I ask this sincerely w/o knowing the answer: do you live in the United States?
Atwood's novel (and the original film adaptation) was speculative fiction in the 80s. It was still largely speculative when Season 1 of the series was released. Given developments in the US even during the duration of the series... it seems to me significantly more probable and less absurd today than even 5 or so years ago. Of course I'm not a woman... I'm a man who's afraid of some men and concerned about certain US domestic policies/legal precedents that impact women and human rights generally. Also (as you mention not liking Christian propaganda) I'm concerned about small yet militant American factions that push relentlessly for an erosion of church/state division and for more religious-based governance. Those concerns are all reflected in the novel and in the series...
As for being "badly told" or not, it's probably a subjective thing. I struggled a lot through Season 1, but the last three episodes of S2 were some of the best directed TV I've seen. S3 and beyond has strong points and also, increasingly, the same issues that any ongoing series has as it tries to maintain its narrative beyond what may be a logical endpoint. I would 've liked to see them wrap it up in four seasons - such is the curse of success. The acting is pretty much outstanding throughout. Ehh, what do I know?
Heck, based on your posts I've read, I'd say you know a lot about movies. :-)
Yes, I am in the United States, and I do agree western society could be plunged into an even bigger social nightmare than we've seen so far, and that scenarios that could take us there are closer to the surface than they were when the source novel was published in the Reagan years. I also agree THT does have an impressive cast, especially Elisabeth Moss and Alexis Bledel.
I guess aside from not enjoying this series and the movie before it (and the godawful book I once had to read for a class) I feel like some of the praise is hollow and based on people having an ax to grind and their response having more to do with that than the quality of the show itself.
But like you said, all I wrote is subjective. Just my own outlook and point of view. If someone else likes the show, that's cool.
