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The Handmaid's Tale: A Woman's Place (2017)
Intense political and psychological drama....
...along with good extended world-building. For the first time, we're taken beyond Offred's perspective. This was a risky decision, since the novel largely works because it IS completely limited to her point of view and the first five episodes of the show did such a good job creating this claustrophobic personal reality.
But TV is a much more literal medium and for better or worse, most consumers of today's speculative fiction want a lot of answers to questions beyond the main character's story.
The most obvious questions raised by the Handmaid's Tale are "what's going on in the rest of the world and how do other countries see and interact with Gilead?" In the novel, there were hints of Japanese and Saudi or other Gulf monarchy connections given the descriptions of the only foreigners seen by Offred.
The show has up to this point revealed a functioning Canada and remnant of the US hostile to Gilead and an EU which would prefer not to trade with them but might need to as the Euro is in trouble.
There is also a UN embargo, but Fred scoffs at its effectiveness--and he probably has a point as orders from the UN are often disregarded even now and international law probably even less powerful due to the chaotic state of this future.
In this episode, it's revealed that one of the few things Gilead is doing right is producing abundant organic crops. Mexico is interested, as it is going through crop failure and environmental crisis. Fred Waterford deals directly with the Mexican delegation, proving that he is quite powerful in the regime.
Mexico, with modern ideas and a female ambassador, seems to want Gilead to prove that it isn't as repressive as they have been lead to believe. However, they are also eager to be convinced, as they need the deal.
I found this dynamic fascinating as it is often What nations do in the real world. Dictatorships put on a good face, sweeping serious problems under the rug while exaggerating their virtues. Democracies play along if they have something to gain and don't feel threatened.
It was hard to watch Offred or June, actually, tell the Ambassador that being a Handmaid is a choice and honor; then later being in tears over helping promote this lie.
The big twist about what the trade negotiations are about besides food is chilling, but becomes a little hard to buy after thinking about it. Sending Handmaids to Mexico in any significant numbers would seem to be dangerous to Gilead as it would decrease their already small population of fertile women.
It might have made more sense to simply have the big moral issue be the international normalization of Gilead by giving it a serious ally. Or (and I'm not the first to suggest this) have the deal go the other way around. Mexico has been hit by the infertility plague, but not as bad and will send some of its own women to become Handmaids. But it does work on an emotional level, and it would be interesting in future seasons in a character we know is actually sent to Mexico.
The other big revelation come in the flashbacks, which this time aren't June's but Serena's. The paradox of the strong woman attracted to a political movement that devalues women as a group is something we see in real life.
In fact, Serena was originally inspired by real life anti-feminist women in the 80s and the show updates her with some characteristics of prominent far-right wing women today. Her soul Is crushed as the movement she supported and had influence over shoves her aside upon attaining power. She's a published author, but now not even allowed to read.
She does get a little bit of present day satisfaction by using her duties as hostess of the diplomatic talks to insinuate herself into the actual negotiations and perhaps save the day for Gilead. But is this something to be proud of?
Probably not, but Fred thinks so and is sexually attracted to her for the first time since she was forced to don the teal robe. In the days of planning the revolution, he was wild about her. She even had to reassure him that a few million lives were worth it, so she's definitely in a cage of her own making. However, she even admits that she didn't think it would by quite THIS restrictive.
Blindness as to where their ideas could lead is a problem many people have, which is why dystopian fiction is so important.
The Handmaid's Tale: Jezebels (2017)
Great, but getting a little cluttered
In episodes 8 (this one) and the Season Finale, I feel like they're doing too many subplots without enough time. However, unlike viewers who would like to have edited out some of the content, I'd rather have had a 13-15 episode Season.
There are those--read a selection of reviews online and in periodicals-- who criticize the inclusion of so much Nick. He's a man, after all, and one of the bad guys due to his working as Fred's assistant and also being a member of the menacing Eyes.
However, I thought it was interesting to see things from the point of view of a guy who started out as a loyal foot-soldier of the regime, especially when he is such an important part of June's life and may turn out to have her best interests at heart and even go over to May Day.
But this story should not have competed for space with the TV version of the Jezebels sequence, which should be about June's strange excursion to the titular den of vice and her reunion with Moira.
I did enjoy the short scenes of Nick and a Martha who was once an award winning cook who now works in the kitchens preparing food for the club's elite clientele. The two of them seem to have had an affair at some point and do some black market trading and exchange of information. I hope we learn more about her.
It also tells a lot about that society that Nick can't even go have one drink, but has to stay in a servant's area. Maybe it's because he's on duty, but I get the feeling that he's never allowed in on his own, or at least that he's kept away because an evening there would cost what he makes in a month.
But I'm more interested in June's emotions as she learns that she's taking an illicit trip and expected to wear allegedly sexy clothes and heels and makeup. The place and what goes on there is horrible, but there's also relief in being somewhere that feels like it's totally outside of Gilead-- almost as if the coup hadn't happened. It's yet another form of Gilead slavery, but creates the fantasy of having escaped to a free country and you chose to go to a sleazy nightclub while there.
This is the escapist fantasy that's sold to the dissident women who staff the place. Make the guests happy and indulge in whatever they want in their spare time. With this as an option instead of the regimentation of the usual roles of Handmaid, Wife or Martha or the horrors of the Colonies, the inmates see themselves as lucky.
Sure some of the guests mistreat them and they get killed once they're no longer attractive, but besides that, it's a big party. Moira, unfortunately, has bought into this philosophy, which is sad to see.
An interesting part of the story as the show tells it is Serena's absence from the house. She's off visiting her mother. It makes me curious about how a woman would travel by herself and how her mother lives.
There is also a sad revelation of the fate of the previous Offred. Does Fred lead them to their doom by treating them as his private toys? Why bother when Jezebels is there and there are so many laws governing even his behavior within the house? He seems to have a very strong attraction to the forbidden. More than just letting off steam like it seemed at first. What trouble will this get him into?
The Handmaid's Tale: Faithful (2017)
Major revelations
I feel like this is an episode where the characters, setting and direction of the story become more clearly defined.
Serena: Her desire for a baby turns out to be so extreme that she's perfectly willing to force June and Nick into bed together so it can happen. She is clearly capable of acting outside the law and knows very well that her husband is sterile, despite official doctrine.
June and Nick have been clearly attracted to each other and start a secret affair at nights after a very creepy session of Serena-supervised sex. Seriously, why did she do that (the being in the room with them part, I mean)? She's a very strange person.
June:
The decision to peruse a dangerous relationship with Nick is an interesting development. She doesn't know if she can trust him and still hopes Luke is alive. Flashbacks reveal that she had an affair with Luke while he was still married and that he left his wife for her.
Given the repressive nature of Gilead, any disapproval on my part is wiped away by being glad that they experienced some happiness in life. I wish Luke's marriage had been established as unhappy and likely to end in divorce with or without June, though. His reaction when she asks him to leave his wife implies this.
Fred:
Whatever "fairly decent guy doing his best in an imperfect world" mask he might have been wearing finally slipped. He is revealed as a true believer and total authoritarian despite the fact that he likes friendly chats and thinks a few of Gilead's rules are to strict.
A spat with June brings out his philosophy that successful breeding is all that matters and that love and dignity are illusions. He even knows about, fully approved of and perhaps ordered Emily's genital mutilation. Furthermore, he thinks it is an actual "cure" for homosexuality.
Other Handmaids and Gilead society as a whole:
Apparently it's possible to be content as a Handmaid, at least for a time, depending on one's background. Many women are already sexually exploited in our world, but without the level of shelter, nutrition and healthcare Gilead provides.
It also seems that not all Commanders and Wives come across as evil or even menacing to the Handmaids. New Ofglen swears that her's are "nice." Emily (formerly Ofglen, now ...I think Ofsteven) at least has a kind mistress.
At the same time, she herself is a living example of how vile the system is. She seems completely broken and is being shunned by her resistance comrades as someone watched too closely by the Eyes to be of any use. But she is able to commit a private act of violent rebellion probably intended to get herself killed, though she gets captured. I shudder to imagine what will happen to her now.
The Handmaid's Tale: Offred (2017)
Everything taken from her.
In the "present", the main character now known as Offred is living under a new regime after the collapse and breakup of the United States which happened just a few years earlier.
But it could have happened generations ago; or so it seems in Cambridge, Massachusetts, home of the ruling elite of the new Republic of Gilead. They've stripped away so much of the culture and history that was there before and replaced it with the preferences of the new rulers.
It seems like odd mixture of influences cobbled together but becomes even more frightening as it begins to make a certain amount of sense in context. The obvious theme is a return to the Puritan period of (part of) America's past. But the Puritans, for all their faults, had some proto- democratic and egalitarian leanings.
But sorry, these don't fit the Republic of Gilead's needs, so on one level it's not Ye Olde New England at all, but a feudal atmosphere where the commoners serve on the estates of "great men." These Commanders of the Faithful don't put up with priests, however, because they speak for God as well as ruling the secular realm. An ominous secret police force called the Eyes are also a big deal and soldiers constantly patrol the streets giving off a Nazi or Stalinist vibe.
Women are of course singled out for the least power and worst treatment, especially if they didn't marry an important man (in which case, they can wear nice clothes, decorate, garden and drink their sorrows away). At least men can try to work their way up the military chain of command or have regular jobs, though they are forbidden to marry or reproduce without permission and can be sent to die in an ongoing war against the remnant of the USA.
"Marthas", the female domestic servants work nearly every waking hour. Handmaids are the ultimate example of reductionism. There has been a sterility plague and the few remaining unmarried fertile women are drafted into a state sponsored pseudo-religious order to bear children for whomever they get assigned to. They are blatantly thought of as walking wombs.
All of these roles are embodiments of typical stereotypes of women that have existed for thousands of years. There is even a color coded uniform for each one, though the Wives are allowed a little more variety in style.
I'm sorry to go to such lengths to describe Gilead, but my point is that for the main character, its immersive atmosphere and largely successful erasure of the recent past makes it quite a task to hold onto her sense of self and reality.
The flashbacks to her last few years before everything changed are painful because they're all she has left of her husband (presumed dead and marriage dissolved by Gilead in any case because she was his second wife), daughter (taken away and given to a "deserving" childless couple) and best friend who was recruited as a Handmaid, too, after the revolution but who disappeared after displaying too much rebellious behavior.
So much of the story is her struggle to stay mentally alive and to be prepared to fight back when and if the time comes. Her internal dialogue is everything from sorrow to mockery of her new masters.
By the end of the pilot, she is ready to privately reclaim her real name-- June--and swear to find her daughter, Hannah.
The Handmaid's Tale: The Bridge (2017)
Two great episodes in one
This episode will be kind of off-putting for book purists as it is a completely original story not based on a subplot of the book or even a creation of events unseen by Offred but definitely implied.
It represents a decision which I for one think is highly appropriate for a drama in having its sympathetic characters attain a level of agency they lacked in the book. The book brilliantly presented a narrator and her associates who were "ground down" by the brute force and psychological dominance of the Gilead dictatorship.
Sure they broke the occasional rule and had forbidden conversations, but ultimately they were unable to fight back except for the first Ofglen who was a member of the May Day resistance but failed to get Offred to really do anything on their behalf and Moira who escaped for a while, but landed in Jezebels, broken and cynical.
This approach shows an admirable solidarity with people in repressive situations who are unable to resist for very long. It's all too easy to say, from a position of safety, that anyone who doesn't rebel is a collaborator and that one should prefer to die free than live as a slave. But ultimately, no one knows what they would do. The blame is on the oppressor, not those he breaks.
The show, however, needs to be more dynamic without going too far and making the characters into action heroes. In my opinion, they've been striking the perfect balance and this episode was the perfect example.
Janine has been shattered mentally by the Red Centre training, the theft of her baby and the sexual abuse and mind games by the baby's father. But she finds a way to call attention to her plight in a way that is so shocking that even this evil government must take notice. June/Offred is forced into the role of hostage negotiator, which she handles well.
She also volunteers to do something to help May Day and is of course given a task that is virtually impossible. She gives it everything she has, but would have failed anyway without some unexpected aid.
The return trip to Jezebels is very tense and Fred's arrogance and contempt for everyone is displayed even more than usual. Nick remains enigmatic. Is his brooding anger rooted in jealousy or concern? He's an Eye(secret police officer), but is he really loyal to the state or actually with the resistance and maybe trying to help June?
We see Serena trying her best to be a decent human being trying to help her neighbor and Janine's former mistress (and baby thief) deal with the stresses of her stolen "motherhood." She seems to know more about babies than the woman Gilead has assigned it to. Then she even shares a drink with Rita the servant whom she normally scarcely speaks to.
But when Rita shares a tragic story about her son being killed in the war, it's obvious something is missing in her as she gives the worst example of comfort I've ever seen in the form of cold patriotic and religious platitudes.
Meanwhile, Moira has decided that drugs and alcohol aren't enough compensation for a life of sexual slavery after all and pulls another makeshift knife and stolen uniform escape.
This all has me counting the hours to the season finale next week.
The Handmaid's Tale: Birth Day (2017)
Here comes the Birthmobile!
A day in the life of Offred as she must serve in a variety of Handmaid duties from ceremonial rape victim to midwife. It's a big day as Janine is having a baby. All the Handmaids in the area must gather to assist in the birth which will happen in her current "owner's" house.
It's bigger than the Waterford's place, but in my opinion not as architecturally beautiful or tastefully decorated. It strikes me as decorated by someone with a lot of money but tacky tastes. Anyway, all these houses are probably just handed out to these high level figures of the revolution after their original owners were killed or imprisoned.
Inside, the wives throw their privilege in the Handmaids' faces as the gorge themselves on rich food and wine, offer treats as if they were dogs, etc. Janine, on the other hand, must give birth in an uncomfortable room crowded with all the Handmaids lead by Aunt Lydia, their terrifying overseer responsible for Janine's missing eye.
Here, though, she plays at being warm and affectionate, which is almost worse. In fact everyone has a wonder and fascination about the pregnant Handmaid. As individuals, they are outcasts, but as living fertility idols, their bodies are venerated. The lady of the house performs a weird ritual in which she play acts delivery, thus making the baby "hers".
This episode is one of the most effective in showing how grotesque Gilead is (not just violent, oppressive and reactionary but fundamentally creepy) but I guess a global sterility plague would make culture and religion take strange forms and bring out the worst in what's already there.
The Handmaid's Tale: The Other Side (2017)
Still very good....
...but not really up to "normal" Handmaid's Tale standards. On one hand the atmosphere is great. It really seems to make the concept of a fallen nation under a fledgling dictatorship real, especially one they leave the city where there is a minimal illusion of normalcy. Or at least there is for men.
I'd have liked to have seen more about what women's lives were like in this period after the US as we know it ended but before Gilead as presented in most of the show has been completely established. All money is electronic and women can't have accounts for example.
Does this mean that the man responsible for them (husband or father, presumably) has to go around with them everywhere where they might need to spend money or can they be given coupons like the ones the Handmaids spend at the supermarket? That would have been an interesting sign of things to come. June and Moira go to the coffee shop and this time are allowed to buy coffee because they've attained a coupon with a cup of coffee on it from Luke.
Anyway, Luke finally realizes how bad this is for June and doesn't want his daughter growing up in a country like this. He's probably also sick of living in a dictatorship himself. So, of course, they try to go to Canada and June and Hannah get caught as we've seen before.
But this time, we follow Luke as he's not killed as originally thought, but wounded and captured. Then he escapes by luck and is plunged into a very disturbing landscape of death and devastation. He makes in to Canada and lives in a refugee neighborhood called "Little America." All of this is very powerful and good for the world-building of the show.
However, did this excellent personal and cultural content need to be part of such a convoluted story line? Much of the plot itself was a bunch of action movie and espionage clichés.
I'd have rather seen more of the characters' lives in proto-Gilead Boston and more of Toronto's Little America instead of every detail of various escapes and escape attempts.
The Handmaid's Tale: Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum (2017)
Contains Spoilers--Brilliant look into a Handmaid's life
This episode beautifully translated a major theme of the original novel to the medium of TV.
A terrible part of being a Handmaid is the crushing boredom and sensory deprivation. All women are forbidden to read and participate in most activities, but the Wives are allowed hobbies, socializing with each other and drinking and smoking. The Marthas work almost all the time which is awful in itself, but at least is something to do.
Except for their walks which include grocery shopping and a bit of conversation, Handmaids are forced to spend a ridiculous amount of time simply hanging out in their rooms waiting to be summoned. Think about this. Spending almost all of one's time in a chair or bed in silence.
It was made more dramatic for television by having Serena take away even the walks and (mostly silent) meals in the kitchen as punishment for failure to get pregnant. But the book makes clear that the time alone in the room is crushing and frightening even with the usual breaks.
She spends a lot of effort struggling to remain sane, which is an issue that the best dystopian literature, real life accounts of the dictatorships, and real and fictional accounts of prison deal with.
This is the part that affected me the most, but I'm not trying to minimize the interesting nature of her developing personal relationship with the Commander who enjoys (on his terms) a certain amount of connection with her even though he intentionally built a society where men and women can't legally have such unsupervised, informal conversations.