The Handmaid’s Tale: Season 5, Episodes 1-8 Review
It’s hard to believe it’s been a year and a half since the epic conclusion to season 4 of The Handmaid’s Tale. But FINALLY season 5 has arrived, and in the words of Aunt Lydia, we’re PUMPED. Here are our thoughts on the first 8 episodes of the season (for which we are incredibly grateful to have been granted early access).
Courtesy of Hulu
Looking Back at Season 4
When last we saw them, June had just returned to Luke and Moira’s house after killing Fred Waterford with the help of a newfound group of ex-Handmaid refugees in Toronto. Nick and Lawrence had disappeared into the night after overseeing the presumed handover of Fred from Canada to Gilead, but Fred’s fate was dramatically altered when Nick gifted him directly to a vengeful June in No Man’s Land instead.
Janine was in the midst of helping Aunt Lydia at the Red Center, particularly with the training of the brave and stubborn 14-year-old, Esther Keyes, in the joyless art of Handmaidery. A very pregnant Serena was still awaiting her freshly deceased husband’s arrival on Zoom, unaware he’d actually just been delivered outside her holding cell… well, his finger had anyway. This replacement gift, courtesy of June and brilliantly doubling as a threat, sadistically paralleled the finger Fred removed from Serena in season 2.
And, in the final scene of season 4, we left Luke on the floor looking on, horrified, as June picked up her daughter, Nichole (formerly Holly, as named by June and Nick), while still covered in Fred’s blood. Luke was surely wondering, along with the rest of us, where would June be going in 5 minutes?
Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Max Minghella, O-T Fagbenle, Bradley Whitford, Ann Dowd, Madeline Brewer, McKenna Grace, Sam Jaeger, Ever Carradine, Stephen Kunken, Samira Wiley, Amanda Brugel
Created By: Bruce Miller (for TV, based on Margaret Atwood’s novels)
June clings to her daughter, Nichole/Holly, in the final scene of season 4 (Hulu)
Moving Forward to Season 5
Season 5 opens to the sound of running water, and the tone is immediately set, picking up right where the season 4 finale left off. We all know what this means – June is finally washing off Fred’s blood. Or is she?
As one probably would, June struggles with her new reality throughout season 5 – that she is now someone not only capable of committing pre-meditated murder, but, as the trailer showed us, someone who also enjoyed it immensely. Will she embrace that side of herself and continue going after those who have wronged her… or will she bury it and try to fulfill the expectations of those around her, shoving herself back into the mold of the June she was before Gilead, a somewhat meek, but happy wife and mother living a normal, middle class life? She’s changed so much from who that June was, but she’s constantly being told that she can’t live in her rage either. Season 5 explores this internal battle as she attempts to find a place for both sides of herself to coexist.
Elisabeth Moss’ performance as essentially two different personalities warring within the same person is, as always, absolutely seamless and legendary. We are constantly awed by her incredible talent both as an actor and as a director, and Moss' brilliant collaboration with cinematographer Nicola Daley levels up this season with stunningly complex camera work and choreography.
Courtesy of Hulu
Meanwhile, Luke must decide whether he will continue season 5 as he spent season 4 - alarmed by June’s rage and pushing for “his” old June to just “let go” of 7 years of torture and “move on” - or if he can accept what she’s done. Will he see the way she has changed as a warning sign for himself, that he must change as well in order to align with her again, to keep her in his life the way he wants and “needs” her to be?
So far, season 5 sees Luke trying to navigate the very different wife that returned to him, as well as his own feelings of shame and helplessness as it relates to his failures over the past 7 years to save his daughter from Gilead. It’s a relief to see Luke playing a more active role in trying to save his daughter this season, and Fagbenle does a fantastic job realistically portraying the many emotions involved in stepping outside of one’s comfort zone so drastically.
As advertised, the feud between Serena and June is a major component of this season, and it kicks off with a stunning visual mirroring of these two beautiful women, Serena’s dark mourning clothes in bold contrast to June’s pure white. As June steers a course through her own complicated feelings towards Serena, her internal battle continues - to be brutal or merciful, to seek vengeance and justice or to show compassion… or to find a way to express both.
Meanwhile, Serena faces her own roadblocks as a pregnant widow while simultaneously leveraging her complicated status between Canada, America, and Gilead, cleverly pulling strings to seek revenge against June. Strahovski’s performance this season, as always, is breathtaking, leading the audience to once again question Serena’s understanding of June – will they find common ground or remain bitter enemies?
Courtesy of Hulu
Now that Serena’s inconvenient husband has been removed from the picture, US agent Mark Tuello can assume his coveted spot at her side, especially as they travel back to Gilead for Fred’s funeral. Mark wisely tries to use this opportunity not only to get as close to Serena as she’ll let him, but to observe the machinations of the senior officials in Gilead by day and to try to build new alliances in the shadows by night. Will Tuello perhaps turn into more than a mere disappointment to June before the season ends?
Speaking of Gilead, Nick has acquired new concerns of his own. He struggles with the demands of his daily life as an Eye and a Commander, his new marriage, and a gaping distance from the two people he loves - June and their daughter, Nichole. Now working closely with Commander Lawrence, Nick navigates an even more complicated path through the shadows of Gilead, at one point holding a cryptic meeting while smoking on a dark road lit only by headlights, a very Nick-esque nod to classic noir films. And though Nick’s feigned position as a Gilead loyalist covers for his resistance work or, at the very least, a ride-or-die commitment to June (Gilead’s number one enemy), the strain of constantly performing to hide his true motives appears to be breaking him more than it ever has before. Hopefully we’ll get to see behind the curtain a bit as the season concludes, revealing connections he may have made off screen or plans he has in the works. He’s noticeably observing everyone even more than usual this season, and we really hope it is leading to something revolutionary for his character.
Nick’s much anticipated new wife, Rose, played by the beautiful Carey Cox, seems kind and meek, as is expected of a Gilead wife. Shockingly, he’s told her about June, but how much? They speak to each other casually, yet in the formal language of Gilead, so it’s easy to wonder what exactly is going on under her surface as almost everyone is hiding something in this God forsaken place. Nick’s motivation for the marriage is also curious as we learn about an interesting family connection.
Elsewhere in Gilead, Aunt Lydia seems to be moving in a more compassionate direction as she once again witnesses “her girls” being broken by the realities of the Gilead she didn’t teach them about at the Red Center. As usual, Ann Dowd absolutely devastates in scene after scene with her unbelievable talent. Janine continues to shepherd Esther under Aunt Lydia’s guidance, complicating their relationship and giving Madeline Brewer and McKenna Grace some incredible scenes both together and individually. Both characters have emotional encounters with Aunt Lydia that deliver a punch to the gut.
Courtesy of Hulu
Another moment, shared between Janine and her former Commander’s wife, Naomi Putnam, is easily in the running for one of the most moving scenes of the season so far. And a tied contender for this award would certainly go to June’s visit with Emily Malek’s wife, Sylvia, played by the incredible Clea DuVall, who delivers one of the most understanding, raw, and honest speeches we’ve ever heard.
And of course, there’s Commander Lawrence. Bradley Whitford has been supplying much appreciated comedic relief to the show since season 2, and he steals this spotlight again in season 5. Delightfully, funerals really seem to heighten Lawrence’s merriment, especially those which wouldn’t be happening without his hand in the demise of the celebrant. But behind the hilarity, he’s got big plans in the works that could dramatically change the landscape of Gilead and possibly alter the futures of many main characters.
Several of the new characters introduced in this season are charming and likeable as well, most notably a kind, young Guardian at the Gilead border, portrayed sympathetically by talented newcomer, Owen Painter. And since a major component of this series has always been the next generation, it was a sweet reprieve when the young actors playing Nichole/Holly and Angela/Charlotte thoroughly captured our hearts.
Naomi Putnam (Ever Carradine) responds, horrified, to something off screen. Shout out to Eva Vives, one of the fabulous new directors on season 5, for sharing this delightful meme on her Instagram. (Courtesy of Hulu)
A Shifting Tone in a Familiar World
A pleasant surprise this season was how much humor was naturally sprinkled throughout several episodes. Though quips from Joseph Lawrence abound, they were not the only source of comedy. Written by the series creator himself, Bruce Miller, June delivers a memorable segment early in the season that both works brilliantly within the plot and made us laugh out loud more than once. While June has always been fond of a good joke, this felt tonally different in a delightful way. The music was also fresh and moving, feeling new yet really striking the right chords at the right moments. Adam Taylor has done an amazing job yet again of guiding us on an emotional journey through his soundtrack alone.
The show’s motto to expect the unexpected continues on into season 5, as it has done in every other season. Surprising twists are delivered in the first eight episodes and also implied as yet to come, and though some are thought-provoking and earned, others feel disjointed from the characters we’ve loved watching take shape since season 1. Some of the characters’ dramatic personality shifts felt a little jarring from their season 4 portrayals into season 5, with no time jump or events to explain these changes.
The Future of the Show
While Canada thinks of Gilead as a “black box,” we’re feeling the same way about Mayday and the Gilead resistance fighters. Every glimpse we get of their activity is thrilling and intriguing, and it would be wonderful for the show to focus more on their activity in the future. A limitation of season 5’s short, ten-episode roster may be that they were unable to delve as deep as they would have liked into the activity of the new female only border camp that we briefly meet in an early episode. There’s a lot to explore there, endless opportunities to show what those who are working to fight against Gilead are dealing with on a daily basis, what their lives are like existing off-grid, and how the network works together against all odds to deliver messages and help so many people strike back at their oppressors or escape.
Courtesy of Hulu
June would have a very personal reason to return to them as well, considering they presumably organized her first Gilead escape attempt that Nick helped arrange. Mayday has also been such a mythical term in the series - it would be excellent to ground it further by showing these women risking everything for the cause of bringing Gilead down.
One of the features of the show we were most impressed with on our deep dives into the previous 4 seasons this year was how well certain basic foundations of June’s relationships were established and repeatedly reinforced, even in her flashbacks from before Gilead. As the show approaches its eventual conclusion, we hope those common threads woven so consistently throughout the previous 46 episodes will not be severed. Specifically, after four seasons of observing some ever present facets of Luke and June’s relationship, a sudden and dramatic shift feels jarring, especially in the wake of the previous portrayal of the contrast shown in her organic relationship with Nick. Certain lines spoken this season on the topic of her marriage risk demeaning the depth and importance of the relationship between Nick and June that was portrayed so beautifully throughout the four seasons.
It is our hope that the extraordinary connection that June found with Nick, that regularly provided her peace and strength to carry on in Gilead, and even once she was in Canada with her husband, isn’t rebranded as merely a convenient and inferior substitute to the affection of her husband. That would negate one of the most incredible romantic connections we’ve ever seen on television, and an important component not just of this amazing show but also the original book written by Margaret Atwood.
Conclusion
In summary, we were both thrilled and honored by this opportunity to watch the fifth season of this masterpiece. As usual, every detail from the acting, writing, direction, music, cinematography, sets, special effects, costumes, hair and makeup, and countless other components continue to exceed those of any other show we’ve ever seen, such that any on their own would be reason enough to devour season 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale. Together, they make a truly stunning piece of art, in addition to an important continuation of a cautionary tale whose relevance, unfortunately, grows by the day. Thank you to the cast and crew for your continued excellence in telling The Handmaid’s Tale. We can’t wait to see what else you have in store for these characters we’ve grown to love so much.
Directors: Elisabeth Moss, Dana Gonzalez, Eva Vives, Natalia Leite, Bradley Whitford
Writers: Bruce Miller, Nina Fiore & John Herrera, Aly Monroe, Jacey Heldrich, J. Holtham, Katherine Collins, Rachel Shukert, Yahlin Chang, Eric Tuchman
This review was based on the first 8 episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5, generously offered to us to screen in advance.
The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 premieres publicly on Hulu on September 14th.