One night as I was browsing through Hulu, desperate for something new to watch, and I came across a show titled The Handmaid’s Tale. I remember hearing the hype about it on Twitter and I’d always see its advertisements while watching other shows on Hulu, but I never knew exactly what it was about.
As an Hulu original, the show received a widespread of critical acclaim and won eight Primetime Emmy Awards from thirteen nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, becoming the first series on a streaming platform to win an Emmy for Outstanding Series. (Sheesh!) It’s also won a Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Drama and Best Actress for Elisabeth Moss.
So, I thought, okay okay let’s see what all the hype is about.
Y’ALL.
For a pilot, the first episode was nothing less than a tense emotional roller-coaster ride that left me on the verge of tears. I then understood why this show had won so many awards. I needed to watch more.
Based off the novel of Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale tells the story of life in a dystopia called “Gilead”. Gilead, formerly known as the United States, now rules as a totalitarian society. Faced with environmental disasters and decreasing birthrates, Gilead’s government enforces a militarized “return to traditional values” based off the principles of the Bible.
The show follows a woman named Offered (Elisabeth Moss), who was once known as June before being violently captured, torn away from her daughter, and placed into a caste of fertile women known as “Handmaids”. By law, Offred (and other Handmaids) are required to move in and become a surrogate for infertile couples who hold government power. These Handmaids are stripped from their identities, values, human rights, and have no other purpose in their world than to reproduce and repeat. As a last desperate attempt to repopulate the world, the new regime forces these women into sexual servitude. In this horrid society, Offred must navigate between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Martha’s, and her fellow Handmaids–where anyone could be a spy for Gilead’s government–all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.
As a black young woman living in an increasingly divided country, with a leader who has little to no respect for anyone who isn’t white and male, it was disturbing to watch a world where women are completely dehumanized, men have control of their wives, and everyone’s freedom is brutally and swiftly taken away. It’s terrifying to imagine, but I can see some version of Gilead becoming the America we know today. But it’s more than just a political allegory. It’s a gorgeous-looking horror show, a painful tense thriller, and an extraordinary collection of stories about women. Nevertheless, I HIGHLY recommend checking out The Handmaid’s Tale.
It’s television at its very best.