The Handmaid's Tale

:

Season 4
  • Network: HULU
  • Series Premiere Date: Apr 26, 2017
Season #: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Metascore
62

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 18
  3. Negative: 1 out of 18
Watch Now

Where To Watch

Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

  1. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Kelly Lawler
    Apr 28, 2021
    30
    Season 4 teases something bigger, a pivot to the future, and then takes two steps back once again. By the end of the eight episodes made available for preview, there are hints of something different and promising. But to get there, viewers are subjected to the worst of the series' impulses, as if the first seven episodes were a thumb-twiddling waste of time. And in many ways, they are.

Awards & Rankings

40
#40 Most Discussed TV Season of 2021

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 38 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 38
  3. Negative: 11 out of 38
  1. dangyosabyss
    Apr 28, 2021
    1
    For a case study in how modern TV writing ruins great works of literature take The Handmaid's Tale. Utterly perverting the meaning of the bookFor a case study in how modern TV writing ruins great works of literature take The Handmaid's Tale. Utterly perverting the meaning of the book and turning an iconic character into yet another reddit superhero revolutionary. That Atwood was consulted on the show is surprising given how it turned out (though given The Testaments comic book stupidity perhaps it isnt). This is how you ruin a truly great book by a truly great writer. The usual checklist of idiocy is here : tokenism, extremist politics, 'its not x-ism when we do it' etc. It couldve been iconic. It should have been iconic. It wasnt. Add it to the pile of great content HBO has massacred with its stupidity.… Full Review »
  2. majednazal
    Apr 30, 2021
    10
    Still as beautiful, as suspenseful and as tragic as it has always been, amazing first 3 episodes. I can't wait for what's to come
  3. shag00
    Feb 23, 2022
    4
    Seems the show has lost it's way. The original story has been, to a significant extent, sidelined in favour of contemporary social issuesSeems the show has lost it's way. The original story has been, to a significant extent, sidelined in favour of contemporary social issues which I imagine most of us don't really care about all that much. Lazy script writing has made an entrance as well with many instances of inappropriate dialogue, meaning things are said which just aren't in the real world.

    Let's take the Gilead language of bless this, that and the other thing. The people you escaped to Canada are still using it. These people lived in contemporary America until two or three years ago so getting back to a normal world, one would imagine, would prompt these people to speak the way they have for the vast majority of their lives.

    The special effects are not that special either. In one scene a group of girls is running across a railroad track and are hit by a train despite the fact they are 10 feet away from the railroad. Then what's left stows away aboard a train in a liquid railroad car. And what a railroad car it is, first off they find one whose contents are not hazardous and is only two thirds full, good luck indeed. The real killer though is that this rail car is internally lit, no doubt to make it easier for the bacteria to meet up and then during the day the above mentioned lights transform into little windows so the sun streams in, the only thing lacking was a bed. I won't go into how they drained this car or how they got out but it's imaginative as well.

    So what starts out as an interesting story soon turns into a very much, a "meh" TV show.    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »