‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: Mark Tuello Will Possibly ‘Switch’ Sides in Episode 9
In The Handmaid’s Tale, Sam Jaeger plays Mark Tuello, a representative of what remains of the U.S. government. Mark plays an instrumental role in the arrest of Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) and Serena Joy Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski), two of the show’s main antagonists.
While Mark has always appeared loyal to the U.S. government on The Handmaid’s Tale, he also appears to have a soft spot for Serena, despite her villainous ways. During an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Jaeger hinted that in season 4 episode 9, fans will witness his character undergo a huge change.
[Spoiler Alert: This article contains possible spoilers for season 4 episode 9 of The Handmaid’s Tale.]
How Mark Tuello and Serena Joy Waterford met in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
Mark and Serena first meet in season 2 episode 9 of The Handmaid’s Tale when Serena, Fred, and Nick Blaine (Max Minghella) visit Canada on a diplomatic mission.
During their meeting, Mark tries to convince Serena to defect to Canada, but she refuses. In the third season of The Handmaid’s Tale, Mark helps arrange a goodbye visit between Serena and Nichole, the daughter of June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) and Nick, in Canada.
He once again offers Serena the chance to defect and gives her a phone that she can use to reach him. Serena decides to assist the U.S. government in arresting Fred in exchange for visitation rights with Nichole.
Serena’s freedom in Canada does not last long, and in the finale of the third season, Tuello arrests Serena for the rape of June. At the start of the fourth season, Serena is facing criminal charges and discovers she is pregnant with Fred’s child.
Mark Tuello has a complex relationship with Serena Joy Waterford
Despite the horrible things Serena took part in, Mark often showed her a great deal of empathy. While speaking with Rotten Tomatoes, Jaeger admits that Mark feels a level of attraction to Serena.
“I think he is enamored with her, and I think they both enjoy the relationship because I think they’re used to playing this game very well,” he said.
Jaeger continued, “I think it’s kind of a sick attraction that they love that they’re being manipulated by the other person, and I think they also pride themselves on being excellent negotiators.”
There will be a plot twist involving Mark Tuello in season 4 episode 9 of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
Even though Mark had some positive feelings toward Serena in earlier seasons, Jaeger told Rotten Tomatoes this changes in the fourth season of The Handmaid’s Tale.
“I think he admires her, but I think in this season he starts to see that the woman he kind of was so smitten with in season 2 is not the woman that he’s dealing with now,” Jaeger said.
Making upcoming episodes of the fourth season more enticing, Jaeger teased that there will be a shocking development involving Tuello in season 4 episode 9 of The Handmaid’s Tale.
“By the time episode 9 came around, I thought ‘Oh, oh, that’s an interesting angle. I saw that. I knew he was capable of this, but I didn’t know that they would take this switch that he does,'” he said.
New episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale premiere every Wednesday on Hulu.
