What to Watch: The Handmaid's Tale

by Mike Lunsford

When you sit down to watch TV, you have a lot of choices. You can go safe and pick something that you've seen a thousand times. You can pick something that sounds interesting that you may or may not like. Perhaps you're in a dystopian future mood and want to watch a twisted, really-close-to-reality drama? If you find yourself in that mood, then Hulu's runaway success The Handmaid's Tale is definitely for you. 

As with all of the previous "What to Watch" articles I've written, there will be no spoilers about the goings on of the episodes of The Handmaid's Tale other than the basic set up of the series. These reviews I do are meant to entice you into watching this show and enjoying it. I have to give SOME minor spoilers in order to set up the narrative. It's impossible to not give any spoilers away unless you want the reviews to be a sentence or two long. So...if you want all of it to be a surprise, I respect your sensibilities and recommend you don't read past this picture of Margaret Atwood. 

She looks like my 12th grade English teacher. Pretty sure my English teacher couldn't write Clarke-winning dystopian fiction though, but what do I know?

If you were like me (before my recent 4 day binge of the series, that is), then you've probably read a ton of your friends rave about The Handmaid's Tale on their social media accounts. The show has garnered nearly universal praise. More importantly, my wife told me I should watch it. Sandy is a much harsher critic than I am when it comes to movies and television so if SHE liked it, then it is most likely worth my time. 

Based on the novel by the above pictured Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian fiction, or "speculative fiction" as Atwood herself describes it. It's a story about a world where pollution, mistreatment of the Earth and our bodies has caused most humans to be infertile. As the population becomes increasingly desperate for answers, a fanatical religious sect known as the Sons of Jacob begin their rise to power. They feel that the infertility is God's way of punishing man for destroying the Earth and living a sinful lifestyle. Through a series of false flag attacks, the Sons of Jacob force themselves into power by preying on everyone's fears. Their tactics work as they install a government that suspends the Constitution, severely restricted all personal rights (more so against women) and rules with no restrictions. To make matters worse for women, those who are fertile are forced into slavery, being kept as concubines for the ruling class of Gilead (the former U.S.A.).

in the Red Center

Our first-person guide through this nightmare landscape is Offred (Elisabeth Moss, The West Wing, Mad Men), which is a designation of ownership more so than a name. She is the property of Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes, Shakespeare In Love) and his wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski, Chuck). We learn that Offred's real name is June Osborne. In her attempt to leave the former United States as the Sons of Jacob came to power, her husband was shot and assumed dead and her daughter was taken from her. Since June was still fertile, Gilead had plans for her. She is taken to a "Red Center" to be indoctrinated into her new life of fertility servitude as a handmaiden. She is assigned to the Waterfords. Her main purpose? Provide a child for the powerful Waterford family. 

Ofglen and Offred

The series shows Offred's daily interactions as a handmaid. She does some shopping with another handmaid, Ofglen (Alexis Bledel, Gilmore Girls) and also participates in "the ceremony" with her Commander, Fred Waterford. One can infer what the ceremony refers to, so I won't spell it out for you. The narrative does break from her day to day life of servitude to show you flashbacks of what the world was like. In these flashbacks, we see the beginnings of how the world changed, how Gilead was able to institute itself and how truly frightening the world has become.

In fact, that is the most gut-wrenching part of The Handmaid's Tale. This story isn't that far from becoming reality. It wouldn't take much for a politician or political group to do any of the things we've seen in The Handmaid's Tale: using fear-mongering, lies, and deceit to incite a constituent base into voting for and praising less freedom and civil liberties, all for the illusion of safety. The treatment of women as property, is uncomfortable to watch. Throughout all of this health crisis regarding the ability to have children, I keep wondering "did anyone ASK these women if they would be willing to do such a task?" This bothered me because when looking at religious doctrine, free will is God's greatest gift to us. For a religious group to take that away is sickening. Not only that, I find myself wondering where science was when all of this was transpiring. But there it is again, frightening parallels to our own reality. Truly great works of science fiction do that: they turn the lens back onto the viewer and make them question what is going on in their own world just as much as what is happening on the screen. 

I'll admit, I was skeptical going into this series. It can't be that good, can it? The answer is yes, it can. It manages to take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Some episodes are utterly depressing, while others give you hope that this totalitarian government cannot last and the good in mankind will find a way to shine through. From the standpoint of visuals, the series is incredibly striking. There are shots they use, angles captured with the perfect light, a splash of color against a drab background, a still, serene scene juxtaposed by a horribly violent act (like above), etc that stick with you. It is riveting and like any good online series, will make you want to binge the heck out of it.

Most series will have a few moments where I roll my eyes or I get annoyed with some facet of the story-telling. Not The Handmaid's Tale. The ONLY thing that I would mention, and this is super nit-picky, is their usage of contemporary, upbeat music during scenes of violence or high drama. This is a Tarantino move but also used a great deal in Orange Is The New Black. There's nothing wrong with it...but it seems played out and this show stands on it's own two feet without the need of such gimmicky devices. We get it, Handmaid's Tale. You're hip and edgy. Your storytelling devices and no-holds-barred way of presenting this world is evidence of that, don't go cheap. You got this. 

Per a reader's recommendation, I have changed the rating system from a 5 star system to a 10 star system. This allows for more precise grading. That being said, I give The Handmaid's Tale 9 1/2 out of 10 stars. It's damn good. The second season is still on-going and hopefully, as this series presents itself, it will continue to be a marvel to watch. Just don't get all Orange Is The New Black on us and take an intellectual property and beat every last cent out of it. I'm looking at you, too Walking Dead.