Summary:
The Good: The Bad: Best Moment: Character of the Episode: Conclusion: Score:
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Summary: Janine hands off baby Angela to the Putnams and is relocated as Ofdaniel. She has difficulties adjusting and wants to be with Commander Putnam. Offred is met by Alma who tells her to get a package from Jezebels that night. Offred convinces Fred to take her back to Jezebels. Offred meets with Moira and convinces her to send her the package later. Janine tries to jump off a bridge with the baby. Offred convinces her to leave the baby, but Janine jumps anyways and barely survives. Moira kills a client and escapes Jezebels.
The Good: The Janine storyline was excellent in this episode. It was very clear that she would have issues giving baby Angela (or Charlotte in her eyes) away so it felt like the episode was inevitably building to her breaking point at the end. The performance from Madeline Brewer was superb throughout and she did a great job of conveying Janine's fragile state and impossible beliefs that Commander Putnam would just abandon his life for her to be a part of their family. The ceremony scene was excellent and did a great job of conveying how Janine's world has fallen apart now that she's realized that her family has actually left her. It was tremendously performed. Furthermore, the climax of the episode on the bridge was really powerful and tense, and I think it was one of the best scenes in the entire show which appropriately mixed the show's horrific and cruel nature with genuine emotion and tension. I was actively rooting for Offred to save Janine and I was extremely nervous throughout because I knew that this was a show which wouldn't hesitate to have Janine jump off the bridge with the baby. Thankfully the baby was safe, but the scene still packed a punch with Janine jumping off. I thought that Ann Dowd was excellent and really conveyed how major the scene was due to the importance of handmaids. I really enjoyed the scene where Offred attempted to convince Fred to take her back to Jezebels. It was tense and I was really enjoying the idea of Offred attempting to work Fred to give her what she wants. At first I thought it had went a little too well, but I was overjoyed to learn that Fred knew why she wanted to go back to Jezebels and he just took advantage of the situation. It makes Fred seem less like an idiot which is nice because he really shouldn't be portrayed as just a fool, especially considering his position as commander. I also loved Fred's cold dismissal of Moira after she came into conflict with Offred, as it makes him seem more like the cruel man he most likely has become. Offred and Moira's scene together was pretty good and had some good emotion in it. It was sad to see how their close friendship has fallen and that these 2 who staged an escape no longer can since Moira has accepted her new life. And once again, the performances were stellar. This show is honestly made by how good its performances are. The Bad: Did it seriously take Serena so long to suspect Fred, especially since everyone apparently knew he was messing around with the first Offred? First of all, why hasn't anybody said anything about that It's illegal after all. And also, this makes Serena's "what did you think was going to happen" from last episode even more perplexing, as it seemingly serves no purpose now. Also, how did Serena not notice him leave? The Martha even noticed that he left. Also, while discussing the Martha, what was the point of getting her backstory? She hasn't been important at all so I really couldn't be bothered to care. Apparently Nick actually loves Offred, which just makes him more annoying in my eyes. So why did he just stop being with her in the last episode? Was it actually because it was too dangerous? Why not just stop it earlier? Or let Offred know how he felt about it? So why did Fred even go back to Jezebels anyways? Surely he could have waited for a better day instead of just going back for Offred? We need to know something about his motives. Also, I really want to know why Fred became such a prick over the years, but seeing how the finale is up next, it seems that we won't find out which is disappointing. I had hoped to get more about him in this episode but we really didn't. Moira is an extremely shallow character. We know very little about her which made her transformation in this episode practically meaningless. Why did she decide to listen to Offred? Why did she change her mind? I have no idea and that's a problem. We need to see characters reaching a point where they make decisions like that, not just see them make a choice with no insight on why they made the choice. I feel like getting an episode more focused on Moira in Jezebels would have been much more compelling of an episode than something like "The Other Side", which just wasted time. We also need more insight on Aunt Lydia. Apparently she really does care about her handmaids, which does seem quite different from what I had initially seen from her. At first she seemed to treat them poorly and use that as her way of valuing them, but now she seems far more caring than expected. Also if the handmaids are so valuable that having Janine die would be awful, why would they send potentially fertile women to Jezebels and the colonies? Shouldn't Aunt Lydia be pissed off by that as well? The Unknown: What's in the package? Best Moment: Offred talking to Janine on the bridge was powerful. I love how they talked about how things would change and their futures would be better. It felt very real and was absolutely the best way to bring emotion to the scene since we hardly know about how Janine and Offred work as friends. Character of the Episode: Janine. Conclusion: This was a very strong episode at times, but the show still has some big flaws which prevent this from reaching greatness. This show has some excellent storytelling but it is really lacking on the details which transform a show from good to great. Perhaps the finale will allow the show to reach the heights which I know it has potential to reach. Score: 66 Summary: Hannah Baker committed suicide and left 13 tapes behind which she has sent to 13 people who she believes were responsible for her death. Clay Jensen receives the package of tapes and begins to listen to them. He was a friend of Hannah's and isn't sure why he was on the tapes. Clay listens to the first tape and learns that Hannah dated a boy named Justin briefly but when Bryce sent a lewd picture of her around school, she was hurt by it.
The Good: This is an extremely unique concept for a show. While I do have some reservations (see: The Bad), I think that the idea of having these tapes is a really clever way to look at the theme of suicide in a new light. This kind of approach should make it really easy to explore the lead up to and the consequences of suicide at the same time and it should make for some truly fascinating television viewing throughout the season if done correctly. The biggest hurdle for this show to overcome would have been the teenage characters. I have seen so many films and TV shows completely butcher teenagers and make them all seem like brain-dead idiots. So I'm really pleased to say that this show seems to have hit the nail right on the head when portraying teenagers. While I haven't seen a whole lot from these characters yet, the show has already presented them to be relatively rounded out characters with different personalities while also portraying that obvious rebellious teenage spirit without ever going too far overboard on it like so many other shows. These teenagers feel like real characters and I'm glad that the show chose to go through with this approach. I thought that our 2 main characters, Clay and Hannah, were pretty likable so far. They are pretty different but don't seem at all like bad people. Just 2 different teenagers trying to get through life in their own ways. Clay is a nice take on a teenage introvert (there are lots of them around despite what is shown in media), while Hannah is an appropriately toned down teenage girl who isn't portrayed as an over-the-top smitten girl who does stupid things. So far I really like these 2 and I think that watching their stories unfold in the past and present will be very interesting. Furthermore, I think their relationship in the past was developed extremely well in this episode and I completely understand how their friendship works in just a few scenes. I did enjoy this episode's story of Hannah's relationship with Justin. There were a lot of nice touches which helped me buy into Hannah being totally smitten by him and starting a relationship. I also loved how the show really demonstrated how this hurt Hannah so much, as her best moment swiftly turned into her worst nightmare as even Clay was turned against her by everything that happened. The Bad: Of course, writing a show about suicide can be difficult, and when being creative with the format, it could very easily provide a bad view on suicide. I feel like the creators of this show have unintentionally done this with the existence of the tapes. It's extremely hard to buy into the idea that Hannah would put together this plan to make everyone in her life feel guilty about what they did to her before committing suicide. Realistically, if somebody commits suicide, they wouldn't be doing something like this and would just take their life. Since Hannah is doing this, the show may have unintentionally given Hannah the trait of being somebody who wanted more attention, which is the wrong way to look at somebody who is suicidal. Yet the evidence in this episode suggests that it wasn't because Hannah wanted attention, it's just that her behaviour in leaving the tapes may have unintentionally proven that. It's an unfortunate misstep and I feel that it may be one that affects every episode of the show if the writers aren't careful. I don't like the idea of Clay having that bike crash. At first I questioned why that happened, but now it's clear to me that it's only there so we can easily differentiate between present Clay and past Clay. It feels like a pretty lazy way to establish that and shows a severe lack in creative filmography. Also isn't anybody going to ask Clay about that huge shiner on his head? Of course the show has some issues with its current time period. It's portrayed to be taking place in the present day, but that's a bit troublesome because of the heavy reliance on tapes and maps which are explained in a vague piece of dialogue which I guarantee was just crammed in there in a lazy attempt to explain why tapes are being used. Additionally, the dialogue has been modernized, but it's done so in a pretty weak way, making it come off as clunky, choppy and unrealistic at times. It's a bit hard to believe that Bryce sent the messages to everyone on Justin's phone without Justin getting upset about it. It's even harder to believe that nobody puts their damn phones on silent so they can all just receive the message at the EXACT same time. The Unknown: How did Clay make it onto the tapes? It doesn't look like it was from the events in this episode so I'm assuming that they made up later on. He seems genuinely lost about why he's on the tapes, so I'm very curious to find out what it was that he did. What were all the events which led to Hannah's suicide? Why did she decide to leave the tapes? How did she organize everything? Hannah said somebody was watching. Did she mean that literally? Did that have something to do with Tony who was following Clay for some reason? Or is he following Clay just because he was on the tapes and is just really curious? Or some other reason? Best Moment: I really enjoyed the scene with everyone getting messages in the classroom. While I did criticize it earlier, I think it did a tremendous job of portraying the fear and pain in Hannah as everybody she knew got the picture of her and sent her some judgemental looks. Character of the Episode: Clay. Conclusion: This was an enjoyable and gripping pilot. It was very flawed and had some big problems, but I enjoyed watching the episode and was never bored by it. I'm excited to watch the next episode which I hope will continue this interesting take on suicide, and perhaps it will fix some of the issues I had with this episode. Score: 64 Summary: In flashbacks, Nick is shown to be a loser who is selected to be an Eye when he turns in a commander for putting his hands on a handmaid. Fred takes Offred out for the night when Serena is gone. He takes her to Jezebels, a modern strip club where Offred finds Moira. Fred rapes Offred in the building before they return. Nick ends his relationship with Offred.
The Good: It was good to get some backstory on Nick so I could at least get something for his character. Before I knew nothing about him, and now I at least understand his motives and character. The flashbacks also gave a really nice detail which revealed the backstory of the ceremony. I loved that little scene and I wish the show had more things like that which explained why the world is the way it is. It was truly fascinating to learn that the ceremony only exists to appease housewives. Offred and Moira reuniting was a great moment. I had suspected that she may not have been dead, and it was nice to see her again. Having them see each other again was a tremendous moment and both actresses put in a lovely performance as always. I thought that Moira revealing to be satisfied with her current life in Jezebels was a nice little twist and makes her character stand out a lot more, since she was pretty shallow in the past. This development allows her to stand out a little more now that she seems to be back in the story as a central character. I think Fred has been a real asset for this series. He has been a real asset throughout the show and his very presence has added a great deal of tension to the show. After all, he is the man with all of the power. His motives remain slightly murky which I like because it lets us slowly learn about his nature from the eyes of Offred. It seems that he did the same thing with the previous Offred, which raises some intriguing questions (see: The Unknown). Joseph Fiennes plays the role really well and I've been extremely impressed by him so far. The Bad: Nick's character is still problematic for the show. He is just so bland and unlikable and really lacks when compared to all the other characters in the show. I still don't know his personality which is pretty disappointing, and it also really makes me wonder why Offred has become so attached to him over Luke. I also don't think his current character arc is well-defined either. So we learn that he has the ability to pretty much ruin Fred's career since he knows about Fred's relationship with Offred, so why doesn't he tell anybody? Is it to protect Offred? Can't be because then he would have spilled the beans on Fred when he was doing things with the first Offred. It's really undefined why he isn't selling out Fred and that's a big problem. Also why was he picked to be an Eye? He seemed to be a total loser and didn't come off at all like a good man, despite what the show tried to tell us, so I have a hard time buying into him being picked as an Eye. The breakup scene with Offred was poor too. Elisabeth Moss was great as always, but she couldn't save the poor writing in this scene. First of all, why is Nick doing this? This really adds on to my earlier points about Nick's deficiencies as a character. We don't know why he's ending the relationship and nothing in the episode seemed to suggest that Nick was upset with Offred. Was he really upset because she got raped? That's just ridiculous and makes me not only hate his character, but hate that the show seems to think that I should be sympathizing with Nick because of his situation. The tone suggests that I should like Nick due to the flashbacks, but this end scene does the polar opposite. How was him hurting Offred because she got raped supposed to make me care for his character? Or their relationship? Clearly she doesn't mean much to him if he's so mad about this. The first Offred's suicide did nothing for me. The scene didn't really add anything, aside from one interesting line of dialogue from Serena. It felt like it was another scene meant to make me feel for Nick, which feels tonally wrong since the focus should really be on the suicide of the first Offred. I also don't really see how I'm supposed to have an emotional response to that scene since we know nothing about the first Offred, and we don't know how Nick had felt about her beforehand. The Unknown: Why is Fred doing all these things with the Offreds? What is his ulterior motive? Or is he just a corrupt man? What did Serena mean by saying "what did you think was going to happen?". Did she know about what Fred was doing with the first Offred? Does she also know what is going on with the current Offred? It would certainly explain why she has never caught them before. I was going to put her not noticing these activities in The Bad, but I'm holding back because I feel there is another explanation for this. What was the significance of the music box and the carving which Offred wrote in the closet? Best Moment: I'll pick the very first moment that Offred and Moira laid eyes on each other. The 2 actresses did a terrific job and communicated so much with so little. Character of the Episode: Moira. Conclusion: This episode was better than the last and had some good developments, but the troubles with Nick and his character are hurting the series a lot. I'm hoping that the show's quality can pick back up for the final 2 episodes of this season. Score: 55 Summary: Joey tries to audition for a part but it involves him kissing a man. He tries to kiss men for practice. Chandler goes on the internet and meets a girl who he really connects with so he wants to start a relationship with her. Rachel goes to Barry and Mindy's wedding but is humiliated once more. Monica and Richard come to the reality that their relationship may not work out.
The Good: In terms of storytelling, this is as good as it gets. Rachel's arc comes full circle in this episode with her standing up at Barry's wedding and showing how much she has changed over the past 2 seasons. Ross was fantastic as he supported her in hilarious ways while still coming off as a really loving person. Rachel was never unsympathetic in this episode either and her situation was relatable and very funny throughout. And on top of the storyline pay off, there were several great jokes throughout. Joey's storyline was fantastic for a C-story in an episode. It was all jokes and the jokes were really funny every time leading to good laugh after good laugh. Chandlers storyline was great too and it pays off of his storyline where he is constantly picky about women and is now convinced he has found the one. The episode then ends in hilarious fashion as Chandler once again runs into Janice, providing a great irony and a great laugh. Monica and Richard's storyline is fantastic to. While there aren't very many laughs, there doesn't need to be because the other storylines more than provide. Plus considering the very real weight and emotion in this storyline, I think ti was a very good decision to not have many laughs with this one. I've come to care about Monica and Richard over the course of the season, so there is definitely some emotional resonance here. The Bad: Nothing really. Best Moment: I'll go with Joey greeting Rachel and immediately going to try to kiss Ross who hilariously responds with hostility. We are really spoiled for choice with Joey scenes in this episode, but I thought that was the funniest. Character of the Episode: I'll give it to Rachel for her storyline coming full circle here. Conclusion: This was a terrific season finale with great laughs and even better storytelling. This was a great way to close out another great season of Friends. Compared to season 1, this season was slightly worse but I don't think that's entirely accurate. This season at its worst was definitely worse than season 1, but I also think hat the writing and laughs have improved a lot, which resulted in there being more awesome moments in this season compared to the last. The show keeps improving and if season 3 can maintain this high quality, the show has an extremely bright future. Score: 86 Summary: Flashbacks show Luke and June preparing to escape Gilead. They are taken to a cabin where they stay off the radar but they run into a problem when the person who was supposed to help them leave gets hung for treason. Later, Luke survives being shot and the ambulance he was in crashes. Luke escapes and meets a group of people and they take him to Little America though most of them die. Luke gets June's message.
The Good: I usually enjoy episodes which are centred around a specific character. The format makes it easier to care about them and it makes the episode easier to follow, giving it a better chance of being powerful and memorable. While I don't think this episode was successful in that regard (see: The Bad), I at least do appreciate the effort. Luke's character got some exploration and we learned more about his want to protect his family and how much he cares for June and Hannah. There were 2 standout parts of this episode. The first was the early section after the ambulance crash when Luke wandered around shocked and disoriented in a desperate attempt to find June or Hannah or both. The scene was pretty powerful and the silence allowed us to properly sympathize with Luke as he stumbles around looking for any kind of help. The second part was the church which featured the disturbing image of all the bodies hung from the ceiling. It was a signature "Handmaid's Tale" shot which emphasized the darkness in the world again. The Bad: The focus on Luke was sort of a double-edged sword though because so far he has been by far the most boring character on the show. Because of this his journey was very dull and I don't feel that his conflict was interesting enough to justify a full episode revolving around him. Had there been some more depth to explore about him, this would have been at least good, but since there was nothing worthwhile, this felt like a total waste of our time, sort of like "The Lost Sister" from Stranger Things season 2. On top of that, the new characters we met weren't good either. They nearly all died, making them feel like a waste as well, and none of them really added on anything to our understanding of the show. We could literally remove them from the show and nothing changes, which is never a good thing for a show. Erin was the only character who stayed, but I find her hard to believe. I don't know much about her other than the fact that she doesn't talk. I wish the show could have a least clarified if she hasn't talked or if she can't talk because her tongue was cut out or something because I honestly have no idea. It is implied that she has chosen not to talk, but that seems really weak since Erin was only at the Red Center. We have seen how rough a handmaid's life is, but the Red Center is nowhere near the worst part, so it's hard to buy into the fact that Erin was so traumatized after her time there. This episode felt like the perfect opportunity to give us more answers about how Gilead works, yet once more the writers take the cheap way out by providing absolutely nothing. When I realized we were getting flashbacks again I was hopeful for answers, but once more the writers walked circles around an answer which only continues to frustrate me beyond belief. Most dystopian stories need to develop their world and explain how it works so that we can understand the stakes, but oddly enough this show just ignores that aspect of dystopian stories. It's a crucial aspect and the show perplexingly seems to not care for it which is severely detracting from the show. We NEED answers about how Gilead functions, the government's motives, the soldiers, why people cooperate with Gilead, etc. I've gone over it all before, and I don't feel like ranting about it again. And to add salt to the wounds, The Handmaid's Tale introduced another society, yet they spent precious little time there and fleshed out NOTHING about the world. It's beginning to get frustrating now and while I do enjoy the character stories that are at work in this show, the world the show is set in is shallow and disappointing so when there isn't a great character story going on in an episode, the flaws feel even more glaring than they already were. How did they know who Luke's wife was? It seems like he never told them who June was, so how did the assistant know June was Luke's wife? It's sloppy writing and detracts from that final scene. Furthermore, June and Luke's relationship is underdeveloped and I don't care about it yet so the ending had little to offer for emotional value. The Unknown: Okay seriously, how does the world work in this show? We need an explanation fast for both Gilead and Little America. Best Moment: The sequence early on when Luke wandered around was probably the best part of the episode. Character of the Episode: Luke. Conclusion: This was disappointingly poor. This show has a serious problem with world-building and needs to address the problem because it's the only thing preventing this show from being at least very good. This episode had little going for it and felt like filler, so hopefully when we resume with the main story, we will get some actual plot progression to wash this episode out of my mouth. Score: 48 Summary: The group travels the highway but run into a traffic jam and get stuck. They scavenge but suddenly a walker herd attacks. Everyone hides but Sophia is chased into the woods by walkers. Rick saves her but she gets lost in the woods. The group tries to find Sophia in the woods and split off. Rick, Shane and Carl find a deer and Carl looks at it before he gets shot.
The Good: I thought this was a very effective season premiere. A lot of stuff happened and there was a ton to like in all of this. I like the simple problem of the traffic jam. It was a good way to get the group stopped on the way to Fort Benning to create some tension and new storylines. I enjoyed the car looting scenes since they all made sense to me. After all why wouldn't they get supplies from all the cars available? The walker assault was also fantastic and created a ton of tension early in the episode. We haven't seen so many walkers at the same time with our characters so out in the open since "Guts", so there was a huge sense of danger and I really felt like something was going to go wrong. Thankfully nobody died (until that ending), but the herd paid off with Sophia going missing. I thought it was an excellent storyline to centre around and it gives the characters a good reason to stay around the highway for the next little bit at least. It also served well to allow our characters to explore different locations, like the church and the tent. The most fascinating thing about this show is the world it's set in, which allows for the show to have so many potential stories of survivors to explore, like the man who killed himself in the tent for this episode. I'm really excited to see more survivors in this world and how the apocalypse affected them. I also really enjoyed the gruesome cutting open of the walker. The show continues to rub in the unpleasantness of the world as our survivors are forced to do some truly gross things. While the characters are still mostly shallow, I thought there were a ton of great little moments here as characters begin developing storylines and conflicts. I really enjoyed Shane's current storyline as he plans to leave and starts distancing himself from everybody. It was pleasing to watch and created some really nice drama with Lori and Carl. I was pleased that Carl wasn't just clueless and that he realized that Shane has been being a little distant. I also really enjoyed Carol panicking and grieving about Sophia's disappearance. Melissa McBride did a terrific job of making me feel bad for her even though I hardly know who she is. I thought Lori had a nice moment as she stands up for Rick, and I also enjoyed the little moment between T-Dog and Daryl when Daryl saved his life. The ending shock was fantastic as well. The episode had been going at a slow yet enjoyable pace for the final half hour as the group hunted down Sophia, but suddenly things seem to have cracked into second gear as Carl has now been shot. I was genuinely caught off guard by this and honestly I do think there is a chance that Carl actually dies here. I do think he survives, but I wouldn't be shocked if he dies either. This show has done a great job of establishing that nobody is safe in this world, so that immediately adds tension as soon as Carl is shot since there is a decent chance that he actually dies here. The Bad: Not much major but I feel like this episode really missed with the little details as I have tons of nitpicks. For one, why is Lori constantly leaving Carl alone? Sophia just got chased into the woods, yet immediately Lori lets Carl go off on his own to check out the cars. Seriously, what parent is so irresponsible? I also didn't like Shane wasting water taking a mini shower. It just seemed like an unnecessary waste which the survivors should not be doing. Andrea screaming in the RV was way too loud so I have a hard time believing that no walkers heard this and entered the RV through the OPEN door. Lori's comment about the place being a graveyard was dumb. What were they supposed to do, go get supplies from the shopping centre? Also shouldn't Rick be able to run much faster than the walkers with or without Sophia? He had a huge lead on them, so shouldn't he just double back to the highway to get some help? I can hardly buy that he wouldn't be fast enough to outrun the zombies, and that he would rather leave Sophia on her own instead of just directing her back to the highway. The only major problem I have with this is the guns. Why does everyone care so much about guns? Like seriously, Rick is just walking around the entire time holding a gun, yet it's been established that nobody should be using guns. Why not carry a knife instead? It would have helped him take care of the zombies chasing Sophia as well. It seems so dumb that he would only carry guns and not just give everyone a knife or axe in case they find walkers. I was also disappointed that Carl never made mention that he should keep an axe in case he is attacked by walkers like Sophia. I thought for sure that he should have at least mentioned that to Lori to give her an interesting moral conflict to think about. Also there was a terrible filter placed to make it seem like evening time. Awful production value and it was incredibly obvious. The Unknown: Do walkers regularly travel in herds? Is that a sign of intelligence for them? Also where did this herd come from and how did it show up so quickly? What was that radio signal? A government message? Where is it coming from? Is T-Dog possibly infected now? He had a walker laying on his open wound, so could the infection have passed into his blood stream through that? Will Carl survive the shot to his midsection? Best Moment: While the walker assault and ending were stunningly good, my favourite moment was Andrea letting Dale know why he had no right to take away her choice. It was a great emotional scene and one that had proper resonance since I completely understood both characters' mindsets and why they did what they did. In the end I feel bad for both, which is exactly what the show was going for. Character of the Episode: Shane. Conclusion: This was a very good premiere episode. I had tons of nitpicks, but other than that I feel that the episode was extremely enjoyable all the way through. A great way to start season 2. Score: 69 Summary: Phoebe's lover comes back from the Navy but they both get the chicken pox. Monica starts talking about her obsessive behaviour with Richard who doesn't seem to mind. Joey works a job at Chandler's work but acts as a different character and annoys Chandler.
The Good: The writers continue to be extremely creative in these episodes. Some of the ideas are really out of the box here, though they aren't very good (see: The Bad). The acting is very good as usual and Chandler is especially funny through his reactions to Joey. The Bad: The chicken pox plot isn't very funny and doesn't really go anywhere. Same deal with the Monica/Richard plotline which is extremely average. It provides the occasional laugh and Richard is great but it isn't at all memorable. Joey is bad in this episode and the storyline is ridiculous. Joey seems like a total prick and I don't feel at all bad for "Joseph" in the episode, and Chandler is given every reason to be annoyed. Best Moment: The last scene with Ross trying to take Rachel back to the apartment but her continually forgetting things was hilarious. Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: This was a very weak episode. The comedy lacked and the writing was pretty poor sometimes. Friends has been excellent this season but there seem to be a few episodes which are just much weaker than the rest. This is one of those episodes. Score: 54 Summary: Flashbacks show Serena pushing for the change to Gilead but being forced to give up her own life for it. In the present, the handmaids clean up Gilead as a Mexican trade ambassador is coming to meet Fred. The ambassador arrives and questions Offred who pretends to be happy. Later after talking with Nick, Offred tells her that they need help but she is unable to help because her country is dying. The assistant tells Offred that Luke is still alive.
The Good: This was a much stronger episode than the last which got the show back on track. I really enjoyed the ambassador storyline as it opened up the world very nicely. I've been disappointed at the lack of exploration of the world, but this episode helped clear up some of my more pressing questions, like what happened to the rest of the world, if Gilead controls everywhere, if other countries accept Gilead and how the infertility has affected other locations. I was very glad to get these answers. Offred's meeting with the ambassador was very good too. I love how she just assumed that the man was the ambassador since she's so used to females not being able to do anything really. I did like the way that the ambassador was dressed, as it clearly portrayed her as an outlier in this world when you compare her bright suit to all the other women's outfits. I really enjoyed Offred's awkward performance as she tried to say how she is happy. It was horribly unconvincing and at first I was annoyed that the ambassador didn't see through it, though that was corrected later on when they spoke again (see: Best Moment). I enjoyed Fred in this episode as well. His character remains so mysterious and I still don't know his exact motives which makes me pretty interested in him. We saw him clearly loving Serena in the flashbacks, yet now he's not exactly being loyal since he's started his relationship with Offred. I want to learn more about him, so the show has done its job of getting me interested in his character. The highlight of this episode was Serena for sure. The episode revolved mostly around her and I think it did a great job of turning her into a complex character who I have conflicting feelings for. The episode makes me loathe her yet at the same time pity her, which is really good. It makes Serena not only more interesting to me, but more human which is important in a show like this which takes place in such a cruel world. Even the worst people need to be humanized and that is exactly what happened here. Serena was somebody who supported Gilead but she had to give up so much of her own life and morals to make Gilead a reality, and it's that last part which makes her feel more human since we can see that she has lost something from this world too. And of course Yvonne Strahovski does a fantastic job of portraying the emptiness in Serena now that her life has been changed so much, making the storyline that much more powerful. There were a few other small scenes I really liked. Offred's scenes with Nick were pretty good though I still find it hard to buy into their relationship. I did like Offred's little explosion towards Nick after she panics from saying that she's happy. It set up that final scene very well and made Offred's emotional speech feel more like a moment which was a long time coming. Seeing Ofwarren again is always great and her childlike tendencies are great to watch. I really enjoyed seeing Aunt Lydia try to calm her down. The Bad: I still need more details on Gilead to properly understand the overarching story. I just sort of understood the plot about selling the handmaids as slaves, but since I don't know exactly how the entire world functions, it's not as powerful or gripping of a story as it perhaps should be. While I really enjoyed the focus on Serena, I feel like she deserved a little more focus than she got. This episode was still mostly hinged around Offred, but I feel that had it been a little more about Serena's story, it may have hit a little bit harder. It seems awfully convenient that the assistant knew who Luke was and that Offred was his wife. She never explained that, so how did he know? It seems way too coincidental. The Unknown: How did Gilead hide what really happens in the area? Are there just never any people who leak information or any visitors who arrive and see how corrupt Gilead is? Also how large is Gilead? It must be pretty small seeing how like everyone was able to gather in a single room. Where are the children kept? Who raises them? Why are there so few children in the world now? Shouldn't there be more ramifications now that there are very few kids? Were those kids all the Gilead children or just a small bunch of them? The show needs to address these questions. Why has Fred become less loyal to Serena? What happened to him over the years? Could it have had something to do with the first Offred? How did Luke survive? What will Offred write to him? Best Moment: Offred's ending speech was a fantastic catharsis. It was 6 episodes in the making for her to let out all her emotions on how incredibly awful her lifestyle is. Elisabeth Moss was incredible as always and she brought a lot of emotion to the scene. The twist that the ambassador couldn't help because her own country is so ruined was pretty painful and Offred's reaction of disappointment felt very real as she learned that there would be no help from the outside world to save her from being enslaved. Instead the outside world seems to be eager to get some slaves of their own. Character of the Episode: Serena. Conclusion: This was a great episode, which was much stronger than the last one. This had emotional power, developed the world and also fleshed out an important character. While the show still has some flaws surrounding Gilead, it remains very powerful and that makes it a really great watch. Score: 72 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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