Margaret Atwood has herself admitted that nothing she showed in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ was new. Instead, it was all drawn by the religious extremism, patriarchal oppression, and reproductive control policies that have happened throughout history to real people.
The show takes that up brilliantly and doesn’t shy away from making the viewers confront the rawest form of torture. These are the most gut-wrenching and heartbreaking scenes that we find in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ that we have failed to get out of our heads.
10. The Colonies
The scenes set in these radioactive wastelands, called the “Colonies,” are among the most disturbing visuals in the whole series. The disgusting yellow air, the inhumane conditions, and the ghostlike figures of the women working were some of the hardest things to watch.
The fate of being sent to these Colonies as an Unwoman loomed large over every single woman in Gilead, whether they were a Handmaid or a Wife. The women are forced to dig and collect toxic soil, supposedly to help clean the nuclear site. Though we know it only serves as a death sentence because they hardly survive in that condition for more than three years.
Related: 10 Most Terrifying Laws In ‘A Handmaid’s Tale’
9. Hannah In The Glass Box
Despite Gilead’s obsession with childbirth, we knew from the start that it had no future planned for its coming generation. Instead, they are simply a tool for them to use once again to meet their cruel desires. The same happens with June’s child, Hannah.
In season 4 episode 3, we see June being brought to a room where her daughter, Hannah, has been kept imprisoned in a glass case. Watching Hannah getting frightened even at the sight of her own mother was heart-wrenching, revealing the extent of psychological torture the child has had to go through.
8. Stoning Janine To Death
After rescuing her from her suicide mission, Gilead deliberately restores Janine’s health only to sentence her to an execution in the most brutal way. As she kneels down on the ground, she is surrounded by her fellow Handmaids, all holding stones meant to kill her.
Forcing the Handmaids to kill one of their own has to be the most uniquely cruel form of torture. But when they all band together to drop their stones as an act of defiance, we all felt chills running down our spines.
7. The Execution
After disobeying Aunt Lydia’s order to stone Janine to death, the Handmaids find themselves taken to a mass hanging site in an old stadium. In their final moments, we see Kate Bush’s ‘Woman’s Work’ playing in the background as they all try to accept their death.
The scene was terrifying and tragic at the same time. The Handmaids quietly resigned, standing in front of the numerous hanging nooks. It was clear that they would do anything rather than kill one of their own. Though we all felt inspired by their solidarity, the scene was simply tragic and terrifying to watch.
6. The Rings in the Mouth
When June first arrives in DC with Aunt Lydia, she notices that the Handmaids all cover their mouths with red clothes in addition to the signature bonnets and red cloaks. Little did we know this was foreshadowing one more horrific Gileadean custom.
At the Winslows, June comes across the unusually quiet Ofgeorge. As she tries to make conversation with her, she is horrified to see that the reason she is unable to open her mouth is because of multiple rings piercing her lips, holding them shut. The intense graphic scene along with the look of pure resignation in Ofgeorge’s eyes definitely brought us tears.
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5. Janine Losing Her Eye
Janine’s rebellious nature has brought so much torture upon her. Yet, every single time it felt like she was coming back stronger. But this one scene at the Red Centre was too devastating.
After she refuses to be subdued and instead answers with sarcastic and vulgar language to show her defiance, Aunt Lydia’s punishment is to have one of her eyes plucked out. When that happens, Janine returns meeker and more compliant, and we sense instantly the depth of her physical and psychological pain.
4. Eden’s Execution
Eden’s story in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ will never fail to bring tears. She was just a quiet and innocent child, put in that position by her own father. Before she could even comprehend what she was getting into, she was married off to Nick as a child bride. Caught between power struggles she never understood, she had to meet a horrible end.
After finding them guilty of infidelity, Eden and Issac are sentenced to execution. This was again, no straight-forward execution. Instead, they are put on a diving board above a deserted swimming pool in front of a terrified and helpless public, watching the young child choosing to die rather than staying alive to serve others.
3. The Last Ceremony
The Ceremonies were one of the gruesome things to watch in the whole show. Yet, June’s last ceremony with Serena and Fred crossed every line. When June experiences false labor pains, the Waterfords punish her by suggesting the final ceremony that can induce labor.
Instead, we watch, in graphic detail, June being assaulted and exploited in horrific ways. Even after pleading, we see her pushed to the ground. Using faith and religion as an excuse to commit horrible things is a signature move in Gilead. Yet, this was the rawest form of this cruelty.
2. Esther Keyes’ Story
It had been long clear that, no matter which social class they belong to in Gilead, women have had to experience the most unspeakable horrors in silence. Amongst this, Esther Keyes’ story was just plain horrifying.
Initially, she started as a wife who had been repeatedly assaulted by many men in hopes of getting pregnant. When she started to act out, she was demoted to the duties of a Handmaid. Then came Commander Putnam’s sexual assault and Aunt Lydia’s implication that she brought it upon herself. All this ultimately led to her suicide attempt.
1. Emily’s Mutilation
After their lesbian relationship was exposed, Emily and her Martha met this horrific fate that left us viewers traumatized. Emily’s companion is sloppily and carelessly hung right in front of her eyes. And what follows is simply horrifying.
Emily is spared execution and instead finds herself in a prison jumpsuit and a muzzle, ready to undergo surgery. She wakes up screaming to find herself genitally mutilated. Aunt Lydia calls it part of God’s plan, again hiding Gilead’s vile punishments under the name of religion.
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