The Handmaid's Tale, only on episode 3 and confused already!

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So I thought I'd give The Handmaid's Tale a go and so far I'm enjoying it but only on episode 3. I'm confused though and if I don't understand it, I'll lose interest! I've probably not paid attention but here goes.

Are the married woman all infertile so have the Handmaid's to have babies for them, or do they not want to get pregnant themselves.

How were the Handmaid's chosen, is it single women of childbearing age.

My 16 year old daughter is watching it to, I'm not sure it's appropriate though, is there anything worse to come that she shouldn't see?

Finally is it worth watching all 5 series or is it not that good. Its very bizarre but very watchable!

The wives can be fertile or infertile, some have their own children (and the husband will be promoted if so).

Handmaids are 'fallen' fertile women, so those that had children out of marriage, or to someone who was previously married, or who misbehaved in some way and didn't conform (religion, sexuality, behaviour)

Other women are either married to non-important men (they wear drab grey clothes), or are Marthas.

At 16 I'd say it's suitable but sometimes hard watching (rape, brutality etc) I read it for the first time at about that age.

So its set in a near future America, were the birthrate has dropped dramatically and people are mostly infertile - the select few are not. Gilead is a theocracy based on Biblical values. Any woman who is both fertile and a sinner (basically all fertile women) is enslaved by the state to repopulate.

Unless she’s particularly sensitive I’d say there’s nothing in it that would be unsuitable for a 16 year old. DH couldn’t get into it but I find it a really powerful and troubling show, some episodes are incredibly anxiety inducing, especially when watched alongside political developments worldwide.

It is worth watching all 5 series. The storyline gets clearer & more developed over time.

There are some truly brutal scenes but should be ok for a 16 year old. You will start to see how Gilead is not that far away from some US politics...

My 16 yo watched it, ss she saw me watching it. Tbh she probably watches worse when I’m not around.it’s fine, troubling but helps a young person see how little by little womens rights can be eroded, how religion is used for power, and that ‘all it takes for bad things to happen is for good people to do nothing’

It's been a while since I watched the first series but, if I remember rightly, there's quite a bit of flash backing which explains how the various characters came to be in the roles they now occupy in Gilead. I think it takes some time before you have a fuller story on each character. Keep watching because it's just incredible. I wish I could start it all again having never watched it!

Offred is a handmaiden because her husband was a divorcè and their relationship started as an affair.
The handmaids have all proven their fertility before.
The book is my favourite of all time and the series just didn't work for me.

Glad you asked this OP!
I started watching this last week but had to stop as I found it hard to watch.
The scenes with young children were really upsetting and I'm not usually a fan of zombie apocalypse style programmes. (Thinking of the scenes from the husband's perspective)
Should I carry on with it?

It's worth saying that it's not Apocalyptic as such. MA said she put nothing in that didn't exist for women in the world.

It's mentally gruelling. Every episode is a bit of a psychological marathon tbh - you may not get on with it. It's amazing, but the trauma and misery are relentless.

Yes as said here - it's not zombie apocalypse. It's near future, all this could happen because it's a mish mash of things that have happened to women all over the world. Makes it much more terrifying than apocalyptic style shows!

Yes I didn't mean it had zombies in! More that style of running around an empty city trying to stay alive vibe! Thanks for answering my have to leave it until I'm emotionally stronger! (Ha likely never)

I would encourage you to watch from the beginning. What struck me is that it's a futuristic drama which could be a reality for women and how it easy it would be if the leaders decide it 😬

You'll get there. Never say never!

I've just found this and it's brilliant but terrifying. Just finished series 1 and slightly gutted to find series 2 is £25!

Thanks everyone, I've started from the very beginning so have a long way to go. Saying that, I watched 4 series of Virgin River in 2 weeks! 😂

I read the book at 16.

There is, however, a more disturbing than usual episode in I think Series 2 which I found very hard to watch and wouldn't rewatch the series as a result.

DD studied the book for her A-levels and then we binged watched it together (I had already seen it). Although very dark I think it is one of the best series ever, it is brutal and tough to watch at times but this treatment of women happens. It can also be slow in places but then something happens and you are once again shocked at how twisted it all is.

Couples are assigned a handmaid if they are having trouble conceiving. the birth rate is so low world-wide that this will be most couples. It may not be the wife who is infertile, but male fertility is never questioned in the patriarchy.

handmaids are “criminals” and this is their sentence. The crimes may be adultery, homosexuality, or really just doing anything that they can use as an excuse to enslave and rape a fertile woman. At first all of the handmaids are women who have successfully had a healthy child.

Some wives can get pregnant. The ones that can't are issued a handmaid. If the handmaid doesn't get pregnant in 2 years, she is moved on to another household and the commander abd his wife get another handmaid.

Why on earth would you start it now. It’s clearly the new lost. Never ending for moneys sake!

Just caught up on series 5 ep 2 and I'm 😱.

It's an incredible series. Incredible actors, incredible writing and cinematography. Utterly brutal and hard to watch. I've cried so many times watching it (including s5ep2).

The essence is that fertility rates have dropped, and the powerful white men have decided to say it's because god is punishing us for living sinful lives. Divorcing, homosexuality, women reading and generally being 'disobedient'. So a new regime of fear where the sinful fertile women are forced into being handmaidens - which means they are raped by the men they are allocated to and forced to bear them children. They lose their freedom, rights, names. They are now known by the name of the male of the family - "of warren", "of Fred".

It's scary, and even more so because we live in a time where women's rights are being eroded by men, abortion rights for example.

I’m very liberal and wouldn’t let my 16dd watch it. Some of the scenes are explicit and some extremely brutal. It makes for very disturbing tv sometimes which is brilliant but I’d worry that my teenage dd would internalise, overthink and analyse it too much (which is what teenagers do).

The whole lot is available on the channel 4 app.

I'm bored now, s5 is just June raging. I feel it's past it's sell by