The Handmaid's Tale

They have an interesting story but it happens in super-slow motion. They have about 2 seasons worth of storyline but they are trying to stretch it into 6-7 seasons by spending half of each episode zooming into people's eyes, showing people's empty faces and characters moving at slow motion. Each episode has about 4-5 minutes of story development and 40 minutes of zooming into people's faces and eyes.

This show was meant to be watched at 2x or 3x speed. If you are watching it at regular speed, you are actually watching it in slow motion.

Each episode: zoom into someone's face, zoom into someone's eyes, zoom on the ceiling, zoom on the walls, zoom back into someone's eyes, zoom into another character's face....20 minutes gone, another 20 left to go. Zoom some more until we fill 40 minutes. Then 5 minutes of actual story development.

If I may start 'off-topic' for a moment. I am male, mid sixties, and have watched, like many others, all the great (and not-so-great) horror films. After watching the ten episodes of 'The Handmaid's Tale' I can safely say that THIS is a real horror story. It makes the entire horror genre seem like cotton candy. After each episode I find myself shaking, often with tears in my eyes. I'm not going to talk about the story. I am going to tell you that the acting is beyond reproach. In almost every movie, every TV series, there are at least one or two characters that don't fit or are poorly portrayed. Not so here. I simply cannot find fault with the performances of the entire cast. Stellar! The sets, the direction, the camera work, the intensity all fit together seamlessly. This is a story of a good world...gone very wrong. This is a story about faith, twisted by evil intent, then thrust upon the common people. For me it is truly horrifying. I'm sorry I can't find better words to describe how this show affects me. I will say this: My daughter is currently attending university in the U.S. and I can tell you I fear for her safety every hour of every day. Not because this story is happening now...but because it is so close.

I just. I don't even remember how many years I've watched this show. All I know is that I almost shat my pants every time a new season dropped. Like I live and breath the show.

So what the h3ll was that last season about? Years and years of waiting for the anticipated and devastating grand finale of how this tragedy is going to resolve, and I didn't even realize I'd already watched the last episode, until I started watching it again thinking "when's there gonna be a new episode?" "Wait what, THIS was it?" The last of the last?

IT WAS SO MEANINGLESS, POINTLESS, COMPLETELY RUSHED AND UNSATISFYING finale one can be. Just going through this in my mind makes me want to start throwing chairs out of the windows. I need to wipe this whole season off my memory. Thanks for ruining the most best tv that could have been.

I jumped onto The Handmaids bandwagon pretty late; I started the series a couple of weeks ago & just finished with seasin 4. I chose to disregard the plethora of negative reviews about the last 2 seasons because I wanted to make my own conclusions about the show, as a whole. While many of the negative reviews do make valid points, such as some of the scenes being too slow & the (way) too many unnecessary close-ups of June, I thought the overall show was excellent!!

As an individual who: 1- raised in an extremely strict, religious setting 2- a victim of sexual abuse for many years 3- trapped in very tightly controlled & highly abusive relationships & 4-had a child ripped from my arm because I was deemed "unworthy" of being a mother simply because the grandparents were more financially stable at the time, this show truly resonated with SO MUCH of what I've gone & been through & what I've overcome & recovered from...hence the title of my review.

I understand that my review doesn't give much in reference to the show, itself, but it is a testament not only to those of us who've endured similar circumstances, but a testament to what strongly held beliefs, such as religion can do & the impact it can have on those who do not have those same beliefs.

It is OKAY to have differences of opinions. It is OKAY to have different beliefs. It is OKAY to be who we are, as individuals, but it is NOT okay to be persecuted for those differences. We do not all have to or need to agree with one another, but we all MUST learn to respect one another & accept people for who they are.

I wanted to like this series and had actually watched up to Season 2, midway, but I got overwhelmed and just plainly put off by Elizabeth Moss's constant close ups!!!

My exact thought echoed here by several reviewers so apparently I am not alone! Just got tired of her face's weird projection that comes off like she is about to transform into an alien or monster or head about to explode as she semi lift her head with matching head/neck twitching, big ugly stare and pursed lip breathing.... so annoying and distracting!!! I just had enough of her face and felt overdosed that I needed to stop watching the show to get a much needed withdrawal from her.