‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: Sydney Sweeney Explained Why Eden Was a True Believer of Gilead
Over the last few years, Sydney Sweeney has created some memorable characters. From Cassie in Euphoria to Olivia in The White Lotus, the actor has been making a name for herself. But one of her most tragic characters has undoubtedly been Eden in The Handmaid’s Tale. The 15-year-old child bride certainly caused a commotion in the sophomore season of the hit Hulu show.
Many fans of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ did not like Eden when she was first introduced
When Eden was first introduced, fans of The Handmaid’s Tale were not at all pleased. Her character’s marriage to Nick certainly impeded the relationship that Nick was building with June. Furthermore, the fact that Eden was so pro-Gilead was disarming to fans. A true believer of the dystopian society, Eden’s unflinching loyalty to Gilead made fans balk. In fact, many fans of the show would approach Sweeney in public just to relay to the actor how much they hated her character.
Sydney Sweeney explains why her character, Eden, was a true believer of Gilead
But why was Eden such a pious true believer of Gilead when fans meet her in The Handmaid’s Tale? In Sweeney’s mind, it was all Eden knew. In an interview with Brief Take, Sweeney got candid about the backstory that she created for her character. The Players Table producer explained that her character was raised with certain beliefs even before Gilead came to be.
“In the beginning, when I was doing interviews, people would be like, ‘Oh, it’s only been around for a couple of years’ and I thought that Eden’s parents were in it from the beginning as well,” The Handmaid’s Tale alum explained. “They were from a small town and just like many religions or different societies that ‘Where did that come from? That came from nowhere.’ No, that society came from somewhere. It didn’t just come about overnight.”
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ alum revealed that Eden’s family had been involved with Gilead in the early stages
Continuing on, Sweeney explained that totalitarian societies don’t just come from nowhere. There are always whispers and people involved long before they seize power. By making Eden’s family early believers of the pillars of Gilead, Sweeney ensured that Eden was a true believer. This made it even more tragic for viewers of The Handmaid’s Tale when Eden met her ultimate demise.
“It has been going on for years somewhere, and my fictional family was a part of that,” Sweeney explained of the beliefs on which Gilead was founded. “That’s why Eden doesn’t know anything else – she is a product of what Gilead is and wants to become. I wanted to make sure that the way she moved, the way that she spoke, the way that she thought, would represent the way that she was raised.”
Clearly, Sweeney had a lot of thoughts and opinions about her character in The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s no wonder that her intricate backstory about Eden ultimately influenced the writers’ room.
