The Handmaid’s Story Showrunner on Bringing Extra Backstory to One among 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 major gamers. However in a current episode, it gave us one other recent 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 grew to become the highly effective Commander Waterford as soon as the USA underwent its compelled transformation. Although Serena was as soon as a well-liked creator 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 need to turn out to be a mom guided a few of her most odious actions, however she ultimately proved she wasn’t too inflexible to understand her failings as a human being—and commenced to really feel deep remorse about her half in turning the world the other way up.

In episode two, “Exile,” viewers acquired 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 determination to return to Gilead—particularly, the extra reformed New Bethlehem area, the place she thinks she’ll be capable of ease her guilt and get again on the trail God has envisioned for her.

Her relationship along with her father, a pastor, is part of the Serena puzzle the present’s been eager to discover, in accordance with The Handmaid’s Story creator Bruce Miller. Chatting with the Wrap, he defined, “We’ve discovered about her, however that is actually attention-grabbing, as a result of it’s not a couple of relationship she selected, like with Fred … Right here, you’re like, how did you turn out to be the lady you might be? I believe that’s the actually attention-grabbing query now, since you’ve plumbed the depths of Serena to know what’s there, you understand the lady that’s there. So once you get to season six, you’re asking the query of, what was her father like? And I don’t assume you might be originally, as a result of I believe she has 1,000,000 relationships in her life, however that one will get way more attention-grabbing once you notice how a lot metal she has.”

The 2 scenes with Serena’s father unfold a number of years aside; within the first one, she’s simply met Fred and her father is congratulating her on her guide tour. Within the second, her father—who is far older and extra frail-looking—listens as she excitedly tells him “We’re about to alter 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 will likely be crammed with distress, and the “modifications” she helped spearhead will deliver horror and tragedy, not “a brand new Backyard of Eden” as she envisions. Maybe she’s hoping New Bethlehem will likely be that as a substitute? You possibly can by no means predict what Serena will do, however she does have a tremendous approach of at all times touchdown on her ft.

You possibly can watch new episodes of The Handmaid’s Story Tuesdays on Hulu.

Need extra io9 information? Take a look at when to count on the newest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and every little thing it’s essential to find out about the way forward for Doctor Who.