TV #43 of 2017:
The Handmaid’s Tale, season 1
Very powerful and difficult-to-watch television. To be honest, I wasn’t really blown away when I read the book this show was based on – it’s definitely a solid dystopian nightmare, but I didn’t find it especially gripping or haunting. This adaptation was all of that and more, though. Visually arresting, filled with intensely personal performances, and impossible to look away from. The writers and designers also really emphasized how this society got the way it is (whereas I felt like the book largely took the 1984 approach of just presenting everything as the new status quo) and the parallels to our own world are terrifying.
★★★★☆
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