Warning: This article contains spoilers forThe Handmaid’s Tale
Throughout the past five seasons ofThe Handmaid’s Tale, Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) has managed to become quite a villain, and rightfully so. The role she played in the establishment of Gilead cannot be overlooked, the part she played in the agony of June’s existence while trapped in Gilead cannot so easily be forgiven, and the manner in which she continued to uphold the “values” of Gilead is abhorrent, to say the least. However, the birth of her son and the subsequent realization that Gilead doesn’t care about her changes everything.
The pregnant widow of a man who was viewed as nothing more than a traitor to Gilead, Serena doesn’t have any friends to turn to. However, despite Mark Tuello’s (Sam Jaeger) plea for her to remain in Canada as a refugee and work with the Americans to usurp Gilead, she decided to bet on Gilead to save her and lost. Now, the tables have turned on her. Essentially a handmaid, she’s living in a house of Gilead supporters trying to take away her baby. The urge as a viewer to wish nothing but pain and suffering for a character who inflicted so much pain and suffering on others is understandable. However, given how Serena’s story has evolved over the past five seasons, specifically in the most recent season, it’s time for her redemption.
The Birth of Serena’s Son Changed Her Perspective on Everything
While some viewers might find it cathartic to watch Serena receive a taste of her own medicine, the birth of her son, Noah, should change that. While such an event by itself isn’t enough to warrant a shiftin Serena’s perspective, everything surrounding the birth of her son should. Slowly, Serena began to realize she didn’t hold as much political power as she thought. Gilead was happy to prop her up in front of the world as the grieving, pregnant widow of a founding father, but it was all a facade. Without a husband by her side, she was just another woman.
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Gilead used Serena, just as they use all women, and then began to lay the groundwork for the hijacking of her baby at the hands of Ryan (Lucas Neff) and Alanis Wheeler (Genevieve Angelson). They have been controlling her every move since they “welcomed” her into their house.
Serena is one of the smartest people inThe Handmaid’s Tale, but she’s arguably also the most naive. Her religiosity blinds her to the reality of her relationships and the situations she manages to be in. In the past, Serena was never capable of understanding the amount of pain and suffering she caused to others because she was able to excuse it awaywith her religion. While there were moments in which she intellectually knew what was happening in Gilead was wrong, she was able to look the other way because it benefited her. If something was a means to her end, she allowed it to occur even if others were harmed in the process.
The difference now is that she fully understands what she did in the past was wrong. Herrebellious sidehas always been self-serving, but now that she has a son, who she gave birth to herself, she understands the plight of the handmaids in a much different way. In one of the most compelling scenes of the series, after giving birth to Noah, Serena asks June (Elisabeth Moss) to take him and raise him to be a good man. “The kind of man who would never do the things that his father did,” Serena explains through tears. “The things that I did.” June refuses and explains that Noah belongs with his mother and no one else, thus shifting something inside Serena.
If June Can Turn the Other Cheek, So Can the Viewer
June began season 5 dead seton killing Serena. However, as the events of the season unfolded, she ended up in an abandoned barn helping Serena give birth. It wasn’t an easy decision for June as audiences watched her grapple with the idea of leaving Serena behind, but she reluctantly did the right thing for the sake of Serena’s son. If June was able to turn the other cheek despite all that Serena had done, then so should the viewer.
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Furthermore, what’s the point of watching Serena lose her son and essentially become a handmaid if there’s no lesson to be learned in the end? If she truly understands what she’s done and atones, shouldn’t she be redeemed? Her current situation is heart-wrenching because it involves an innocent child. June managed to overlook what Serena did and help her birth her son because June knows what it’s like to have a child ripped from her hands.
Despite the hatred June feels for Serena, she understands that children have nothing to do with it and shouldn’t be punished. Make no mistake, June doesn’t forgive Serena in the slightest. She simply turned the other cheek for the sake of Noah, and Serena doesn’t need to be forgiven to have a path to redemption.
Serena’s Redemption Requires Atonement
At the end of the show’s most recent episode, Serena managed to flee the confines of The Wheelers. In doing so, she presents herself with an opportunity to atone for her past mistakes and come full circle with her story arc. Her steps forward should involve a concerted effort to dismantle Gilead. She should do everything she can to assist the Americans with the recovery of stolen children, and she should do so publicly. Serena’s tribulationsduring season 5, coupled with a selfless act of atonement, give her a path to the redemption she deserves.
The season 5 finale ofThe Handmaid’s Talewill be available on Hulu on July 05, 2025.
