The Handmaid’s Story Showrunner on Bringing Extra Backstory to One in every of Its Most Sophisticated Characters

Watching The Handmaid’s Tale for the primary time, the inevitable query quickly rises: how did a spot as oppressive and merciless as Gilead come to be? Over six seasons, we’ve discovered the Gilead origin story via flashbacks sprinkled into the principle narrative—one thing that feels more and more like a cautionary tale for American viewers in 2025—and the Hulu present has additionally crammed in blanks for its primary gamers. However in a latest episode, it gave us one other contemporary look into one character’s life “earlier than.”

We’ve lengthy been fascinated with Serena Joy Waterford, deftly performed by Yvonne Strahovski as a girl who backed Gilead’s right-wing Christian agenda from the beginning and married Fred Waterford, who turned the highly effective Commander Waterford as soon as america underwent its pressured transformation. Although Serena was as soon as a well-liked writer and political speaker, she willingly put her profession apart and have become a dutiful spouse—for a time.

As The Handmaid’s Story has progressed, we’ve discovered Serena is way from a one-note zealot. Her want to grow to be a mom guided a few of her most odious actions, however she finally proved she wasn’t too inflexible to comprehend her failings as a human being—and commenced to really feel deep remorse about her half in turning the world the wrong way up.

In episode two, “Exile,” viewers bought to fulfill Serena’s father for the primary time. (Her mom, who lives in Gilead, made an disagreeable impression again in season three and hasn’t been seen since.) There are two flashbacks within the episode, which within the present’s current day follows Serena’s choice to return to Gilead—particularly, the extra reformed New Bethlehem area, the place she thinks she’ll be capable to ease her guilt and get again on the trail God has envisioned for her.

Her relationship together with her father, a pastor, is part of the Serena puzzle the present’s been eager to discover, in line with The Handmaid’s Story creator Bruce Miller. Talking to the Wrap, he defined, “We’ve discovered about her, however that is actually fascinating, as a result of it’s not a few relationship she selected, like with Fred … Right here, you’re like, how did you grow to be the lady you might be? I feel that’s the actually fascinating query now, since you’ve plumbed the depths of Serena to know what’s there, the lady that’s there. So if you get to season six, you’re asking the query of, what was her father like? And I don’t suppose you might be originally, as a result of I feel she has 1,000,000 relationships in her life, however that one will get far more fascinating if you understand how a lot metal she has.”

The 2 scenes with Serena’s father unfold just a few years aside; within the first one, she’s simply met Fred and her father is congratulating her on her e-book tour. Within the second, her father—who is way older and extra frail-looking—listens as she excitedly tells him “We’re about to vary the nation!”

At that time she thinks she’s making good on her father’s earlier urgings to be a beacon for the motion—however after all we all know her marriage to Fred can be stuffed with distress, and the “modifications” she helped spearhead will carry horror and tragedy, not “a brand new Backyard of Eden” as she envisions. Maybe she’s hoping New Bethlehem can be that as an alternative? You’ll be able to by no means predict what Serena will do, however she does have an incredible means of at all times touchdown on her ft.

You’ll be able to watch new episodes of The Handmaid’s Story Tuesdays on Hulu.

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