Network Hulu (US), Lightbox (NZ)

Release Date April 26th 2017

Episodes 10

Binge time 8 hrs 45 mins

Margret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale seems relevant more than ever in this day and age. Heck, even a movie about a female superhero is still causing debate.

In an interesting release model that’s semi-binge, Hulu released the first three episodes at once (notably directed by Reed Morano setting the tone for the rest of the series), before releasing episodes week by week. It was a more immediate binge for New Zealand when the series only came to Lightbox a week before the finale dropped.

The premise for The Handmaid’s Tale has a present-day United States government forced out by a Christian fundamentalist and military dictatorship which upon seizing power immediately strips women of all their rights. Gilead is the society’s new name.

Elisabeth Moss was June Osborne and is now Offred, captured and forced to be a Handmaid, as one of the few remaining fertile women, has to give birth to the children of high-ranking commanders. Offred works in the home of Mrs Serena Joy Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski), and Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes). That’s where the name Offred comes from, she is literally “of Fred”.

For some reason or another (it’s never quite explained) why they can’t use IVF and instead the women have to be raped by the commanders, with their wives present in a so-called “ceremony”. There are multiple scenes of this so if this is triggering in any way please keep that in mind going in.

This first season cuts back and forth between different time periods; the time of the takeover, the early days of Offred’s training, and her time as a Handmaid. We spend a lot of time in this alternate present (A LOT). And not much seems to progress plot-wise. These ceremony scenes, in particular, are uncomfortable to watch (to put it mildly). The few glimpses we get of seeing the United States’ fall are fascinating. It’s not until later in the season we get to see the events from other perspectives. Hopefully, these flashbacks continue into future seasons.

Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) is the guardian of the Handmaids and I could’ve stood to see more of her. Not only was Dowd incredible in The Leftovers, but she’s great here too. Dowd is initially terrifying, but as the season gets on, her guard drops and we get to see another side of her. Okay, she’s still terrifying, but hey.

The character Nick (Max Minghella) was painfully dull and lacked a personality. No offence to Minghella here. The only time you really get to see who he is, is when he talks to an old friend in a hotel kitchen away from prying eyes. But I am wondering if that was the point, Offred’s attraction to him is only because he’s the only one that gives her the slightest sympathy. A safe harbour in a storm that’s only less shitty than everything else.

Elisabeth Moss has many a powerful performance throughout the multiple time periods, even as a muted Handmaiden. So much goes on with just her eyes and facial expressions. It makes it all the harder to witness her beat down again and again (sometimes literally). Fortunately, that’s not the end of Elisabeth Moss on our screens this year, we have Top of the Lake coming up in September.

I’m not going to spoil anything dramatically here but so you don’t get your hopes up like I did, there isn’t going to be a massive uprising by the end of this season. Sure there’s people working against the Gilead regime but most of the time we’re just going to see Offred’s little rebellions. As depressing as it is, there is that small glimmer of hope that Offred finds, maybe not so subtly, that maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel (hopefully not that kind of tunnel).

Since this first season covers the events of the novel, future seasons are going beyond Atwood’s original vision into the world of Gilead. I’m both terrified and excited to see more of Offred’s rebellion.