The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 mystery: What is New Bethlehem?
Well, for most of the past season and a half in particular, we’ve found ourselves continuously perplexed by Commander Lawrence. What exactly does he want? We know that he doesn’t seem to be particularly keen on a number of Gilead’s traditions; he doesn’t want a new wife, and he was also far more amendable to some of Serena’s ideas than Putnam seemed to be this week. However, he also is not someone to tip over the apple cart; he has not been a revolutionary, and has instead allowed the status quo to continue.
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This is where you have to wonder more about New Bethlehem. This is something that he sees as a potential endgame, though it’s not something that Putnam is for in the slightest. What we know is that this would involve bringing back criminals and those rejected by Gilead’s society, those who are deemed in some way as worthy of a second chance. Whether he wants redemption for these people or has a different goal in mind remains to be seen.
If there is one theory we have, it’s that this could be a plan for Lawrence to have an army of sorts to take down Gilead from the inside. If he is playing the long game, he may know that he needs something big in order to turn the tide. That is, of course, assuming that this Commander has good intentions at all. Do we really know enough right now to make that sort of assumption at all? We’re not quite sure that we do, but it does at least seem that he wants to open up the borders somewhat. He recognizes that eventually, the world that exists right now will fall apart.
What do you think New Bethlehem really is when it comes to The Handmaid’s Tale season 5?
Be sure to share right now in the comments! After you do just that, keep coming back for some other updates on the series. (Photo: Hulu.)