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Well, someone is feeling cheeky. Whether it was the producers, the writers’ room, or a precocious, self-congratulatory intern, beginning the first episode of the The Handmaid’s Tale’s new season with “All I Have to Do Is Dream” by The Everly Brothers is a choice. As the saccharine tune rings out, June (Elisabeth Moss) is still covered in blood and that glow that can only come from killing your rapist with your bare hands.
You thought the show was grim in its outlook on life? Pish-posh! Dreams can and do come true for our characters, and the first three episodes of Season 5 indicate that the show intends to explore the consequences of their fulfillment—and its very dark trappings. While the guiding motto of prior seasons might have been “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum,” this time around, it’s the less-tattoo worthy “Be careful what you wish for.”
And yet, despite the schoolmarm charm of that phrase, this change in priority allows The Handmaid’s Tale to run toward the light, instead of spiraling once more into its usual cycle of despair. After years of relentless violence and an eye-for-an-eye ethos, the show is offering paths of salvation to its most hated characters, courtesy of that little form of adult magic that TikTok teens and CrossFit bros lack: self-awareness.