Summary

Welcome to a new episode of Collider Ladies Night with The Handmaid’s Tale star Yvonne Strahovski.

During her second Ladies Night conversation with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Strahovski breaks down some of Serena’s biggest moments in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6.

She weighs in on Serena’s approach to being a leader in New Bethlehem, her budding relationship with Commander Wharton, and more.

Yvonne Strahovski says it herself. “She’s hateable.” Serena’s run throughout The Handmaid’s Tale is absolutely littered with questionable and, in some cases, heinous decisions. But, this is the power of a force like Strahovski. Sometimes, in between terrible choices, Serena will get an opportunity to turn to the light, and even after everything she’s done, you can’t help but hope she finally reaches out, takes the lifeline, and forges a better path forward. However, time and time again, she back pedals and becomes consumed by self-righteousness, often at others’ expense, and Season 6 is no different.
At the top of the Emmy-winning series’ sixth and final season, Serena was close to finding a way out. She winds up on a train to Alaska with June (Elisabeth Moss) where she can get a fresh start with Noah. However, old habits die hard and her behavior ultimately exposes her identity and turns the train passengers into an angry mob. Thanks to June, she manages to escape the riot, but rather than continue her pursuit of a new path forward, she returns to Gilead to settle in Commander Lawrence’s (Bradley Whitford) New Bethlehem. While she’s promised things will be different there, it quickly becomes clear that that’s not the case, something Serena’s own leadership tactics perpetuate.
With The Handmaid’s Tale nearing its big finish, Strahovski returned to Collider Ladies Night to dig into some of Serena’s biggest moments in this final go-around, and to reflect on her experience tackling the character for six seasons.
‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Set the Bar for Yvonne Strahovski

“It’s been incredible to have been on a show for this long and never once be bored.”

Strahovski worked on over 90 episodes of Chuck, had a key role in Dexter Seasons 7 and 8, and then some, but working on The Handmaid’s Tale is an unparalleled experience. “The Handmaid’s Tale has really set the bar in so many ways of just how much there is to explore within one character, and amazing writing.” She continued, “It’s been incredible to have been on a show for this long and never once be bored. It’s just a testament to everyone who makes the show.”
Strahovski has had a wealth of top-tier creative partners in front of the lens, but when asked for someone who challenged her for the better, she immediately veered toward showrunner Bruce Miller.

“In the earlier seasons, as the person who plays the ‘villain’ – it’s easy to hate Serena, it’s easy to judge her – I did have a hard time with that at the beginning because I couldn’t do that. I had to be her, and without that judgment. There were a lot of times when I would read the script and occasionally be like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is going to be tough.’ And I didn’t necessarily agree – I remember, there were just a couple of pivotal moments where I was like, ‘I don’t think this can happen this way. It just feels not right.’ And Bruce was so gracious with me. We would sit down, we would have a coffee sometimes in Toronto, and we would chat it out. And sometimes it would go on for a week, this kind of back and forth of, ‘Well, here’s this,’ and then I would continue an email, and he would be like, ‘Okay, well, what about this?’ Him trying to get me to see it in the way that it was originally written, me trying to get him to see it in a different light, but then finally arriving at what he had originally intended for it and being pushed and challenged to sort of find a way to walk that really sharp knife point that Serena walks sometimes between the good and the bad.”

In addition to Miller’s collaboration and guidance, Strahovski recalled a key scene from Season 1 that helped her pinpoint just who Serena Joy Waterford was – it’s a scene during which Strahovski delivers one of the most iconic lines of the series.

“It was Episode 3 in Season 1 where I screamed at her, ‘Do you understand me?’ I got down on my knees. I was never supposed to get down on my knees in that scene. I was supposed to stay in the doorway and do it from there. I don’t know what came over me, why I was so courageous in this moment [with] all these new people. I didn’t tell anyone what I was going to do, but I just sort of said, ‘Do you mind if I try something? I might not stay here,’ and then I just went for it and got right in there, and that’s the take they used. That kind of felt like, ‘Yeah, I think I found her,’ in that moment, which to me, it stuck. To me, that line is so important and iconic for the character, ‘Do you understand me?’ And the repetition, we’ve used it throughout this series.”

Was Serena Always Doomed to Return to Her Old Ways?

“I want to be the queen again.”

10:07

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“There’s Nothing To Let Go”: Elisabeth Moss Shuts Down the “Biggest Misunderstanding” About ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

She also discusses directing episodes, crafting challenging sequences, and the complicated relationship between June and Serena.

Serena’s delicate dance between good and bad continues in Season 6. One of her first big tests? Deciding whether to take Commander Lawrence’s offer to join him in New Bethlehem. Initially, she appears to resist. However, there’s a clear turn when Lawrence warns, “The Eye’s know where you are.” What if he had never said that? Might Serena have stayed put? Here’s Strahovski’s take:

“I think because of her child she would have given it a fair go, staying. But she probably would have gotten bored eventually. When she felt totally safe in the world and enough time had passed, I think she would be like, ‘I want to be the queen again.’”

Soon thereafter, Serena appears to fully embrace her path back to Gilead during a pre-meal speech, specifically when she professes, “The world is broken and I am being called to heal it.” It’s quite clear that, to her core, Serena believes this to be true, but does that also mean she believes she can do it?

“I think she believes in herself, yes. I think she’s empowering herself by saying all that. She’s good at standing up and making a speech. She knows how to do it. She knows it. Her ideals might not be in the right place, but she thinks they are. And then seeing Naomi do such a woeful job of saying a prayer, I think she is just like, ‘Alright, move over. I got this.’”

And back to Gilead she goes.

Image via Hulu

Commander Lawrence promises New Bethlehem is “kinder, gentler” than the Gilead Serena remembers. He continues, “It’s what Gilead could have been. It’s what it could become with your help.” While Lawrence strives to strike a difference between Gilead and New Bethlehem, what of Serena’s approach to being a leader? Is there any difference between what she thought it meant to be a good leader then, and how she’ll go about being one now?

“I’m thinking that I want there to be a difference, but I don’t know that there is. I think that she thinks that she’s been given this gift to be the leader that she always wanted to be, and that she should have been. What Gilead could have and should have been, where women still had a voice, and so here’s her chance to shine again. I think the only thing that’s changed is that the rules happen to be different, and women are suddenly allowed to have some rights back and not have a handmaid. So, here we go then, back on the podium again. I think her style is still the same.”

What Does Serena See in Commander Wharton That Suggests He’s Different?

“She’s starving for love and attention.”

Image via Hulu

Yet another manner in which Serena returns to her old ways? Sparking a romantic relationship with a commander.
After everything she went through with Commander Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) and Commander Lawrence’s promise that women could live on their own in New Bethlehem, one would assume Serena would avoid remarrying, particularly remarrying a commander. However, that appears to be the path she’s heading down with High Commander Wharton. When asked for Serena’s #1 want out of this relationship, Strahovski laughed and said, “She’s terrible. Serena needs to be slapped in the face.”
She continued:

“Sadly, I think the flattery helps. I think she’s starving for love and attention, and she has been the whole time on this show. I think she’s desperate, and to have someone, genuinely, because he’s genuinely showing an interest in her, and I think he genuinely does adore her and like her, I think that’s excellent for Serena. Obviously, the stakes are much higher. She has a child, and this is a built-in, offered protection. If someone genuinely does like her, then this is a very good practical move. Also, it ticks a lot of boxes.”

How about trust? What gives Serena confidence that things will be different with Wharton compared to Fred Waterford?

“I think it’s actually the show of character in the sense that he shows us, the audience and Serena, that he is a commander that has more integrity. She does buy that, and I think he does — I sound like Serena. [Laughs] But in the scheme of all the commanders, he is the one that shows the most integrity and is well-mannered and cultured and understands children and has no judgment about her having children of another man that he would have to take on. There’s all these things. I think it’s a genuine thing.”

The Biggest Shock of Saying Goodbye to Serena

Strahovski’s run as Serena will come to an end with the release of Season 6, Episode 10 on May 27th.

Image via Hulu

Near the end of Strahovski’s second Collider Ladies Night interview – check out the first here – we had to touch on the fact that a significant chapter of her journey as an actor is coming to an end. Strahovski’s casting was first announced in the summer of 2016. She’s been tethered to Serena for nearly a decade. When filming wraps each day, Strahovski’s eager to leave the character behind. But, closing the book on the full series proved different.

“When I go to work on a daily basis, I couldn’t get out of her shoes quick enough. It’s just, ‘Take the outfit, put it on the coat hanger, thank you very much. Goodbye!’ And then on the last day, I thought, ‘Wait a second. What is happening? What? No.’ I wasn’t ready at all to say goodbye to her. I totally underestimated how that would feel. We spend a lot of time hating Serena and judging her, which is great. She’s hatable. She’s unlovable, to a point. Yeah, she’s unlovable. [Laughs] She’s so many of these terrible things, but I didn’t really see that I loved her in the end, and that’s the hardest thing to part with, as I get teary.”

Looking for even more from Strahovski on her journey in Hollywood and her unforgettable six-season run playing Serena on The Handmaid’s Tale? You can catch our full conversation in the video at the top of this article, or you can listen to the podcast version of this Ladies Night interview below:

The Handmaid’s Tale

Release Date

2017 – 2025-00-00

Network

Hulu

Showrunner

Bruce Miller

Directors

Mike Barker, Kari Skogland, Daina Reid, Reed Morano, Floria Sigismondi, Jeremy Podeswa, Kate Dennis, Richard Shepard, Amma Asante, Christina Choe, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Bradley Whitford, Dearbhla Walsh, Liz Garbus

Writers

Kira Snyder, Eric Tuchman, Yahlin Chang, John Herrera, Jacey Heldrich, Dorothy Fortenberry, Marissa Jo Cerar, Lynn Renee Maxcy

The Handmaid’s Tale is available to stream on Hulu.
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