids Tale
Spoilers
As someone that has read the book, I watch the show objectively. It’s good enough on its own and has made great strides in making its own story.
The newest season is still airing, currently I just finished Season 4 Episode 5 “Chicago”, the latest episode. New episodes are available on Hulu every Wednesday. 5 episodes in and I’ll admit, the episodes are fantastic.
We as the viewer are still mostly with June, occasionally cutting back to Canada where her husband Luke and friend Moira are. We meet new characters to sympathetically hate, and briefly get to see a reunion with June and Nick. (My feelings on Nick are mixed that’s for another post) While the 5 episodes that have been released are heart wrenching, climactic, and entertaining, you can’t help but to be left with the sense of chaos.
The handmaids with June have been with us since season 1. While not all of them have played prominent roles, because of the knowledge we have about what they go through, we can’t help but to want better for them. The season premier was a 3 episode special where a lot of changes take place.
June is nursed back to health and awakes in a strange location with a child house mistress. Things get complicated, and eventually all of the handmaids are captured. They are able to escape but Alma and Brianna die in the process. Our group of survivors that have defied inexplicable odds in Gilead are taken out by bullets and a train.
In the most recent episode we’re left with more chaotic confusion. Janine, to the viewers surprise, decided to leave with June to search for a new resistance group when they’re hit by bombs. The episode ends with no conclusion on Janine but with a disoriented June being found by Moira, who joined the search and rescue for the 24 hr ceasefire.
While watching, you’re on the edge of your seat. There’s no question about the quality of the episodes. They are without a doubt well written. But it does leave the viewer with the sense of “they’re making this up as they go”. We know obviously that they are, these seasons were not written before the show aired. But it’s painfully obvious.
The killing of so many notable characters so close together, barely an episode a part, screams “after thought”. If the direction was June needing to be found alone, they should have started thinning the herd sooner. This way is so abrupt, and you can’t help but to feel it wasn’t worth it.
There’s a heavy “protagonist shield” going on. June always escapes the worst of it, the people she knew before Gilead are safe, but everyone she befriends in Gilead is practically sacrificial for her. It’s getting tedious watching her survive everything and seeing good characters killed off.
But, that’s just my 2 cents. I’ll be back to edit this periodically. This is a fast rough post on my phone.
