The Handmaid’s Tale is no stranger to evil. Hidden behind pleasant faces and manicured appearances, Gilead is packed to the brim with evil forces, with viewers of the hit Hulu original series having come to loathe characters like Commander Fred Waterford, Commander Putnam, and Aunt Lydia. But even in Canada, the pull of Gilead is strong, with a new character joining the list of The Handmaid’s Tale‘s greatest villains. Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale, Season 5, Episode 5, “Fairytail.”
Along with charting June’s ongoing quest to save her daughter Hannah, the most recent season of The Handmaid’s Tale has put a large focus on Serena Waterford, pregnant and widowed following the murder of her husband. Still in Canada, Serena has been shown attempting to strengthen her ties with Gilead, though her efforts seem to have landed her in a terrible position. After she was released from custody and after her new Gilead culture center was shut down, Serena was placed in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, and in the most recent episode, fans’ initial inklings that the Wheelers weren’t to be trusted only grew when Serena’s position in their household began to more closely resemble that of a handmaid in Gilead, with Serena forbidden from leaving the property and working.
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The introduction of the Wheelers, in particular Mrs. Wheeler, has led to a flurry of reactions on social media. Following Wednesday’s all-new episode, many have dubbed the Wheelers the newest villains in the show, while others haven’t failed to notice the comparisons between Serena’s current status and that of June’s when she first arrived at the Waterford household seasons ago. Keep scrolling to see what fans are saying.
Serena ‘trapped’ by the Wheelers
“‘Mr. Wheeler gave strict instructions not to open the gate,’” one fan quoted the show. “They trapped her a-.”
‘The Wheelers are creepy’
“Mrs Wheeler was in less than 1 minute of the episode but my god she’s gonna be someone I feel like I’ll absolutely loathe this entire season,” another viewer tweeted.
‘Sinister’
“I knew from the moment Serena set foot in that house & Mrs. Wheeler kneeled in front of her & touched her belly that Serena wasn’t gonna leave that house,” wrote one person. “his episode startlingly confirmed. Tis what she deserves.”
Warm welcome was just a ruse
“Seems like they’re leading to Serena becoming a Handmaiden, since (as a fertile woman) by Gilead’s rules she should be bracing for another baby the minute she drops this one,” tweeted somebody else. “Mrs. Wheeler seems to know that, by her starry-eyed welcome.”
June and Serena comparisons
“Just watched the scene with Serena and Mr. Wheeler,” wrote another person. “The Wheeler’s are definitely going to try to take Serena’s baby from her. Her face when he left her room was priceless!”
‘So many parallels’
“So many parallels of Serena being treated the same way June was when she was pregnant in Gilead,” added somebody else. “It’s not looking good I’m afraid.”
‘Something’s definitely off’
“Something is definitely off with the Wheeler’s,” wrote one fan. “II feel like Serena’s baby is gonna be taken or something.”
