The original post: /r/television by /u/carolina_reddituser on 2025-06-09 21:55:27.
Before you ask – Why did I keep watching if I didn’t like it after ep. 2? – I was hoping it would get better in the end. It did, to some extent, in episode 9. The first three seasons were amazing, and the book is very good. So, don’t mind me being in hopes for good stuff even though this was very disappointing.
This show started so seriously about a dystopian future with topics we still have to face, like misogyny, elitism, objectification of women, and oppression, and it feels like it was finished because they had to, not because they wanted to. It started very good, but it finished like a cheap show, almost like a soap opera with tricks to create drama and emotion but an empty message or script. Between writing, producing, and filming + the strikes, they lost a lot of time and it feels like the creators didn’t want to invest more time or effort in a good landing for the series finale. The show started losing its strength around season four. The approach for the series finale was as if the viewers were a younger generation trying to understand oppression, and they gave us a PG-13 worth ending with zero substance. The really pulled a GOT on us, it feels like the writers just wanted to get done with this pending task. And, at least, me?? Well… I wasted my time on yet another disappointing show.
Taylor Swift is not that bad, don’t get me wrong, BUT WHY was “Look What You Made Me Do” the song of choice for the rebellion scene??? Margaret Atwood said she wrote about things that at least happened once in history, so you would expect more seriousness or sobriety to the show’s theme, not a “SLAY GIRLBOSS MOVE” type shit. That isn’t bad in itself, but this show is not the space for that. Maybe just create a different show or adapt another book, one of that commercial and empty kinds of stories like Colleen Hoover’s.
After episode two, I couldn’t stand anymore close-ups, gasps and twitching eyes. It became so annoying, especially because nothing happened. They just repeated Elisabeth Moss’ annoying signature expression in slow motion over and over again, instead of telling us anything. They gave us 450-600 minutes of screentime, but nothing happened! Like those people who talk for hours, and when they finally finish you didn’t get what they were trying to say, if they said anything.
I remember after season 4 I read an article of people angry at the format and someone wrote “ladies and gentleman we have a superhero story” and its so true!!! First of all, the US is a very big country in terms of territory, so Gilead would be too. Boston is also quite big. Tell me why they make it seem like a small, conservative, and oppressive town? June appeared at the Red center right after she killed commander Bell. If Boston was THAT small, the US army had already taken over. The format of the show and the pattern is incredibly annoying and predictable, they don’t even try to disguise it. June is almost presented like an Avenger! Every season is June suffering and oppressed along with her friends, then all of her friends and love interests move mountains for her to escape instead of escaping themselves, and right when she’s about to leave or after she just left, she sabotages all that work and goes back to Gilead. And for what?? Hannah? We didn’t even get to see anything about Hannah, and she was a pivotal character. Instead, they gave us a ridiculously optimistic ending for most characters. For such a pessimistic show, the ending was very pink and bright.
I understand that it’s hard to picture a dystopian world or oppressive regime, but it’s not like there aren’t current regimes around the globe. So the show gets harder and harder to believe when you know the slightest thing about politics. June gets in and out of Gilead as if it was her house, but imagine getting in and out of North Korea, just like June does. Or imagine North Korean generals risking their lives by shooting two officers on the spot and then finishing the job at the hospital. If we can’t even think of any sort of successful scheming in North Korea, why would we believe it when it comes to Gilead?