Yvonne Strahovski on Saying Goodbye to Serena Joy — Inside ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Star’s Raw, Reflective Farewell
For nearly a decade, Yvonne Strahovski has inhabited one of television’s most divisive women — Serena Joy Waterford of The Handmaid’s Tale. And now, as Hulu’s Emmy-winning juggernaut prepares for its sixth and final season finale, Strahovski sat down once again with Collider Ladies Night host Perri Nemiroff for a strikingly honest conversation about Serena’s final arc, her toxic power plays, and what it felt like to finally walk away from a character we’ve all loved to hate.
“She’s hateable,” Strahovski admits with a knowing smile — but that’s what made playing Serena such a high-wire act. Over six seasons, audiences watched Serena swing between vulnerability and viciousness, offering slivers of redemption only to backslide into self-righteous cruelty. And Season 6 doesn’t break the cycle — it doubles down.
At the top of the final season, Serena briefly flirts with freedom, escaping to Alaska with June and baby Noah. But predictably, she regresses. A confrontation on a train exposes her identity, triggering a violent mob. June saves her — again — but instead of starting fresh, Serena retreats to Gilead’s New Bethlehem, promising change but recycling old tactics in a new setting.
Strahovski reflects deeply on what made the role so rewarding — and so emotionally taxing. “The Handmaid’s Tale has really set the bar,” she says. “I was never once bored. That’s a testament to everyone who made the show — and to how much there was to explore in one character.”
That exploration, she notes, was often fraught. Early on, Strahovski struggled with portraying Serena’s brutality without judgment. Key to navigating that line was showrunner Bruce Miller, who worked closely with her to shape the most complicated moments — sometimes over weeks of back-and-forth.
One moment that helped unlock the character? A spontaneous on-set choice in Season 1. In a pivotal confrontation, Strahovski dropped to her knees, screaming “Do you understand me?” — a line that has since echoed throughout the series. “That moment, I found her,” she says. “It stuck.”
And in Season 6, Serena continues her familiar descent: grasping for control, manipulating others, and, once again, latching onto a commander — this time, High Commander Wharton. Despite Lawrence’s promise of a “kinder, gentler” Gilead, Serena’s instincts remain unchanged. She clings to old structures of power, convinced she’s meant to lead. Strahovski sums it up bluntly: “She wants to be queen again.”
As for Wharton? Serena, it seems, is seduced by attention. “She’s starving for love,” Strahovski says. “She needs to be slapped in the face.” Still, she admits Wharton shows more integrity than his predecessors, and that earns Serena’s trust — and perhaps her heart.
But after years of revulsion and reckoning, saying goodbye wasn’t easy.
“I couldn’t get out of her shoes quick enough during filming,” Strahovski says. “But on the last day, I wasn’t ready. We spend so much time hating Serena… but I didn’t realize how much I loved her. That’s the hardest part.”
With the finale looming and Serena’s fate still uncertain, Strahovski’s performance remains a chilling and compelling anchor for the series — a portrait of a woman perpetually on the verge of redemption, and forever running back to the fire.