Ok, some general thoughts on the Serena topic, though I might still be a bit under the influence of this article — I don’t necessarily completely agree with its critique of the show, because like many leftist critiques it tends to reify class struggle at the expense of all other forms of domination, but it does make a valid point.
Anyway, Serena. I think the way the show handled that was absolutely brilliant, not just because it casts Serena as a hypocrite (though it does so quite effectively), but because we see a process of ideological emergence that is absolutely chilling. So it’s not that the Commander and the other men of Gilead are these closet religious fundamentalist from the get go. This isn’t exactly a hostile takeover by a preexisting force — they emerge as such over time, as part of a dialogue not just with each other, but apparently with women like Serena, that allow them to feel like they can speak on all women’s behalf. And you actually see this transformation in the Commander — Serena for a long time is oblivious to the writing on the wall, and that’s something that makes her character both tragic and ridiculous. That scene in the cinema where she is preaching her ideological position while totally oblivious to the conditions of possibility that make this preaching possible in the first place is such an amazing and uncomfortable moment.
There is another theme in this episode around the sort of libidinal economy of this society, and how it works on a geopolitical level (the Handmaids as essentially reproductive chattel slaves, presumably commodified for export) on the one hand, and on the personal level on the other. In other words, because we only learn about sexual relations through the Ceremony — and their apparent absence or illicitness in other contexts — it is unclear whether the sorts of taboos on non-reproductively-aimed sex (even, say, within marriage) apply to everyone, or only to the elites. I can’t remember this from the book. But for example, are servants allowed to have lovers? Because if there’s a generalized taboo on sexuality except for reproductive sexuality mediated through the Handmaidens, and if the goal is to fix the demographic collapse, then this is a pretty exceptionally inefficient method of going about it.
The micro-level aspect of this seems to concern Serena directly. As in, what was the show trying to say with that sex scene b/ween Serena and Fred? My guess is that the message is that the more Serena occupies the socially allotted role they both fought so hard for, the less attractive she becomes to Fred. During the Handmaiden gala scene, Serena comes to occupy a position of relative power — both because she is the speaker/host and because the whole event is a spectacle of domination of the Wives/Commanders over the Handmaidens. And that, apparently, makes the Commander interested. In fact, the Commander as a character seems to be defined by a kind of profound fragility of male desire (also apparent in his relationship with Offred).
Also, do we think Luke might actually be alive?