The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5: Elisabeth Moss Directed 1 of Her Favorite Scenes
Elisabeth Moss returned to her starring role as June Osborne for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5. However, the actor also works as an executive producer and director on the Hulu series. The first three episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale have already been jam-packed with stunning (and haunting) scenes. One of Moss’ favorites takes place in the season 5 premiere, and she directed it.
[SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers ahead for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Episodes 1 and 2.]
Elisabeth Moss directed the diner scene in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5
The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 opens in the immediate aftermath of Fred Waterford’s death. June is in a trance-like state of euphoria after finally getting revenge. Still covered in Fred’s blood, she leaves her house and drives to meet the women who helped her savagely rip Fred apart.
June joins these former prisoners of Gilead at a diner, some of whom are also still smeared with Fred’s blood. June and the women then ravenously eat breakfast food while Dolly Parton’s “Gettin’ Happy” plays in the background. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Moss directed this “bacchanal” feast, and it’s one of her favorite scenes in the series.
June wants to be punished for killing Fred
There might be more to June’s initial refusal to wash Fred’s blood away. As viewers later find out, June has no interest in hiding her involvement in Fred’s death. She makes a full confession, but because the murder occurred in No Mans’s Land, the Canadian government will not bring charges against her.
“The guilt that she feels is very palpable, and she wants to be punished. She wants someone to tell her what is right and what is wrong,” Moss told THR of June after the initial high of killing Fred wears off.
“Coming out of Gilead, she has a very skewed idea of what is right and what is wrong, and of violence and when it’s right and when it’s wrong, having not only been the victim of violence but witnessing it so many times,” Moss continued.
“She desperately wants somebody to say, ‘What you did was wrong and you need to be punished for it.’ And, she doesn’t get it. She doesn’t get that release. She doesn’t get that satisfaction. So, she doesn’t know where to put it.”
Serena gets revenge during Fred’s funeral
While there are no legal repercussions for June killing Fred, Serena Joy has her moment of revenge. During Fred’s funeral, she ensures June’s daughter Hannah appears on the broadcast. Hannah even hands Serena a bouquet of roses, and Serena pats her cheek.
In Canada, June and Luke watch the funeral broadcast in shock. Yvonne Strahovski, who plays Serena, described this as her character’s “revenge funeral moment” to THR. In a featurette, executive producer Yahlin Chang added, “It’s a way of her saying to June, I have control over your daughter.”
Don’t miss new episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Wednesdays on Hulu.
