Some 'Handmaid's Tale' Fans Want Serena To Have a Fate Worse Than Death (SPOILERS)

Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for Season 5 of The Handmaid's Tale.

Ever since Serena was taken into custody in The Handmaid's Tale, fans have wanted her to be sent back to Gilead and turned into a handmaid. As far as the show goes, that's a fate worse than death for most women in Gilead. And Serena, who was once married to a high-ranking commander, would suffer a ton in such a role.

But will Serena really be a handmaid in The Handmaid's Tale? As much as we all want to see Serena pay for her crimes and her extreme actions against not only June but other women, turning her into a handmaid doesn't change any of that. However, in the Sept. 28 episode, Serena comes the closest she ever has to being turned into a handmaid.

When Serena returns to Gilead for Fred's funeral, she assumes she will be taken seriously as a woman, despite the country's prejudices against females. When Commander Putnam tells her they have a new and important way for her to serve Gilead, it at first sounds like Serena will be carted away and turned into a handmaid.

But that's not the case. Instead, she's supposed to be the face of Gilead while she resides in Toronto. It's basically a way to shut her up and keep her out of the commanders' hair for now. But, by the end of the Sept. 28 episode, it's clear that Serena isn't safe on her own in Canada. So she is taken in by the Wheelers, who are more than ready to adapt to the Gilead life.

Could Serena be the Wheelers' handmaid? It doesn't look like they expect to take her baby (yet). However, Serena is put in a room upstairs, not unlike June's when she was Serena and Fred's handmaid.

And Mrs. Wheeler seems to want to adhere to stereotypical gender norms in her home. Even though Serena isn't turned into a handmaid in Gilead, this is a nice consolation prize for viewers who wanted that.

When Serena returns to Gilead, albeit temporarily, she tells Tuello that she believes her situation of being an unwed mother will soon change. And, through conversations she has with Lawrence, it appears that she expects him, a widower, to marry her.

It would secure her a cushy spot in Gilead once again and it would help Lawrence be seen as more of an equal if he was a married man.

Unfortunately for Serena, that doesn't happen. In fact, Lawrence seems very uninterested in marrying her, or anyone for that matter. And now, it looks like Serena is about to get a taste of her own medicine as she lives under the Wheelers' roof, pregnant and alone.

Alanis Wheeler is first seen in The Handmaid's Tale Season 5 when she approaches June and baby Nichole on a playground. Alanis knows Nichole by name and she calls June a whore. It's an uncomfortable scene, but one that makes sense, given Serena's supporters in Toronto. Alanis is clearly one of them.

Or, rather, she supports what Serena stands for. But that could come back to bite Serena as she becomes a guest in the Wheelers' home.

Watch The Handmaid's Tale on Wednesdays on Hulu.