Summary: In the past June has to deal with a nurse who is judgemental of her ability to take care of Hannah while working. Offred and the other handmaids are threatened with execution. Offred can't be punished due to her pregnancy but the other handmaids are tortured. Nick collects Offred from the medical centre and sneaks her away with intents to free her.
The Good: The execution (no pun intended) of the opening scene was mostly excellent. The cinematography, acting and sounds were practically perfect and the horrors of the fake execution were shown impressively which overcame the fact that they obviously wouldn't be killed. The rest of the episode is also filled with uncomfortable scenes which are used to evoke a proper reaction. After the previous episode's events there had to be some consequences and we see them all here. Offred's pregnancy getting announced was fittingly horrific in a classic Handmaid's Tale way with all of the handmaids trying to be thankful whilst undergoing torture. Furthermore, the brutality of the burning was also pretty difficult to watch and allowed us to empathize with Offred's guilt over what happened. Aunt Lydia was central to this episode and she remains a strong point for the show. Her scenes with Offred were outstanding and Ann Dowd beautifully conveyed Lydia's anger towards Offred's behaviour coupled with gratitude for her being with child. Their scenes together were really compelling and the reveal of Ofwyatt was really well done. I like that the people of Gilead do have an apparent answer to the handmaids acting up by practically jailing them if they misbehave. The ending was really good. The final scene with Offred finally escaping her life as a handmaid and embracing herself as June was powerful and felt earned after the rough events towards the end of season 1. More than that though, it promises that the show is going to change and evolve this season which is a promising sign of a possible quality increase which would be more than welcome. I enjoyed the flashbacks a fair amount. While I still think that these flashbacks aren't as interesting and satisfying as they should be, I did enjoy this episode's look at how people's beliefs slowly began to change which is what brought on Gilead's existence. June's discussion with that judgemental nurse was awkward and did a good job of hinting at the world change which would be coming soon. The Bad: The opening scene had some faults though. The hanging scene didn't have any tension to it at all since it was blatantly obvious that the handmaids wouldn't be killed since they are needed for population to reproduce, making them invaluable. I understand that it was used to instill fear in the handmaids, but couldn't at least one handmaid try using the fact that they are invaluable as leverage? Furthermore, the scene was ruined towards the end by an awful song which felt forced onto the scene. Silence would have made it much more affecting and the music only served to make it more heavy-handed. This show has done a lot of things right, but music is not one of those things as almost every song used so far has felt out of place. This show is also at risk for becoming too much of a torture porn. This episode had so many unpleasant moments and sometimes they felt like they existed just for the sake of it. Show me misery only if it serves a purpose or you will rive me away. I don't want to watch people in pain for no apparent reason without accomplishing anything, and the writers of the show need to account for that in the audience. The Unknown: I loved the use of a baseball stadium in this episode. It was a fascinating touch of world-building which makes me wonder what has happened to many of the locations in Gilead and how it is compared to the current world. Hopefully we get some actual answers about Gilead this season. Apparently Janine has gone to the colonies. Where are the colonies and will we see them this season? I presume Janine will be coming back to the show. Where has Nick taken Offred and how does he plan to get her out of Gilead eventually? Will the attempt work? Best Moment: Aunt Lydia and Offred's scenes alone were terrifying and were outstanding for both characters. Lydia was superb as she practically shut down every rebellious instinct in Offred by showing her the fate of another handmaid who acted out and refused to listen. The scene is important to the show as it reveals that there are stills takes here for Offred and that just because she is pregnant doesn't mean that she is untouchable or that her life will be any easier. Character of the Episode: Offred. Conclusion: This was a really solid season premiere. While it did have some flaws, it left a positive impression overall and got me excited to see more of the new season. Score: 66
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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