'Friends' cameo on 'The Handmaid's Tale' leaves viewers startled
'The Handmaid's Tale' is not a show particularly known for its humorous moments. Although there are moments of stolen joy and happiness, which are usually in the memories of the characters. Episode 2 of the new season is extremely grim, especially after the death sequence. The sounds of laughter after this is quite disturbing to say the least.
Spoiler Alert
The source of this laughter is the 'Friends' cameo in 'The Handmaid's Tale'. A scene from the famous TV show 'Friends' is shown in the episode. Offred's last scene in the episode begins with her watching a scene from 'Friends' on her laptop. The scene is not a memory but the present in Gilead, the fictional world in 'The Handmaid's Tale'.
She is watching season 4 episode 11- "The One with Phoebe's Uterus", the famous scene in which Monica is trying to explain the working of the female body to Chandler. Offred finds a DVD of the show and this made a surprising effect on the audience. Fans were not sure what to make of this sudden change in the mood.
Offred feels the frustration of the situation but is able to relax and laugh at the scenes from a different time as she comes to the realization that she is safe for the moment.
This is definitely not the first time our world and the fictional world of Gilead are tied together. From the very first episode, we see flashbacks to the "days before Gilead" which is set in the USA.
They use the song "Don't You Forget About Me" as a part of the soundtrack in the first episode. They also try to show the Women's March in Washington through the protest done by Moira and June when they first come to Gilead.
