I have an unhealthy habit of giving people not only second chances but third, fourth, fifth, sixth....you get the drill.
This matches up quite well with my soft spot for bad characters turning good—Cole Turner on Charmed, Ben Linus on Lost, Scorpius on Farscape....
Joe Walsh from American politics.
So with this in mind, it makes sense that I have very strong desires for The Handmaid's Tale Serena Waterford (Yvonne Strzechowski) to turn good.
Okay, and there's also another factor. It was hard for me to get used to Mrs. Waterford being awful in the first place, because I'm used to Strzechowski playing such a sweet character in Chuck.
And no, I'm not saying Strzechowski isn't a good enough actress to make the two roles distinguishable. Quite the opposite, actually. I'd say it's more like the stark differences make Mrs. Waterford's behavior even more painful to watch.
I am wondering now, though. Would I have even less sympathy for Mrs. Waterford if I never watched Chuck?
I'm not sure.
Anyway....
My feelings towards Serena Waterford really jumps around.
One minute I'm absolutely hating her and wanting to watch her suffer. Another minute, Serena softens a bit, and I'm filled with so much hope.
I'm guessing our feelings are supposed to match what June, Waterford's surrogate slave (Elizabeth Moss), is feeling.
June and the viewers see a very tolerable version of Serena when she and June join forces and break the rules that forbid women from reading and writing. Serena writes, and June edits.
During this time, Serena confesses to June that she actually hates knitting. This indicates that she's not as married to being the domestic goddess as she pretends to be. There's actually is a part of her that misses the world where woman could read, write, go out to brunch, have jobs, etc.
But her husband, the Commander (Joseph Fiennes) finds out about the transgression and punishes severely Mrs. Waterford with his belt. June visits Mrs. Waterford's room later to offer her compassion and/or help. Mrs. Waterford backs away from the closeness that seemed to be developing between the two women and orders June to go away.
Mrs. Waterford was rude...cold in her rejection of June. But this is far from the worst we've seen from her.
Well, there's the main issue. Mrs. Waterford is party to June's kidnapping and June's separation from her husband and daughter. And Mrs. Waterford watches and participates in her husband's monthly rape of June.
Mrs. Waterford is a slave owner who believes her happiness and freedom is more important than June's and all the other Handmaid's happiness and freedom.
In the first season, Mrs. Waterford drives June to where June's daughter Hannah (Jordana Blake) is now living. Mrs. Waterford gets out of the car and talks to Hannah while June is locked in the car to watch, unable to talk to and hug the daughter that she loves.
Mrs. Waterford does this to punish, taunt, and threaten June. She comes back to the car and tells June that if HER baby (the one growing in June's uterus) stays safe, June's baby (Hannah) will stay safe.
Let me remind you of two things here.
A) The baby Mrs. Waterford claims as hers is actually June's. This wasn't just aboutborrowing stealing June's uterus but also her eggs. Not that it's at all wrong for eggs or children to go to another mother. But it's only okay when it's by choice. Not by force.
B) Miscarriages happen fairly frequently...well and especially in the Handmaid's Tale's universe. Healthy pregnancies have become a rarity. So Mrs. Waterford is asking June to promise the impossible.
Now I'm remembering another horrible Mrs. Waterford moment. In the beginning of the first season, she becomes suddenly less awful towards June. Why? Because June didn't ask for her menstrual "napkins". Her period is a bit late, so Mrs. Waterford assumes June is pregnant. When June gets her period and informs Mrs. Waterford, Mrs. Waterford angrily sends June to her room and keeps her prisoner there. I'm not sure how long. A week? A few weeks.
Serena Waterford is selfish, cruel, and irrational. It's a horrible combination.
Yet, every time she acts a tiny bit decent, my heart fills with hope that she'll turn good, and she and June will eventually become BFF's.
What's worse is sometimes, in her soft moments, she's not even actually being nice to anyone. Sometimes it's just a matter of her showing that she remembers and misses the way things were in the past. For example, some of the handmaids start chatting about their favorite brunch places from the before. Instead of scolding the girls for bringing up the past which, like in Wayward Pines, is a big no no; Serena jumps in and talks about her favorite brunch restaurant and meal.
So....
Will my messed up wish come true? Will Serena Waterford turn to the good side?
I'm not sure. I'm leaning towards yes.
I AM fairly sure, though, that if she does turn good, I'll somehow be able to forgive her for all the really shitty things she did in the past. Just like I forgave Ben Linus for mental torture, murder, mass murder, manipulating others to murder, etc.
This matches up quite well with my soft spot for bad characters turning good—Cole Turner on Charmed, Ben Linus on Lost, Scorpius on Farscape....
Joe Walsh from American politics.
So with this in mind, it makes sense that I have very strong desires for The Handmaid's Tale Serena Waterford (Yvonne Strzechowski) to turn good.
Okay, and there's also another factor. It was hard for me to get used to Mrs. Waterford being awful in the first place, because I'm used to Strzechowski playing such a sweet character in Chuck.
And no, I'm not saying Strzechowski isn't a good enough actress to make the two roles distinguishable. Quite the opposite, actually. I'd say it's more like the stark differences make Mrs. Waterford's behavior even more painful to watch.
I am wondering now, though. Would I have even less sympathy for Mrs. Waterford if I never watched Chuck?
I'm not sure.
Anyway....
My feelings towards Serena Waterford really jumps around.
One minute I'm absolutely hating her and wanting to watch her suffer. Another minute, Serena softens a bit, and I'm filled with so much hope.
I'm guessing our feelings are supposed to match what June, Waterford's surrogate slave (Elizabeth Moss), is feeling.
June and the viewers see a very tolerable version of Serena when she and June join forces and break the rules that forbid women from reading and writing. Serena writes, and June edits.
During this time, Serena confesses to June that she actually hates knitting. This indicates that she's not as married to being the domestic goddess as she pretends to be. There's actually is a part of her that misses the world where woman could read, write, go out to brunch, have jobs, etc.
But her husband, the Commander (Joseph Fiennes) finds out about the transgression and punishes severely Mrs. Waterford with his belt. June visits Mrs. Waterford's room later to offer her compassion and/or help. Mrs. Waterford backs away from the closeness that seemed to be developing between the two women and orders June to go away.
Mrs. Waterford was rude...cold in her rejection of June. But this is far from the worst we've seen from her.
Well, there's the main issue. Mrs. Waterford is party to June's kidnapping and June's separation from her husband and daughter. And Mrs. Waterford watches and participates in her husband's monthly rape of June.
Mrs. Waterford is a slave owner who believes her happiness and freedom is more important than June's and all the other Handmaid's happiness and freedom.
In the first season, Mrs. Waterford drives June to where June's daughter Hannah (Jordana Blake) is now living. Mrs. Waterford gets out of the car and talks to Hannah while June is locked in the car to watch, unable to talk to and hug the daughter that she loves.
Mrs. Waterford does this to punish, taunt, and threaten June. She comes back to the car and tells June that if HER baby (the one growing in June's uterus) stays safe, June's baby (Hannah) will stay safe.
Let me remind you of two things here.
A) The baby Mrs. Waterford claims as hers is actually June's. This wasn't just about
B) Miscarriages happen fairly frequently...well and especially in the Handmaid's Tale's universe. Healthy pregnancies have become a rarity. So Mrs. Waterford is asking June to promise the impossible.
Now I'm remembering another horrible Mrs. Waterford moment. In the beginning of the first season, she becomes suddenly less awful towards June. Why? Because June didn't ask for her menstrual "napkins". Her period is a bit late, so Mrs. Waterford assumes June is pregnant. When June gets her period and informs Mrs. Waterford, Mrs. Waterford angrily sends June to her room and keeps her prisoner there. I'm not sure how long. A week? A few weeks.
Serena Waterford is selfish, cruel, and irrational. It's a horrible combination.
Yet, every time she acts a tiny bit decent, my heart fills with hope that she'll turn good, and she and June will eventually become BFF's.
What's worse is sometimes, in her soft moments, she's not even actually being nice to anyone. Sometimes it's just a matter of her showing that she remembers and misses the way things were in the past. For example, some of the handmaids start chatting about their favorite brunch places from the before. Instead of scolding the girls for bringing up the past which, like in Wayward Pines, is a big no no; Serena jumps in and talks about her favorite brunch restaurant and meal.
So....
Will my messed up wish come true? Will Serena Waterford turn to the good side?
I'm not sure. I'm leaning towards yes.
I AM fairly sure, though, that if she does turn good, I'll somehow be able to forgive her for all the really shitty things she did in the past. Just like I forgave Ben Linus for mental torture, murder, mass murder, manipulating others to murder, etc.
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