My First TV Review: The Handmaid’s Tale — AKA, The Show That Left Me Shook

This is my first time writing a television review. Like all first times, I assume it’s going to be awkward as hell, a little — okay, maybe a lot — uncomfortable, and after a minute or two, hopefully satisfying… at least to one party. 😅

But here we go…

I had heard about The Handmaid’s Tale years ago, when it was just a book, but I refused to read it. I knew it would rile me up. I was deliberately sticking my head in the sand — I wasn’t ready for the rage. Then the TV series came out and, well… those promotional pictures? Let’s just say I yanked my head out of the sand and marched to Movie Central at Zai Plaza to buy myself the DVD.

Pillow? Check — for screaming.
Hanky? Check — for wiping away snot.
Emotional stability? Left that behind.

The Story

Set in a dystopian future, The Handmaid’s Tale imagines a world where environmental disasters have led to widespread infertility. The United States has been overthrown by a Christian fundamentalist regime called the Sons of Jacob, and the country is now known as The Republic of Gilead.

Hopelessness? This show has it in terrifying doses. All the bleakness you’ve seen in other dystopias? Child’s play compared to Gilead. Orwell’s 1984 looks like a summer camp next to this.

In Gilead, the few remaining fertile women are enslaved as “handmaids” — forced to bear children for the ruling class of men, the Commanders, through ritualized rape disguised as a holy ceremony. Even worse? The wives of these men, barren themselves, are complicit in the handmaids’ suffering.

As if that’s not horrifying enough, handmaids are stripped of their names, reduced to property. Our protagonist is called Offred, literally meaning ‘of Fred’, as in belonging to her commander, Fred. Any disobedience is met with brutal punishments: eyes gouged out, fingers cut off, hands amputated, genital mutilation, or death.

We follow the story mostly through Offred’s eyes — or, more precisely, through her mind. Elisabeth Moss is Offred, and she gives an absolutely phenomenal performance. She was honestly the only reason I stayed with Mad Men, so I knew she would bring her A-game here.

In the series (not in the book), we learn that Offred’s real name is June — a small but meaningful act of defiance in itself.

What makes it even more disturbing is how the regime justifies all of this using twisted interpretations of the Bible. And the most chilling part? It’s not far-fetched. Versions of this oppression exist in real-life corners of the world today.

I won’t spoil more, but trust me — this show is emotionally brutal. Even with my elite binge-watching skills (I can finish an entire season in a single sitting, easy), I could not watch The Handmaid’s Tale in one go. I had to take breaks, breathe, and come back when I was mentally prepared.

Recommendation:
Watch it. It’s haunting, it’s beautiful, it’s gut-wrenching, and it’s thought-provoking. The visuals are stunning, the acting is top-notch, and the story will stay with you long after the credits roll. It’s a painful, necessary reminder of what happens when power and religion are warped into weapons against women.

Rating
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

So, how was the review? Was it good?  Drop your comment below.