It seems that I am not on Hulu’s mailing list and there is no embargo attached to the actual screening pages, so there might be an embargo on these episodes, but again, I am unaware of it.

I gave my take on the premiere a couple of pages back and have now also seen the second and third episodes, so read no further if you want to go in blind. The premiere was my favourite of these three. The second and third episodes dragged in their middles and I found myself getting sleepy. But each ultimately came around to a conclusion that should satisfy fans, so I cannot tell how the critics will respond. I was also not the biggest fan of the first season. Some of the things that happen just seem so extreme that they strike me as preposterous. The allegory might be a bit lost on me. I like the point that someone made I think in this forum about how people in the 1930s could not have anticipated the Second World War, but really, The Handmaid’s Tale is supposedly taking place only three years in the future?

Anyway, there is a possibility that we see this get a slightly soft score of 92 on Metacritic, like the final season of The Americans, if they think that these episodes are not quite up to the level of the first season. What will make it difficult for critics to offer their opinions on the season is that after these three episodes, you still do not know what this season looks like. Based on what happens in the third, I suspect that the fourth is when the new status quo is established. These things take time sometimes. Orange is the New Black comes to mind; that show blew up its story in the first season finale, then the premiere only had one series regular in it and it was not until the second or third episode that things were back to normal.

I have seen some posts from people thinking that this would be more of an ensemble season, but that is not the case in these three episodes. The first episode (aptly titled “June”) is all about June, notably lacking a secondary present-day story line. The second episode (“Unwomen”) is Emily-centric and honestly would have been stronger if it had not spent a third of its time checking in on June. Then the third episode (“Baggage”) is another June-centric outing. Max Minghella is the only cast member other than Elisabeth Moss who is in all three. Madeline Brewer only has a cameo. O-T Fagbenle and Ann Dowd are the only ones in two of the three, but Dowd only has a cameo in her second episode. I would think that everyone would be in the fourth episode.

The second episode is probably Bledel’s tape. She was a great guest nominee last year, but she should not be nominated in supporting for this. She is fine in it, but drama supporting actress has the potential to be a really strong category. Maria Tomei, Cherry Jones and Clea DuVall all appear to be one-off guests and the same goes for unreported guest John Carroll Lynch, who plays a gay colleague of Emily. Tomei, DuVall and Lynch each interact separately with Bledel exclusively (other than minor guests with “co-star” credits). You can count out DuVall and Lynch; each is relegated to a single scene with dialogue. Jones is typecast as June’s rough-and-tumble, loudmouthed hippie feminist mother. Tomei has a more interesting role, but she is always either wearing a hood or appearing in a night scene, so I could see viewers registering the character and not realizing that it was Tomei. Neither Jones nor Tomei does enough to warrant a nomination, but neither does so little like DuVall or Lynch that I can count them out, lest we forget Denis O’Hare and Brian Tyree Henry last year.

Keep your eyes out for a long sex scene, complete with three positions and close-ups of sweat. The first two episodes are written by Bruce Miller and directed by Mike Barker, with cinematography by Colin Watkinson. The third episode is written by Dorothy Fortenberry and directed by Kari Skogland, with cinematography by Zoë White, so maybe they get dual cinematography nominations this season. IMDb says that they are alternating for the season.

Episode 1 main story: Elisabeth Moss, Max Minghella, Ann Dowd, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski

Episode 1 June flashbacks: Elisabeth Moss, O-T Fagbenle

Episode 2 main story: Elisabeth Moss, Max Minghella

Episode 2 colonies story: Alexis Bledel, Madeline Brewer, Marisa Tomei

Episode 2 Emily flashbacks: Alexis Bledel, Clea DuVall, John Carroll Lynch

Episode 3 main story: Elisabeth Moss, Max Minghella

Episode 3 Canada story: O-T Fagbenle, Samira Wiley

Episode 3 June flashbacks: Elisabeth Moss, Ann Dowd, O-T Fagbenle, Samira Wiley, Cherry Jones

Yet to appear: Amanda Brugel, Bradley Whitford, Will Forte