The Handmaid’s Tale: Did Serena Joy hint there’s still some humanity in her?

Serena Joy has been on a mission to get Nichole back in The Handmaid’s Tale. Do the events in the penultimate episode of Season 3 hint there’s still hope of humanity?

Caution: There are spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 3, Episode 9 in this post.

I’ll be honest and say I have a love-hate relationship with Serena Joy on The Handmaid’s Tale. I always have done and probably always will do. For the most part, I understand why she has gone with the flow, but there’s so much more to this woman — a woman who had books published before Gilead.

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So, whenever I see a hint of her joining sides with June, I want to grasp at it. I want it to turn out that she wants to help with bringing down Gilead, realizing that what she thought she was working to achieve certainly hasn’t happened.

In Episode 9, June attacks Serena Joy. This would be enough to be put on the wall. In fact, if it was anyone else, they probably would have been sent straight to the wall. But Serena Joy didn’t tell the doctor the full truth or knew the doctor wouldn’t say anything to the wrong people. She realized June wasn’t mentally well and clearly wanted to get her help.

There’s this hint of humanity still in there.

I guess, really, there’s always been a hint of humanity. Serena Joy wants Nichole back. In Serena’s mind, Nichole is her daughter. June may be the birth mother, but Serena sees herself as the rightful mother, the adoptive mother. Giving away this child she views as her own would have been heartbreaking. It was a huge step.

Understandably, seeing Nichole again brought up feelings of loss but hope. I get why Serena has acted to get Nichole back. It doesn’t make it right — and I sincerely hope that Canada remains on the side of the refugees — but it is understandable from Serena’s point of view.

Yet, within this fight and this hatred for June, Serena showed humanity. She showed that there is a side of her that cares about June. There’s hope for Serena Joy’s full redemption. The question now is how she’s going to gain it.

I hope she uses that phone to connect with the American. Will she do it behind Fred’s back, though? Fred would be classed as a war criminal in Canada or America. There would be no hope for survival, unless he can offer something to help his cause.

Could Fred offer the information up that June hoped Nick would earlier in the season? I guess we’ll have to wait for the season finale next week to find out!

What do you think about Serena’s actions? Will she be able to help bring down Gilead? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

The Handmaid’s Tale airs Wednesdays on Hulu.