*This article contains spoilers
For six seasons, Serena Joy Waterford has evolved from a quiet enforcer of Gilead's oppressive regime to a woman caught between survival and redemption. As The Handmaid's Tale wraps up its final season on July 5, all eyes are firmly on Serena's highly anticipated resolution.
Ahead of the finale debut, Yvonne Strahovski, who portrays Serena spoke to ELLE UK and revealed all pertaining to her character's evolution, the moments that defined her as a villain, and whether she deserves the forgiveness of those that she has directly harmed - namely June Osbourne (Elisabeth Moss).
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As an early advocate of Gilead's regime and the former wife of Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes), Serena has for the most part been a high-ranking figure in Gilead's power structure. That is until her vision of women having a singular purpose - to be domesticated - was realised, and she too became one of the most tragic victims of her own manifesto.
As Strahovski puts it, 'She's a character full of contradictions. She's not someone who easily accepts blame, but she knows the weight of her choices.'
This awareness of the choices she’s made, combined with the inability to fully comprehend who she is outside the oppressive system she helped build, has shaped Serena into one of the show's most morally complex characters. Strahovski continues, 'She's spent so much time in a world that she helped create that it's hard for her to even see who she is outside of it.'
For all her cruelty, Serena is not without her moments of vulnerability, and one of the most interesting aspects of her character is her bond with June. Though she has inflicted unspeakable suffering on June throughout the series, there's an odd, shared understanding between the two women. They recognise each other's suffering, and in the finale's final moments, it's this nuanced relationship that defines Serena's tragic resolution.
Strahovski doesn’t sugarcoat the issue of forgiveness. June's act of forgiving Serena is one of the most shocking twists in the final season. However, Strahovski views June's decision not as a form of absolution for Serena, but rather as part of June’s own healing process. 'June's been carrying so much rage for so long,' Strahovski states. 'I think this moment of forgiveness is more about June letting go of the anger that has defined her entire journey. It’s not about Serena getting a free pass. It's about June finding a way to heal.'
June's forgiveness doesn’t necessarily mean Serena is absolved of her crimes. Instead, it reflects a pivotal moment in June's character arc, where she finally sheds the rage that has consumed her since the beginning of the series. June's forgiveness allows her to move forward, unburdened by Serena. However, it doesn't diminish the damage Serena has done.
Now, stripped of her power, her position, and her former life, she is left in exile, a refugee without a country, without protection, no one is likely to want to take her in, it marks her permanent fall from grace.
As Strahovski sums it up, 'I don’t think Serena ever gets the "happy ending". But I think that's the point. Gilead doesn't let anyone off the hook that easily.'
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