The second season of Hulu’s hit original series, The Handmaid’s Tale, has viewers equally frustrated that too much is happening and that not enough is happening.

Based on the best selling novel by Margaret Atwood, this dark drama tells the story of June Osbourne (Elisabeth Moss), a woman being held captive in a totalitarian nation called Gilead that used to be part of the United States. In this dystopian society, birth rates have plummeted due to environmental disaster, and the ability to bear children is rare. Gilead’s elite fundamentalist ruling class forces fertile women to bear the children of their “commanders” as “Handmaids”.

The first season of The Handmaid’s Tale covered the entire novel that the television show is based on, which left viewers wondering if the second season could successfully maintain the spirit of the first. The show is, at times, painfully slow and monotonously upsetting, which can make for some uncomfortable viewing.  However, many viewers say the show is “unbearably difficult to watch, but that they love to watch it.”

The discomfort we feel as viewers when we watch the show transports us into the reality of Gilead even more. The series challenges the viewer to get through the protagonist’s experience alongside her.

Watch new episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale every Wednesday on Hulu.