Serena’s Tears In The Handmaid’s Tale Pilot Were Real, But For All The Wrong Reasons
She’s capable of emotion only when it comes to herself.
The Handmaid’s Tale has always done a phenomenal job of portraying the role of women in Gilead and how they are all victims of a system that sees them as reproductive machines rather than real, living people.
From the handmaids themselves to the aunts to the wives, all women in the system are supposed to be miserable by default, no matter their status.
One woman, however, who was not only willing to participate in Gilead’s torturous methods, but was at the very beginning of them, is Serena Joy Waterford. Though her position comes with undeniable privilege, season after season, viewers have seen more and more glimpses of humanity in her.
While not many are willing to forgive Serena or see her redeem herself because it doesn’t feel possible, the majority acknowledge and even sympathize with her softer side.
What’s even more interesting is that people tend to believe that her heartfelt side has been present since the very first season of the show.
In the pilot, Serena, brilliantly portrayed by Yvonne Strahovski, is seen crying as she watches the first ceremony Offred, portrayed by Elisabeth Moss, has with her husband. While the ceremony is meant to give Serena some hope for a child, she does shed some tears, but none of them out of sympathy.
While she is as much a woman as Offred, Serena is deeply selfish, and her tears come from a place of deep pity for herself. In Serena Joy’s twisted mind, she mourns her own ability to bear children, as well as fighting off feelings of jealousy for the woman her husband is raping in front of her. She does not feel a bit of remorse, but cries to make herself feel better.
Although the audience can understand one emotion, their disgust for what they see comes from a very different place. This is what makes the scene so much more horrifying and sets the tone for the entire show.
