What I’m Watching: The Handmaid’s Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale: Season 1, Episode 7 “The Other Side” (B)

For some reason, I expected that this show was only going to show things from Offred’s perspective, though I guess we’ve already seen a good deal of Ofglen’s life away from her. After an episode that showed us some of Serena’s life before the rise of Gilead, here we had an installment that barely featured June. We got to know Luke a few episodes back when we saw his love story with June, and up until the Mexican ambassador’s assistant shocked Offred with the news that her husband is still alive, I think everyone watching presumed that he was dead. It turns out that the world outside the confines of a tranquil home with a handmaid is relatively chaotic and disorderly, and therefore it’s not all that much of a surprise that he didn’t get killed by the first people who found him and that he survived for so long. There was a quick flash-forward towards the end of the episode to a place in Canada that was a safe haven of sorts, and I’m still interested in how we got there and seeing what happened during the transition from a normal world into a terrifying religious dictatorship. This show seems to be more interested in highlighting the vast differences between the way things were and the way they are, presenting haunting flashbacks that fade away in an instant when the harsh reality of how far things have come kicks in again. If Luke comes to rescue Offred, I’d be pumped, but something tells me it won’t be nearly that simple.

What I’m Watching: The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 14 “The Other Side” (B-)

We’re getting closer to what’s sure to be an explosive end to the season, but we’re still inching towards it piece by piece with a continually segmented approach. We haven’t visited the Hilltop in a bit, and therefore it’s somewhat stirring to see the intensity of the training that’s going on to ensure that, when everyone finally decides that it’s time to rise up, they know how to fight. The dramatic music to go along with that was pretty effective, and unfortunately the rest of the episode didn’t quite match it. I think we’ve seen Maggie, Sasha, and Rosita plan to trek over to the Saviors’ compound and take their revenge enough times already, and it was remarkably simple for them to get there and have Negan in their crosshairs within moments of arrival. The shot wasn’t taken, of course, and then Eugene didn’t even want to leave with them despite a clear path of escape. It’s hard to tell whether Gregory is going to give the mutineers up or if he’s playing them so that he can allow his people to take them out by seeming like he’s cooperating, but I’m betting on the former, which is bad news for everyone involved. I’m getting very tired of seeing the Saviors show up and tell the good guys how great they have it, and how they should be grateful for the privilege of not having every single thing they have and find immediately pillaged from them by the more powerful.