15 Best TV Moments Of 2017 (So Far)

2. Ofglen's Rebellion - The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale Ofglen
Hulu

Episode: Faithful

The Handmaid's Tale is the current frontrunner for best new TV show of the year, and among the very best of all series overall too. An adaptation of Margaret Atwood's seminal novel of the same name, it's held nothing back in the transition to TV - if anything it's even more grim - and has advantages over the book in being able to flesh out its other characters further.

The best example of this is Oglen - who later becomes Ofsteven - played by Alexis Bledel. As a big Gilmore Girls fan, it was both strange to picture her in this kind of role, and hard to imagine her acting being good enough. Bledel's been a revelation though, and after the horrors inflicted on her in Late, she gets a moment of triumph in Faithful.

Stealing a car in the middle of town, she goes for a joyride around the square. And joyride really is the operative word, because she has a huge grin on her face doing so, and it's hard not to feel the same watching it. Yes, she does brutally murder someone, but still it's hard not to cheer after everything that's happened to her. It's a brief moment of victory and empowerment, and a whole lot of fun, for a character who has really suffered in a show that can be difficult to watch.

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Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.