Ahead of the Season 5 premiere ofThe Handmaid’s Tale, Collider had the opportunity to chat with the cast of the series and discuss some of the more spoilery aspects that have now come to pass. While previous seasons have shown that Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) does have something resembling a moral compass, even though she still causes emotional and physical damage to the girls she thinks she’s protecting, Season 5 shows her in a slightly new light. After teenage Esther (Mckenna Grace) suffers at the hands of Commander Putnam (Stephen Kunken), leading the young girl to attempt suicide and kill Janine (Madeline Brewer) in the process, Aunt Lydia goes to Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) with the crime. Gilead doesn’t have the best track record with protecting its women, so everyone is surprised when Lawrence has Nick (Max Minghella)kill Putnam.
During our short 1-on-1 interview, Ann Dowd spoke about Aunt Lydia’s relationship with Janine and whether her care is genuine, the consequences of Putnam’s actions, and she teased where Lydia’s character arc is headed—namelyThe Testaments, which fans have been speculating that Season 5 has been teasing. With a handful of episodes remaining in the season, andHulu renewing the series for its sixth and final season, it will be interesting to see where each character is headed as the race to the end begins. You can read or our interview with Ann Dowd below or watch it in the player above.
COLLIDER: First of all, I just want to say congratulations on Season 5, I then watched the first eight episodes before this interview and I think it might be the best season yet.
ANN DOWD: I was floored by the season. Absolutely floored.
It’s exceptional.
DOWD: Oh, thank you. As I was reading the scripts, I was like, “Huh.” I mean, I’ve been with it for five years, and I was stunned, “So wait a minute. What?” For the writers, I mean, to say, just phenomenal. And of course the directors. Yeah.
I was talking about it with my mom, and I was like, this is the season that they need to win everything. This is just a phenomenal season.
DOWD: Isn’t that lovely. Thank you, honey. Thank you.
I was curious to know, as a viewer it’s very emotionally exhausting to watch this, but when you’re on set, tackling some of these really difficult scenes, what is it like for you? And do you find yourself needing to decompress after the day?
DOWD: Well, it’s always challenging, a complex, well written character always is, and that’s part of the joy, isn’t it? And so just to come prepared and open and ready to jump in and to know you don’t have all the answers, first time round, it’s a phenomenal experience. And the thing is for actors, we don’t take the consequences home with us. You know what I mean? Everybody’s hurt. And so the joy is, it’s make-believe for us, but doesn’t make it easier for the viewer to watch, God knows, but that’s what allows us to jump in without any worry. And by the end of the day, you’re tired, man. You’re like, “Thank you, Lydia. Thank you very much. See you tomorrow. Have a good night because I’m going home and having a beverage and putting my feet up.” It’s something like that.
Talking about consequences. Episode two definitely has a pretty big twist at the end of it, in terms of Janine and Esther and Aunt Lydia has always had this really complex relationship with Janine. And so what’s going through her mind. Can you tease a little bit of that?
DOWD: Well, I think that the thing that’s part of the joy that Lydia is beginning to experience and the profound, what’s happening is that she loves that girl. She loves that girl as her own. Lydia has so many defenses and so much protection, so much armor, travels a very narrow road. But when you have such feelings, love in particular, those walls aren’t going to stay up. It’s just not how we’re built as human beings. Love is far more powerful than fear, if we allow it to take its place. And so I think it’s throwing Lydia, because she’s seeing things differently now, and she’s seeing what’s going on. I’m speaking of later in the season, aware of what’s really going on here, not what she thought or not what she was willing to really look at and say, “Hey, is this all right? I don’t know? Is this in their best interest?” She’s just starting to look at the truth.
I’ve seen those moments kind of coming through over the course of the past five years. Lydia’s kind of gotten to that point where she almost wants to make a change, but she shies away from it. Do you have a moment for her this season that feels like a turning point, that in the script, when you’re working with it, that you’re like, “This is where things are shifting a little bit more extreme for her this time.”
DOWD: The changes, are they more extreme? Is that what you’re saying? Well, I think there’s an abruptness to them, but because, as the walls—I’m trying to think of a better metaphor, if you will. No, as the protection and the defenses are beginning to not hold up, she has two choices. She can put the armor back up and say, “I don’t know what, but that is nonsense. I’m being way too soft on her and this is …” Or you can just leave the armor down. And I think that is the choice that Lydia makes, to her credit.
I was going to say, looking ahead, this is a spoiler question. Feel free to answer it, or you’re going to hold it until we get to that episode. But looking ahead to what happens with Putnam and seeing Lydia really take that stand and then seeing that there are actually consequences to the actions of the men in Gilead. What was it like for you getting to see that script and then getting to play it out on set that day? Because it’s such a powerful … like, seeing him hanging there is such a powerful moment.
DOWD: Well, I think … thank you for saying his name. I had forgotten it was Putnam, I was coming up with other names for him, but punishment, an end to that behavior, a consequence. Would Lydia have hung him on the wall as she’s beginning to change, or would she have put him in prison for life where he had to sit with himself, because you know, you leave the world, and you leave the pain behind. You know what I’m saying? And I think Lydia also realized that Lawrence did it for a number of reasons, or wasn’t this convenient command of arts. You look like Mr. Righteous, setting the values back into place, protecting them and getting rid of the man who was opposed a little bit to what your plans were, who could have been a problem in the future. Now he’s gone. Wow. I think she sees it all. And she has to work with Lawrence because she’s a woman. She gets it, but they need each other. So it’s a very interesting relationship that way.
Consequences to actions is such an interesting thing that’s being played withinHandmaid’s Taleand also there’s tends of redemption, and what happens to these people as Gilead continues to evolve? Do you think there’s a place of redemption for Lydia? She’s such a character that you don’t want to fully hate that she does things that’s so horrible to see on screen, but is there a place where she could be redeemed as Gilead continues to evolve?
DOWD: I think so. I mean, I think the journey will continue inThe Handmaid’s Tale, andit will certainly continue into The Testaments. There’s the answer to that question, but yes, I think she’s capable of it.
