Damn it, this episode of The Handmaid’s Tale shouldn’t be as relevant as it is. It isn’t just its themes of brutality being normalized, it’s the depiction of the powerless having their children and infants ripped from their arms while…
The Handmaid’s Tale 2×09 Review: Diplomacy Offers Accountability, Atonement In “Smart Power”
If last week’s episode of The Handmaid’s Tale achieved a milestone in that it finally got me to sympathize with Serena, “Smart Power” does something far more essential. It holds her accountable. This happens through a very intense diplomatic trip…
The Handmaid’s Tale 2×08 Review: Gilead’s Women Try To Save A Life In “Women’s Work”
The Handmaid’s Tale crossed a major milestone in the episode “Women’s Work” by getting me to feel sympathy for Serena (Yvonne Strahovski). She’d been fleshed out in previous episodes, but the the reaction I was obviously intended to have never…
The Handmaid’s Tale 2×07 Review: A Quiet Revolution Awakens In “After”
On The Handmaid’s Tale, Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) and June’s (Elisabeth Moss) dynamic has become akin to a dysfunctional relationship, with Serena as that bad boyfriend you know you shouldn’t be dating. Last episode, she humiliated June after she dared to…
The Handmaid’s Tale 2×06 Review: Gilead Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned In “First Blood”
After being nearly consumed by Offred, June (Elisabeth Moss) is back in “First Blood.” After waking up in the hospital inspired by her child stubbornly clinging to life, June is newly committed to escaping Gilead. Good thing, because she’s the…
The Handmaid’s Tale 2×05 Review: Silence Sows Rebellion In “Seeds”
Where last week’s episode of The Handmaid’s Tale was unsettling and depressing, “Seeds” is bleak. June (Elisabeth Moss) has not only been returned to the Waterford house and had to conform all over again, all her coping mechanisms have been…
The Handmaid’s Tale 2×04 Review: Defiance Has A Harrowing Cost In “Other Women”
The Handmaid’s Tale could never be called upbeat, but it goes to a truly dark place in the episode “Other Women.” There was heart-wrenching despair as June (Elisabeth Moss) came so close to escaping Gilead at the end of the…