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A Handmaid's Tale Update and Apology

The fifth season of The Handmaid's Tale began airing today. If you have been kind enough to read my reviews in the past, I wanted to let you know that I won't be reviewing season five. At least not right now. Here's why.

When I started rewatching season four a couple of weeks ago to prepare for this season's reviews, I started having nightmares and spells of depression, probably stemming from a time years ago when I was poor, single and pregnant, and lost my job. I realized that the current political climate in the United States was triggering me. For the sake of my own mental health, I decided that I cannot spend hours this fall writing about the oppression of women. It's just too close to home.

I believe that The Handmaid's Tale is an important show. I care about it, or I wouldn't have taken it on. And I'm sorry I can't handle it right now. At some future point, I might be ready to watch and review this season, but I don't know when that will be.

If you're by any chance interested in reviewing season five of The Handmaid's Tale for Doux Reviews, contact me at douxreviews at gmail dot com.

Thank you for your understanding.

8 comments:

  1. Going to take a liberty an announce, on behalf of all people who care about you, we’d rather have you have peace of mind (to the extent that’s possible in 2022) than more excellent reviews of Handmaid’s Tale. Stay strong Billie - sunbunny who can’t figure out how to log into her google account on her iPhone despite being a millennial LOL

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  2. Billie, this sounds like absolutely the right choice for the right reasons.

    I still haven't managed to watch beyond the first two episodes!

    I remember that I tried in the summer of 2018, when my cat Duckling was dying and I was reading a book called How Democracies Die. It was all too much, and since I could control some, but not all, of those things, I chose not to continue with the Handmaid's Tale.

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  3. I will miss your reviews but I understand completely why you feel that way. It's just too close to reality, especially after the Dobbs ruling. I both anticipated Season 5, and then dreaded it after learning that there will be a Season 6. I wanted to see Gilead burnt to the ground and people dancing on the ashes NOW, but alas not yet. And thinking the show (or reality) may end that way is no safe bet. I will watch but space them out, and definitely not binge. This show just has too many angry emotional triggers for me.

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  4. sunbunny, ChrisB, Josie, milostanfield -- thank you so much for your support. I very much appreciate it.

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  5. Billie, you and I became aquatinted years ago after my all time favorite TV show Lost. I totally understand you wanting to step back from the Handmaids Tail. However, this season has been about taking back control, being strong, not giving up, and doing whatever needs to be done to survive. If Serena and June can reach a mutual understanding of each other, which they do, spoiler sorry, I think that things will get better as the show continues.

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  6. Anonymous, thank you so much. I don't usually have depression and writers' block for such a long period of time, so this is new to me. I hope I'll be able to go back and review this season at some point.

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  7. Thank you very much for your reviews so far. I’ll miss them. I’m sad that I won’t have your insights anymore, but of course I understand.
    I, on the other hand, don’t find his show depressing. I find it inspiring and educational. A guide book on how to survive if stuff like this comes to pass, and how to keep it from happening in the first place. Too bad I don’t do reviews in English or I’d volunteer.
    See you in another show. And thank you again.

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