The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 Teaser Is All About Serena

Commander Waterford’s fall is giving way to another’s rise in power.

Gilead is in mourning after Commander Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) is brutally murdered by June (Elisabeth Moss) and the other handmaids. And while it might’ve felt good to get revenge on the man who subjected them to torture, in the season five teaser June learning that their actions might’ve made him a martyr. Worse yet, his wife Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) is gaining support.

“I want her to know it was me,” June says in the teaser, released July 14, “the grieving wife.” 

Scenes show Serena walking behind Commander Waterford’s coffin wearing a black veil and dress. June seemingly feels that Serena is painting herself in a sympathetic light, saying, “She knows the world is watching.”

And June is right to fear Serena’s rise in popularity. As U.S. representative Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger) warns her, “A handmaid killing her commander—Gilead is not going to let that stand.”