June Osborn returns to tell her story in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4. What started as a strong and beautifully crafted series is beginning to feel a bit ordinary now. The acting and the compelling scenes are still there, but the series should have ended earlier to avoid becoming long-winded and repetitive. A missed opportunity.
In this fourth season of the successful series, we see June on the loose. Together with her fellow handmaids in Gilead, the dystopian city where fertile women are abused to serve as surrogate mothers, she manages to escape from the “Eyes.”
Season 3 ended with the liberation of many children from Gilead to Canada, known as the “Angel’s Flight,” which had a significant impact. Now, June is the most wanted person in Gilead and a hero in Canada. Fortunately, there are enough people in both countries ready to help her.
More of the Same
The first season was exceptional, closely based on Margaret Atwood’s book, and it was the only season where you already had an idea of what would happen. However, that changed afterward. The writers created some good storylines in the second and partially the third season. The Handmaid’s Tale season 4, however, shows us what we’ve seen many times before.
*Spoiler alert* June Osborn, played by Elisabeth Moss, has had countless opportunities to escape from Gilead. But the “will she or won’t she” storyline seemed to be getting too repetitive for the writers. Midway through season 4, she actually crosses the border and is reunited with her husband Luke (O-T Fagbenle) and best friend Moira (Samira Wiley) in Canada. Finally! But unfortunately, the storyline remains more of the same after that.
However, more of the same doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad season. As seen before in The Handmaid’s Tale, the shots are beautifully crafted. Although the large groups of handmaids in their red costumes are not present in season 4, the directors continue to find ways to capture the shots as beautifully as possible, using a red tone for the (former) handmaids and a blue tone for the Wives and Commanders.
Follow-up on The Handmaid’s Tale season 4?
What’s also not new are the harsh and graphic scenes that are once again present in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4. The third episode of the Hulu original, in particular, stands out in this regard. Additionally, lead actress Elisabeth Moss directed three episodes, including the third one in which June, her own character, is tortured and then manages to escape with some old acquaintances from her handmaid friend group. It’s a intense episode with a shocking ending.
The final episode of this fourth season doesn’t end with a bang and an exciting conclusion. There is certainly a lot happening, but it’s quite predictable. Several storylines are still unresolved and unfinished. The search for daughter Hannah is ongoing, and pregnant Serena Joy remains unaware of her husband’s fate. However, it’s clear that Joseph Fiennes, as Commander Fred Waterford, will at most appear in flashbacks. All of this will be explored further in season 5, as it has already been announced. The release date is still unknown, and whether it will be the final season is also uncertain. It will likely be available on Videoland in the Netherlands, and with the talents of the cast and creators, it will undoubtedly be a good season. But it will probably be more of the same, just like The Handmaid’s Tale season 4.
The Handmaid’s Tale – season 4
Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship.
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Joseph Fiennes, Ann Dowd, e.a.
Creator: Bruce Miller
