Commander Fred Waterford’s (Joseph Fiennes) role as one of the main antagonists in The Handmaid’s Tale will likely continue into season 5 despite the fact that June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) and her fellow Handmaid’s finally served him justice when they brutally beat him to death in No Man’s Land along the Gilead-Canadian border in the season 4 finale. While Bruce Miller, the showrunner and creator of The Handmaid’s Tale, mentioned in an interview (via EW) that Fred could certainly return in season 5 through a flashback, the season 4 episode “The Wilderness” already suggests that Fred’s return is necessary to give both June and Serena closure.
While the earlier seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale follow June during her imprisonment at the Waterford household in Gilead, season 4 instead focuses on how June chooses to implement her freedom after she leaves Gilead's borders. When June escapes Aunt Lydia’s custody in episode 3, her first instinct is to find one of the more radical resistance groups and help kill Gilead soldiers in Chicago. After Moira smuggles her onboard a boat to Toronto, June later attempts to make Fred pay for his crimes against her through proper channels by holding him accountable in court. When the Canadian government decides to grant Fred amnesty in exchange for information about Gilead’s infrastructure, however, June brokers her own deal with Commander Lawrence and Nick Blaine that will allow her to kill Fred herself on unoccupied land between Gilead and Canada. In season 5, Joseph Fiennes needs to reprise the role to show that Fred's influence is still impacting June and Serena even after his death.
Fred could return in season 5 as a representation of June’s trauma. During episode 10, June decides the best revenge against Fred would be to make him feel the same fear she felt under his abuse, which leads her and other ex-Handmaids to hunt Fred through the woods. While Fred’s violent death might’ve been satisfying for viewers, June herself doesn’t appear to gain closure from it; when June returns to her home in Toronto, she hugs her daughter Nichole goodbye and elects to leave her family as if she can’t move on and live a happy life with them now that Gilead has changed her. Because June achieved vengeance against Fred through violence, it reveals that the years of abuse in Gilead taught June to be just as vicious. When June begins to process her behavior in season 5, it'll present the opportunity to bring Fred back, either through proper flashbacks from June’s memories or by haunting her in the present as a physical manifestation of the trauma he caused.
Fred could also make an appearance in season 5 through a flashback to some of Serena’s happier memories with him. While Serena orchestrated Fred’s arrest through her contact Mark Tuello at the end of season 3, her interests become realigned with Fred's during their imprisonment throughout season 4. After Serena learns of her pregnancy, she’s determined to keep Fred away from her baby until Fred convinces her that June’s testimony could prevent Serena from being a mother to her son unless they work together to fight June’s claims in court. In The Handmaid's Tale season 4 episode 10, Serena even appears to be planning a future with Fred when she tells Tuello that she wants to start looking for a home for their nuclear family. Now that Fred is dead and can’t interfere with her own agenda, Serena may look back on her happier days with Fred when they were dreaming about building a family together and mourn the future they could’ve had as she nears childbirth.
While the return of Fred Waterford in season 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale could show Fred’s impact on June and Serena even after his death, his absence could alternatively have the same effect. Even without flashbacks from June or Serena’s perspective, Fred will already have some bearing on the direction of season 5 since June will likely have to deal with the moral consequences of killing him and Serena will likely use his death to her advantage to play the victim and be set free from her confinement in Canada.
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/3xwSKjT
No comments: