The Handmaid’s Tale Story So Far: A Round-Up of Compelling Seasons 1 to 4

The Handmaid’s Tale, an award-winning, American dystopian series based on a 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood, is all set to return with a season 5 release soon in 2022. The story of a post-civil-war society where fertility rates have declined and subjects women to exploitation and injustice as their role in society is limited and restricted. Before The Handmaid's Tale season 5 comes, here's looking at other seasons.

The Handmaid’s Tale follows the story of a woman named June and her journey and struggles through discrimination and exploitation, to reunite with her family.

Here's The Handmaid’s Tale story so far to keep you well versed before the release of season 5

The first four seasons of the series were released in 2017, 2018, and 2019 respectively and the fourth season was released in 2021, with a delay due to the global pandemic.

1. The Handmaid's Tale revolves around the lives of women and children from the patriarchal society of Gilead. The series Handmaid’s Tale holds its own throughout and plays out in New England where patriarchal and right-winged fanatics known as the Sons of Jacob, have overthrown the United States government to form the Republic of Gilead, where the world at large faces an infertility crisis.

2. Consequent to the fertility crisis and Gilead’s rigid system of social classes, women are stripped of their rights and despite their social standing, Fertile women are forced to become handmaids, the women adorning red cloaks and bonnet who are then assigned to high-ranking men. Handmaids are then subjected to ritualistic rape each month, which Gilead calls the Ceremony.

3. We are first introduced to June, the protagonist as Offred, serving as a Handmaid in Commander Fred Waterford’s house. Through seasons we see her life through flashbacks, her struggles in navigating through Fred’s family, and the storyline walks the viewers through her attempts to reunite with her family in Canada and the obstacles that come her way.

4. Viewers are made familiar with Mayday, a network of other Handmaids and Martha’s who portray small acts of rebellion, from setting off explosives to smuggling children and letters out of Gilead. June, eager to find Hannah and reunite with Luke in Canada, becomes a major part of Mayday when she meets Emily.

5. The Handmaid's Tale is all about parallel storylines with that of our protagonist June, with characters such as Emily, Eleanor, Luke, Serena Joy, Nick, and their interwoven lives with our protagonist, portraying the complexities in her character development throughout all the seasons.

6. While season 4 picked right up from the previous season’s cliff-hangers, revealing that the protagonist is indeed alive and through the course of the show is seen making her escape to Canada and living a new life with Luke and Nichole. However, the narrative changes when the handmaids are seen brutally murdering Fred, with June tearing off pieces of his face with her teeth and leaving him hanging the Wall with the words “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum”—the show’s iconic phrase, “don’t let the bastards grind you down”
7. The show ends with mother and daughter together, leaving the viewers scared and in dark about their future.

Despite the dark themes and brutal scenes, the series has made its way into the approval of the public and the critics bagging various awards throughout its course. Will the new season deliver to the high bar the previous seasons have seemed to set with the audience or fail to impress with its stagnancy, only time will tell.

The Handmaid’s Tale season 5

The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 release date is expected soon enough as the series is to return in 2022. The makers announced a season 5 for the popular series back in December 2020 and hence, it may hit the screens sometime in 2022.

Suggested Reading: When Is The New Season Of Handmade’s Tale Coming Out?