Serena and Fred Waterford are expecting a miracle baby in The Handmaid's Tale season 4 - but is Fred really the father and, if so, when was the baby conceived? The couple are currently in different cells and as estranged from one another as they've ever been, but they did have a moment of reconciliation in The Handmaid's Tale season 3 that appears to mark the date of conception.
The Waterfords were previously believed to both be infertile. Fred had failed to get their previous handmaid pregnant, despite having sex with her outside of the Gilead-approved "ceremony," and similarly failed to get June pregnant. Meanwhile, Serena was shot in her lower abdomen by a protester in a flashback to the days before Gilead, and it was implied that this attack damaged her reproductive organs. Yet in The Handmaid's Tale season 4, episode 2, "Nightshade," Serena gets some shocking news: blood tests carried out during her detention in Canada have shown that she's pregnant.
An ultrasound revealed that Serena is pregnant with a baby boy, something that can be determined as early as 14 weeks, and a bump usually begins to develop by week 16 of a pregnancy. For Serena to have been surprised by the news means she was probably around 12-16 weeks pregnant when she found out. Although Fred hasn't been particularly faithful in their marriage, Serena has been, which means that there's little to no doubt that Fred is the father of Serena's baby. Their sex life hasn't been particularly active, so the child was presumably conceived in The Handmaid's Tale season 3, episode 11, "Liars," when Serena and Fred had intercourse while staying at a bed and breakfast.
Speaking to Rita in The Handmaid's Tale season 4, episode 4, "Milk," Serena credits Gilead's clean air and water for the miracle of her pregnancy, claiming it as proof that Gilead's system is correct and God has rewarded her with a child for her efforts. However, the baby was actually conceived at a time when both Fred and Serena were doubting their decision to create Gilead. The rekindling of their love life began with Fred offering to let Serena drive on the trip - a flagrant breaking of Gilead's laws against women being permitted to drive. While staying at the bed and breakfast, Fred and Serena had a conversation about what their life might have been like if Gilead had never come into existence, and Fred apologized to Serena for everything it had cost her. That night, Serena invited Fred into her twin bed and he accepted the invitation.
The thrill of rule-breaking and the blasphemous conversation that followed was what led to the conception of Fred and Serena's baby - not following Gilead's law to the letter, as they had been in the years before. Among Gilead's many illogical laws is the banning of fertility testing, IVF treatment, or even pregnancy tests, so it was never confirmed that either Fred or Serena were infertile. In Serena's case, the pregnancy seems to have restored her faith in Gilead, but it remains to be seen how Fred will react in the long-term to learning that he's going to have a biological son.
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May 06, 2021 at 05:32AM
