Pop music in ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ heightens agony of season two
The second season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” was brought to a close with a moment of cathartic violence.
But one could argue that the star of the scene wasn’t Alexis Bledel’s handmaid Emily but instead a voice off-screen: that of Annie Lennox.
With Emily fearing for her life, the sound of Lennox’s symphonic pop cut “Walking on Broken Glass” breaks the silence, materializing via car radio. The tune’s upbeat tone contrasts with the pain of the character and, in turn, attempts to bring greater emotional weight to the scene by highlighting the show’s extremes.
It’s one example of how the Hulu series in season two used familiar pop music not as a cause for celebration but as a tool to torture.
With “Broken Glass,” the desired effect was to make the audience uncomfortable. What initially begins as a simple juxtaposition soon becomes somewhat-menacing.
As Emily sits, not knowing what, if any, punishment she will be dealt by Joseph Lawrence (Bradley Whitford), the latter dances along to the song. He’s either oblivious to Emily’s situation or, perhaps, hyper-aware and purposely tormenting her. The music can play tricks on the characters and the viewers.
Often, the upbeat, instantly recognizable songs showcase the disparity and dark themes of the show Emily (Alexis Bledel) in “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which ended season two with Emily fearing for her life as Annie Lennox’s “Walking on Broken Glass” played
by capturing what’s absent from the world of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Music, in fact, is banned by the fictional authoritarian regime of Gilead.
“Handmaid’s” music supervisor Maggie Phillips and showrunner Bruce Miller debated at length about what song would close out the season.
“Annie Lennox was originally Madonna’s ‘Borderline,’ which was played on set,” Phillips said. “I tried a ton of stuff there. It was tricky because Bruce wanted something iconic — female — really poppy (and) recognizable. It’s a tough scene with Emily — you don’t know what’s going on.”
Phillips had to find a song that not only matched the editing but also highlighted an intense situation and underscored Lawrence’s creepiness.
“With ‘Walking on Broken Glass,’ the key to that song was tone deafness,” Miller said. “If you’re Emily, you’re sitting in the back after you’ve done something violent. You basically assume they’re going to tear (you) apart like warm bread. And, from Lawrence’s point of view, he’s like: ‘Why is she so nervous? I’m helping her. Can’t she get that?’”
These days, music supervision is taken more seriously as an art form. The Television Academy long overlooked the field until last year, when it added a music-supervision
category to the Emmys (Susan Jacobs won for “Big Little Lies”). In June, the Grammy Awards allowed music supervisors to be nominated in the compilation soundtrack field.
If done incorrectly, songs incorporated into the dystopian universe of “The Handmaid’s Tale” could remove the viewer from the experience. Phillips and Miller strive to make difficult choices, avoiding religious cues or coldly distant music to simply reflect what’s on-screen.
The second season — with its statesponsored attacks on personal freedoms, religious intolerance and women’s reproductive rights — already hit home for many viewers, and such familiar songs further connect the terror of the show to present-day reality.
Earlier in the season, when Elisabeth Moss’ June/Offred listened to Motown favorite “Easy” by the Commodores with Serena (Yvonne Strahovski), it was done to allow the characters to put their aggression aside and remember a time before Gilead.
Phillips created playlists for June/Offred, Serena and other title characters to understand them and to tie them to our world.
He likens the hunt for songs to a research project. Once a possible list of songs is compiled, the rights need to be obtained, a process that could take anywhere from days to months. For example, Rihanna’s “Consideration,” featuring Sza, took four months to secure.
Miller, along with Moss, who is a show executive producer, often sent music suggestions to Phillips.
“Ultimately, it’s Bruce’s show, and I have to sometimes remind myself and think about what he wants,” Phillips said. “It’s challenging because I have strong opinions. He was very clear about what he wanted a lot of the time and tended to go more ironic counterpoint. I think that’s where we had differences of opinion, but, because of that, I feel like there was growth.”
Phillips said one of Miller’s top choices for the recently concluded season was Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart” which took “forever” to get approved. The song played in episode 11, as June listens to a radio show hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The live version also appears in the end credits.
Springsteen was chosen to give the audience — and Gilead — hope. Having a “strong American icon” heard with a crowd, Phillips said, tells the people of Gilead that, with persistence, things could be OK.
The music is as taxing to plan for as it is intense to watch and hear in the series, Phillips said.
Season three is in the early stages, but he is deep into thinking up playlists for the characters and crafting the sounds that will score June’s ultimate plan.
“I think June has gone full-on rebellious and is going to take no prisoners,” he said. “I think she’s going to Gilead to kick some ass, and I want to pick some fighting songs.
"Bjork’s 'Army of Me,' in my mind, could be her anthem.”