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Spinal
04-19-2017, 07:33 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJTonrzXTJs

Super excited for this one. I'm currently halfway through the book. After watching the trailer, I'm glad I'm reading it first, since the show seems to bluntly state certain things that are left for the protagonist to slowly discover in the source material.

Spinal
04-27-2017, 04:30 PM
First episode was excellent. Tense, smartly edited, drawing from different parts of the book to take advantage of television pacing. Elizabeth Moss is riveting throughout and Samira Wiley is perfectly cast. More perplexing is the casting of Yvonne Strahovski in the role of Serena Joy, seemingly far too young for the role. (By comparison, the movie version had the character played by Faye Dunaway when she was nearly 50.) As widely discussed, the story is timely, to say the least, and frightening in its relevance. I hope this series gets a lot of mainstream discussion, as it looks to be effective in laying bare the cruelty and the danger of Bible Belt ideology.

Irish
04-27-2017, 04:32 PM
How do you feel about the show in comparison with the book?

(I don't think I can watch this because I don't want Hulu TV images in my head whenever I think of the novel.)

Spinal
04-27-2017, 04:47 PM
How do you feel about the show in comparison with the book?

(I don't think I can watch this because I don't want Hulu TV images in my head whenever I think of the novel.)

Too early to make a definitive call, but, in general, it's pretty consistent, with many stretches of dialogue lifted directly from the book. It seems to me there's more swearing thrown in than Atwood uses, but nothing that really seems out of place. The balancing of Offred's interactions with her inner monologue (through voiceover) is done effectively, not leaving us inside her head for too long, but also allowing her to editorialize various moments. What might be jarring is that the slow discovery of her new world and circumstances from the book is a bit more blunt in the show when you can immediately take in the men with machine guns, etc.

I'm enjoying it very much, but wanting to hold on to the pure reading experience is certainly a valid feeling as well. I finished the book a few days ago and it's a remarkable read.

number8
04-27-2017, 04:54 PM
The relevance of it is almost too on the nose, and obviously the premise has been mined by so many derivations since that built upon it, so I think this adaptation lives and dies in how effective the little moments are performed. I watched two episodes last night and those instances are executed brilliantly (I'm talking about stuff like Offred's tasting a cookie, or Serena's silent sit after the first insemination ceremony, or Ofglen's careful reveal to Offred).

Man, I really hope this isn't a continuing series, though. The universal critical acclaim, coupled with the fact that this is the first time a Hulu show gets this level of mainstream notice, pretty much ensures that they're gonna be willing to greenlight a second season. But I hope the 10 episodes cover the entire novel and that's that.

P.S. Ann Dowd is a god.

number8
04-27-2017, 05:06 PM
More perplexing is the casting of Yvonne Strahovski in the role of Serena Joy, seemingly far too young for the role. (By comparison, the movie version had the character played by Faye Dunaway when she was nearly 50.)

It's not just her, no? Robert Duvall was considerably older than Joseph Fiennes when he did the movie. I think there's something interesting to presenting this young vision of the Waterfords. For me at least, Offred and Serena being closer in age highlights the idea of them both being treated as property (just in different ways), because it doesn't come across as another the-old-seeking-a-youthful-substitute scenario. There's a trapped envy in Strahovski's Serena that's about something else entirely.

Spinal
04-27-2017, 06:17 PM
It's not just her, no? Robert Duvall was considerably older than Joseph Fiennes when he did the movie. I think there's something interesting to presenting this young vision of the Waterfords. For me at least, Offred and Serena being closer in age highlights the idea of them both being treated as property (just in different ways), because it doesn't come across as another the-old-seeking-a-youthful-substitute scenario. There's a trapped envy in Strahovski's Serena that's about something else entirely.

Interesting take. I'll consider that as things play out. Totally agree with you about hoping they don't extend this beyond one season. I put 'Season 1' in the thread title, really hoping it wasn't necessary.

number8
04-27-2017, 07:05 PM
Top 3 creepiest scenes in the first two eps:

- Commander Waterford refusing to make eye contact as he's thrusting into Offred.

- Ann Dowd's line reading of "Ohhh, you girls are so lucky!"

- "Push push push! Breathe breath breathe!"

Spinal
04-28-2017, 11:51 PM
Well this should be interesting ... second season is apparently happening.




Entertainment Weekly: How involved were you in the series? Did you collaborate much with showrunner Bruce Miller?

Margaret Atwood: We talked a lot. I think it will be more involving in the second season because we will be in uncharted territories so more invention will have to take place.

Is that exciting for you?

Yes, it is. We did a special edition of the audio book, which concludes with a Q&A session with the professor. He explores some of the edges of things in his answers, written by me. That will be interesting but I can’t predict what we will do.

Link (http://ew.com/tv/2017/04/28/handmaids-tale-margaret-atwood-relevance-season-2/)

number8
04-29-2017, 12:25 AM
I finished episode 3. Horrifying. Elizabeth Moss is almost guaranteed an Emmy nom, I think. Alexis Bledel probably too.

amberlita
05-01-2017, 03:50 AM
Top 3 creepiest scenes in the first two eps:

- Commander Waterford refusing to make eye contact as he's thrusting into Offred.

- Ann Dowd's line reading of "Ohhh, you girls are so lucky!"

- "Push push push! Breathe breath breathe!"

The faux-labor by the barren mistress in the adjacent room, followed by her straddling her handmaiden and feigning contractions and delivery. I mean...holy shit. There are no words for that sort of lunacy.

Damn this is bleak.

Can someone defend the song choices in this show? Almost exclusively at the end of each episode, but I find them too on the nose at best (You don't own me) or jarring and undercutting of the show's tone at worst (whatever the hell was playing at the end of episode 3).

number8
05-01-2017, 04:43 AM
I'm pretty sure being jarring is the intent. They're on the nose, yes, because they pick songs whose lyrics reflect the given theme of the episode, but expressed in exuberant pop songs that are outwardly expressive in the way the women cannot be. You're kinda repressed with them for the whole episode in this sustained tone and then you get the release as you're released from watching.

Spinal
05-04-2017, 04:13 PM
I finished episode 3. Horrifying. Elizabeth Moss is almost guaranteed an Emmy nom, I think. Alexis Bledel probably too.

I watched this episode last night and I think it's best one so far. Holy crap, that courtroom scene and subsequent execution were horrifying.

number8
05-04-2017, 04:17 PM
Yeah, the fixed shot from inside the van as it drives away is paralyzing.

Spinal
05-04-2017, 04:41 PM
Apart from the story being captivating and the acting being solid, I really like the way the show is shot and edited. Lots of long takes that allow the tension and the horror to build. The cinematography has a very ... well ... cinematic feel, I guess. I feel like you could put it on a big screen and it would hold up well. Boy, they really like their severe backlight streaming through windows though, don't they?

Peng
05-05-2017, 04:31 PM
I love that every episode is leavened with a bit of necessary rebellious streak to go against the heavy oppression, whether through the story/character beats or aesthetic choices like songs. Whereas I left the past three episodes a bit shell-shocked (in a good way) though, the more explicit way of that streak in this one actually has me in tears. Wasn't expecting it.

Spinal
05-16-2017, 06:52 PM
Regarding episode 5:

Soooooo ... that's it for Alexis Bledel? Unless we're going to witness her getting tortured some more, that seems like a hard one to come back from.


I didn't mind the character choice from a writing perspective, but I wasn't crazy about the way it was executed. Seemed oddly cartoonish with the Gilead police going full Keystone Cop.

Rest of the episode was pretty strong. Moss seems destined for an Emmy.

Spinal
05-30-2017, 04:14 PM
For me at least, Offred and Serena being closer in age highlights the idea of them both being treated as property (just in different ways), because it doesn't come across as another the-old-seeking-a-youthful-substitute scenario. There's a trapped envy in Strahovski's Serena that's about something else entirely.

In time, this has proven to be true. After the initial clash with my expectations, this character has worked wonderfully within the world they have created.

number8
06-23-2017, 02:01 PM
Finally got to watch the finale last night. I burst out laughing when Moira got to the Canadian refugee post and was immediately handed health insurance and hundreds of dollars. It's absolutely fascinating that this was shot and completed last year.

I know it was already announced that there will be a second season and that it will have brand new material, but it's still really interesting that they ended the season the same way as the book, rather than crafting its own. This means this is a case of a show turning a book's ambiguous ending into a cliffhanger retroactively and providing a continuation of it, without really changing it. I imagine there are a number of books you can do this for.

Spinal
06-23-2017, 04:09 PM
I still have the last two episodes to watch, but I am a little perplexed by news that Alexis Bledel is going to be a series regular next season.

I mean, she's a fine performer, but ... how is her character not dead?

number8
06-23-2017, 04:50 PM
I can think of several possibilities. It could be Mayday's doing, or has to do with the Jezebels. Open this after you finish the season, but: the fact that we never saw her again, whereas they tried to make an example of Janine to the other handmaids immediately in the finale, suggests that something clandestine was done to her instead, which made me think of the Jezebels or something similar to that.

number8
06-23-2017, 04:56 PM
In time, this has proven to be true. After the initial clash with my expectations, this character has worked wonderfully within the world they have created.

By the way, Serena Joy might be favorite character of the show, actually. What a fascinating woman, who seems to have willingly betrayed her own autonomy because she put an utmost confidence in the benevolence of so-called good virtuous men, only to discover too late that "men never change" and she's only made it easier for what she considers to be sins to run rampant.

Milky Joe
06-25-2017, 12:24 AM
Finished this last night... chiming into say that, wow, give Elizabeth Moss ALL THE AWARDS. She had me choking back tears on so many occasions. Her breakdown in the car after Serena took her to 'see' her daughter was simply incredible. The combination and culmination of everything that came up to that moment all came exploding outwards... grief, pleading sadness, bitterness, and that fierce rage just took my breath away. Beautiful work.

Russ
06-25-2017, 03:24 AM
I haven't seen this yet but I really want to. Since number8 has seen both this and The Leftovers, I'm curious to hear his thoughts on who should get an Emmy win: Elizabeth Moss or Carrie Coon.

number8
06-25-2017, 07:36 PM
Man. I'd personally go Coon but I think most would vote Moss. It's the more "awardsy" performance for sure.

Spinal
07-06-2017, 04:24 PM
Finished this last night and I was pretty disappointed with the final episode. I think it might be the weakest of the series. The climactic confrontation between the handmaids and the powers-that-be just doesn't ring true.

Offred has just learned for a certainty that her daughter is alive. So, the next thing she does is make a stand that could very likely get her killed? I understand that Waterford's baby gives her a degree of protection. But I don't understand the need to turn her into Gandhi. Janine is back one episode after jumping off a bridge? What? This absolutely drains any power from the tense events of Episode 9. And it also drains any sense of danger for Offred when she is finally escorted into the black van. If the show isn't even willing to kill freaking Janine, why am I supposed to worry about Offred? I'm supposed to believe Aunt Lydia is going to allow herself to be embarrassed publicly by her own crew and not immediately respond with discipline and cruelty? I'm supposed to believe that Janine wouldn't just get shot on the spot if she's already scheduled for execution? And that sequence with Nina Simone ... just awful.

Moss is wonderful, but I think I'm out after this season.

number8
07-06-2017, 06:11 PM
I think you have it in your head that the handmaids are more expendable than the show makes them to be? Gilead considers fertile women to be a very rare and extremely valuable commodity that upsets everyone when one is lost, so it makes sense to me that they're not constantly threatened with looming death (I certainly don't watch the show thinking of that as the stake). They all knew from the Red Center that Janine is mentally unhealthy but they still sent her out to several homes to be a handmaid anyway, and when they caught Emily in a sexual relationship with one of her house's marthas, they only hanged the martha. I got the impression that Auntie Lydia was so beside herself in that execution sequence because Janine's was the first time it's ever been ordered. She did threaten consequence for the handmaids, but these people are freaks about their rituals. If the court wants her stoned to death, an Auntie isn't really in a position to hold an impromptu firing squad. It's not like this is a war-time world with trigger-happy gestapos. We were shown that Gilead has some semblance of due process, however tipped.

Milky Joe
07-06-2017, 07:29 PM
And that sequence with Nina Simone ... just awful.

Yeah. Can we please retire that song being used in TV already?

DavidSeven
09-26-2017, 09:56 PM
Finished this last night. It's certainly compelling, but I'm not sure how much of this isn't just propped up completely by Moss's performance and the superb production values. The lone episode where Moss isn't front and center definitely felt like the weakest and felt like an episode of a bad TV show. So far, I'm not convinced that the writing is superior. Too often, characters don't seem to be saying or doing things that would be helpful to their cause, and the show seems to be playing it fast and loose with its internal logic. There's a good foundation here with Moss and the show's design, but there's still considerable room for growth from a characterization and storytelling standpoint.