Two episodes into the sixth and final season of The Handmaid's Tale and it looks like nothing at all and everything has simultaneously changed all at once in Gilead.
The series, which has somehow managed to be more villainous with every season, has continued its winning streak of wheeling out truly abhorrent fictional characters, the latest of which are the Wheelers.
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Should you find yourself scratching your head as to who the Wheelers are and what their role in Gilead is, consider this your cheat sheet.
Who are the Wheelers in The Handmaid's Tale?
Audiences were first introduced to Alanis (Genevieve Angelson) and Ryan Wheeler (Lucas Neff) in The Handmaid’s Tale season five as Canadian citizens who are sympathetic with the totalitarian regime of Gilead, despite residing in a democratic country themselves. Their wealth allows them to maintain a secluded lifestyle and to exercise influence over events within Canada.
After Fred Waterford’s (Joseph Fiennes) death, his wife Serena Joy Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski) is sent to Canada, where she initially stays at the Gilead Cultural Centre until it becomes unsafe. When its fortunes eventually turn, the Wheelers adopt Serena into their home, presenting themselves as allies of hers. Initially, Alanis is in awe of Serena, celebrating her pregnancy and her previous role as the Commander's wife in Gilead society. However, as Serena begins to assert independence from the Wheelers, they begin to impose increasingly stricter control over her movements.
Over time, the Wheelers strip Serena of her autonomy; they deny her a phone, confine her to their home, and arrange in-house medical care to control her. They make it clear that their plan to keep both Serena and her child, replicating Gilead’s treatment of Handmaids.
Alanis becomes determined to uphold the authoritarian practices and values of Gilead in her own home in Canada, while Ryan supports her but a little less fervently.
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Naomi May is a seasoned culture journalist and editor with over ten years’ worth of experience in shaping stories and building digital communities. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard, where she worked across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Digital Editor at ELLE Magazine and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others. Naomi is also the host of the ELLE Collective book club.
