This What to Watch Wednesday we’re making a return trip to Gilead for season two of, “The Handmaid’s Tale.” If you haven’t been watching the sophomore season of this Hulu hit you might want to reconsider.
Venturing beyond the book, this series inspired by Margaret Atwood’s novel has managed to become even more profound. Diving deeper into each of the characters lives, some of whom are barely a footnote in the novel, the world of Gilead and its complex and complicated women has grown.
The stories central character, Offred (Elisabeth Moss), goes through a radical transformation. She reclaims her name, June, and changes her thinking in ways that may surprise you. We see more of her before Gilead including her relationship with her mother (Cherry Jones). Her struggle between fighting her oppressors and making the best of her situation is one that resonates.
Perhaps even more intriguing is the expansion of the universe to include more backstory on characters on the flip side of power. As Serena Joy, Yvonne Strahovski continues to make it hard to blindly hate this sometimes cold and cruel character. She makes decision this season that seem to go against everything we’ve seen of her so far, but make her far more interesting and unpredictable.
Without spoiling too much, she’s not the only character who has a few surprises up her government-mandated sleeves. This phenomenal cast of women continues to inspire through their performances.
The all female creatives recruited to write and direct this season have taken these characters to new and intriguing places. There’s rebellion, defiance, unspeakable violence, and there’s even hope. Where the series goes from here (there’s still four new episodes to go this season) is anyone’s guess, but you can bet it will be a powerful tale.
…just for fun:
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