Serena doesn't behave they way she does for her own advancement, she's a true believer. Which makes her the worst kind of scum.
Agreed. There were numerous opportunities in this episode for her to do what was right for her own personal dignity, if for no other reason. It wouldn't have morally absolved her for her role in propping up Gilead in the first place, but it would be an acknowledgment on her part of the brutality and moral vacuousness of that regime. A few moments stood out for me in this episode.
-- She informs June of her intentions to have her removed from the house once she has the child, despite knowing how necessary the first few weeks are to infant development. She was willing to navigate through Gilead's bureaucratic infrastructure to have Janine's child treated by a pediatrician, so she would probably know that removing June would be counterproductive to the health of her child. I can only assume that she is doing this because of what June represents to her. She knows her to be smart, ambitious, and probably is aware in the back of her mind that June desires to be free. So for her, it represents a clear and present threat to her mental state of mind.
-- Her tour through Toronto, with all of its bustling and activity, and with people engaging in all sorts of non-regimented, non-parochial activity was no doubt jarring to her, as was the cold greeting from Gileadean refugees and their Canadian allies. The exchange between her husband, and Luke, andthe look on her face when she glances at the giant family portrait emblazoned on the placard that Luke is carrying hammers home the fact that she knows what she has done. She can no longer simply hand wave that fact away, nor can Fred. They were both clearly shaken and out of their element.
-- I couldn't help but notice the irony in the plot of this episode as it related to Serena being pressured to accompany her husband to Canada when she clearly didn't want to. She was made to put on a show, to prove to the Canadian government that she was a strong, independent woman, satisfied with living under Gilead rule. It's perfectly understandable why she didn't want to be with her husband after the beating she was made to endure. But for Fred, his reasons were equally telling. He was making her accompany him so that he could keep a tight rein over her after she had gone over his head in the previous episode. Her being handed an itinerary composed of illustrations only further punctuates the fact that her life is being micromanaged by both her husband and the regime she helped create.
-- This episode had striking parallels to season 1's "A Woman's Place" in which June is pressured to lie on behalf of Gilead to the visiting Mexican ambassadors under threat of severe punishment. Here, Serena is essentially forced to do the same for her husband. Also, A Woman's Place ends with June being informed by one of the Mexican ambassadors that her husband is alive. This episode ends with her receiving news from Nick that her husband is alive and living in Little America with Moira.
-- Her conversation with the American government official at the bar named Mark. She's offered the chance to defect from Gilead, that recent advances in medical science could allow her to have a child of her own. She rejects this and tells him that she has a child waiting at home for her, to which Mark replies, "That's not your child."
-- The contemptuous reception she receives from civilians she comes into contact, not to mention the female Canadian official who whispers in her ear, "It's pathetic what you've allowed them to do to you."
These things probably play a role in shaping her decision to remain in Gilead, because when it's all said and done, she is still technically in a higher societal stratum than any free woman living in Canada or anywhere outside of Gilead. She won't be able to give that up. It's hard to believe that there are people in the world who would rather burn alive in a faulty house that they either built themselves, or put their faith into rather than own up to their mistakes. That's Serena, because now, she can't deny what she's created and the misery that it's wrought upon others.
