The Handmaid's Tale (62)
I caught up and reviewed The Handmaid's Tale in early 2018. I reviewed seasons 2 and 3 as they came out, but stopped watching after that.
Of all of the TV shows I have reviewed on this website, The Handmaid's Tale may just be the one that has the most missed potential. The first season of the show was great, a harrowing cautionary tale about our society told through the terrifying lens of Offred, a strong-willed character forced to be subservient in a society that treats her like an animal. Through her eyes and the eyes of those around her, we were introduced to this world in a terrifying way, with so many horrifying moments and realizations. This show captured something powerful in its first season and I wanted to see how the story and the world would expand in the ensuing seasons. Unfortunately for me, the show had no interest in doing this and ended up becoming a shallow imitation of itself. The story would start going in circles, repeating the same tired story beats over and over again until I felt like I was going insane. The show would also frustratingly develop a habit of delivering empty shocks instead of actual twists and reveals, building entire seasons around dark moments that have virtually no impact beyond being surprising and dark. This made the show feel like it wasn't going anywhere, like its entire purpose was to be edgy, and sometimes even torture-porn. Then add on some tonally out-of-place moments of empowerment and the show feels like it is a caricature of what it once was. I stopped watching after season 3, but it sounds like the show never recovered from its downfall in storytelling ability after I stopped. In the end, The Handmaid's Tale had one great season, but became just another TV show that fell off after its first season and fell out of relevance just as quickly.
Of all of the TV shows I have reviewed on this website, The Handmaid's Tale may just be the one that has the most missed potential. The first season of the show was great, a harrowing cautionary tale about our society told through the terrifying lens of Offred, a strong-willed character forced to be subservient in a society that treats her like an animal. Through her eyes and the eyes of those around her, we were introduced to this world in a terrifying way, with so many horrifying moments and realizations. This show captured something powerful in its first season and I wanted to see how the story and the world would expand in the ensuing seasons. Unfortunately for me, the show had no interest in doing this and ended up becoming a shallow imitation of itself. The story would start going in circles, repeating the same tired story beats over and over again until I felt like I was going insane. The show would also frustratingly develop a habit of delivering empty shocks instead of actual twists and reveals, building entire seasons around dark moments that have virtually no impact beyond being surprising and dark. This made the show feel like it wasn't going anywhere, like its entire purpose was to be edgy, and sometimes even torture-porn. Then add on some tonally out-of-place moments of empowerment and the show feels like it is a caricature of what it once was. I stopped watching after season 3, but it sounds like the show never recovered from its downfall in storytelling ability after I stopped. In the end, The Handmaid's Tale had one great season, but became just another TV show that fell off after its first season and fell out of relevance just as quickly.
Season 1 (64)
Offred (65)
Birth Day (65)
Late (70)
Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum (68)
Faithful (56)
A Woman's Place (72)
The Other Side (48)
Jezebels (55)
The Bridge (66)
Night (73)
Season 2 (62)
June (66)
Unwomen (69)
Baggage (58)
Other Women (64)
Seeds (65)
First Blood (70)
After (54)
Women's Work (56)
Smart Power (59)
The Last Ceremony (70)
Holly (63)
Postpartum (46)
The Word (65)
Season 3 (60)
Night (63)
Mary and Martha (68)
Useful (69)
God Bless the Child (57)
Unknown Caller (63)
Household (53)
Under His Eye (47)
Unfit (55)
Heroic (56)
Bear Witness (68)
Liars (60)
Sacrifice (57)
Mayday (67)
Offred (65)
Birth Day (65)
Late (70)
Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum (68)
Faithful (56)
A Woman's Place (72)
The Other Side (48)
Jezebels (55)
The Bridge (66)
Night (73)
Season 2 (62)
June (66)
Unwomen (69)
Baggage (58)
Other Women (64)
Seeds (65)
First Blood (70)
After (54)
Women's Work (56)
Smart Power (59)
The Last Ceremony (70)
Holly (63)
Postpartum (46)
The Word (65)
Season 3 (60)
Night (63)
Mary and Martha (68)
Useful (69)
God Bless the Child (57)
Unknown Caller (63)
Household (53)
Under His Eye (47)
Unfit (55)
Heroic (56)
Bear Witness (68)
Liars (60)
Sacrifice (57)
Mayday (67)