Music matters. Honestly, it might matter more in dystopian television than anywhere else because it’s the only thing that reminds us of the "before times." But when Taylor Swift’s "Look What You Made Me Do" started playing at the end of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4, Episode 9, the internet basically had a collective meltdown. Some people thought it was a stroke of genius. Others felt it was the moment the show finally jumped the shark. It was weird, jarring, and arguably the most talked-about needle drop in the history of Hulu's flagship drama.
The Context of Look What You Made Me Do in The Handmaid's Tale
To understand why this moment hit so differently, you have to look at where June Osborne was mentally. She’s no longer the victim. She hasn’t been for a long time. By the time we get to "Progress" (Season 4, Episode 9), June has escaped to Canada, but the trauma of Gilead follows her like a shadow. She is vengeful. She is angry. She is, quite frankly, terrifying.
The song kicks in right as June is orchestrating a deal that essentially seals Fred Waterford’s fate. It’s a moment of pure, unadulterated female rage.
Using Look What You Made Me Do in The Handmaid's Tale wasn’t just about picking a catchy pop song. It was a tonal pivot. For years, the show used somber, atmospheric scores or classic rock tracks that felt grounded in a specific kind of prestige-TV melancholy. Bringing in a 2017 pop anthem—one specifically written about public feuds and reputation destruction—was a loud, neon-soaked signal that the rules of the show had changed.
Why the Choice Was So Controversial
The backlash was instant. Critics from outlets like The A.V. Club and Vulture pointed out that the song felt a bit too "on the nose." It lacked the subtlety the show was known for. When you’re watching a brutal depiction of systemic oppression and state-sanctioned violence, hearing a song that was originally inspired by a spat between pop stars can feel... trivializing? Maybe. Or maybe it was just too "CW" for a show that won Emmys for being "prestige."
But there’s another side to this.
The showrunner, Bruce Miller, and the music supervisor, Maggie Phillips, didn't do this by accident. They knew it would be divisive. That’s the point of art, right? To make you feel something, even if that something is "wait, did they really just do that?"
Elisabeth Moss, who also directed the episode, has spoken about the intentionality behind the music. June is reclaiming her power. The song is literally about someone taking the "villain" role that was thrust upon them and weaponizing it. In that context, it’s actually a perfect fit for June’s evolution from Offred to a revolutionary who is willing to get her hands very, very bloody.
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A History of Needle Drops in Gilead
We can’t talk about the Swift moment without talking about the show’s overall musical identity. It’s always been eclectic. Remember "You Don't Own Me" by Lesley Gore at the end of the pilot? That was iconic. It set the stage for the entire series. It told us that even though June was trapped, her internal monologue was still defiant.
Then you had "Walking on Broken Glass" by Annie Lennox or "Cloudbusting" by Kate Bush. These songs worked because they felt like memories. They felt like the music a woman in her 30s would have actually listened to before the world fell apart.
Look What You Made Me Do in The Handmaid's Tale feels different because it’s modern. It’s aggressive. It doesn't feel like a memory; it feels like a manifesto.
- Season 1: Focuses on classic defiance (Nina Simone, Blondie).
- Season 2: Gets darker and more experimental.
- Season 3: Starts leaning into the "warrior" aesthetic.
- Season 4: Goes full-tilt into the psychology of revenge.
The shift toward Taylor Swift signifies that June is no longer looking back at the world she lost. She is living in the world she is currently burning down.
The Psychology of Revenge and Pop Music
There is a specific phenomenon where pop music is used to underscore cinematic violence. Think of A Clockwork Orange and "Singin' in the Rain" or Reservoir Dogs and "Stuck in the Middle with You." It creates a cognitive dissonance. Your ears hear something upbeat or "fun," but your eyes see something horrific.
In the case of The Handmaid's Tale, the horror isn't a physical act of violence in that specific scene—it's the moral decay of the protagonist. June is making a deal with the devil (Commander Tuello and the Gilead authorities) to get what she wants. She is manipulating the system. The "Old June" can't come to the phone right now. Why? Because she's dead.
Honestly, the lyrics are almost too perfect. "I don't like your kingdom keys / They once belonged to me / You asked me for a place to sleep / Locked me out and threw a feast." If you apply that to the Commanders of Gilead, it’s a literal description of their theft of women's lives and property.
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What This Means for Season 5 and Beyond
If you hated the Taylor Swift needle drop, you probably hated the direction the show took in Season 5. The series moved away from being a "misery porn" survival story and became a psychological thriller about two women—June and Serena—locked in a toxic, obsessive dance of death.
The use of Look What You Made Me Do in The Handmaid's Tale was the bridge between those two versions of the show. It told the audience: "Stop waiting for June to be a saint. She’s not a saint. She’s a survivor, and survivors are often messy and cruel."
Critics like Roxane Gay have often discussed the "likability" trap for female characters. We want our female protagonists to be "good," even when they are being tortured. The Handmaid’s Tale threw that out the window. By using a song that is famously associated with a "villain era," the showrunners leaned into June’s darkness.
The Impact on the Fanbase
The "Swiftie" crossover was real. Suddenly, you had a segment of the audience that maybe wasn't as plugged into the socio-political commentary of Margaret Atwood's world but was very much plugged into the cultural zeitgeist of pop music. It made the show feel "current" in a way that was perhaps a bit desperate, but undeniably effective.
It also sparked a massive debate on Reddit and Twitter.
"I literally screamed when the beat dropped. It was the most satisfying moment of the whole season." — @HandmaidsFan99
"It felt like a fan-edit. I couldn't take the scene seriously after that." — u/PrestigeTVLover
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This divide is exactly why the show remains relevant. Whether you loved it or loathed it, you didn't forget it. You couldn't. It was too loud to ignore.
How to Analyze Music in Dystopian Media
When you're watching a show like this, pay attention to the silence. Usually, The Handmaid’s Tale uses silence or the haunting, rhythmic humming of the Handmaids to create tension. When they break that silence with a massive pop track, they are trying to break your immersion. They want you to remember that this isn't just a story—it's a reflection of our own culture.
If you're looking to understand the deeper layers of this specific musical choice, consider these three things:
- The Timeline: The song was released during a time of massive cultural upheaval regarding women's voices and the "Me Too" movement.
- The Lyrics: Don't just listen to the chorus. Listen to the verses about "tilted stages" and "perfect crimes." It’s June’s internal monologue.
- The Meta-Narrative: The show knows its audience. It knows we want to see Fred Waterford suffer. It’s playing into our own desire for "vengeance porn," and the music serves as the soundtrack to our own complicity in enjoying that revenge.
Real-World Connections
Interestingly, Taylor Swift herself has been vocal about women's rights and has even referenced The Handmaid's Tale in her own aesthetic at times (the "The Man" music video, for instance, touches on similar themes of gendered power dynamics). The connection isn't as thin as it might seem at first glance.
The show isn't just adapting a book from 1985 anymore. It’s reacting to the world of 2024 and 2025. It's reacting to the loss of reproductive rights in the real world. In that context, a "polite" soundtrack doesn't cut it anymore. You need something that sounds like a fight.
Next Steps for the Savvy Viewer
If you're fascinated by how music shapes the narrative of The Handmaid's Tale, your next step should be to go back and watch the Season 4 finale, "The Wilderness," immediately after re-watching the "Look What You Made Me Do" scene. Notice how the musical energy carries over. The frantic, percussive energy of the finale's climax is a direct descendant of that Swiftian beat.
Also, look up the official Handmaid's Tale playlist on Spotify. It's curated to show the descent from "Before" to "Gilead" to "Rebellion." Seeing where the pop tracks sit next to the classical compositions gives you a much better roadmap of June’s psychological state than any dialogue ever could. Pay attention to how the "pop" moments are almost always tied to June’s moments of maximum agency—or maximum danger.