The Handmaid’s TaleSeason 5 has certainly turned the tables on the Waterfords.
It is not actually Gilead, is it?
It may not be Gilead, but it is an eerie facsimile.
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Up until this moment, Serena has been enjoying her newfound celebrity status in Toronto.
It seems like Heaven on Earth.
Reality has set in, and it likely isnt what she expected.
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She is beginning to crack under a system she helped create.
The irony that Serena is getting a taste of her own medicine almost seems laughable.
She is beginning to crack under a system she helped create.
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Unable to face this particular future, she begins to look for a way out of that oppressive house.
Her work here is what brought me to the conclusion that she would not kill June.
Serena looks down for a moment before asking him to confirm, realizing this could be her chance.
She may be starting to identify with June and why she wants to take Gilead down.
Therefore, when he mentions Gilead, her eyes light up.
But it isnt with rueful glee.
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It is with a plan.
This indicates there is more to her than meets the eye.
There is desperation there and desperation will cause people to do what needs to be done.
Of course, this tactic works among people who lust for revenge and live to see others suffer.
She knows that is her only real chance to enact her plan.
She is granted permission from Mr. Wheeler to go with her bodyguard to handle the situation.
She sets herself up for a win as she knows she can easily manipulate her bodyguard.
Based on her groans and belabored breathing, it seems that Serena is in labor.
The following scenes are both haunted and supported by this.
Or it could just be labor pains talking.
June could have gotten on her knees and prayed without her bindings being cut.
Serena needs Junes hands for something.
What exactly it is remains to be seen.
He simply serves as a means to Serenas ends.
He actually gives Serena the gun, which he should assume she doesnt even know how to shoot.
He was going to fumble this moment with his Donald Duck feather-fingers, and he does.
Serena orders June at gunpoint to get on her knees and pray.
June balks, but does it.
The prayer serves to buy Serena time and throw Ezra off the scent of her plan.
June prays that their children will know peace and do better.
Alluding to a brief chink in her armor, Serena cries during the prayer.
But after a shaky Amen, she shootsDonald DuckEzra in the Kevlar.
With him momentarily incapacitated, she drops the act.
She is in labor, hence the tears.
Regaining control of the situation, she demands June to get in the car and drive.
A Purely Strategic Decision
Serena is not being benevolent by letting June go.
Although Serena is far from a saint, she isnt stupid.
She just knows June can be of some help to her in a different capacity.
It seems the theme of this season is that the revolution is everywhere, and it is revving up.
Gilead has produced many fair-weather friends or citizens under duress.
These same people are beginning to strengthen and rise together to face the common enemy.
He has his own plans that dont include her.
