‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Just Proved Serena Joy Is More Dangerous Than Ever

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for the first three episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Serena Joy Waterford is one of the most contentious characters on television. From the start of The Handmaid’s Tale, she was both architect and prisoner of Gilead — a regime built, in part, on her writings and rigid religious ideals. Her complicity has never been in doubt, but Yvonne Strahovski’s layered performance has added a striking depth, infusing the character with soulfulness and vulnerability despite her morally reprehensible choices.

After defying Gilead by reading scripture in Season 2 (and losing a finger for it), Serena became a pregnant widow following Commander Waterford’s (Joseph Fiennes) brutal death in Season 4. In Season 5, she was treated like a Handmaid, gave birth, and ultimately fled as a refugee — even seeking help from June to escape. And yet, even at her lowest, Serena never truly let go of the beliefs that shaped her. If anything, in the early episodes of Season 6, she’s simply found new ways to weaponize them. The old Serena was dangerous, but this version might be the most threatening yet.

Serena Joy Gets Her Power Back in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 6

Now, in Season 6, Serena isn’t returning as a desperate refugee or grieving widow — she’s being positioned as the public face of New Bethlehem, an island settlement designed to appear more progressive and welcoming to Gilead refugees. Spearheaded by Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford), New Bethlehem allows women to read, work, and even wear pants — a surreal shift in a regime built on oppression. It’s a calculated rebrand aimed at courting international support, and no one is more qualified to sell the illusion than Serena Joy, the woman who once helped shape Gilead’s ideology.

Serena’s greatest weapon has always been her ability to manipulate perception. She knows how to appear civil, how to bury dangerous ideas beneath elegant language and a disarming smile. Her motherhood and status as a widow aren’t just part of who she is – they are now strategic weapons. During an event with foreign dignitaries, Serena sees Lawrence faltering with some of the women visitors and immediately steps in with an “as a woman” perspective — a chilling example of using gender to uphold an anti-feminist, deeply abusive system. She even literally rolls out baby Noah as proof that Gilead does work, physically presenting him as a symbol of fertility and success, which is something many of the women present, living in countries with declining birth rates, cannot claim.

What makes this version of Serena so terrifying is that it works. The dignitaries quite literally melt when they see Noah, asking to hold him, visibly swayed by Serena’s performance. In that moment, she knows Lawrence owes her, and she realizes she may hold more influence now than she ever did before. Serena can no longer be silenced, and no one can touch her. And that might be the most dangerous version of Serena Joy we’ve ever seen.

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‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5 Recap: What You Need To Remember Before the Final Season

The final season premieres April 8 on Hulu.

Yvonne Strahovski’s Performance Makes It Hard to Know How to Feel About Serena Joy

What makes Serena’s current arc so compelling — and at times deeply unsettling — is the ambiguity surrounding her intent. In the early episodes of Season 6, there are moments when she seems sincere, even sympathetic. When she offers to help June, it feels genuine. She knows June is alone, and she appears genuinely horrified that someone from Gilead tried to run her over with a truck — ironic, considering the horrors Serena and Fred once inflicted on her. It’s almost frustrating to find yourself agreeing with Serena and catching glimpses of who she might have been without Gilead. Her tearful apology to June even feels real — and thanks to Yvonne Strahovski’s endlessly nuanced performance, you almost believe her. But almost is the key word.

Despite her softer tone and teary eyes, Serena’s core beliefs remain firmly intact — a fact she makes painfully clear when she recklessly endangers Noah on the train. Surrounded by refugees who want her dead the moment they recognize her, she clings to her ideology anyway, putting her son at risk to maintain her self-image as righteous. It’s a disturbing moment that slices through her performative remorse, revealing a woman still unwilling to let go of the worldview she helped build. If anything, she’s clinging even tighter — still wrapped in that old Messiah complex, still convinced she’s there to change the world.

That’s what makes her such a maddening and endlessly fascinating character. Serena knows how to navigate systems of power, especially the ones she helped build. Even while hiding out in Canada as “Rachel,” she admits Gilead “went wrong,” and tells foreign dignitaries she asks for forgiveness every day. But can we really believe her? The question isn’t whether she’s changed, it’s whether she’s even capable of change. Is she trying to fix Gilead from the inside? Or is she simply doing what she’s always done: adapting to survive, and protecting her place at any cost?

As The Handmaid’s Tale heads toward its series finale, Serena Joy is more dangerous than she’s ever been — not because she’s inflicting violence with her own hands, but because she no longer has to. The show’s signature close-up shots have long captured June’s fury, but it’s the quiet, chilling moments on Serena’s face that linger most. The subtle curl of her lips into a knowing smile, the ice in her eyes — those are the shots that reveal where the power really is. Strahovski plays every beat with unnerving precision, making even Serena’s silences feel sharp and intentional. Whatever her long game may be, it’s only a matter of time before it collides with June’s — and that confrontation could define the show’s final act.

All new episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 drop Tuesdays on Hulu.

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