‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: Josh Charles Talks Serena-Wharton Romance’s Chances of Survival

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 4, “Promotion.”]

Please don’t think I’m being positive when I say that everything’s coming up roses for Serena Joy Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski) in The Handmaid’s Tale. The widowed wife and new mom has a cushy new position leading the newly promoted High Commander Lawrence’s (Bradley Whitford) New Bethlehem, dubbed as a more “progressive” Gilead community (not that anything in Gilead can be considered progressive). In Episode 4 of the final season, available April 15 on Hulu, Serena gets courted by a new man, High Commander Gabriel Wharton, played by series newcomer Josh Charles.

Charles tells Swooon that Wharton “goes on a pretty substantial journey” this season, starting with his entry into the series as Nick’s (Max Minghella) father-in-law and continuing with this new romance with Serena. He’s appeared to be a better man than the other commanders so far, but can he be trusted to be more humane than the power-hungry extremists he leads?