Top TV Memes: The Best Meme Formats From 'The Handmaid's Tale'

The Handmaid’s Tale is based on the classic Margaret Atwood novel of the same name. It follows Offred, one of very few women in the dystopian Republic of Gilead who is able to have children, as she tries to escape the life of being an enslaved surrogate mother for a rich family.

Offred, better known as June Osborne, is played by Elisabeth Moss. Throughout the course of the series, which is currently at four seasons, she finds herself in many different roles as she tries to escape the society that’s formed in what was once America.

With a show as weird and controversial as this one, there’s bound to be a lot of memes. Some of them are political, with a good amount referencing the "oppressive masks" sometimes worn by handmaids (we’re not touching this). And of course, there’s the Handmaid’s Tale wedding photo that was created in pretty awful taste. And after the last season aired recently, there are a lot more memes circulating the web, so here are some of the best episodes to find more.

Most Popular Memes: Season 1, Episode 1: "Offred"

The first episode of The Handmaid’s Tale is also the show’s most popular in terms of memes. That’s thanks to students who don’t have Hulu watching only this first episode in AP English class, and also due to one particular scene in which Offred is shopping in a market. Though the scene itself is mundane, a shot from it in which she stands by a cart of oranges has gone viral. To some, the strict, threatening tone of the marketplace seems to reflect the conditions of shopping in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, it’s become a popular meme that’s helped get us through the past year and a half of nightmares.

Aside from the Gilead saying "blessed be the fruit" being mocked in half these memes, we can all kind of relate to hanging back in the corner of a store under a ton of excess clothing for our own protection during the pandemic. There’s also another point in the episode where Offred goes into a murderous rage, which is also memeable if you’re into dark enough humor, but for the rest of us, it’s just a wild escalation that feels as if it exists for shock factor alone. Overall, it’s a dark first episode, and the darker the better as recognized by the meme community.

Most Meme Potential: Season 3, Episode 8: "Unfit"

"Unfit" is widely regarded as one of the worst episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale, and rightfully so, as it breaks from the series’ seriousness and actually becomes kind of awkward and has managed to make some viewers laugh with a particularly weird scene. In it, a group of handmaids is forced to point at Natalie (played by Ashleigh LaThrop) and repeatedly chant "Crybaby." It's really weird, surreal and, as some people noted, the overdramatic moment is often perceived as funny rather than sad, and while it’s been done a couple of times throughout the series, none have been joked about nearly as often as Natalie’s public shaming. Naturally, this particular scene has become the subject of memes and jokes within the fandom.

Another reason this episode is hated by fans but loved by creators of memes is Aunt Lydia. Portrayed by Ann Dowd, Aunt Lydia is possibly the most hated character on the show. Her job is to keep the other handmaids in line while she verbally and physically abuses them, and this episode is mainly focused on her and her life before Gilead. In short, it’s kind of like watching one of those documentaries about Hitler getting rejected from art school. All this combined with the fact that Aunt Lydia is seen coasting around on an electric scooter just a few episodes prior, it’s incredibly confusing, and there’s so much to unpack here that it’s again kind of funny.

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