The Handmaid's Tale

I've just finished (binge) watching season 4. From the start, the story of a dystopian future in "North America", plagued by religious zealots with sadistic personality disorder is gut wrenchingly hard to watch, yet the viewer can't help but continue. The heroes (mostly females) refuse to be broken in spirit, forming alliances to fight the evil system, never abandoning hope for victory.

My reason for withholding the 10th star for a perfect rating is a clear contradiction no one seems to be addressing at all: The "necessity" for this whole "child bearing machine" is a declining birth rate, yet people are executed for the most ridiculous infractions. If children are scarce and precious things, why are adults so expendable? It seems that for each new child born, 10 adults are "hanged on the wall" like wet clothing on a line to dry. How (in God's Name) does THAT help stave off the fear of a shrinking population?

The Handmaid's Tale is a chilling & gripping series set in a dystopian world where the USA is transformed into a class-based society, with emphasis on fertile women who are treated as property for reproduction. The shows does a great job at depicting brutality, repression, authoritarianism, but also how these acts are justified in various forms. The acting really captures the cultish behaviors that can be found on both left & right extremes of today's ideological spectrum. Season 1-3 are definitely top-tier for those who enjoy dystopian/post-apocalyptic genres with high production.

Season 4 however is a snoozefest. The show has lost steam, there's not much storyline development left and it just drags with no objective or goal. Even the good acting & cinematography can't salvage what was once a solid 8-9.

The Handmaid's Tale is one of the most infuriating, depressing, and most difficult to watch shows I've ever seen. You keep waiting for things to turn into June's favor or all the terrible people in the show to get what they have coming to them but it just never happens. It just keeps getting more and more depressing and hopeless! There are little victories along the way but it takes until the end of Season 4 before you finally get some satisfaction. Having said all that it's still an incredible show that is so well acted and written that it is always nominated for all the major awards. June is a character the changes so much throughout the show. She's almost unlikable by the time season 3 & 4 arrive. There is no doubt that some of the show is excruciatingly slow but it's worth it to stick with it. It's probably time for the show to come to an end soon and I hope it has a satisfying ending.

I jumped onto The Handmaids bandwagon pretty late; I started the series a couple of weeks ago & just finished with seasin 4. I chose to disregard the plethora of negative reviews about the last 2 seasons because I wanted to make my own conclusions about the show, as a whole. While many of the negative reviews do make valid points, such as some of the scenes being too slow & the (way) too many unnecessary close-ups of June, I thought the overall show was excellent!!

As an individual who: 1- raised in an extremely strict, religious setting 2- a victim of sexual abuse for many years 3- trapped in very tightly controlled & highly abusive relationships & 4-had a child ripped from my arm because I was deemed "unworthy" of being a mother simply because the grandparents were more financially stable at the time, this show truly resonated with SO MUCH of what I've gone & been through & what I've overcome & recovered from...hence the title of my review.

I understand that my review doesn't give much in reference to the show, itself, but it is a testament not only to those of us who've endured similar circumstances, but a testament to what strongly held beliefs, such as religion can do & the impact it can have on those who do not have those same beliefs.

It is OKAY to have differences of opinions. It is OKAY to have different beliefs. It is OKAY to be who we are, as individuals, but it is NOT okay to be persecuted for those differences. We do not all have to or need to agree with one another, but we all MUST learn to respect one another & accept people for who they are.

I wanted to like this series and had actually watched up to Season 2, midway, but I got overwhelmed and just plainly put off by Elizabeth Moss's constant close ups!!!

My exact thought echoed here by several reviewers so apparently I am not alone! Just got tired of her face's weird projection that comes off like she is about to transform into an alien or monster or head about to explode as she semi lift her head with matching head/neck twitching, big ugly stare and pursed lip breathing.... so annoying and distracting!!! I just had enough of her face and felt overdosed that I needed to stop watching the show to get a much needed withdrawal from her.