“The Handmaid’s Tale” finally premiered on April 8th with a 3-episode drop to satiate hungry fans. In what is unfortunately not an abnormal occurrence, it’s been almost 2 and a half years since we last saw an episode of the dystopian yet super relevant Hulu series. Warning, spoilers for “The Handmaids Tale” ahead.
When we last left our heroine June Osborne, she had pulled a very strange full-circle moment with her former captor, abuser and rapist, Serena joy Waterford on a train heading to Alaska after having the day from hell. The problem with these mega breaks in between seasons is that we the fans forget many of the important details that have happened and then we need to decide how much to binge. Do you do the whole series? What if you just don’t have the time for all that noise? To the shows credit, they did do an extensive “Previously On”, but we still felt lost.
When we last left our heroine June Osborne, she had pulled a very strange full-circle
moment with her former captor, abuser and rapist, Serena joy Waterford on a train…
Elizabeth Moss is emotive as ever in the opening minutes of the season, acknowledging Serena Joy’s character almost delusional view of their relationship and the situation in general. Although that situation ultimately leads to the most action in the premiere, it is a very slow burn, filled with awkward dread. The ending of the first episode is a heartfelt reunion which leads right into the second episode, which did nt move the story forward much at all, except to confirm that Nick is still madly in love with Moss’ character, June (which we already knew). The stakes are somewhat clear and June decided she once again needs to put her life in danger – big surprise. Episode 3 was filled with some tension and did a great job of bringing Aunt Lydia back into the fold and illustrating how truly naive she has been to the situation she’s in. Lydia’s actor Ann Dowd is a talented thespian who knows how to keep the viewer engaged. Her finding out that Gilled isn’t all it’s cracked up to be was a powerful performance although very subtle. This was not a surprise given the fact that Aunt Lydia will be one of the main characters in the sequel that takes place about 15 years after the events of the series. The creators needed to start filling in the gaps form her to there and Lydia’s realization seems the first step.
All in all, each episode offered some moving moments and well crafted dialogue, even if there wasn’t a ton of action. Perhaps the most exciting bits of action were actually in the weeks to come trailer at the end of the episode which promises growing trouble between June and her husband Luke as well as some love triangle action with the heavily plot armored Nick.
Lydia’s relationship with Angela will most likely be a highlight of the season as the Jezebel’s crew may end up becoming instrumental in the endgame of the series. “The Handmaid’s Tale” feels like an important show right now and that tension-filled dread about an over-reaching government may ring a little too close to home with some viewers who aren’t familiar with the series.
What do you think? Was the premiere event promising? Or too little, too late? Will Serena Joy ever get what she truly deserves?
Did you see the episodes? Let us know what you think in the comments below!