Who are the 5 most powerful characters in The Handmaid’s Tale? We have some thoughts on that. Read on! Spoilers ahead.
June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss)
Of course, June has to be at the top of the 5 most powerful characters. What would The Handmaid’s Tale be without her? From the beginning, June has had to endure so much abuse and fear. It would break many people. But not her. Not only did she survive, but she also took her life into her own hands and empowered the people around her. She was the spark needed to ignite a resistance that had already begun and needed a fire lit under it.
Throughout all of her challenges, June has had one goal: to reunite with her daughter, Hannah. You don’t have to be a parent to understand this drive. The loss of a child is the most terrifying thing any parent can imagine. And June has to worry about her daughter being trapped in a misogynistic society where she has no power over her own life.
Do we agree with everything June does? No, probably not. But we aren’t in her situation, and people do desperate things when they’re mistreated so badly. The demise of Fred Waterford is the most chilling choice, perhaps. But we can’t really blame her after what he’d done.
In the end, after everything, June proves she has grown. She forgives Serena and Lydia. She and Luke have made peace with the changes each of them has gone through. And she’s ready to keep fighting, to find Hannah, and restore freedom for everyone she loves.
Serena Joy Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski)
Serena Joy also seems to be a given for the 5 most powerful characters. At the beginning of the series, she’s a villain; that’s clear. Her present actions are enough to revile her, but her part in the conception of Gilead condemns her. We quickly learn to hate Serena for her part in what happens to June. But, as the series goes on, Serena goes through changes of her own.
For much of the series, Serena is under the thumb of her husband and the other men of Gilead. But that doesn’t stop her from using what influence she has to make things happen. Later, when she’s free of Gilead and she has a baby of her own, the truth begins to set in. By the end, she’s making choices to improve the lives of others. Her point of view remains skewed until the very end, though. It takes some extreme events for her to finally realize that Gilead has to fall.
Even at the end, we may not have a lot of love for Serena Joy, but she’s trying to be a better person. And, we have to admit that she could make things happen when she put her mind to it.
Joseph Lawrence (Bradley Whitford)
Commander Joseph Lawrence had a part in the creation of Gilead. But he has regrets. He also has a strong sense of survival. So, when given the opportunity, he frequently aids June and, later, Janine. He blamed June for letting his wife die, but after a great deal of time, he seems to forgive that. Though he’s not the most powerful of the Commanders, he has a sharp intellect and uses his power to make change and move things.
He has influence over the construction of New Bethlehem, and he has a distaste for the use of Handmaids. In the end, it’s the actions of Joseph that bring an end to the radical Boston Commanders. He sacrifices himself for the greater good and, we’re sure, in penance for his mistakes.
Janine Lindo (Madeline Brewer)
Janine may seem like an odd choice for this list, but consider everything she endured and survived. When she is first taken to the Red Center, she’s rebellious and, as punishment for her foul language and resistance, her right eye is removed. That’s only the beginning of her punishments. And, through it all, Janine survives. She is meek and obedient after losing her eye, but she isn’t gone.
After the birth of her daughter, Charlotte, to the Putnams, she does everything she can to be with her baby. Even when she’s placed in Jezebel’s, she doesn’t give up. Given the chance, she chooses to help in the actions of Mayday to deal with the Commanders and free all of the women from Jezebel’s.
Janine is stronger than she may appear through much of the series. Every time it looks like the end for her, she manages to survive and endure. Her last scene in the series is everything we could have hoped for.
Holly Maddox (Cherry Jones)
This is potentially another controversial addition for the 5 most powerful characters in The Handmaid’s Tale. Holly Maddox is June’s mother and, as such, we imagine she has already gone through the trials and tribulations of raising her daughter. She was also an activist in the time before Gilead. When Gilead takes over, Holly is presumably sent to the Colonies, and June assumes this means her mother’s death. In Season 6, however, we learn that Holly has not only survived, she’s thrived.
In Alaska, Holly is working with people who have escaped Gilead. She’s a medical professional and uses her skills to help people. Seeing June and her mother reunited was an unexpected moment of light and joy in a series that is often so dark and tense. Not only has her daughter returned to her, but she also has another granddaughter. Though they don’t always agree, in the end, Holly accepts taking care of her granddaughter so June can return to Gilead to continue the fight and her quest to save Hannah.
In the finale of The Handmaid’s Tale, we’re treated to another beautiful mother-daughter moment. June has to ask her mother to care for her baby again, so she can continue to fight for everyone and free Hannah. At first, Holly laments who will protect June. But, in the end, she admits her daughter is a warrior and encourages her to write a book so that her daughter will know who her mother was.
Final Thoughts
The Handmaid’s Tale has a great many characters, though some are seen only for a short time. There are certainly others who could be one of the 5 most powerful. These are the characters we chose to focus on. They have attributes that commend them and, in some cases, make them hateful. But, in the end, what does “powerful” actually mean when we’re talking about people?
