Season 5 of 'Handmaid's Tale' airs, shows women grow stronger
Elisabeth Moss arrives at a season 3 finale event for the television series "The Handmaid's Tale" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., Aug. 6, 2019. (Reuters Photo)


Blessed be the day. Season five of TV series "The Handmaid's Tale," adaptation of Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel of the same name was aired on Wednesday, unveiling a totalitarian future when fertile women are forced into sexual servitude to repopulate a world facing environmental disaster.

The series has gained popularity for addressing the timely issues of reproductive rights and women’s rights with acclaim for the depth of its characters. As both the lead actress and executive producer, Elisabeth Moss said that "The Handmaid’s Tale" tries to follow the emotional truths of the characters.

"We try to follow their hearts and we try to tell honest stories about them-and somehow that always leads us to a place of relevance," she said. "I think that’s a good thing. It’s important to talk about these things, it’s important to have an opinion," Moss said.

She explained that people should register, go out and vote. The show was intended as a cautionary tale, but she realizes that it connects with contemporary events.

Moss also said,"We wish that this was a crazy, wild dystopian future and that the show had zero relevance, that everyone was going, ‘Oh my God, thank God that’s not happening to us!’"

Similarly, Bradley Whitford who plays Commander Joseph Lawrence told Reuters that his character’s way of challenging the dystopian world this Season is to "work within a system to reform it in a world where, unfortunately we can all relate to this, where it seems like fascism is on the rise."

He added that Lawrence will work on redeeming himself in the fifth installation and making changes in Gilead, but it won't be easy.

"I think June’s position on that is: it’s still Gilead. They come into conflict about that. He’s moving into action this year in a way he never has," Whitford said.