Options
The Handmaid's Tale Season 5 - US Pace - Spoilers
MrsKray
Posts: 1,710 Forum Member
✭✭✭
So far this season...
I was in two minds wether or not to continue with this show but I've actually really enjoyed these episodes. So far, I don't think it feels as stale as it did in places during seasons 3 & 4 but, we'll see! The show definitely feels like a show that is reaching the end though. Season 6 is confirmed to be the last, airing next year. What are our hopes and predictions for this show? Are we enjoying season 5?
Gilead has been dealing with the fallout from the murder of Fred Waterford, broadcasting an elaborate funeral for him to show to the world. They have sent Serena back to Canada permanently and Janine once again almost dies when Esther poisons them both before they are both to be returned into "service" as handmaids - leading to a very emotional scene where Aunt Lydia promises god that she will change... but will she? and how many more lives will Janine have?! The woman has more than a cat!
Meanwhile, on the Canadian side of the border the Queen of Scowling; June has found another group of rebels near the border. She's discovered that Hannah is now wearing purple clothing, meaning she is going to something called "wife school", to prepare her for... becoming a wife. June is, obviously, pissed and episode three ends with another confrontation between her and Serena. Also - Mark Tuello is obviously fighting off some sexual feelings for Serena, and it looks like Serena is aware of this and planning to use this to her advantage. Serena also, worryingly, has a growing number of supporters in Canada, possibly around the world!
Meanwhile, on the Canadian side of the border the Queen of Scowling; June has found another group of rebels near the border. She's discovered that Hannah is now wearing purple clothing, meaning she is going to something called "wife school", to prepare her for... becoming a wife. June is, obviously, pissed and episode three ends with another confrontation between her and Serena. Also - Mark Tuello is obviously fighting off some sexual feelings for Serena, and it looks like Serena is aware of this and planning to use this to her advantage. Serena also, worryingly, has a growing number of supporters in Canada, possibly around the world!
I was in two minds wether or not to continue with this show but I've actually really enjoyed these episodes. So far, I don't think it feels as stale as it did in places during seasons 3 & 4 but, we'll see! The show definitely feels like a show that is reaching the end though. Season 6 is confirmed to be the last, airing next year. What are our hopes and predictions for this show? Are we enjoying season 5?
0
Comments
Had seen it advertised a few days ago but mistakenly thought it was starting this week.
Guilty! There's no official word yet on when it will be airing in the UK, but I've read a few things online saying it'll air here next year. I'm far too impatient for that
Yes I have to admit I had my doubts wether or not I was going to continue with this show but they've definitely raised the bar this season. Episode 4 was absolutely stellar. There I was thinking "I'll give it a few episodes and see how it goes" and it's got me hooked again! I can even live with the June scowls at this point
I had my doubts at first over the fact the show is now set mostly outside of Gilead but
If anyone here gave up on the show last year I'd definitely recommend diving back in this year. The show feels very focused and like it's heading somewhere again! There are no handmaids getting hit by trains or dropped off buildings, they've stripped it back to being a really human drama again.
A couple more things I'm enjoying...
and
Commander Lawrence is campaigning for Gilead to open its borders to start letting people in, and Aunt Lydia wants handmaids to be stationed permanently with her instead of living in with families. Lydia and Commander Lawrence are having lots of great scenes together this season; it's clear that they're falling down their respective pecking orders in Gilead and I can see them working well together to really change things/bring down Gilead somewhere down the line. Lawrence is fast losing respect from other commanders due to being a widow who refuses to remarry and Lydia seems to be shifting towards doing whatever it takes to protect the handmaids. I think it's beginning to dawn on them both that Gilead may not be a safe place for them going forward.
Meanwhile, Serena is staying with some random couple in Canada because the Gilead embassy isn't safe for her. I don't know who the couple are or what their connection to Gilead is. Either it hasn't been explained or I've zoned out and missed something. Serena is setting plans into motion to set up a fertility clinic in Canada - no doubt part of this plan to make Canada into another Gilead, something which seems to have growing support with Canadians. We're also starting to see more hostility towards the American Refugees from Canadians.
To summarise - the wheels are turning faster than they have done mid way through the past two seasons. Everything is ticking/twisting along nicely, and I still feel that this season is a big step up from 3 & 4. I definitely think we're heading towards June and Luke heading back into Gilead to try and retrieve Hannah.
My only disappointment is that they haven't done anything with Esther. She tried to kill Janine and has been in a coma since. I remember her showing real promise in season 4 but they're wasting her this year.
The actress was busy filming another series, A Friend of the Family, currently showing on Peacock in the U.S. It’s a positive that they haven’t killed her off but put her in a coma instead. Hopefully this means she’ll be back before the show ends. I agree, Esther is interesting and I’d like to see more of her.
If it wasn't for her diehard religious leanings, I'd be rooting for Serena over June at this stage! 😂
Elisabeth Moss being executive producer and also directing some episodes the show was always going to focus on June. After the superb first couple of seasons the show is now dying a slow death.
See, I was fully prepared to drop this show with this season but they've got me hooked again!
Season 3 - apart from the superb "Angels Flight" ending was dull and forgettable, the whole "Gilead" setting by that point was exhausted. Too much focus on June, they should have focused more on the other handmaids as an ensemble. Apart from Janine none of them were ever really fleshed out as characters. The totally OTT deaths of what were the remaining OG handmaids at the start of season 4 would have had much more impact if they'd given some of them proper screen time and back stories over the first few seasons. Season 4 itself felt like they were trying too hard to overcompensate for the dullness of season 3. It was a visual spectacle but not much else. I really do feel like they're back on track with season 5. Taking the show out of Gilead was a big risk but it has paid off IMO.
As for episode 6 -
At this point I'm wondering if The Testaments is still happening? or if they're just going to round the story off with season 6 of Handmaids? Does anyone know what's happening there? The storyline seems to be getting very close to what we know will happen in The Testaments at this point...
Oh, I forgot to mention that Serena stuff! A lot to unpack from this episode
She's played so incredibly well by Yvonne. You hate the character with all your heart but at the same time can't look away from her scenes!
Luke has always been a bit of a useless drip of a character, you can tell they're trying to do more with him this season though. Even if some of it doesn't land.
Agreed. To direct an episode and then order a dozen close-up of your own face is a bit self indulgent.
Serena having the baby taken away from her at the end - as much as I've been wanting to see it happen ever since the character fell pregnant, I still felt for Serena! I've never known a character like her. One that you can hate so much and still feel so much for. Yvonne is incredible.
It's not hard at times to see this as "The Elizabeth Moss Show". They appear to have calmed down with the lingering June scowling into camera scenes this season though. Not fully but, definitely somewhat
The show obviously has an almost impossibly high bar when it comes to season finales, I still get chills thinking about the angels flight episode as well as the ending to season two where June turned around and went back to Gilead. I'm hoping they're gearing up for some fireworks because this season so far, as previously mentioned has had far less 'spectacle' and far more character driven, emotional drama than season 4. I look forward to seeing how this tangled web of a season is going to pan out!
I know a lot of people think this show is dying a death - but I actually really like what they're doing with it now. The storyline is actually moving forward consistently again and I'm really enjoying it!
I haven’t the patience for U.K. weekly releases once it’s virtually finished in the US.
The TV companies really should be doing worldwide releases within 1 day of original release or else people will watch and in the case of the U.K. the US pace viewers will just get bigger.
I just don’t understand the logic.
Can anyone help explain why this is still happening???
I got tired of June a while ago. The unremitting close-ups! The stunned mullet stare! The endless escapes! The way that she leaves a trail of dead people (mostly women) behind her. I'd say that my sympathy has definitely swung round to Serena, which isn't something that I envisaged I would ever be saying.
Again, there were some great emotional scenes and animated performances but overall it felt a bit... lacking.
The stars of the show once again were Serena and Commander Lawrence. I was far more interested in their journeys during this episode.
One more thing - If I were the actor playing Rita I'd be absolutely pissed. They've given her nothing since escaping Gilead. It's a shame because she used to be such an interesting character.
Is it just the one more season left?
As for the season 5 finale - I was quite impressed. It was definitely the quietest season finale this show has ever seen but true to 'season 5' form it was very emotional, character driven and seemed to serve more to take us into the final season than set off any of the usual "fireworks". The ending was quite jarring though...
All in all - I definitely think things massively improved this season. The storyline started moving again, characters who aren't June were given a little more breathing room and the show generally feels focused and on track again. I can't wait to see how it ends!