The Handmaid’s Tale series finale: Elisabeth Moss on Serena’s end
Coming out of the series finale of The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu, we obviously knew there would be polarizing moments. How could there not be? It was only inevitable that some characters could be meeting their end.
Now that we’ve said that, the thing that honestly shocked us the most is that Serena didn’t die at the end of the episode — especially given the fact that she did so many terrible things over the course of its run. Yet, June explicitly forgave her in the final episode and after that, we saw her eventually escape with her son as a refugee. Her life is hardly glamorous but at the same time, she claimed that she actually has everything that she needs now.
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So why did Serena survive? As it turns out, this was a point of debate behind the scenes. Creator Bruce Miller wanted to kill her off, but it was star / executive producer Elisabeth Moss who influenced the decision. Here is what she had to say to The Hollywood Reporter:
Bruce did tell me his thoughts and he told me that he was toying with certain things. I’m not the writer, and I respect the role of the writer very much. So he told me what he was thinking and I thought, “Okay, that’s interesting. Wow, that would be kind of crazy if she didn’t make it.” But in my heart, I really wanted to see her survive because I’m Serena’s biggest fan. I’m her biggest supporter and defender. I want her to live. I just think she deserves that, and I think Noah [her son] deserves that.
Was this the right choice? It says something about June to be able to forgive her, but this is a reminder that her decision does not mean that we all as viewers have to feel the same. That is the subjectivity that does come with television, right?
Related – Be sure to get some more thoughts on The Handmaid’s Tale, including also The Testaments
What did you think about the series finale of The Handmaid’s Tale this week?
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