The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu

[Call_me_jorge]

I'm shocked to see no one talking about this.

Just got to watching the seventh episode today and every episode has stunned me with how poignant it is. In the latest episode when the husband is in the office for the remains of the US government there's a flag behind him and I just loved the slight detail of only having outlines of the stars, except for the two remaining states. 

Episode six really got my attention when they started to get more into the politics of it all and then you start seeing commanders wife regret leading that movement. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Am I the only one watching this?

[Plannietink08]

http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1101412&boardname=off&dt=0&boardid=2

 

I've been waiting a long time for you, Call_me_jorge.

[mpkie]

No I've watched all the episodes, too. I miss Ofglen / Emily.

ETA: Yvonne Strahovski is constantly impressing me as Serena Joy. It's so weird to see Chuck's Sarah Walker as such a horrible person that the show keeps trying to make you sympathize with. But I don't, she is one of the architects of this horror.

[SNAFU]

One of the real horrors of this show is how women treat other women. For a very brief time I had a shop of only women working for me. I saw in that microcosm some of the same power plays depicted in this series. Women can be pretty brutal to each other. I wish we were shown what were the the requirements for the social structure. We know fertile women were destined to become Handmaids, why were the other women classified as Aunts? Was it only the rich and Politically connected who were Commanders wives? What of all the other lower class barren women? Perhaps the book delves into this more in depth?

[Mister Matt]

I'm a huge fan of the novel and having watched the first three episodes, so far, it's sizing up to be what I hoped.  I really like how they are fleshing out some of the backstory without straying far from the text.  The inclusion of recognizable pop tunes into the soundtrack brilliantly extends the characteristic of the novel that made it sensational.  The fact that the terrifying "future" happened so quickly, the characters can still painfully remember the normalcy of the past, which is startlingly similar to the viewers' present.  It's the right show at exactly the right time.
 

What of all the other lower class barren women? Perhaps the book delves into this more in depth?

Well, I know the book does a bit, but not always in great detail.  I believe Aunts were usually older infertile women (post-menopausal), which is why the name for them suggests indirect matriarchy or authority.  Most single infertile women became Marthas (cooks and servants).  Some lower-class or impoverished men were allowed to keep their former fertile wives, known as Econowives, who had to be Wife, Handmaiden and Martha to their households because servants were only to be provided to those of great wealth and power.  Some women were allowed to become Jezebels (Government-sanctioned prostitutes) in exchange for being sentenced to the Colonies for their crimes.  Then there are the Unwomen who are basically any woman deemed either useless or a traitor by the government.  The Unwomen are usually sent to the Colonies, the work camps where they assist in cleanup  from nuclear fallout until they die from the radiation.

[SNAFU]

Thank-you Mr Matt. It is sort of hard to get that from the series. When they do give us brief glimpses into the structure it is really quite frightening. Episode 7 goes into it a bit more, which I found to be very intriguing.

 

[Plannietink08]

 What of all the other lower class barren women?

 

In the book it's also suggested that a large majority of people in Boston don't know what's going on with the Handmaids, the Aunts, the Marthas and all the new roles for woman. They see these people walking around in uniforms but are too scared to ask anything or do anything about it. If a couple can prove they're lawfully married, not divorced etc, then they're essentially left alone by the new government. It also does state that this won't last long and eventually everyone will be categorized. 

I imagine it was like Germany during the War with the death camps - the population knew something was going on but weren't sure exactly what it was.

 

 

[SNAFU]

In the series we don't see any other women. I guess they are restricted to a certain neighborhood.

 

[SonofRobbieJ]

I think Elizabeth Moss is giving quite possibly the best performance I've ever seen on screen.  That moment in episode six when *SPOILER BELOW*

she is the commanders office and there is the closeup on her face as she is about to leave and, swallowing back bile, she decides to stay and try to manipulate him is one of the few times I've ever watched an actor and thought 'The the f*ck did the do that?!?!?!?!'

In the end, awards mean nothing...but everyone who has lost their mind over Lange in Feud (a terrific performance) must not be watching this.  Moss is beyond sensational.  

[ErikJ972]

I agree she's giving an amazing performance. It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact she's an active member of Scientology. Especially considering the subject matter of the show.

[SNAFU]

Just watched episode 7, I take back my previous statement.

[MoveOnGypsy]

ErikJ972 said: "I agree she's giving an amazing performance. It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact she's an active member of Scientology. Especially considering the subject matter of the show."

That definitely sours my opinion of her. Wow, that is something.

 

[GeorgeandDot]

I just want to start off by saying that I absolutely adore this show and how tragic it is that it's just so damn relevant.  Elizabeth Moss is giving a brilliant performance and I think that she will be remembered come award season.  I know that she was born into a scientologist family, but I'm not sure if she is still a practicing member.  If she is, it is quite a pity.

[AEA AGMA SM]

GeorgeandDot said: "I just want to start off by saying that I absolutely adore this show and how tragic it is that it's just so damn relevant.  Elizabeth Moss is giving a brilliant performance and I think that she will be remembered come award season.  I know that she was born into a scientologist family, but I'm not sure if she is still a practicing member.  If she is, it is quite a pity."

 

She is still a practicing member of the organization, though she has always been on the fairly quiet side about it.

 

Newsweek did a very interesting article about her relationship with Scientology and the show itself back in May.

 

http://www.newsweek.com/handmaids-tale-elisabeth-moss-scientology-celebrities-cult-following-tom-594180

[SNAFU]

Am I wrong to assume that this week's episode was the finale of Season 1?

[adamgreer]

SNAFU said: "Am I wrong to assume that this week's episode was the finale of Season 1?

 

You would be correct. They announced season 1 as being 10 episodes. Season 2 premieres "in 2018."

[Plannietink08]

My thoughts on the Season finale.

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

What an ending! I love how they remain faithful to the book even when making all those changes. You can tell they've been respectful with the source material. Having all the Handmaids begin to rebel as well as Aunt Lydia's face when she realises she hasn't crushed their spirit as much as she though she had was such an incredible addition and it speaks volumes for future seasons by showing the tiniest cracks beginning to appear in the regime. I know Aunt Lydia a sadistic w(b)itch but I can't help but loving her and I think her love for the Handmaid's is genuine - in a f u c k e d up kind of way. 

The scene between Luke and Moira was really touching -  her reaction when she found out he considers her family broke my heart as did when the refugee worker was flippantly giving her money and insurance and she was just absolutely speechless. I can't wait for her to gather her thoughts and become bad a s s again in Season 2. Moira and Luke are going to be a formidable team.

Things I'm hoping to see more of are in Season Two are: Little America and the refugees, especially escaped Handmaid's and Marthas. I also love the references to the Martha's being organised throughout the series - I don't for a second think that Rita isn't part of that, especially after she revealed her son had died during the Gilead War and her eagerness to grab the letters when Offered was taken away. In the book there's a reference that the story take place entirely in Harvard Square and the rest of the city is carrying on as normal. Men going to work, woman staying at home, not even aware of what's going on with the Hanmaids. I'd love to see public life and the fear they're all living with as well as their reaction to just how bad the Gilead regime is when they realise every woman is going to be eventually to sorted into some sort of submissive role. 

I really hope we get to see the Econowives in Season Two. I reckon they are so resentful of the regime since they are expected to act as Martha, Handmaid and Wife that they'd be keen to grind down the regime as well in their own organised way. I was interested in them from the tiny glimpses we saw in the books. It would be really interesting to see a character give us her point of view of being in the middle of the Gilead hierarchy, not exactly a powerful wife but not exactly a powerless Handmaid.

I'm glad we'll finally get to see the colonies, as the show runner confirmed in various interviews. It's been confirmed Offred's mother makes an appearance in Season 2 so I bet Offred gets sent to the colonies and reunites her with her mother. Any ideas on who could play Offerd's mother?

I wish we could have seen a softer side to Serena Joy. The book makes her almost likeable but the TV show just has her a cold, heartless, you-know-what. I really rooted for her earlier in the series, I even compared her to Cersai Lannister, but she became very 2 dimensional as the series progressed. I know there were glimmers of her softer side, like giving Offred the music box, but it didn't ring true and it after she had locked Offred up for two weeks. I think Serena Joy has been a missed opportunity. 

 

[Call_me_jorge]

Anyone watch the first two episodes of the second season, yet?

[Call_me_jorge]

Got chills during the false hanging scene. Thought it was kind of ironic that a world made for men doesn’t have baseball....

Episode two was really powerful to me. Loved what Ofglenn told the one wife and her flashbacks were heartbreaking.

Hoping we get more insight on the “little America” in Canada!

[Call_me_jorge]

is no one else watching this?

[MoveOnGypsy]

I am. I really don't like the season 2 writing. Aside from the plot holes, like why aren't there sports? Why and how is Gilead defending itself? Why wasn't Offred found with her ear tag before she cut it off and even then it still would've worked unless it was destroyed. I really am not enjoying it as much as I hoped I would. 

[adamgreer]

I get that the Boston Globe office was abandoned, but not one other person besides the truck driver ever stopped by? No one in all of Boston saw the lights going on and off at all hours of the day and night??

[MoveOnGypsy]

Exactly! It seems so impossible. If Gilead is the Boston area then they should have more than enough surveillance technology and man power to survey these areas. She was there for two months- TWO. I'm going to finish out the season and then call it quits. Weird.

[adamgreer]

Anyone else still watching this?

That season finale was...interesting. Equal parts great acting and frustrating given how it all played out.

Also...

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

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If Aunt Lydia is dead I’m done. She, along with Serena Joy, are the most interesting characters on the show.