‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 2, Episodes 1 and 2: The Limits of Mercy

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Genevieve Valentine

Ann Dowd, left, and Elisabeth Moss in “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Credit George Kraychyk/Hulu

One of the most painful things about the first two episodes of the second season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” is how they play with what we’re willing to take. There’s already some background anxiety simply because the show has gone quite literally off-book. The first season traced most of the major events of the source novel by Margaret Atwood, including the limbo of its final moments. But from here on out, anything can happen, and in Gilead, it’s almost always going to be terrible. Because of that uncertainty, Episodes 1 and 2, both of which debuted Wednesday on Hulu, feel nightmarishly long. [More]