‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: Sydney Sweeney Was ‘Having a Blast’ During Eden’s Death Scene
Before Sydney Sweeney was stealing scenes in Euphoria and The White Lotus, she was sparking plenty of conversation in The Handmaid’s Tale. Sweeney’s character, Eden Blaine, had a spectacular arc in the sophomore season of the hit Hulu show. Eden began the season as a true believer of Gilead. She was pious, obedient, and fully invested in having a child with Nick. However, after falling in love with Issac, she chose death over repenting for her love of the guardian.
Eden’s death scene shocked fans of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
Eden’s death scene was certainly a tragic moment in The Handmaid’s Tale. It demonstrated the cruelties of Gilead and how the dystopian society was willing to punish people of any age severely. Fans of the show were particularly unnerved by the image of Sweeney’s Eden being pushed into the pool to her untimely death. Weighed down by the chains around her ankle, she drowns as June, and even Serena, watch on in horror.
Sydney Sweeney wanted to film Eden’s death scene again and again
But while the scene was harrowing for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale to watch, Sweeney claims that it was a joy to film. In fact, the 25-year-old, who is extremely athletic, wanted to film Eden’s death scene as many times as possible. While speaking with Refinery29, Sweeney recalled shooting the scene. “I was having a blast,” Sweeney admitted. “I was having such a great time. I wanted to keep doing it over and over again.”
Perhaps the reason Sweeney was having such fun was due to the fact that she had plenty of preparation for Eden’s death scene. The Washington native and her scene partner spent days on set of The Handmaid’s Tale, making sure that they were ready for the intricate scene.
How Sweeney trained for Eden’s death scene in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
“The actor who plays Isaac, Rohan Mead, he and I went through a couple days of training with a scuba divers,” Sweeney recalled. “We went to this giant pool, we put on wetsuits, and we had to perfect our dive. We tried diving with weights, we tried diving with chains, and then we worked on how long we could hold our breath underwater and how different signs under water [work] for scuba divers and what they meant. So when we got to the actual day of filming, we were 100% prepared, and I was really excited to finally jump in.”
Why the ‘Euphoria’ actor invited her mom to set
While Sweeney was excited to film the scene, she knew that people watching The Handmaid’s Tale would see Eden’s death scene as anything but fun. Because of this, the actor invited her mom (a huge fan of the show) on set so that she could see that her daughter wasn’t in any real danger. “My mom was in that day too,” Sweeney recalled. “I wanted her to see it in person instead of just watching it on TV so it wasn’t as shocking or scary for her.”
Sweeney would love to reprise her role of Eden in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
While The Handmaid’s Tale covers some truly dark subject matters, the cast seems to have fun when the cameras aren’t rolling. And while Sweeney remains booked and busy, she has shared that she’d love to reprise her role on the show. Given Eden’s death scene, there’s no space for her in the present of the show. However, she’s still hoping to come back in a flashback.
