Turns out, even the main antagonist was never meant to be totally evil.
It’s hard to point out a single villain in The Handmaid’s Tale, but if you were to choose, it likely would be Serena Joy Waterford. Although her husband Commander Fred Waterford was just as involved in Gilead’s creation, if not even more, considering his stances in society as the male, Serena’s figure was always way more judged by the viewers.
A tremendous amount of this pressure comes from the fact she is a woman just like those women who suffer from Gilead’s rules every day. Turned into objects and meant to exist and sacrifice themselves to continue the circle of life, women lost every bit of freedom they ever had, and the fact that there is another woman standing on top of that scheme is blood-boiling.
However, Serena, brilliantly portrayed by Yvonne Strahovski, was always much more complicated. Ever since season 1, there was a bit of doubt about Gilead and what it subjects real women to. While visiting baby Angela, she admits that what they do here is “terrible,” quickly changing it to “terribly hard.”
While some fans believe that this little slip of the tongue doesn’t show that much remorse in Serena to redeem her character in any way, others believe that it borderline makes her a victim of that system. Seeing how quickly men took control and jumped onto the radical ideas she pushed, she must feel like there is no going back.
Because if she were to admit her wrongdoings, she would become the first one in line to receive her punishment for treason of the regime that she built.
Whether Serena Joy would somehow go through her redemption arc in The Handmaid’s Tale final season 6, we’re still yet to tell. Though it was confirmed to release, there is no official news on either its production status, or its release date, so it’s likely fans will have to wait until the strikes are resolved to get any updates.
Until then, you can rewatch all previously released The Handmaid’s Tale seasons by streaming the show on Hulu.
