Offred


"Offred" is the premiere episode of the American television drama series The Handmaid's Tale. It was directed by Reed Morano, and written by Bruce Miller, adapting material from the 1985 Margaret Atwood novel The Handmaid's Tale. The episode debuted on the streaming service Hulu on April 26, 2017.
The Handmaid's Tale is set in a near future dystopia where a mysterious epidemic of female infertility spontaneously impacts women worldwide. The ensuing chaos results in a para-Christian cult overtaking almost all of the United States, renaming it "Gilead" and enforcing a strictly patriarchal theocracy. The viewers follow a woman named June but who is more commonly known as "Offred" because she has been assigned to a man named "Fred" to bear him children. Fertile women such as June are known as handmaids and are forcibly conscripted to bear children for childless couples. Storytelling in the series is routinely non-linear as June has flashbacks to the time before Gilead's rise and a possible resistance movement.
"Offred" was released along with the second and third episodes of the series and the entire first season received widespread critical acclaim. Imagery from the series has also influenced political protests to the presidency of Donald Trump and the popularity of the series has boosted star Elisabeth Moss' profile considerably.

Plot

In a flashback sequence, June's family is pursued in the woods and armed men kill her husband Luke, abduct their child Hannah, and arrest her. Throughout the episode, viewers see subsequent flashbacks to her detainment, where she is sent to a facility with other fertile women who are beaten and indoctrinated to believe that their destiny is to please God through being handmaidens—women who are chosen to bear children for powerful couples who are infertile. Punishment is severe and strict for these women but also any other dissenters: academics, doctors, religious minorities, and homosexuals.
In the present day, she is assigned to a new family and given the name "Offred"—all handmaidens' names change to a construction "Of __", named after the male head of a household. Commander Fred Waterford is a powerful member of the ruling insurgency in Gilead. Offred is assigned mundane chores such as grocery shopping, and is periodically raped in "The Ceremony" wherein Waterford attempts to impregnate her while his wife Serena restrains her. Any time she is in public, she must wear modest clothing, refrain from eye contact with men, and is constantly accompanied by another handmaiden called "Ofglen", whom June despises for her piety. The streets are lined with armed guards and conspicuous black vans who abduct criminals in plain view to terrorize the populace.
One day, the duo attend a public ceremony where a man accused of rape is to be killed. Handmaidens are encouraged to savagely beat him in a "particicution" lead by Aunt Lydia, the woman who abused them in the flashbacks. Offred gives into violent impulses and takes charge kicking him to death. As she and Ofglen leave, her companion reveals that she does not believe in the theocratic cult ruling their lives and warns Offred that her household has a spy known as an "Eye" who may report anything suspicious. She doesn't give more information about how she learned this or who the Eye is but this revelation empowers Offred to remember that her true name is June and to find her child.

Production

The series was announced by Hulu in April 2016, with Elisabeth Moss starring as Offred and serving as one of the producers. The adaptation was created by Bruce Miller, who is an executive producer with Warren Littlefield, Fran Sears, and Daniel Wilson. Miller also wrote the first three episodes and the season finale "Night". Atwood serves as consulting producer, giving feedback on some of the areas where the series expands upon or modernizes the book and has a small cameo role in "Offred". That June, Reed Morano was announced as director of the series and Ann Dowd, Max Minghella, and Samira Wiley joined the cast in July, followed by Madeline Brewer, Joseph Fiennes, and Yvonne Strahovski the following month, and by Amanda Brugel and O. T. Fagbenle in September. In October, Ever Carradine was announced as another actor, and Alexis Bledel was added in January 2017.
Filming for the first season took place in Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, and Cambridge, Ontario, from September 2016 to February 2017. The series premiered on April 26, 2017.

Reception

Critical reception

Critical assessment for the episode, first season, and series has been extremely positive. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the episode is assessed at 100% with an average rating of nine out of 10, based on 13 reviews, meaning that all critics surveyed recommended watching the episode.
YearAwardCategoryNomineeResult
2017Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama SeriesAnn Dowd
2017Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Directing for a Drama SeriesReed Morano
2017Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Writing for a Drama SeriesBruce Miller
2017Primetime Creative Arts Emmy AwardsOutstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series Colin Watkinson
2017Primetime Creative Arts Emmy AwardsOutstanding Period/Fantasy Costumes for a Series, Limited Series, or MovieAne Crabtree and Sheena Wichary
2017Primetime Creative Arts Emmy AwardsOutstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program Julie Berghoff, Evan Webber, and Sophie Neudorfer
2018American Cinema Editors AwardsBest Edited Drama Series for Non-Commercial TelevisionJulian Clarke and Wendy Hallam Martin
2018Art Directors Guild AwardsOne-Hour Contemporary Single-Camera Television SeriesJulie Berghoff
2018Cinema Audio Society AwardsOutstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series – One HourJohn J. Thomson, Lou Solakofski, Joe Morrow, and Don White
2018Directors Guild of America AwardsOutstanding Directorial Achievement for a Drama SeriesReed Morano
2018USC Scripter AwardsBest Adapted TV ScreenplayBruce Miller and Margaret Atwood

Popular reception

At the time this aired, digital streaming services like Hulu had no third-party services that publish ratings, such as Nielsen Media Research ratings for traditional broadcast television. Nielsen added Hulu and YouTube TV in July 2017. The commercial success of the first few episodes can only be inferred by the network's decision to pick up a second season the same day that the fourth episode aired, announcing that "Offred" was the most-watched debut of any program on Hulu. Women's rights activists began dressing as handmaids for political protests within three weeks of "Offred" airing and the trend has continued for subsequent events such as Brett Kavanaugh's 2018 Supreme Court nomination hearing and it had become a viral phenomenon by 2019, similar to Guy Fawkes masks used by Anonymous protestors several years prior.