The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale’s Yvonne Strahovski Is Glad We’ll Likely Never See Harmony Between Serena And June

Two women on opposite sides of the ideological spectrum are at the heart of the plot of Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) and June Osborne (Elizabeth Moss) have a twisted relationship with one another that was brought on by the even more twisted time in which they live. The show is based on a book by the same name by author Margaret Atwood that tells of a future where American society has collapsed and is now ruled by a religious totalitarian government known as Gilead.

At one time during the show, June is Serena’s Handmaid, a fertile woman who is assigned to a Commander in the nation of Gilead with the sole purpose of being used to birth a child for the Commander and his wife. After enduring much pain both physically and mentally, June would escape from Gilead and flee to Canada, but her complicated relationship with Serena would endure.

The two prominent women in “The Handmaid’s Tale” would have many interactions throughout the show, and at times the two would appear like they might be able to make amends. The two had a lot more in common than you would think; both women were educated and ambitious before the collapse of the United States and the rise of Gilead, and both were very loving and nurturing as mothers. But now that both Serena and June are out of Gilead and living in a free country, will the two be able to put their past aside and work together for the common good?

Serena and June teaming up probably won’t happen

While the idea of June and Serena finally making amends and working together to take down Gilead may seem like a reasonable ending to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Strahovski doubts that will be in the cards for her character. “I’ve seen some of the commentary and it’s funny how people are like, ‘Oh my gosh, maybe this is the moment where they team up and they take down Gilead and whatever,'” Strahovski said in an appearance on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast. “But it’s just so idealistic that there’s just no way the writers and Bruce Miller, our showrunner, would do that.”

The amount of suffering that Serena put June through during the five seasons of the show is truly sickening, and to have June turn around and team up with her in the end — even if it is to end the suffering of the thousands of other Handmaids in Gilead — is really out of character for the both of them. And even though their relationship did change near the end of Season 5 when June helps Serena give birth to her baby, the two still have a lot of baggage that would be hard to put aside.

What’s in store for June and Serena in the sixth and final season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” is still a mystery, but Strahovski is excited to see what the writers have in store for the main characters of the show. “That’s why I love and respect the writers so much. Look at this season: the most obvious thing would’ve been let’s make Serena a handmaid. And that would be just so cool to have that kind of revenge. But, that would be too obvious,” Strahovski said on the podcast. “I just would love to see that kind of unique storytelling continue because it’s just magnificent.”

 

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