Alexis Bledel on Emily’s Journey in S2 of The Handmaid’s Tale: “She Knows Her Days Are Numbered.”

Emily, a.k.a. the Handmaid Formerly Known as Ofglen, wasn’t doing too well at the end of Season One of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Then again, most of the characters weren’t. However, while Emily’s fate was decidedly more final at the end of the novel, the show is taking the character in a different direction. Alexis Bledel talks about where her character is headed for Season Two.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bledel reveals that after killing a Guardian in a stolen car, Emily was hauled off to the Colonies, a place outside of Gilead where women are punished by being forced to work under extremely harsh conditions. “Life in the Colonies is a last stop,” Bledel says. “Emily does not have a great deal of hope for a future there; she knows her days are numbered.”

We’ll be getting our first glimpse of the Colonies in Episode 2 of the season, and Bledel was joined by guest star Marisa Tomei for an as-yet-unspecified role. Says Bledel of working with the Oscar-winner, “It was amazing to work with her; she’s someone whose work I admire. We had these incredibly dark, dramatic moments to play out that she brought so much depth to.”

In addition to this deeper glimpse into Emily’s current life, we’ll also be learning more about her via flashbacks. We already know that Clea DuVall was cast to play her wife. Now, we’ll be seeing their life together, as well as Emily’s former career as a professor, which may factor into the choices we’ve seen her make.

Bledel “loved filming Emily’s flashbacks,” and revealed that “much of her worldview is informed by her previous life as a professor of cellular biology.”

Hmmm. So, might she have been involved in research that might have helped women bear children had the anti-science, religious fundamentalists not come along to create a totalitarian state? Yeah, I’d be pissed and rebellious, too. To be fair, I’d be pissed and rebellious anyway.

And speaking of pissed and rebellious, have you seen this poster art for Season Two of The Handmaid’s Tale?

It is SO ON. What do you hope for Emily and the rest of the characters on The Handmaid’s Tale, now that we’re firmly outside of the territory of the novel? Give us your thoughts below!

(via SyFy Wire, image: Hulu)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—