Hulu TV Review: The Handmaid’s Tale Season 3 (2019)

Posted on 08/16/2019 by Pisaries Creator

Do not read if you haven’t seen all seasons from The Handmaid’s Tale!!!

Quote from The Handmaid’s Tale by Moira

“Everybody’s talking about happily ever after, but there’s just after.”

*******

Creator: Bruce Miller

Directors: Mike Barker, Kari Skogland, Daina Reid, Reed Morano, Kate Dennis, Floria Sigismondi, Jeremy Podeswa, Amma Asante, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Dearbhla Walsh, and Colin Watkinson

Writers: Bruce Miller, Lynn Renee Maxcy, Margaret Atwood, Nina Fiore, John Herrera, Kira Snyder, Eric Tuchman, Dorothy Fortenberry, Yahlin Chang, Leila Gerstein, Wendy Straker Hauser, Marissa Jo Cerar, and Jacey Heldrich

Major Cast: Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne, O-T Fagbenle as Luke Bankole, Jordana Blake as Hannah Bankole, Samira Wiley as Moira Strand, Clea DuVall as Sylvia, Alexis Bledel as Emily Malek, Amanda Brugel as Rita, Madeline Brewer as Janine Lindo, Nini Kiri as Alma, Bahia Watson as Brianna, Kristen Gutoskie as Beth, Ashleigh LaThrop as Natalie, Sugenja Sri as Sienna, Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia Clements, Edie Inksetter as Aunt Elizabeth, Sam Jaeger as Mark Tuello, Bradley Whitford as Joseph Lawrence, Julie Dretzin as Eleanor Lawrence, Stephen Kunken as Warren Putnam, Ever Carradine as Naomi Putnam, Christopher Meloni as George Winslow, Elizabeth Reaser as Olivia Winslow, Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford, Joseph Fiennes as Fred Waterford, and Max Minghella as Nick Blaine

TV Rating: TV-MA for sex/nudity, violence/gore, profanity/alcohol/drugs/smoking, and frightening/intense scenes

Episode Running Time: 60 minutes although season finales run longer

Not everyone enjoyed the third season and recognized some noticeable flaws. I choose to overlook them and the feasibility of certain scenes. The Handmaid’s Tale is still a TV show I’ll watch and will continue to watch until it ends. Most of us know it’s an adaptation from Margaret’s Atwood’s book with the same title and about living in an autocracy with limited freedoms and bathed in religious doctrine. We were still learning about Gilead in the first season and the second season continued to explore the reality of the situation presented to those enslaved and those who escaped. We learned what happens to undesirables and the forced participation of violence by the handmaids. The season finale of season two left you cheering and screaming at the same time. It doesn’t take long to realize why June’s decision was made.

The first episode of season three begins after June made the decision to stay in Gilead instead of leaving it. We see the unusual relationship between Commander Lawrence and his wife in their home. We get a good picture of how horrifying it really can be for the handmaids in the Capitol. Christopher Meloni is great in his role as Commander Winslow as he is proud of his dutiful wife and army of children. The relationship between Mrs. Waterford and June/Offred gets interesting as each other question the other’s intentions, sacrifices, and bravery or lack of. I find the character of Serena Joy Waterford defeated and lost as she battles within herself what she has done. You can see it on her face, but in the season finale, she had what was coming to her. There’s a definite shift of power happening between those in leading and those following in Gilead. The fourth season will more than likely focus on Gilead commanders trying to defend their practices and beliefs to the United States and Canada on a larger scale and smaller scale the consequences of what the handmaids and marthas did to hurt Gilead’s stability.

There’s some heartbreaking moments in this season for June, Luke, Emily, and Sylvia. We learn more about Aunt Lydia before Gilead and how much it has affected her negatively. Her apple didn’t fall far from the tree before Gilead. There will be more opportunities for June to show her heroics, but it’s come at another cost. This is clear as she’s letting nothing stop her agenda as she’s willing to kill in the name of justice. I enjoyed this season because June has grown as a character, gotten stronger in some respects and weaker in others. The effects of Gilead is more pronounced, but she still is a fighting force. By her not being on the wall means she’s a valuable member and I’m looking forward to seeing how the show angles this because her recent action alone would lead to a painful, slow death. Being she is the driving force behind the resistance and basically central character of the show, June will not be killed, but those angry with what she has done will make question her sanity. The fourth season will be released sometime in 2020.

Pisaries Creator rates The Handmaid’s Tale Season Three

Four Fingers and One Thumb at 100%

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