Yvonne Strahovski, who plays Serena Joy in The Handmaid’s Tale, has explained the dramatic plot twist from season 5 that led to Serena Joy becoming a Handmaid.
In episode six of its fifth season, things took a dark turn when the Wheeler’s started treating Serena like a Handmaid, just as she had done with June. She discussed the role reversal in an exclusive interview saying she was “stoked” to read the scripts for episodes 5 and 6.
“I think it was just such a clever way for the writers to make Serena a Handmaid without actually making her a Handmaid. I mean, it was perfect,” Strahovski explained.
Speaking of the twist, the Serena Joy actor said it acted as payback for all of Serena’s wrongs and would give audiences a “sense of satisfaction”.
“It’s an incredible device to use for audiences to feel a sense of satisfaction, I guess, in Serena getting a taste of her own medicine,” she said. “And then, obviously, it’s satisfying watching Serena navigate this new territory.”
Discussing her character’s expert manipulation skills, Strahovski said that by the end of season 5 Serena is all out of options. “Here, you really see this character realising that she’s out of options, and she can’t really foresee the future. She doesn’t really know what’s going on,” Strahovski revealed.
Despite being in its fifth season, the actor said she still finds the material challenging and likes that she continues to explore new sides of her character. “I mean, we’re in our fifth season, and I still feel very excited and challenged by the material, which is a credit to the writers and the creative team.”
In the US, Hulu offers The Handmaid’s Tale for streaming; in the UK, Channel 4 and Prime Video are both options.
