History Characters / TheHandmaidsTaleTVShow

* [[Characters/TheHandmaidsTaleTVShowOtherCharacters Other Characters]]


!!Eyes of Gilead


!!Guardians
[[folder:Isaac]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_isaac.png]]
->'''Played by''': Rohan Mead

A young guardian assigned to the Waterford house in the second season.
----
* AlasPoorVillain: Despite him crudely treating women previously, his death is seen in a more sympathetic light, especially for both Serena and June.
* DefiantToTheEnd: He remains wordless and unrepentant during his execution.
* DrunkWithPower: When the Waterfords go to Canada, he is left in charge and it goes to his head. Other than Eden, he treats the women at the household with disdain, orders June and Janine to stop talking, and clocks Janine when she acts out.
* ImprobableAge: He's around 20. Rita comments how he is so young but he's still in charge over her and everyone else in the house, when the Waterfords are away.
--> '''Rita:''' That boy downstairs is maybe 20 years old.\
And he can tell me to do anything.\
He could break my jaw, and no one would say boo.
* StarCrossedLovers: Falls in love with Eden who reciprocates, but she is married to an older guy. Given the CrapsackWorld they live in, it ends badly for them.
* ThroughHisStomach: [[spoiler:His flirtation with Eden involve him enjoying the food she cooks.]]
* WouldHitAGirl: He hits Janine with his gun when she talks back to him.
[[/folder]]

!!Marthas

[[folder:Beth]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_beth.png]]
->'''Played By''': Kristen Gutoskie

A Contact in which Nick used to have sexual relations with. She was a Martha who works at the kitchens in Jezebel's, but now works for Commander Lawrence, presumably as a member of the resistance.
----
* ChildfreeIsNotAllowed: She is considered a "sinner" because she had her tubes tied.
* DeadpanSnarker: She has a sarcastic and friendly disposition towards Nick.
* FriendsWithBenefits: Though Nick forgoes sex with her during his affair with June.
* ShipperOnDeck: She's never met June in Season 1, so she good-naturedly teases Nick about his affair. It's unknown if she knows June is the same woman Nick had talked about previously.
* TheInformant: She provides information to Nick in exchange for illicit products, such as alcohol, prescription drugs and pregnancy tests. It's assumed that she is still in this role in Commander Lawrence's household.
[[/folder]]

!!Aunts

[[folder: In General]]

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Aunts wear brown garbs.
* TheQuisling: Aunts enjoy certain privileges within the Gilead regime such as being allowed to read.

[[/folder]]

!!Others

[[folder:Hannah Bankole/Agnes Mackenzie]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_hannah.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Jordana Blake

June and Luke's daughter, born before the rise of Gilead. At the start of the series, she was taken from her parents while trying to flee Gilead and placed with the Mackenzie family where she is given the name Agnes.
----
* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: The Commander and Wife she was assigned to have physically punished her, "only twice".]]
* DefrostingIceQueen: [[spoiler: Due to the trauma of separation, she can barely bring herself to acknowledge June when they're briefly and secretly reunited, having accepted her new parents and resented her mother for not 'trying hard enough' to find her, but she eventually breaks down crying and calls her Mommy.]]
* DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff: The Martha from their household says to June that Hannah/Agnes was physically punished by her new parents "only twice". With all their obsession with Biblical allusions, "spare the rod" is very likely presented as the correct parental discipline and beneficial to children.
* FeminineWomenCanCook: Mrs. [=McKenzie=] says to June that she (Hannah/Agnes) is actually quite a good cook. One of the few things girls in Gilead are allowed to learn and a properly feminine hobby for daughters. June is delighted to hear it because Luke cooks.
* MeaningfulRename: After her forced adoption, her new parents have renamed her 'Agnes', presumably to erase her connection to her 'sinful' parents.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: She was never referred to by name in the novel, presumably because Offred wanted to protect her identity.
* PutOnABus: Due to Ofmatthew's treachery, the entire Mackenzie family is relocated and no one, including June or Commander Lawrence knows where they are.
* RaceLift: In the novel, she is described as being blonde, whereas in the series she is biracial.
* TextileWorkIsFeminine: Her "adoptive mother" says that she likes to sew, but that she's not very good at it. Sewing and other textile work is one of the few things daughters are allowed to learn and pursue as it's perceived as a properly feminine interest.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Holly/Nichole Waterford]]

June and Nick's daughter, conceived and born in Gilead. She now resides with Luke and Moira after Emily was able to smuggle her across the border.
----
* DeadGuyJunior: When she is born, June names her Holly, after her mother.
* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Against many odds, she survives being submerged in cold water while Emily crosses a river to reach Canada.
* MeaningfulRename: June names her Holly upon her birth, but when Serena claims her for herself, she is given the name Nichole. As a nod to Serena allowing Holly to escape, June tells Emily (who is taking her to Canada) to call her Nichole as well. Even with Luke knowing her real name and parentage later on, both Luke and Moira continue to call the baby Nichole.
* {{Protectorate}}: Both Moira and Luke act as MamaBear and PapaWolf to Holly/Nichole while she is in Canada
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Variation. She doesn't do anything, given that she is a baby. But her very existence is what drives the plot in Season 3 where High Commander Winslow wants to use her as a tool to force Canada to deport all Gilead refugees, while Serena goes behind the scenes to try to get back together with Nichole.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eden Blaine (nee Spencer)]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_eden.png]]
->'''Played By''': Sydney Sweeney

A 15-year-old Econowife (forcibly) assigned to Nick.
----

* ArrangedMarriage: Gilead pawns her off as Nick's new wife.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Poor Eden doesn't seem to realize how awful Gilead is and is molded to believe it's 100% dutiful.
* DefiantToTheEnd: Despite being hugely brainwashed to obey Gilead, [[spoiler:she grows disillusioned enough with her marriage to try to defy Gilead when she falls in love with a more age-appropriate boy. At her execution, [[DyingMomentOfAwesome she does not renounce her sin but simply recites a Biblical verse.]]]]
* HiddenDepths: June finds a heavily annotated Bible among her personal belongings, suggesting that Eden did not buy into Gilead's doctrine to the extent that she appeared to - specifically, she was reading (which Gilead does not permit for women) and trying to understand or analyse the Bible beyond what Gilead teaches.
* ILetGwenStacyDie: [[spoiler: Eden's execution weighs pretty heavily on Serena Joy, seemingly convincing her that Gilead is not safe even for the most obedient and True-Believing of girls. This helps facilitate her HeelFaceTurn and specifically, her decision to let June escape with baby Nichole.]]
* MalMariee: Mal Mariée means "badly married" and it refers to a young girl unhappily married to an old guy. 15-year-old Eden is forcibly assigned to marry Nick Blaine. Nick is in love with June who are both in their thirties. Eden tries to make the marriage work, but Nick's not interested in her, which she takes hard. She soon falls in love with guardian Isaac who is about her age. In a twist, she's exasperated that Nick is not jealous at all and angry that he doesn't even care she kissed another man. After chatting with June, who advises her to grab whatever chance at happiness she has in their crapsack world, Eden and Isaac run away. They are caught [[spoiler: and executed — Eden for infidelity, Isaac for desertion.]]
* MoralityPet:
** Despite his cruel nature, Isaac comes to love Eden and tries to elope with her. [[spoiler: But they both get caught and tragically die.]]
** Serena Joy, as awful as she may be, tries to look out for Eden, [[spoiler: and Eden's execution weighs heavily on her]].
* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:She is executed for infidelity after running away with Isaac.]]
* UnwantedSpouse: To Nick, he doesn't want their ForcedMarriage and is not interested in her. Eden tries to be nice to him and make it work for some time.
* WomanScorned: She comes to resent Nick's avoidance of her and neglect of their marriage, and picks up on his attraction to June.
* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler: Nick catches her kissing Isaac. She immediately runs to him begging forgiveness, but becomes upset with him when he tells her that he doesn't care.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Holly Maddox]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_cherry_jones.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Cherry Jones

June's feminist mother. She was a doctor (possibly an Obstetrician) before the Gilead takeover.
----

* AFateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: When Aunt Lydia is showing the handmaids photos in the Red Centre, June and Moira see one of her in the Colonies.]]
* CoolOldLady: Blasts 'Hollaback Girl' by Gwen Stefani whilst riding in June's car with her feet on the dash.
* ItsASmallWorldAfterAll: Dr. Yates, an Obstetrician in Gilead, claims he knows Dr. Maddox but it may be purely based on reputation. This does make the implication that Holly is an obstetrician herself based on this.
* ParentalMarriageVeto: Downplayed, but she seriously disapproved of June marrying Luke.
* SoapboxSadie: While her feminist views are portrayed rather sympatethically (and as the polar opposite of Gilead's ideology), she can have a bit... strong opinions. Marriage? Wasting one's energy for "just a guy" (said when her daughter announces her engagement to her). Baptism? "Having your child sanctified by a bunch of HolierThanThou child molesters" (said in a church). Ah, and she insist that the whole family dines in a vegan restaurant despite, by June's words, "not even being a fucking vegan".
* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: Again downplayed, but she doesn't understand June's happiness with her editing job, marriage, and normal family life and compares her unfavourably to Moira, who is more involved in political action and resistance.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mark Tuello]]
->'''Played By''': Sam Jaeger

An intelligence agent for the Loyalist United States forces, operating out of Canada.
----
* BlackTieInfiltration: Tuello's introduction comes during Season 2, when he chats with Serena at the Canadian hotel bar, while Fred is negotiating international treaties with the Canadian Government.
* CrazyPrepared: Before his initial meeting with Serena, he had done extensive research on her and knows exactly what it would take to get Serena to turn on Gilead.
* ChekhovsGunman: While he's first introduced trying to woo Serena into defecting to the Loyalist side, [[spoiler:he eventually delivers the instrument of Fred's downfall to Serena: the cell phone she uses to arrange his arrest.]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler: He can barely conceal his disgust when Serena shows her true colours by referring to June as Offred]].
* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler: He gets to do this to both the Waterfords; firstly by arresting Fred for crimes against humanity, and then later informing Serena she's going to face the same charges, since she doesn't have immunity from being prosecuted for coercing Nick to conceive a child with June that she could claim]].
* ShutUpHannibal: He gives one to Serena, when after she insists she'd never commit treason, Tuello retorts she already did when she assisted in the rise of Gilead.
-->'''Serena''': ''[referring to Gilead]'' If you had done better research, you would know that I would never betray my country.
-->'''Mark''': ''[referring to America]'' I thought you already did.
** He gets to do it to her again in the Season 3 finale: [[spoiler: when Serena tries to defend her actions by claiming Nick and June were in a consenting relationship, Tuello retorts that she still coerced them into doing so by threatening June's safety, therefore Serena's actions still constitute rape]].
* WhamLine: [[spoiler:Delivers one to Fred with a gun in his face in the episode ''Liars''.]]
-->[[spoiler:''"Commander Waterford, you have now crossed into Canada. We are arresting you for war crimes and crimes of aggression in violation of international human rights treaties and international law."'']]
** He then delivers another [[spoiler: to Serena, after Fred provides Tuello with some damning information on her]].
-->[[spoiler: Mrs. Waterford, under warrant from the ICC and the government of the United States of America, I am placing you under arrest]].
[[/folder]]

[[foldercontrol]]


!!Wives of Gilead


[[folder:Naomi Putnam]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_naomi_putnam.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Ever Carradine

The snide Wife of Commander Warren Putnam.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: She is part of the group of Wives who joins Serena in asking the Commanders to make an exception for the Bible to the ban on women reading. She backs off when she sees that Serena begins to read, but the impulse to [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes protect her adoptive daughter]] was there.
* {{Foil}}: Similarly to the Waterfords, with her husband. She is abrasive toward her Handmaid, he plays nice to use Janine for sex. [[DrivenToSuicide The results are also similar to the Waterfords' and the first Offred.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: She's one of the most vapid and shallow Commanders' Wives seen so far.
* {{Jerkass}}: She's even bitchier than Serena, believe it or not, and is often quite rude to Serena's face. Mostly in a maddeningly passive-aggressive way, to boot.
* LackOfEmpathy: Oddly enough, whereas Serena Joy betrays bits of (mostly hollow) empathy for June's pain, Naomi gives none to her Handmaid.
* ManipulativeBastard: She approaches the Commanders after it is discovered that Commander Putnam was carrying on an affair with Ofwarren/Janine outside the allowed "Ceremony" and requests they execute the harshest possible punishment they can under the pretense of "saving" him from "damnation," but in reality she only does it to exact revenge for being cuckolded.
* MeaninglessVillainVictory: She gets Charlotte/Angela from Janine, but she actually doesn't know how to care for her and does not appreciate the miracle that a healthy baby is in their society.
* PetTheDog: Of course, on conditions that things are done for her but she has a few sincere moments.
** Begrudgingly lets Janine say goodbye to [[spoiler: a dying Charlotte]], though it's likely out of deference for her husband.
** Then played straight when she does let Janine hold Charlotte in gratitude for Janine saving the baby.
** She also thanks June for helping the baby.
* RealityEnsues: Who would've thought that the woman who was an enthusiastic participant in Gilead wouldn't magically turn into an emphatic or caring mother?
* SpannerInTheWorks: Her admonishment to Serena Joy is one of the final turning points where Serena Joy accepts that there's something going on between Commander Waterford and June.
* TookALevelInKindness: A small one as of Season 3, which shows her actually being generous to the Handmaids and showing gratitude to June and Janine.
* UngratefulBitch: Has zero regard for her Handmaid Ofwarren/Janine, despite the fact that the poor girl is forced to give birth, then surrender her own daughter to Naomi's custody. She mellows a bit on that on the conditions that Janine does save her baby's life.
* WomanScorned: She manipulates the Commanders to amputate her husband's right hand in order to punish him for cheating on her with a Handmaid.

[[folder:Eleanor Lawrence]]

The wife of Lawrence and the love of his life.
-----
* TheAtoner: Being that she is a Wife in Gilead, it's unknown what role she played in Gilead's early design, but she is vocal about her opposition of the Colonies to Emily.
* BrokenBird
* CloudCuckoolander: One day out in public in Gilead and it is evident why Lawrence keeps her under wraps.
* [[spoiler:DrivenToSuicide: One interpretation of her sleeping pill overdose.]]
* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler: A chilling one when June kisses Eleanor on the forehead when she leaves Eleanor to die by overdosage.]]
* {{Foil}}: To the Wives. Other than being kept in recluse due to her socially unacceptable behavior, exasperated by the lack of bipolar medication in Gilead, she lacks the sanctimony of the other Wives. Like other Wives, she did desire children but she also has a full grip of how terrible Gilead is and never tries to procure children for herself. She is a more active ally to her Handmaid June and tries to help her see Hannah. She also tries to speak out against her husband's part in Gilead's design.
* MadwomanInTheAttic: The way Lawrence keeps her out of sight upstairs is reminiscent of this trope.
* MoralityPet: If you want Lawrence to do something good, the best way is to convince him that it'll benefit Eleanor.
* SecretKeeper: There are issues with whether she's mentally competent enough to not blurt anything, thus why Lawrence often keeps her away from visitors like Aunt Lydia. But she's wary about the rebellion operations in her husband's household. Later on, when her medication runs out, this is averted in full display when she nearly blurts out June's plan to Mrs. Putnam and Mrs. Winslow, but the two wives appear to be oblivious to what is happening. [[spoiler: This liability ultimately is what makes June not help Eleanor when she is in the middle of an overdose.]]
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Played with. [[spoiler: Her overzealousness in saving one more child, accommodating everyone oppressed in Gilead in ways inconvenient to the secrecy of the children rescue mission, has June leaving her to die by pill overdose.]]

[[folder:Mrs. O'Conner]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marisa_tomei_handmaids_tale.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/MarisaTomei

A Wife who ends up in the Colonies by committing the "sins of the flesh."

* AsTheGoodBookSays: She is fiercely religious and quotes verses from the Bible. She has a strong belief that God and her faith will save her.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: She supported the rise of the fundamentalist regime of Gilead and ended up being forced to share her husband with another woman. As a result of feeling neglected and unloved, she has an affair, is discovered and sent to die a slow, agonizing death in the colonies.
* DeadStarWalking: Creator/MarisaTomei is more famous than a lot of the regulars, and she only survives for a single episode.
* TheFool: Her romantic outlook on life is borderline delusional, and she is hopelessly out of her league in her new environment.
* FoolForLove: She must have surely known the punishment for sins of the flesh, but she still risked having an affair because she fell in love.
* NaiveNewcomer: She has no idea what awaits her in the colonies.
* ObliviouslyEvil: In Emily's opinion, her role as a Gilead Wife automatically makes her this.

[[folder:Mrs. [=McKenzie=] ]]

The wife of Commander [=McKenzie=]. She and her husband are Hannah's new parents.

* AbusiveParents: The Commander and Wife to whom June and Luke's daughter Hannah was assigned to have physically punished their 'daughter' "only twice", according to their Martha. By Gilead standards, it's no doubt a correct Biblical way to bring up children. By modern standards held by most viewers, it's abuse, plain and simple.
* AntiVillain: She comes off as one of the kinder Wives we've seen thus far, given that she's at least ''somewhat'' sympathetic to June's situation, and is explicitly stated to have been a charitable person who fed homeless children in pre-Gilead times.
* JerkassHasAPoint: She may be a jerk, but she's right in trying to convince June that all attempts to see Hannah may end up badly, and for one of her Marthas, it does.
* NonIdleRich: According to Commander Lawrence, she is a perfectly suitable mother to Hannah, having used her free time pre-Gilead to feed orphaned children in Africa.
* PetTheDog: She gives the information-starved June a few precious details about Hannah's life, and it serves to reassure her that her daughter is being well taken care of.

[[folder:Olivia Winslow]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/ElizabethReaser

The friendly wife of High Commander Winslow, she and her husband are introduced as the Washington D.C hosts of Fred and Serena Waterford. She wants to convince Serena to move to Washington.

* AffablyEvil: She looks sweet and fun at first. And then you see her Handmaid. And then you see her walking through the abandoned mansion of a family who was victimized by Gilead as if she was a realtor trying to sell the place to Serena, completely apathetic to the terrifying fate of the previous occupants.
** When she is tearfully praying with Mrs. Putnam and Mrs. Lawrence, June offers her sympathies (although mostly to cover up for Mrs. Lawrence's erratic statements) and Olivia coldly ''orders'' her to pray for the safe return of her husband.
* AmoralAttorney: She was a corporate lawyer before Gilead, and she acclimatized perfectly in the country's new, murderous regime.
* CareerVersusMan: She confesses to Serena that her book helped her a great deal decide herself in favor of starting a family with her husband.
* CheatingWithTheMilkman: Or the armed guards, in this case. During a party in Washington, Olivia and the other Wives let Serena know that they're sleeping around with the young, hunky guards while their husbands are running an evil theocratic regime- apparently it's a normal practice and they invite Serena to enjoy the "benefits" of living in Washington.
* LackOfEmpathy: Especially obvious when she is showing Serena around an abandoned mansion, which still contained the belongings of the previous inhabitants (including children). Olivia cheerfully tries to convince Serena to move into the mansion, sparing no thought for the family whose life was destroyed by Gilead. The whole scene is reminiscent of an incident where the infamous Nazi-sympathizer Unity Mitford entered an apartment she was given by the Nazis and started making comments about replacing the drapes... with the original, Jewish inhabitants crying right there in the living room as they were being forced to leave (God knows towards what fate).
* LaserGuidedKarma: After her husband [[spoiler: disappears]], she is distraught and fears that her many (stolen) children will be taken away from her. It's very satisfying to see her so desperate, especially after she haughtily orders June to pray for her husband.
* ObliviouslyEvil: When asked who the six multiracial children living in their house belong to, she smiles brightly and says “Who else’s would they be?”

!!Eyes of Gilead


!!Guardians
[[folder:Isaac]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_isaac.png]]
->'''Played by''': Rohan Mead

A young guardian assigned to the Waterford house in the second season.

* AlasPoorVillain: Despite him crudely treating women previously, his death is seen in a more sympathetic light, especially for both Serena and June.
* DefiantToTheEnd: He remains wordless and unrepentant during his execution.
* DrunkWithPower: When the Waterfords go to Canada, he is left in charge and it goes to his head. Other than Eden, he treats the women at the household with disdain, orders June and Janine to stop talking, and clocks Janine when she acts out.
* ImprobableAge: He's around 20. Rita comments how he is so young but he's still in charge over her and everyone else in the house, when the Waterfords are away.
--> '''Rita:''' That boy downstairs is maybe 20 years old.\
And he can tell me to do anything.\
He could break my jaw, and no one would say boo.
* StarCrossedLovers: Falls in love with Eden who reciprocates, but she is married to an older guy. Given the CrapsackWorld they live in, it ends badly for them.
* ThroughHisStomach: [[spoiler:His flirtation with Eden involve him enjoying the food she cooks.]]
* WouldHitAGirl: He hits Janine with his gun when she talks back to him.

!!Marthas

[[folder:Beth]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_beth.png]]
->'''Played By''': Kristen Gutoskie

A Contact in which Nick used to have sexual relations with. She was a Martha who works at the kitchens in Jezebel's, but now works for Commander Lawrence, presumably as a member of the resistance.

* ChildfreeIsNotAllowed: She is considered a "sinner" because she had her tubes tied.
* DeadpanSnarker: She has a sarcastic and friendly disposition towards Nick.
* FriendsWithBenefits: Though Nick forgoes sex with her during his affair with June.
* ShipperOnDeck: She's never met June in Season 1, so she good-naturedly teases Nick about his affair. It's unknown if she knows June is the same woman Nick had talked about previously.
* TheInformant: She provides information to Nick in exchange for illicit products, such as alcohol, prescription drugs and pregnancy tests. It's assumed that she is still in this role in Commander Lawrence's household.
[[/folder]]

!!Aunts

[[folder: In General]]

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Aunts wear brown garbs.
* TheQuisling: Aunts enjoy certain privileges within the Gilead regime such as being allowed to read.

[[/folder]]

!!Others

[[folder:Hannah Bankole/Agnes Mackenzie]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_hannah.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Jordana Blake

June and Luke's daughter, born before the rise of Gilead. At the start of the series, she was taken from her parents while trying to flee Gilead and placed with the Mackenzie family where she is given the name Agnes.
----
* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: The Commander and Wife she was assigned to have physically punished her, "only twice".]]
* DefrostingIceQueen: [[spoiler: Due to the trauma of separation, she can barely bring herself to acknowledge June when they're briefly and secretly reunited, having accepted her new parents and resented her mother for not 'trying hard enough' to find her, but she eventually breaks down crying and calls her Mommy.]]
* DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff: The Martha from their household says to June that Hannah/Agnes was physically punished by her new parents "only twice". With all their obsession with Biblical allusions, "spare the rod" is very likely presented as the correct parental discipline and beneficial to children.
* FeminineWomenCanCook: Mrs. [=McKenzie=] says to June that she (Hannah/Agnes) is actually quite a good cook. One of the few things girls in Gilead are allowed to learn and a properly feminine hobby for daughters. June is delighted to hear it because Luke cooks.
* MeaningfulRename: After her forced adoption, her new parents have renamed her 'Agnes', presumably to erase her connection to her 'sinful' parents.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: She was never referred to by name in the novel, presumably because Offred wanted to protect her identity.
* PutOnABus: Due to Ofmatthew's treachery, the entire Mackenzie family is relocated and no one, including June or Commander Lawrence knows where they are.
* RaceLift: In the novel, she is described as being blonde, whereas in the series she is biracial.
* TextileWorkIsFeminine: Her "adoptive mother" says that she likes to sew, but that she's not very good at it. Sewing and other textile work is one of the few things daughters are allowed to learn and pursue as it's perceived as a properly feminine interest.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Holly/Nichole Waterford]]

June and Nick's daughter, conceived and born in Gilead. She now resides with Luke and Moira after Emily was able to smuggle her across the border.
----
* DeadGuyJunior: When she is born, June names her Holly, after her mother.
* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Against many odds, she survives being submerged in cold water while Emily crosses a river to reach Canada.
* MeaningfulRename: June names her Holly upon her birth, but when Serena claims her for herself, she is given the name Nichole. As a nod to Serena allowing Holly to escape, June tells Emily (who is taking her to Canada) to call her Nichole as well. Even with Luke knowing her real name and parentage later on, both Luke and Moira continue to call the baby Nichole.
* {{Protectorate}}: Both Moira and Luke act as MamaBear and PapaWolf to Holly/Nichole while she is in Canada
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Variation. She doesn't do anything, given that she is a baby. But her very existence is what drives the plot in Season 3 where High Commander Winslow wants to use her as a tool to force Canada to deport all Gilead refugees, while Serena goes behind the scenes to try to get back together with Nichole.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eden Blaine (nee Spencer)]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_eden.png]]
->'''Played By''': Sydney Sweeney

A 15-year-old Econowife (forcibly) assigned to Nick.
----

* ArrangedMarriage: Gilead pawns her off as Nick's new wife.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Poor Eden doesn't seem to realize how awful Gilead is and is molded to believe it's 100% dutiful.
* DefiantToTheEnd: Despite being hugely brainwashed to obey Gilead, [[spoiler:she grows disillusioned enough with her marriage to try to defy Gilead when she falls in love with a more age-appropriate boy. At her execution, [[DyingMomentOfAwesome she does not renounce her sin but simply recites a Biblical verse.]]]]
* HiddenDepths: June finds a heavily annotated Bible among her personal belongings, suggesting that Eden did not buy into Gilead's doctrine to the extent that she appeared to - specifically, she was reading (which Gilead does not permit for women) and trying to understand or analyse the Bible beyond what Gilead teaches.
* ILetGwenStacyDie: [[spoiler: Eden's execution weighs pretty heavily on Serena Joy, seemingly convincing her that Gilead is not safe even for the most obedient and True-Believing of girls. This helps facilitate her HeelFaceTurn and specifically, her decision to let June escape with baby Nichole.]]
* MalMariee: Mal Mariée means "badly married" and it refers to a young girl unhappily married to an old guy. 15-year-old Eden is forcibly assigned to marry Nick Blaine. Nick is in love with June who are both in their thirties. Eden tries to make the marriage work, but Nick's not interested in her, which she takes hard. She soon falls in love with guardian Isaac who is about her age. In a twist, she's exasperated that Nick is not jealous at all and angry that he doesn't even care she kissed another man. After chatting with June, who advises her to grab whatever chance at happiness she has in their crapsack world, Eden and Isaac run away. They are caught [[spoiler: and executed — Eden for infidelity, Isaac for desertion.]]
* MoralityPet:
** Despite his cruel nature, Isaac comes to love Eden and tries to elope with her. [[spoiler: But they both get caught and tragically die.]]
** Serena Joy, as awful as she may be, tries to look out for Eden, [[spoiler: and Eden's execution weighs heavily on her]].
* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:She is executed for infidelity after running away with Isaac.]]
* UnwantedSpouse: To Nick, he doesn't want their ForcedMarriage and is not interested in her. Eden tries to be nice to him and make it work for some time.
* WomanScorned: She comes to resent Nick's avoidance of her and neglect of their marriage, and picks up on his attraction to June.
* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler: Nick catches her kissing Isaac. She immediately runs to him begging forgiveness, but becomes upset with him when he tells her that he doesn't care.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Holly Maddox]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_cherry_jones.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Cherry Jones

June's feminist mother. She was a doctor (possibly an Obstetrician) before the Gilead takeover.
----

* AFateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: When Aunt Lydia is showing the handmaids photos in the Red Centre, June and Moira see one of her in the Colonies.]]
* CoolOldLady: Blasts 'Hollaback Girl' by Gwen Stefani whilst riding in June's car with her feet on the dash.
* ItsASmallWorldAfterAll: Dr. Yates, an Obstetrician in Gilead, claims he knows Dr. Maddox but it may be purely based on reputation. This does make the implication that Holly is an obstetrician herself based on this.
* ParentalMarriageVeto: Downplayed, but she seriously disapproved of June marrying Luke.
* SoapboxSadie: While her feminist views are portrayed rather sympatethically (and as the polar opposite of Gilead's ideology), she can have a bit... strong opinions. Marriage? Wasting one's energy for "just a guy" (said when her daughter announces her engagement to her). Baptism? "Having your child sanctified by a bunch of HolierThanThou child molesters" (said in a church). Ah, and she insist that the whole family dines in a vegan restaurant despite, by June's words, "not even being a fucking vegan".
* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: Again downplayed, but she doesn't understand June's happiness with her editing job, marriage, and normal family life and compares her unfavourably to Moira, who is more involved in political action and resistance.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mark Tuello]]
->'''Played By''': Sam Jaeger

An intelligence agent for the Loyalist United States forces, operating out of Canada.
----

!!The Handmaids


!!Commanders of Gilead / Sons of Jacob

[[folder:Traits shared by Commanders]]

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: So far, the Republic of Gilead is an pariah state in the international community, with Europe shunning them for implementing an authoritarian regime that institutionalizes rape and the only countries willing to deal with them are their immediate neighbors Mexico and Canada. [[spoiler:In Season 2, Canada cuts off relations after several letters are released into the public showing how bad things are in Gilead]].
* AdaptationalVillainy: Zig-Zagged. In the original books, they were racist, sexist, homophobic, militarist, anti-science and just plain ANaziByAnyOtherName since they [[FinalSolution shipped off minorities to the Colonies to die painfully]]. The show omits the racism aspect by permitting racially-diverse residents within their republic, as well as featuring non-white Handmaids. They still retain their homophobia and ''amplify'' their misogyny by mutilating women like taking out their eyes, tongues, clitoris or fingers, something which was absent in the book.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: While the Sons of Jacob were analogous with several authoritarian regimes like Communist Romania and Fascist Italy for obsessively promoting birthrates, post-Revolution Iran and [[ANaziByAnyOtherName the most obvious one]], the show's version makes contemporary allusions depicting the Republic of Gilead as the Christian equivalent to the [[UsefulNotes/TheArabSpring Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]].
** Both are religious militaristic groups lead by Commanders/Emirs (the Arabic word for "Commander") that come into power in a moment of political disorder and gain control of large swathes of territories.
** They are in conflict with other denominations of their faith, outlawing other religions entirely with Gilead forces being shown demolishing a church, just like ISIL has blown up multiple mosques and shrines of figures revered in Islam.
** Both display a virulent hate for the female gender with ISIL becoming infamous for enshrining a theology of rape justifying enslaving Yazidi and Christian women for being "infidels", just like the Handmaid's program targets "fallen women" that committed adultery, prostitution or homosexuality. Even more galling is that other women were complicit in their abuse like the Wives and the so-called "jihadi brides" in real life, or the Aunts/the Al-Khansaa Brigade (an all-female group of ISIL fighters) responsible for policing and oppressing other women.
** They share a knack for cruel and unusual punishments towards dissidents, "gender traitors" (LGBTQ) and others like hangings and drownings, though Gilead's favorite method is shipping them off to the colonies so they can be worked to death or perish to radiation. One character gets hanged with a crane just like what ISIL does.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: In contrast to their book counterpart, they have no problem accepting non-whites into their ranks or employing non-white Handmaids. The [[PragmaticVillainy survival on the human race supersedes any notion of racism]] in their eyes.
* EvilIsSterile: Both literally and figuratively; as a society, Gilead is [[BrainDrain culturally stagnant]] since [[PersecutedIntellectuals intellectuals were targeted under their regime and the proliferation of knowledge is probably looked down upon]] to [[StayInTheKitchen not promote reading or writing among women]]. On a individual level, its heavily implied that most Commanders if not all of them are actually sterile since unlike other male characters, they were unable to beget children of their own.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: While Fred certainly qualifies as his personal flashbacks show him as a mild-mannered man before eventually becoming one of Gilead's architects, this trope extends to the Sons of Jacob as a whole being a group that started out as political activists that helped troubled youths before becoming a conspiracy faction that overthrew the USA government and established a militaristic, theocratic regime. As June deduces after piercing together past events:
-->'''June''': ''You were there. All the time. But no one noticed you.''
* HeteronormativeCrusader: Homosexuality or "gender treason" is punishable by death, which is considered a MercyKill. Lesbians are exempted so long as they can be used as Handmaids, but if anyone else (like "Marthas") is caught in the act, they are fair game.
* HidingBehindReligion: According to [[https://sojo.net/articles/margaret-atwood-christianity-handmaid-s-tale-and-what-faithful-activism-looks-today Margaret Atwood]], they are not "truly Christians and are interested only in power and control". Keen viewers can notice they never mention UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} by name, though [[QuoteMining they do occasionally Him out of context to twist it into their agenda]], nor do they have an actual clergy, priests or pastors on their side to legitimize them.
* HolierThanThou: Not only other religions are illegal, but all of Christendom might as well be considered heretical to them. Catholics are officially persecuted and its heavily implied that they are at war with other Protestants when you consider the South (which is heavily Baptist) is in revolt against the Republic of Gilead. Yet for all their blabbering about [[StraightEdgeEvil pure and modest lifestyles]] (even their own rape rituals with the Handmaidens aren't supposed to be pleasurable for either party), they have an state-sanctioned brothel which only high-ranking officials can enjoy.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Most of them are under impression that the rules they made themselves for the society don't apply to them. Committing "the sin of lust" and thinking nothing of it seems to be particularly common.
* TheFundamentalist: They follow a literal interpretation of the Old Testament to impose their laws.
* MadonnaWhoreComplex: But of course. Since sex is officially only meant to procreate, they are implied [[SexlessMarriage not to have it with their wives]] - which doesn't mean they won't visit Jezebel's. The Handmaids fall somewhere in the middle, as they are ''meant'' to be just wombs and the Wives view them that way... while the husbands often are under impression they got free sex toys.
* OneSteveLimit: Apparently, as the Handmaids' "names" after them seem to never repeat (unless one inherits a posting, obviously).
* PositiveDiscrimination: The only one of them mentioned to father a child without a Handmaid (read: [[LighterShadeOfBlack at least probably not a rapist]]) is black.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil:
** They legitimized a twisted variation of a MaritalRapeLicense by naming the coerced procreation act the Ceremony. They even discuss the Ceremony in terms of trying to make it sound appealing to their Wives: The process is designed to not be pleasurable for the ''rapist'' either, since its purpose is to impregnate the victim.
** As a result, all of them are assumed to be rapists (and the wives being accomplices) by the Handmaids, even though at least one of them is shown not to engage in a Ceremony.
** It's revealed that in the beginning of Gilead some families [[EvenEvilHasStandards didn't want to engage in Ceremonies]] and it was common enough that the leaders turned to [[RapeByProxy supervising them]]. As also the household members are obliged to 'report deviancy', think of it as an enforced and extended MaritalRapeLicense.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Flashbacks show they enjoyed some level of popularity when they started out by "helping kids out of gangs into better lives" and even had sympathizers among the government. By the time they have taken power, this is no longer the case.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: A few of them, at least initially, simply wanted to create a more peaceful America. Others had more violent ambitions for power, which led into the Sons of Jacob performing their coup.
* WesternTerrorists: Involved in the massacre of Congress, which they blamed on outside terrorists.


[[/folder]]



[[folder:Commander Warren Putnam]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_warren.png]]
->'''Played By:''' Stephen Kunken

Another Commander. Husband of Naomi.

* AnArmAndALeg: Has a hand amputated after Janine's suicide attempt.
* EasilyForgiven: Other than the loss of his arm, he doesn't seem to suffer any other negative consequences for his treatment of Janine and is frequently seen in positions of power afterwards.
* {{Foil}}: Similarly to the Waterfords, with his wife. She is abrasive toward her Handmaid, he plays nice to use Janine for sex. [[DrivenToSuicide The results are also similar to the Waterfords' and the first Offred.]]
%% * {{Gaslighting}}: Does this in spades to the already unstable Janine.
* MeaningfulName: In Arthur Miller's ''Theatre/TheCrucible'', Thomas Putnam is a greedy man who abuses the Bible by getting his daughter to accuse people of witchcraft so he can obtain their property. Meanwhile his wife, Ann Putnam, is unstable from having lost seven infant children.
* VillainousCrush: Similar to Waterford's relationship with June, Putnam may have hots for Janine for real. He made her sleep with her outside of the ceremony and perform other sexual acts (like blow jobs), which is forbidden in Gilead.

[[folder:High Commander George Winslow]]

->'''Played By''': Creator/ChristopherMeloni

A high-ranking commander from Washington who takes a special interest in Fred Waterford.

* AmoralAttorney: Used to be a corporate lawyer before Gilead, now is part of a horrific and murderous system.
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Stabbed and bludgeoned to death by June when he tries to rape her at Jezebel's.]]
* CorruptPolitician: He has numerous children, but still continues to rape a Handmaid monthly for more. Lampshaded by Rita, who says that his high status allows him to flaunt the rules that other Commanders must follow.
* DepravedBisexual: Downplayed but hinted at. "Depraved" by virtue of the culture of Gilead.
* {{Greed}}: From the perspective of Fred and Serena, at least. He and his wife have an unusually high number of children, more than any of the main characters have ever seen in Gilead, but he still keeps a Handmaid.
* DotingParent: Compared to other onscreen Commanders who don't seem involved in their children's lives, he is very affectionate to his numerous (stolen) children. Even June can't help to smile at his paternal side before it sinks in that he essentially hoards kidnapped children.
* HomoeroticSubtext: Quite a bit towards Fred.
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:June perforates his lung with the very pen that created Gilead's laws.]]
* {{Lust}}: His FatalFlaw. He continues to rape a handmaid monthly even though he already has six children, and is shown to frequent Jezebel's. In fact, it's his [[spoiler: desire to rape June that leads to his death.]]
* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler: His death is ultimately concealed by the Marthas at Jezebel's- [[DisposingOfABody the blood stains bleached from the carpet, the sheets and his body both thrown into an enormous incinerator]]. They do such a good job, Gilead's leadership believes he is secretly being held in the same prison with Fred Waterford.]]
* NotHelpingYourCase: [[spoiler: [[IHaveAFamily Begging for his life for the sake of his stolen children]] probably wasn't the best thing to say to a MamaBear like June]].
* OpportunisticBastard: When Fred comes to Washington to film propaganda videos and put pressure on Canada for baby Nichole's return, George goes all in and gives Fred everything he wants- including a Handmaid March on the National Mall. Just one little string attached: [[spoiler: George doesn't ''want'' Nichole to come back. He's using this theater to put pressure on the Canadians to expel all of the American refugees back to Gilead- something he's been working on but making no progress toward for a long time.]]
* RedHerring: You'd think something bigger is going to come out of his homoeroticism-filled cooperation with Fred, possibly leading to one of the men's undoing. [[spoiler: They go down in the same episode but in completely unrelated circumstances, Winslow killed by June in Jezebel's and Fred betrayed by Serena and arrested by Canadian's officials.]]
* WeHardlyKnewYe: After much build-up as the BigBad of the third season, [[spoiler:he gets unceremoniously killed off by June in the third to last episode.]]
* YourCheatingHeart: He hangs out at Jezebel's.

[[folder:Commander Matthew Calhoun]]
->'''Played By''': Jonathan Watton

A young commander introduced in Season 3, and is a member of the War Council for Gilead. Has a pregnant handmaid in Natalie.

* AMillionIsAStatistic: Does not care about the women captured in Chicago and prefers to send them to the Colonies where he thinks they would be useful, knowing full well that these women will slowly die there.
* {{Warhawk}}: Very gung ho about the war effort against the resistance and wants to retaliate against Canada after Commander Waterford is captured and High Commander Winslow disappears.

!!Wives of Gilead


[[folder:Naomi Putnam]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_naomi_putnam.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Ever Carradine

The snide Wife of Commander Warren Putnam.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: She is part of the group of Wives who joins Serena in asking the Commanders to make an exception for the Bible to the ban on women reading. She backs off when she sees that Serena begins to read, but the impulse to [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes protect her adoptive daughter]] was there.
* {{Foil}}: Similarly to the Waterfords, with her husband. She is abrasive toward her Handmaid, he plays nice to use Janine for sex. [[DrivenToSuicide The results are also similar to the Waterfords' and the first Offred.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: She's one of the most vapid and shallow Commanders' Wives seen so far.
* {{Jerkass}}: She's even bitchier than Serena, believe it or not, and is often quite rude to Serena's face. Mostly in a maddeningly passive-aggressive way, to boot.
* LackOfEmpathy: Oddly enough, whereas Serena Joy betrays bits of (mostly hollow) empathy for June's pain, Naomi gives none to her Handmaid.
* ManipulativeBastard: She approaches the Commanders after it is discovered that Commander Putnam was carrying on an affair with Ofwarren/Janine outside the allowed "Ceremony" and requests they execute the harshest possible punishment they can under the pretense of "saving" him from "damnation," but in reality she only does it to exact revenge for being cuckolded.
* MeaninglessVillainVictory: She gets Charlotte/Angela from Janine, but she actually doesn't know how to care for her and does not appreciate the miracle that a healthy baby is in their society.
* PetTheDog: Of course, on conditions that things are done for her but she has a few sincere moments.
** Begrudgingly lets Janine say goodbye to [[spoiler: a dying Charlotte]], though it's likely out of deference for her husband.
** Then played straight when she does let Janine hold Charlotte in gratitude for Janine saving the baby.
** She also thanks June for helping the baby.
* RealityEnsues: Who would've thought that the woman who was an enthusiastic participant in Gilead wouldn't magically turn into an emphatic or caring mother?
* SpannerInTheWorks: Her admonishment to Serena Joy is one of the final turning points where Serena Joy accepts that there's something going on between Commander Waterford and June.
* TookALevelInKindness: A small one as of Season 3, which shows her actually being generous to the Handmaids and showing gratitude to June and Janine.
* UngratefulBitch: Has zero regard for her Handmaid Ofwarren/Janine, despite the fact that the poor girl is forced to give birth, then surrender her own daughter to Naomi's custody. She mellows a bit on that on the conditions that Janine does save her baby's life.
* WomanScorned: She manipulates the Commanders to amputate her husband's right hand in order to punish him for cheating on her with a Handmaid.

[[folder:Eleanor Lawrence]]

The wife of Lawrence and the love of his life.
-----
* TheAtoner: Being that she is a Wife in Gilead, it's unknown what role she played in Gilead's early design, but she is vocal about her opposition of the Colonies to Emily.
* BrokenBird
* CloudCuckoolander: One day out in public in Gilead and it is evident why Lawrence keeps her under wraps.
* [[spoiler:DrivenToSuicide: One interpretation of her sleeping pill overdose.]]
* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler: A chilling one when June kisses Eleanor on the forehead when she leaves Eleanor to die by overdosage.]]
* {{Foil}}: To the Wives. Other than being kept in recluse due to her socially unacceptable behavior, exasperated by the lack of bipolar medication in Gilead, she lacks the sanctimony of the other Wives. Like other Wives, she did desire children but she also has a full grip of how terrible Gilead is and never tries to procure children for herself. She is a more active ally to her Handmaid June and tries to help her see Hannah. She also tries to speak out against her husband's part in Gilead's design.
* MadwomanInTheAttic: The way Lawrence keeps her out of sight upstairs is reminiscent of this trope.
* MoralityPet: If you want Lawrence to do something good, the best way is to convince him that it'll benefit Eleanor.
* SecretKeeper: There are issues with whether she's mentally competent enough to not blurt anything, thus why Lawrence often keeps her away from visitors like Aunt Lydia. But she's wary about the rebellion operations in her husband's household. Later on, when her medication runs out, this is averted in full display when she nearly blurts out June's plan to Mrs. Putnam and Mrs. Winslow, but the two wives appear to be oblivious to what is happening. [[spoiler: This liability ultimately is what makes June not help Eleanor when she is in the middle of an overdose.]]
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Played with. [[spoiler: Her overzealousness in saving one more child, accommodating everyone oppressed in Gilead in ways inconvenient to the secrecy of the children rescue mission, has June leaving her to die by pill overdose.]]


[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mrs. O'Conner]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marisa_tomei_handmaids_tale.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/MarisaTomei

A Wife who ends up in the Colonies by committing the "sins of the flesh."

* AsTheGoodBookSays: She is fiercely religious and quotes verses from the Bible. She has a strong belief that God and her faith will save her.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: She supported the rise of the fundamentalist regime of Gilead and ended up being forced to share her husband with another woman. As a result of feeling neglected and unloved, she has an affair, is discovered and sent to die a slow, agonizing death in the colonies.
* DeadStarWalking: Creator/MarisaTomei is more famous than a lot of the regulars, and she only survives for a single episode.
* TheFool: Her romantic outlook on life is borderline delusional, and she is hopelessly out of her league in her new environment.
* FoolForLove: She must have surely known the punishment for sins of the flesh, but she still risked having an affair because she fell in love.
* NaiveNewcomer: She has no idea what awaits her in the colonies.
* ObliviouslyEvil: In Emily's opinion, her role as a Gilead Wife automatically makes her this.

[[folder:Mrs. [=McKenzie=] ]]

The wife of Commander [=McKenzie=]. She and her husband are Hannah's new parents.

* AbusiveParents: The Commander and Wife to whom June and Luke's daughter Hannah was assigned to have physically punished their 'daughter' "only twice", according to their Martha. By Gilead standards, it's no doubt a correct Biblical way to bring up children. By modern standards held by most viewers, it's abuse, plain and simple.
* AntiVillain: She comes off as one of the kinder Wives we've seen thus far, given that she's at least ''somewhat'' sympathetic to June's situation, and is explicitly stated to have been a charitable person who fed homeless children in pre-Gilead times.
* JerkassHasAPoint: She may be a jerk, but she's right in trying to convince June that all attempts to see Hannah may end up badly, and for one of her Marthas, it does.
* NonIdleRich: According to Commander Lawrence, she is a perfectly suitable mother to Hannah, having used her free time pre-Gilead to feed orphaned children in Africa.
* PetTheDog: She gives the information-starved June a few precious details about Hannah's life, and it serves to reassure her that her daughter is being well taken care of.

[[folder:Olivia Winslow]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/ElizabethReaser

The friendly wife of High Commander Winslow, she and her husband are introduced as the Washington D.C hosts of Fred and Serena Waterford. She wants to convince Serena to move to Washington.

* AffablyEvil: She looks sweet and fun at first. And then you see her Handmaid. And then you see her walking through the abandoned mansion of a family who was victimized by Gilead as if she was a realtor trying to sell the place to Serena, completely apathetic to the terrifying fate of the previous occupants.
** When she is tearfully praying with Mrs. Putnam and Mrs. Lawrence, June offers her sympathies (although mostly to cover up for Mrs. Lawrence's erratic statements) and Olivia coldly ''orders'' her to pray for the safe return of her husband.
* AmoralAttorney: She was a corporate lawyer before Gilead, and she acclimatized perfectly in the country's new, murderous regime.
* CareerVersusMan: She confesses to Serena that her book helped her a great deal decide herself in favor of starting a family with her husband.
* CheatingWithTheMilkman: Or the armed guards, in this case. During a party in Washington, Olivia and the other Wives let Serena know that they're sleeping around with the young, hunky guards while their husbands are running an evil theocratic regime- apparently it's a normal practice and they invite Serena to enjoy the "benefits" of living in Washington.
* LackOfEmpathy: Especially obvious when she is showing Serena around an abandoned mansion, which still contained the belongings of the previous inhabitants (including children). Olivia cheerfully tries to convince Serena to move into the mansion, sparing no thought for the family whose life was destroyed by Gilead. The whole scene is reminiscent of an incident where the infamous Nazi-sympathizer Unity Mitford entered an apartment she was given by the Nazis and started making comments about replacing the drapes... with the original, Jewish inhabitants crying right there in the living room as they were being forced to leave (God knows towards what fate).
* LaserGuidedKarma: After her husband [[spoiler: disappears]], she is distraught and fears that her many (stolen) children will be taken away from her. It's very satisfying to see her so desperate, especially after she haughtily orders June to pray for her husband.
* ObliviouslyEvil: When asked who the six multiracial children living in their house belong to, she smiles brightly and says “Who else’s would they be?”

!!Eyes of Gilead


!!Guardians
[[folder:Isaac]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_isaac.png]]
->'''Played by''': Rohan Mead

A young guardian assigned to the Waterford house in the second season.

* AlasPoorVillain: Despite him crudely treating women previously, his death is seen in a more sympathetic light, especially for both Serena and June.
* DefiantToTheEnd: He remains wordless and unrepentant during his execution.
* DrunkWithPower: When the Waterfords go to Canada, he is left in charge and it goes to his head. Other than Eden, he treats the women at the household with disdain, orders June and Janine to stop talking, and clocks Janine when she acts out.
* ImprobableAge: He's around 20. Rita comments how he is so young but he's still in charge over her and everyone else in the house, when the Waterfords are away.
--> '''Rita:''' That boy downstairs is maybe 20 years old.\
And he can tell me to do anything.\
He could break my jaw, and no one would say boo.
* StarCrossedLovers: Falls in love with Eden who reciprocates, but she is married to an older guy. Given the CrapsackWorld they live in, it ends badly for them.
* ThroughHisStomach: [[spoiler:His flirtation with Eden involve him enjoying the food she cooks.]]
* WouldHitAGirl: He hits Janine with his gun when she talks back to him.

!!Marthas

[[folder:Beth]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_beth.png]]
->'''Played By''': Kristen Gutoskie

A Contact in which Nick used to have sexual relations with. She was a Martha who works at the kitchens in Jezebel's, but now works for Commander Lawrence, presumably as a member of the resistance.

* ChildfreeIsNotAllowed: She is considered a "sinner" because she had her tubes tied.
* DeadpanSnarker: She has a sarcastic and friendly disposition towards Nick.
* FriendsWithBenefits: Though Nick forgoes sex with her during his affair with June.
* ShipperOnDeck: She's never met June in Season 1, so she good-naturedly teases Nick about his affair. It's unknown if she knows June is the same woman Nick had talked about previously.
* TheInformant: She provides information to Nick in exchange for illicit products, such as alcohol, prescription drugs and pregnancy tests. It's assumed that she is still in this role in Commander Lawrence's household.

!!Aunts

[[folder: In General]]

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Aunts wear brown garbs.
* TheQuisling: Aunts enjoy certain privileges within the Gilead regime such as being allowed to read.

!!Others

[[folder:Hannah Bankole/Agnes Mackenzie]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_hannah.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Jordana Blake

June and Luke's daughter, born before the rise of Gilead. At the start of the series, she was taken from her parents while trying to flee Gilead and placed with the Mackenzie family where she is given the name Agnes.

* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: The Commander and Wife she was assigned to have physically punished her, "only twice".]]
* DefrostingIceQueen: [[spoiler: Due to the trauma of separation, she can barely bring herself to acknowledge June when they're briefly and secretly reunited, having accepted her new parents and resented her mother for not 'trying hard enough' to find her, but she eventually breaks down crying and calls her Mommy.]]
* DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff: The Martha from their household says to June that Hannah/Agnes was physically punished by her new parents "only twice". With all their obsession with Biblical allusions, "spare the rod" is very likely presented as the correct parental discipline and beneficial to children.
* FeminineWomenCanCook: Mrs. [=McKenzie=] says to June that she (Hannah/Agnes) is actually quite a good cook. One of the few things girls in Gilead are allowed to learn and a properly feminine hobby for daughters. June is delighted to hear it because Luke cooks.
* MeaningfulRename: After her forced adoption, her new parents have renamed her 'Agnes', presumably to erase her connection to her 'sinful' parents.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: She was never referred to by name in the novel, presumably because Offred wanted to protect her identity.
* PutOnABus: Due to Ofmatthew's treachery, the entire Mackenzie family is relocated and no one, including June or Commander Lawrence knows where they are.
* RaceLift: In the novel, she is described as being blonde, whereas in the series she is biracial.
* TextileWorkIsFeminine: Her "adoptive mother" says that she likes to sew, but that she's not very good at it. Sewing and other textile work is one of the few things daughters are allowed to learn and pursue as it's perceived as a properly feminine interest.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Holly/Nichole Waterford]]

June and Nick's daughter, conceived and born in Gilead. She now resides with Luke and Moira after Emily was able to smuggle her across the border.
----
* DeadGuyJunior: When she is born, June names her Holly, after her mother.
* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Against many odds, she survives being submerged in cold water while Emily crosses a river to reach Canada.
* MeaningfulRename: June names her Holly upon her birth, but when Serena claims her for herself, she is given the name Nichole. As a nod to Serena allowing Holly to escape, June tells Emily (who is taking her to Canada) to call her Nichole as well. Even with Luke knowing her real name and parentage later on, both Luke and Moira continue to call the baby Nichole.
* {{Protectorate}}: Both Moira and Luke act as MamaBear and PapaWolf to Holly/Nichole while she is in Canada
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Variation. She doesn't do anything, given that she is a baby. But her very existence is what drives the plot in Season 3 where High Commander Winslow wants to use her as a tool to force Canada to deport all Gilead refugees, while Serena goes behind the scenes to try to get back together with Nichole.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eden Blaine (nee Spencer)]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_eden.png]]
->'''Played By''': Sydney Sweeney

A 15-year-old Econowife (forcibly) assigned to Nick.
----

* ArrangedMarriage: Gilead pawns her off as Nick's new wife.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Poor Eden doesn't seem to realize how awful Gilead is and is molded to believe it's 100% dutiful.
* DefiantToTheEnd: Despite being hugely brainwashed to obey Gilead, [[spoiler:she grows disillusioned enough with her marriage to try to defy Gilead when she falls in love with a more age-appropriate boy. At her execution, [[DyingMomentOfAwesome she does not renounce her sin but simply recites a Biblical verse.]]]]
* HiddenDepths: June finds a heavily annotated Bible among her personal belongings, suggesting that Eden did not buy into Gilead's doctrine to the extent that she appeared to - specifically, she was reading (which Gilead does not permit for women) and trying to understand or analyse the Bible beyond what Gilead teaches.
* ILetGwenStacyDie: [[spoiler: Eden's execution weighs pretty heavily on Serena Joy, seemingly convincing her that Gilead is not safe even for the most obedient and True-Believing of girls. This helps facilitate her HeelFaceTurn and specifically, her decision to let June escape with baby Nichole.]]
* MalMariee: Mal Mariée means "badly married" and it refers to a young girl unhappily married to an old guy. 15-year-old Eden is forcibly assigned to marry Nick Blaine. Nick is in love with June who are both in their thirties. Eden tries to make the marriage work, but Nick's not interested in her, which she takes hard. She soon falls in love with guardian Isaac who is about her age. In a twist, she's exasperated that Nick is not jealous at all and angry that he doesn't even care she kissed another man. After chatting with June, who advises her to grab whatever chance at happiness she has in their crapsack world, Eden and Isaac run away. They are caught [[spoiler: and executed — Eden for infidelity, Isaac for desertion.]]
* MoralityPet:
** Despite his cruel nature, Isaac comes to love Eden and tries to elope with her. [[spoiler: But they both get caught and tragically die.]]
** Serena Joy, as awful as she may be, tries to look out for Eden, [[spoiler: and Eden's execution weighs heavily on her]].
* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:She is executed for infidelity after running away with Isaac.]]
* UnwantedSpouse: To Nick, he doesn't want their ForcedMarriage and is not interested in her. Eden tries to be nice to him and make it work for some time.
* WomanScorned: She comes to resent Nick's avoidance of her and neglect of their marriage, and picks up on his attraction to June.
* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler: Nick catches her kissing Isaac. She immediately runs to him begging forgiveness, but becomes upset with him when he tells her that he doesn't care.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Holly Maddox]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_cherry_jones.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Cherry Jones

June's feminist mother. She was a doctor (possibly an Obstetrician) before the Gilead takeover.
----

* AFateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: When Aunt Lydia is showing the handmaids photos in the Red Centre, June and Moira see one of her in the Colonies.]]
* CoolOldLady: Blasts 'Hollaback Girl' by Gwen Stefani whilst riding in June's car with her feet on the dash.
* ItsASmallWorldAfterAll: Dr. Yates, an Obstetrician in Gilead, claims he knows Dr. Maddox but it may be purely based on reputation. This does make the implication that Holly is an obstetrician herself based on this.
* ParentalMarriageVeto: Downplayed, but she seriously disapproved of June marrying Luke.
* SoapboxSadie: While her feminist views are portrayed rather sympatethically (and as the polar opposite of Gilead's ideology), she can have a bit... strong opinions. Marriage? Wasting one's energy for "just a guy" (said when her daughter announces her engagement to her). Baptism? "Having your child sanctified by a bunch of HolierThanThou child molesters" (said in a church). Ah, and she insist that the whole family dines in a vegan restaurant despite, by June's words, "not even being a fucking vegan".
* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: Again downplayed, but she doesn't understand June's happiness with her editing job, marriage, and normal family life and compares her unfavourably to Moira, who is more involved in political action and resistance.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mark Tuello]]
->'''Played By''': Sam Jaeger

An intelligence agent for the Loyalist United States forces, operating out of Canada.
----

[[folder:Tropes shared by the Handmaids]]
* BabyFactory: Their own purpose in life is to give birth to more children, whether [[RapeAsDrama they like it or not]].
* BrokenBird: All of them are this by default, considering the kind of crap they are forced to endure. Some find better ways to cope, but they are still this at their core.
* ColorMotif: Red.
* DubNameChange: Due to their Handmaid names being "of-[Commander's name]," their names change accordingly for foreign language dubs. For example, Offred ("of-Fred") becomes Defred in Spanish.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Even though they live in relative luxury, the life of an handmaid is nothing short of a hellish and miserable experience: on top of having all your civil rights stripped like all women, you also lose your ties to your past, identity and name being referred to as whoever owns you, reduced to a BabyFactory whose only purpose in life is being raped and give birth to children for your master. And when no longer of use (whether by being too rebellious, growing old or infertile), then its off to the Colonies to die a slow and painful death. It is no wonder that a number of Handmaids [[DrivenToSuicide attempt suicide to escape this wretched life]] like Offred's predecessor, [[spoiler:Janine and June herself (though both survive)]] and even some econowives like Heather say she'd sooner die than become one. [[spoiler:Tragically, she is turned into a Handmaid after they found out she is a mother (therefore fertile) and her husband helped June escape]]. The only thing comparable to being a Handmaid is becoming a [[SexSlave Jezebel]], whose purpose is to provide pleasure rather than children.
* FireForgedFriends: Even Handmaids who have clashing personalities genuinely care for and look out for each other, because they have no one else in Gilead.
* LadyInRed: Played completely for drama. They wear red because it symbolizes fertility and establishes them as breeding stock. And while their fully concealing garments aren't supposed to be titillating, some male perverts have fetishes for the Handmaids in-universe.
* MadeASlave: They are selected for their fertility and if, in pre-takeover society, they were divorced, married to divorced men or were single—same-sex relationships aren't acknowledged—or in a same-sex relationship. If they happen to be fertile and, in the [[StealthPun Eyes of Gilead]], sinful, they are eligible to become a Handmaid.
* RapeAsRedemption: In pre-takeover society, they were "fallen women" that committed illicit relationships, were divorced or lesbian. Gilead justifies "redeeming" into "proper women" by turning them into breeding slaves.
* SanitySlippage: All of them. To varying extents, but still -- ''all of them''.

[[folder:Lillie Fuller/The Second Ofglen]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_tatiana.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Tattiawna Jones

The ReplacementGoldfish of the last Ofglen. A former drug-addicted prostitute.

* DeathByIrony: Her targets. [[spoiler: Gilead removed her tongue for speaking out. In her final scene, she shows up during a public speech, clad in a suicide vest. She has one of the loudest retributions of any of the characters in the story so far.]]
* DyingMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler:As distasteful as it might be to label a suicide bombing as one, her wiping out Gilead's entire upper government in one fell swoop is simply jaw-dropping.]]
* {{Foil}}: To her predecessor, the rebellious Emily, who plays piety to hide her subversive activities, while this Ofglen plays pious as an act of self-preservation.
* GreenEyedMonster: Downplayed. She can't stop musing - rationalizing - that Janine/Ofdaniel has it all better when the the latter had been re-stationed to a wealthier, "nicer" Commander, showing how Gilead wields twisted exaltation to turn Handmaids against one another. This doesn't stop her from [[spoiler: being protective of Janine at her stoning]].
* HappinessInSlavery:
** Her reasons for snatching June away from interacting with Emily. She had a worse life in the Before and this life in Gilead seems better by comparison, so she wants to protect her life and play the pious rule-abider. Though it's also up to interpretation whether she really thinks this way.
** Her delight at being permitted to the fancy dinner with the Mexican ambassador indicates that she enjoys whatever privilege chances her way due to her position.
** Her [[spoiler: vocal way of refusing to stone Janine suggest she has [[EveryoneHasStandards limits]] over how much she can follow Gilead.]]
** CharacterisationMarchesOn: After [[spoiler:her tongue is pulled out]], she TookALevelInBadass and [[spoiler:carried out a suicide bombing to take out many of Gilead's commanders.]] In the end, [[spoiler:she dies fighting ''against'' Gilead.]]
* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Her way of pulling June away from talking to her traumatized friend may seem harsh, but she has no malice in doing so, as she's on survival mode in Gilead. She also seems genuinely protective of June over the driving incident and tries to offer June encouragement in the aftermath. Her camaraderie with her fellow Handmaids is also shown when she [[spoiler:stands up for Janine at her stoning]] and methodically [[spoiler: shows her fellow Handmaids her detonation button in order to warn them to run off before she dashes to suicide-bomb the room of Commanders.]]
* KickTheDog: Pulling June away from talking to Emily and then later scolding June for taking too long to walk to the Salvaging. It becomes evident that it's part of her survival mode.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: Although none of the Handmaids ever find out her name, it is revealed to the audience as [[spoiler:Lillie Fuller]].
* TheOldestProfession: In the Before era. This experience allows her to twist her current Handmaid station into something better.
* RecoveredAddict: Before Gilead she was a drug addict, but she is now clean, presumably due to the lack of availability of drugs in Gilead. Getting clean and having a place to live under the Gilead regime is part of the reason that she [[spoiler:initially, at least,]] does not care so much about fighting back and mostly keeps her head down and plays the pious true believer.
* TongueTrauma: Gets her tongue removed as punishment for standing up for Janine and for being particularly vocal about it.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Possibly. Her call-out of Aunt Lydia [[spoiler: and her subsequent beating at Janine's stoning help inspire Offred to drop her stone. Thus, this possibly leads to the moment where the Eyes, or Mayday, whisk Offred into a van to possible escape.]]
* VitriolicBestBuds: Due to the stress of Gilead's operations and limited time spent with June, the two don't really get along much, and their bickering is akin to two sisters feeling resentment for the other getting them into trouble. However, like sisters, they do truly care about one another, with [[spoiler: June feeling awful about her TongueTrauma and Ofglen trying to to pull June away from a danger zone]]. Later, [[spoiler: June wishes she knew Ofglen's name.]]

[[folder:Alma/Ofrobert]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_nina_kiri.png]]
->'''Played By''': Nina Kiri

A Handmaid June met at the Center, who occasionally chats with June during shopping trips.

* DeadpanSnarker: When out of the Eyes' earshot.
* LaResistance: Her involvement with Mayday is heavily implied by "A Women's Place" when she [[spoiler: asks June if she overheard talks of trade routes and dates regarding the trafficking of handmaids]]. And then confirmed when [[spoiler:June asks to join Mayday and gets tasked by Alma with returning to Jezebel's to receive a package.]]
* MissingChild: Season 3 reveals she has one before Gilead named Dylan. June decides to help get him out.

[[folder:Brianna/Oferic]]
->'''Played By''': Bahia Watson

Another Handmaid that June is friends with around the District.

* SpitefulSpit: Does this to Ofmatthew as retribution for her betrayal against June.

[[folder:The previous Offred]]

A handmaid in service to the Waterfords who committed suicide before the events of the series.

%% * DeathByDespair
* DrivenToSuicide: She was so desperate and unable to handle her position that she decided to kill herself. She hanged herself though Handmaids are usually monitored very closely and everyone tries to prevent this kind of escape.
* DueToTheDead: June finds a camaraderie with her. Part of what helps June to survive is to help cherish the last Offred's memory.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: We may not know her name and her only on-screen appearance is of her dead body, but the Latin phrase she carves in the closet wall offers inspiration for June.

[[folder:Natalie/Ofmatthew]]
->'''Played By''': Ashleigh [=LaThrop=]

June's new shopping partner in Season 3.

* AlasPoorVillain: While getting her comeuppance by being bullied by other Handmaids is well deserved, her [[spoiler:final breakdown and murderous rampage]] makes it clear that she's just another broken woman. June realizes she had been so harsh and apologizes to her comatose body.
* BrokenBird: Can be assumed from the beginning by the very fact she's a Handmaid, but she hides it well. Confirmed in the eposode 'Unfit' when [[spoiler:due to her stress with carrying a (supposedly) female child, being ostracized by her peers and finally publicly shamed under Aunt Lydia direction, she breaks completely and goes AxCrazy in the shopping centre]].
* DeathByChildbirth: A variation. Giving birth isn't what kills her (she was already brain dead after being shot in the previous episode) but she's kept alive artificially until her baby can be delivered and is taken off life support afterward.
* DueToTheDead: June comes to remind herself that Natalie went through a lot of suffering. [[spoiler: She apologizes to Natalie at her bedside and acknowledges her as a fighter.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While more brainwashed than really 'evil', she commits heinous acts under Aunt Lydia's influence. However even she expresses worries over her unborn daughter's future in [[NoWomansLand Gilead]]. When she snaps, she gets a choice between killing June or Lydia. Eventually she chooses Lydia.
* {{Foil}}:
** Like the late second Ofglen/Lillie, she's the pious kind of Handmaid, loyal to Gilead, much to June's irritation. Unlike the second Ofglen/Lillie, who made it clear to June she's just surviving and playing along, she seems well integrated into Gilead. [[spoiler:In reality though, she isn't, and she's as become as broken as Emily and Lillie, and her final act of FreakOut in the shopping centre bears resemblance to both Emily's 'joyride' and Lillie's bombing.]]
** To Janine, who is also deeply brainwashed into accepting her life in Gilead. Similarly, she also undergoes [[spoiler:the public shaming at the Red Centre which is the final step to destroy her sanity]].
** To most of the Handmaids, really. She never shares her name and unlike virtually all the others, she apparently acts piously not for self-preservation, but genuinely supports the system.
* GreenEyedMonster: Implied why she passive-aggressively mocks June. Having surrendered many children made it easy to resent June.
* HappinessInSlavery: Either is that good of an actress or really seems to be bought and sold into the Gilead doctrine.
* HiddenDepths: When we first hear her pious ramblings, it's easy to assume that she just doesn't know what she's talking about and the brutal reality will quickly kick in and open her eyes. Turns out that nope, she's already had three children in Gilead and supports the system ''fully knowing'' its dark sides.
* HumiliationConga: From the moment Ofmatthew informs on the Martha Frances, all of the other handmaids are cold to her, with one even spitting on her drink. It doesn't end there, with June throwing her under the bus by expressing Ofmatthew's concern of being pregnant, leading Lydia to put Ofmatthew in the circle of shame. And when June smirks at her in the supermarket, it causes her to snap and attack Janine, a Guard, and nearly kill Lydia before she is shot by the Guardians.
* {{Irony}}: She's worried about her pregnancy because she has a feeling the baby will be a girl, while her previous children were sons -- confessing this to June ultimately leads to her public shaming and VillainousBreakdown. The baby turns out to be a boy.
* KickTheDog:
** She goes off aloud about praying for baby Nichole/Holly's return to Gilead before June, mocking the latter about Luke's morality. She does backtrack and apologizes for this.
** Later she turns in [[spoiler:the [=McKenzies=]' Martha]] which results in the latter being executed.
* TheMole: She [[spoiler:is spying on June at Aunt Lydia's request. ]]
* LesCollaborateurs: Not only does Ofmatthew believe in the ideals of Gilead, it turns out [[spoiler: she's been informing on June at Aunt Lydia's request. It's her fault that June's attempt to save her daughter ended so badly and Hannah and the Mckenzies were relocated.]] She even admits to it in front of the other Handmaids- who shield June from onlookers as she [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown chokes the shit out of Ofmatthew.]]
* PetTheDog: This was after mocking June about Holly's safety, but she backtracks and notes she is glad June's child is safe.
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:After becoming a complete outcast among the other Handmaids for getting Hannah sent away, she ends up having a psychotic breakdown while shopping, killing a guard and taking his gun, and about to kill Lydia before the other guards gun her down. Rather chillingly, it seems June actually intended all of this.]]

!!Commanders of Gilead / Sons of Jacob

[[folder:Traits shared by Commanders]]

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: So far, the Republic of Gilead is an pariah state in the international community, with Europe shunning them for implementing an authoritarian regime that institutionalizes rape and the only countries willing to deal with them are their immediate neighbors Mexico and Canada. [[spoiler:In Season 2, Canada cuts off relations after several letters are released into the public showing how bad things are in Gilead]].
* AdaptationalVillainy: Zig-Zagged. In the original books, they were racist, sexist, homophobic, militarist, anti-science and just plain ANaziByAnyOtherName since they [[FinalSolution shipped off minorities to the Colonies to die painfully]]. The show omits the racism aspect by permitting racially-diverse residents within their republic, as well as featuring non-white Handmaids. They still retain their homophobia and ''amplify'' their misogyny by mutilating women like taking out their eyes, tongues, clitoris or fingers, something which was absent in the book.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: While the Sons of Jacob were analogous with several authoritarian regimes like Communist Romania and Fascist Italy for obsessively promoting birthrates, post-Revolution Iran and [[ANaziByAnyOtherName the most obvious one]], the show's version makes contemporary allusions depicting the Republic of Gilead as the Christian equivalent to the [[UsefulNotes/TheArabSpring Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]].
** Both are religious militaristic groups lead by Commanders/Emirs (the Arabic word for "Commander") that come into power in a moment of political disorder and gain control of large swathes of territories.
** They are in conflict with other denominations of their faith, outlawing other religions entirely with Gilead forces being shown demolishing a church, just like ISIL has blown up multiple mosques and shrines of figures revered in Islam.
** Both display a virulent hate for the female gender with ISIL becoming infamous for enshrining a theology of rape justifying enslaving Yazidi and Christian women for being "infidels", just like the Handmaid's program targets "fallen women" that committed adultery, prostitution or homosexuality. Even more galling is that other women were complicit in their abuse like the Wives and the so-called "jihadi brides" in real life, or the Aunts/the Al-Khansaa Brigade (an all-female group of ISIL fighters) responsible for policing and oppressing other women.
** They share a knack for cruel and unusual punishments towards dissidents, "gender traitors" (LGBTQ) and others like hangings and drownings, though Gilead's favorite method is shipping them off to the colonies so they can be worked to death or perish to radiation. One character gets hanged with a crane just like what ISIL does.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: In contrast to their book counterpart, they have no problem accepting non-whites into their ranks or employing non-white Handmaids. The [[PragmaticVillainy survival on the human race supersedes any notion of racism]] in their eyes.
* EvilIsSterile: Both literally and figuratively; as a society, Gilead is [[BrainDrain culturally stagnant]] since [[PersecutedIntellectuals intellectuals were targeted under their regime and the proliferation of knowledge is probably looked down upon]] to [[StayInTheKitchen not promote reading or writing among women]]. On a individual level, its heavily implied that most Commanders if not all of them are actually sterile since unlike other male characters, they were unable to beget children of their own.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: While Fred certainly qualifies as his personal flashbacks show him as a mild-mannered man before eventually becoming one of Gilead's architects, this trope extends to the Sons of Jacob as a whole being a group that started out as political activists that helped troubled youths before becoming a conspiracy faction that overthrew the USA government and established a militaristic, theocratic regime. As June deduces after piercing together past events:
-->'''June''': ''You were there. All the time. But no one noticed you.''
* HeteronormativeCrusader: Homosexuality or "gender treason" is punishable by death, which is considered a MercyKill. Lesbians are exempted so long as they can be used as Handmaids, but if anyone else (like "Marthas") is caught in the act, they are fair game.
* HidingBehindReligion: According to [[https://sojo.net/articles/margaret-atwood-christianity-handmaid-s-tale-and-what-faithful-activism-looks-today Margaret Atwood]], they are not "truly Christians and are interested only in power and control". Keen viewers can notice they never mention UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} by name, though [[QuoteMining they do occasionally Him out of context to twist it into their agenda]], nor do they have an actual clergy, priests or pastors on their side to legitimize them.
* HolierThanThou: Not only other religions are illegal, but all of Christendom might as well be considered heretical to them. Catholics are officially persecuted and its heavily implied that they are at war with other Protestants when you consider the South (which is heavily Baptist) is in revolt against the Republic of Gilead. Yet for all their blabbering about [[StraightEdgeEvil pure and modest lifestyles]] (even their own rape rituals with the Handmaidens aren't supposed to be pleasurable for either party), they have an state-sanctioned brothel which only high-ranking officials can enjoy.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Most of them are under impression that the rules they made themselves for the society don't apply to them. Committing "the sin of lust" and thinking nothing of it seems to be particularly common.
* TheFundamentalist: They follow a literal interpretation of the Old Testament to impose their laws.
* MadonnaWhoreComplex: But of course. Since sex is officially only meant to procreate, they are implied [[SexlessMarriage not to have it with their wives]] - which doesn't mean they won't visit Jezebel's. The Handmaids fall somewhere in the middle, as they are ''meant'' to be just wombs and the Wives view them that way... while the husbands often are under impression they got free sex toys.
* OneSteveLimit: Apparently, as the Handmaids' "names" after them seem to never repeat (unless one inherits a posting, obviously).
* PositiveDiscrimination: The only one of them mentioned to father a child without a Handmaid (read: [[LighterShadeOfBlack at least probably not a rapist]]) is black.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil:
** They legitimized a twisted variation of a MaritalRapeLicense by naming the coerced procreation act the Ceremony. They even discuss the Ceremony in terms of trying to make it sound appealing to their Wives: The process is designed to not be pleasurable for the ''rapist'' either, since its purpose is to impregnate the victim.
** As a result, all of them are assumed to be rapists (and the wives being accomplices) by the Handmaids, even though at least one of them is shown not to engage in a Ceremony.
** It's revealed that in the beginning of Gilead some families [[EvenEvilHasStandards didn't want to engage in Ceremonies]] and it was common enough that the leaders turned to [[RapeByProxy supervising them]]. As also the household members are obliged to 'report deviancy', think of it as an enforced and extended MaritalRapeLicense.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Flashbacks show they enjoyed some level of popularity when they started out by "helping kids out of gangs into better lives" and even had sympathizers among the government. By the time they have taken power, this is no longer the case.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: A few of them, at least initially, simply wanted to create a more peaceful America. Others had more violent ambitions for power, which led into the Sons of Jacob performing their coup.
* WesternTerrorists: Involved in the massacre of Congress, which they blamed on outside terrorists.

[[folder:Commander Warren Putnam]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_warren.png]]
->'''Played By:''' Stephen Kunken

Another Commander. Husband of Naomi.

* AnArmAndALeg: Has a hand amputated after Janine's suicide attempt.
* EasilyForgiven: Other than the loss of his arm, he doesn't seem to suffer any other negative consequences for his treatment of Janine and is frequently seen in positions of power afterwards.
* {{Foil}}: Similarly to the Waterfords, with his wife. She is abrasive toward her Handmaid, he plays nice to use Janine for sex. [[DrivenToSuicide The results are also similar to the Waterfords' and the first Offred.]]
%% * {{Gaslighting}}: Does this in spades to the already unstable Janine.
* MeaningfulName: In Arthur Miller's ''Theatre/TheCrucible'', Thomas Putnam is a greedy man who abuses the Bible by getting his daughter to accuse people of witchcraft so he can obtain their property. Meanwhile his wife, Ann Putnam, is unstable from having lost seven infant children.
* VillainousCrush: Similar to Waterford's relationship with June, Putnam may have hots for Janine for real. He made her sleep with her outside of the ceremony and perform other sexual acts (like blow jobs), which is forbidden in Gilead.

[[folder:High Commander George Winslow]]

->'''Played By''': Creator/ChristopherMeloni

A high-ranking commander from Washington who takes a special interest in Fred Waterford.

* AmoralAttorney: Used to be a corporate lawyer before Gilead, now is part of a horrific and murderous system.
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Stabbed and bludgeoned to death by June when he tries to rape her at Jezebel's.]]
* CorruptPolitician: He has numerous children, but still continues to rape a Handmaid monthly for more. Lampshaded by Rita, who says that his high status allows him to flaunt the rules that other Commanders must follow.
* DepravedBisexual: Downplayed but hinted at. "Depraved" by virtue of the culture of Gilead.
* {{Greed}}: From the perspective of Fred and Serena, at least. He and his wife have an unusually high number of children, more than any of the main characters have ever seen in Gilead, but he still keeps a Handmaid.
* DotingParent: Compared to other onscreen Commanders who don't seem involved in their children's lives, he is very affectionate to his numerous (stolen) children. Even June can't help to smile at his paternal side before it sinks in that he essentially hoards kidnapped children.
* HomoeroticSubtext: Quite a bit towards Fred.
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:June perforates his lung with the very pen that created Gilead's laws.]]
* {{Lust}}: His FatalFlaw. He continues to rape a handmaid monthly even though he already has six children, and is shown to frequent Jezebel's. In fact, it's his [[spoiler: desire to rape June that leads to his death.]]
* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler: His death is ultimately concealed by the Marthas at Jezebel's- [[DisposingOfABody the blood stains bleached from the carpet, the sheets and his body both thrown into an enormous incinerator]]. They do such a good job, Gilead's leadership believes he is secretly being held in the same prison with Fred Waterford.]]
* NotHelpingYourCase: [[spoiler: [[IHaveAFamily Begging for his life for the sake of his stolen children]] probably wasn't the best thing to say to a MamaBear like June]].
* OpportunisticBastard: When Fred comes to Washington to film propaganda videos and put pressure on Canada for baby Nichole's return, George goes all in and gives Fred everything he wants- including a Handmaid March on the National Mall. Just one little string attached: [[spoiler: George doesn't ''want'' Nichole to come back. He's using this theater to put pressure on the Canadians to expel all of the American refugees back to Gilead- something he's been working on but making no progress toward for a long time.]]
* RedHerring: You'd think something bigger is going to come out of his homoeroticism-filled cooperation with Fred, possibly leading to one of the men's undoing. [[spoiler: They go down in the same episode but in completely unrelated circumstances, Winslow killed by June in Jezebel's and Fred betrayed by Serena and arrested by Canadian's officials.]]
* WeHardlyKnewYe: After much build-up as the BigBad of the third season, [[spoiler:he gets unceremoniously killed off by June in the third to last episode.]]
* YourCheatingHeart: He hangs out at Jezebel's.

[[folder:Commander Matthew Calhoun]]
->'''Played By''': Jonathan Watton

A young commander introduced in Season 3, and is a member of the War Council for Gilead. Has a pregnant handmaid in Natalie.

* AMillionIsAStatistic: Does not care about the women captured in Chicago and prefers to send them to the Colonies where he thinks they would be useful, knowing full well that these women will slowly die there.
* {{Warhawk}}: Very gung ho about the war effort against the resistance and wants to retaliate against Canada after Commander Waterford is captured and High Commander Winslow disappears.

!!Wives of Gilead


[[folder:Naomi Putnam]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_naomi_putnam.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Ever Carradine

The snide Wife of Commander Warren Putnam.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: She is part of the group of Wives who joins Serena in asking the Commanders to make an exception for the Bible to the ban on women reading. She backs off when she sees that Serena begins to read, but the impulse to [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes protect her adoptive daughter]] was there.
* {{Foil}}: Similarly to the Waterfords, with her husband. She is abrasive toward her Handmaid, he plays nice to use Janine for sex. [[DrivenToSuicide The results are also similar to the Waterfords' and the first Offred.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: She's one of the most vapid and shallow Commanders' Wives seen so far.
* {{Jerkass}}: She's even bitchier than Serena, believe it or not, and is often quite rude to Serena's face. Mostly in a maddeningly passive-aggressive way, to boot.
* LackOfEmpathy: Oddly enough, whereas Serena Joy betrays bits of (mostly hollow) empathy for June's pain, Naomi gives none to her Handmaid.
* ManipulativeBastard: She approaches the Commanders after it is discovered that Commander Putnam was carrying on an affair with Ofwarren/Janine outside the allowed "Ceremony" and requests they execute the harshest possible punishment they can under the pretense of "saving" him from "damnation," but in reality she only does it to exact revenge for being cuckolded.
* MeaninglessVillainVictory: She gets Charlotte/Angela from Janine, but she actually doesn't know how to care for her and does not appreciate the miracle that a healthy baby is in their society.
* PetTheDog: Of course, on conditions that things are done for her but she has a few sincere moments.
** Begrudgingly lets Janine say goodbye to [[spoiler: a dying Charlotte]], though it's likely out of deference for her husband.
** Then played straight when she does let Janine hold Charlotte in gratitude for Janine saving the baby.
** She also thanks June for helping the baby.
* RealityEnsues: Who would've thought that the woman who was an enthusiastic participant in Gilead wouldn't magically turn into an emphatic or caring mother?
* SpannerInTheWorks: Her admonishment to Serena Joy is one of the final turning points where Serena Joy accepts that there's something going on between Commander Waterford and June.
* TookALevelInKindness: A small one as of Season 3, which shows her actually being generous to the Handmaids and showing gratitude to June and Janine.
* UngratefulBitch: Has zero regard for her Handmaid Ofwarren/Janine, despite the fact that the poor girl is forced to give birth, then surrender her own daughter to Naomi's custody. She mellows a bit on that on the conditions that Janine does save her baby's life.
* WomanScorned: She manipulates the Commanders to amputate her husband's right hand in order to punish him for cheating on her with a Handmaid.

[[folder:Eleanor Lawrence]]

The wife of Lawrence and the love of his life.
-----
* TheAtoner: Being that she is a Wife in Gilead, it's unknown what role she played in Gilead's early design, but she is vocal about her opposition of the Colonies to Emily.
* BrokenBird
* CloudCuckoolander: One day out in public in Gilead and it is evident why Lawrence keeps her under wraps.
* [[spoiler:DrivenToSuicide: One interpretation of her sleeping pill overdose.]]
* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler: A chilling one when June kisses Eleanor on the forehead when she leaves Eleanor to die by overdosage.]]
* {{Foil}}: To the Wives. Other than being kept in recluse due to her socially unacceptable behavior, exasperated by the lack of bipolar medication in Gilead, she lacks the sanctimony of the other Wives. Like other Wives, she did desire children but she also has a full grip of how terrible Gilead is and never tries to procure children for herself. She is a more active ally to her Handmaid June and tries to help her see Hannah. She also tries to speak out against her husband's part in Gilead's design.
* MadwomanInTheAttic: The way Lawrence keeps her out of sight upstairs is reminiscent of this trope.
* MoralityPet: If you want Lawrence to do something good, the best way is to convince him that it'll benefit Eleanor.
* SecretKeeper: There are issues with whether she's mentally competent enough to not blurt anything, thus why Lawrence often keeps her away from visitors like Aunt Lydia. But she's wary about the rebellion operations in her husband's household. Later on, when her medication runs out, this is averted in full display when she nearly blurts out June's plan to Mrs. Putnam and Mrs. Winslow, but the two wives appear to be oblivious to what is happening. [[spoiler: This liability ultimately is what makes June not help Eleanor when she is in the middle of an overdose.]]
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Played with. [[spoiler: Her overzealousness in saving one more child, accommodating everyone oppressed in Gilead in ways inconvenient to the secrecy of the children rescue mission, has June leaving her to die by pill overdose.]]

[[folder:Mrs. O'Conner]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marisa_tomei_handmaids_tale.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/MarisaTomei

A Wife who ends up in the Colonies by committing the "sins of the flesh."

* AsTheGoodBookSays: She is fiercely religious and quotes verses from the Bible. She has a strong belief that God and her faith will save her.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: She supported the rise of the fundamentalist regime of Gilead and ended up being forced to share her husband with another woman. As a result of feeling neglected and unloved, she has an affair, is discovered and sent to die a slow, agonizing death in the colonies.
* DeadStarWalking: Creator/MarisaTomei is more famous than a lot of the regulars, and she only survives for a single episode.
* TheFool: Her romantic outlook on life is borderline delusional, and she is hopelessly out of her league in her new environment.
* FoolForLove: She must have surely known the punishment for sins of the flesh, but she still risked having an affair because she fell in love.
* NaiveNewcomer: She has no idea what awaits her in the colonies.
* ObliviouslyEvil: In Emily's opinion, her role as a Gilead Wife automatically makes her this.

[[folder:Mrs. [=McKenzie=] ]]

The wife of Commander [=McKenzie=]. She and her husband are Hannah's new parents.

* AbusiveParents: The Commander and Wife to whom June and Luke's daughter Hannah was assigned to have physically punished their 'daughter' "only twice", according to their Martha. By Gilead standards, it's no doubt a correct Biblical way to bring up children. By modern standards held by most viewers, it's abuse, plain and simple.
* AntiVillain: She comes off as one of the kinder Wives we've seen thus far, given that she's at least ''somewhat'' sympathetic to June's situation, and is explicitly stated to have been a charitable person who fed homeless children in pre-Gilead times.
* JerkassHasAPoint: She may be a jerk, but she's right in trying to convince June that all attempts to see Hannah may end up badly, and for one of her Marthas, it does.
* NonIdleRich: According to Commander Lawrence, she is a perfectly suitable mother to Hannah, having used her free time pre-Gilead to feed orphaned children in Africa.
* PetTheDog: She gives the information-starved June a few precious details about Hannah's life, and it serves to reassure her that her daughter is being well taken care of.

[[folder:Olivia Winslow]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/ElizabethReaser

The friendly wife of High Commander Winslow, she and her husband are introduced as the Washington D.C hosts of Fred and Serena Waterford. She wants to convince Serena to move to Washington.

* AffablyEvil: She looks sweet and fun at first. And then you see her Handmaid. And then you see her walking through the abandoned mansion of a family who was victimized by Gilead as if she was a realtor trying to sell the place to Serena, completely apathetic to the terrifying fate of the previous occupants.
** When she is tearfully praying with Mrs. Putnam and Mrs. Lawrence, June offers her sympathies (although mostly to cover up for Mrs. Lawrence's erratic statements) and Olivia coldly ''orders'' her to pray for the safe return of her husband.
* AmoralAttorney: She was a corporate lawyer before Gilead, and she acclimatized perfectly in the country's new, murderous regime.
* CareerVersusMan: She confesses to Serena that her book helped her a great deal decide herself in favor of starting a family with her husband.
* CheatingWithTheMilkman: Or the armed guards, in this case. During a party in Washington, Olivia and the other Wives let Serena know that they're sleeping around with the young, hunky guards while their husbands are running an evil theocratic regime- apparently it's a normal practice and they invite Serena to enjoy the "benefits" of living in Washington.
* LackOfEmpathy: Especially obvious when she is showing Serena around an abandoned mansion, which still contained the belongings of the previous inhabitants (including children). Olivia cheerfully tries to convince Serena to move into the mansion, sparing no thought for the family whose life was destroyed by Gilead. The whole scene is reminiscent of an incident where the infamous Nazi-sympathizer Unity Mitford entered an apartment she was given by the Nazis and started making comments about replacing the drapes... with the original, Jewish inhabitants crying right there in the living room as they were being forced to leave (God knows towards what fate).
* LaserGuidedKarma: After her husband [[spoiler: disappears]], she is distraught and fears that her many (stolen) children will be taken away from her. It's very satisfying to see her so desperate, especially after she haughtily orders June to pray for her husband.
* ObliviouslyEvil: When asked who the six multiracial children living in their house belong to, she smiles brightly and says “Who else’s would they be?”

[[/folder]]

!!Eyes of Gilead


!!Guardians
[[folder:Isaac]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_isaac.png]]
->'''Played by''': Rohan Mead

A young guardian assigned to the Waterford house in the second season.
----
* AlasPoorVillain: Despite him crudely treating women previously, his death is seen in a more sympathetic light, especially for both Serena and June.
* DefiantToTheEnd: He remains wordless and unrepentant during his execution.
* DrunkWithPower: When the Waterfords go to Canada, he is left in charge and it goes to his head. Other than Eden, he treats the women at the household with disdain, orders June and Janine to stop talking, and clocks Janine when she acts out.
* ImprobableAge: He's around 20. Rita comments how he is so young but he's still in charge over her and everyone else in the house, when the Waterfords are away.
--> '''Rita:''' That boy downstairs is maybe 20 years old.\
And he can tell me to do anything.\
He could break my jaw, and no one would say boo.
* StarCrossedLovers: Falls in love with Eden who reciprocates, but she is married to an older guy. Given the CrapsackWorld they live in, it ends badly for them.
* ThroughHisStomach: [[spoiler:His flirtation with Eden involve him enjoying the food she cooks.]]
* WouldHitAGirl: He hits Janine with his gun when she talks back to him.
[[/folder]]

!!Marthas

[[folder:Beth]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_beth.png]]
->'''Played By''': Kristen Gutoskie

A Contact in which Nick used to have sexual relations with. She was a Martha who works at the kitchens in Jezebel's, but now works for Commander Lawrence, presumably as a member of the resistance.
----
* ChildfreeIsNotAllowed: She is considered a "sinner" because she had her tubes tied.
* DeadpanSnarker: She has a sarcastic and friendly disposition towards Nick.
* FriendsWithBenefits: Though Nick forgoes sex with her during his affair with June.
* ShipperOnDeck: She's never met June in Season 1, so she good-naturedly teases Nick about his affair. It's unknown if she knows June is the same woman Nick had talked about previously.
* TheInformant: She provides information to Nick in exchange for illicit products, such as alcohol, prescription drugs and pregnancy tests. It's assumed that she is still in this role in Commander Lawrence's household.
[[/folder]]

!!Aunts

[[folder: In General]]

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Aunts wear brown garbs.
* TheQuisling: Aunts enjoy certain privileges within the Gilead regime such as being allowed to read.

[[/folder]]

!!Others

[[folder:Hannah Bankole/Agnes Mackenzie]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_hannah.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Jordana Blake

June and Luke's daughter, born before the rise of Gilead. At the start of the series, she was taken from her parents while trying to flee Gilead and placed with the Mackenzie family where she is given the name Agnes.
----
* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: The Commander and Wife she was assigned to have physically punished her, "only twice".]]
* DefrostingIceQueen: [[spoiler: Due to the trauma of separation, she can barely bring herself to acknowledge June when they're briefly and secretly reunited, having accepted her new parents and resented her mother for not 'trying hard enough' to find her, but she eventually breaks down crying and calls her Mommy.]]
* DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff: The Martha from their household says to June that Hannah/Agnes was physically punished by her new parents "only twice". With all their obsession with Biblical allusions, "spare the rod" is very likely presented as the correct parental discipline and beneficial to children.
* FeminineWomenCanCook: Mrs. [=McKenzie=] says to June that she (Hannah/Agnes) is actually quite a good cook. One of the few things girls in Gilead are allowed to learn and a properly feminine hobby for daughters. June is delighted to hear it because Luke cooks.
* MeaningfulRename: After her forced adoption, her new parents have renamed her 'Agnes', presumably to erase her connection to her 'sinful' parents.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: She was never referred to by name in the novel, presumably because Offred wanted to protect her identity.
* PutOnABus: Due to Ofmatthew's treachery, the entire Mackenzie family is relocated and no one, including June or Commander Lawrence knows where they are.
* RaceLift: In the novel, she is described as being blonde, whereas in the series she is biracial.
* TextileWorkIsFeminine: Her "adoptive mother" says that she likes to sew, but that she's not very good at it. Sewing and other textile work is one of the few things daughters are allowed to learn and pursue as it's perceived as a properly feminine interest.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Holly/Nichole Waterford]]

June and Nick's daughter, conceived and born in Gilead. She now resides with Luke and Moira after Emily was able to smuggle her across the border.
----
* DeadGuyJunior: When she is born, June names her Holly, after her mother.
* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Against many odds, she survives being submerged in cold water while Emily crosses a river to reach Canada.
* MeaningfulRename: June names her Holly upon her birth, but when Serena claims her for herself, she is given the name Nichole. As a nod to Serena allowing Holly to escape, June tells Emily (who is taking her to Canada) to call her Nichole as well. Even with Luke knowing her real name and parentage later on, both Luke and Moira continue to call the baby Nichole.
* {{Protectorate}}: Both Moira and Luke act as MamaBear and PapaWolf to Holly/Nichole while she is in Canada
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Variation. She doesn't do anything, given that she is a baby. But her very existence is what drives the plot in Season 3 where High Commander Winslow wants to use her as a tool to force Canada to deport all Gilead refugees, while Serena goes behind the scenes to try to get back together with Nichole.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eden Blaine (nee Spencer)]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_eden.png]]
->'''Played By''': Sydney Sweeney

A 15-year-old Econowife (forcibly) assigned to Nick.
----

* ArrangedMarriage: Gilead pawns her off as Nick's new wife.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Poor Eden doesn't seem to realize how awful Gilead is and is molded to believe it's 100% dutiful.
* DefiantToTheEnd: Despite being hugely brainwashed to obey Gilead, [[spoiler:she grows disillusioned enough with her marriage to try to defy Gilead when she falls in love with a more age-appropriate boy. At her execution, [[DyingMomentOfAwesome she does not renounce her sin but simply recites a Biblical verse.]]]]
* HiddenDepths: June finds a heavily annotated Bible among her personal belongings, suggesting that Eden did not buy into Gilead's doctrine to the extent that she appeared to - specifically, she was reading (which Gilead does not permit for women) and trying to understand or analyse the Bible beyond what Gilead teaches.
* ILetGwenStacyDie: [[spoiler: Eden's execution weighs pretty heavily on Serena Joy, seemingly convincing her that Gilead is not safe even for the most obedient and True-Believing of girls. This helps facilitate her HeelFaceTurn and specifically, her decision to let June escape with baby Nichole.]]
* MalMariee: Mal Mariée means "badly married" and it refers to a young girl unhappily married to an old guy. 15-year-old Eden is forcibly assigned to marry Nick Blaine. Nick is in love with June who are both in their thirties. Eden tries to make the marriage work, but Nick's not interested in her, which she takes hard. She soon falls in love with guardian Isaac who is about her age. In a twist, she's exasperated that Nick is not jealous at all and angry that he doesn't even care she kissed another man. After chatting with June, who advises her to grab whatever chance at happiness she has in their crapsack world, Eden and Isaac run away. They are caught [[spoiler: and executed — Eden for infidelity, Isaac for desertion.]]
* MoralityPet:
** Despite his cruel nature, Isaac comes to love Eden and tries to elope with her. [[spoiler: But they both get caught and tragically die.]]
** Serena Joy, as awful as she may be, tries to look out for Eden, [[spoiler: and Eden's execution weighs heavily on her]].
* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:She is executed for infidelity after running away with Isaac.]]
* UnwantedSpouse: To Nick, he doesn't want their ForcedMarriage and is not interested in her. Eden tries to be nice to him and make it work for some time.
* WomanScorned: She comes to resent Nick's avoidance of her and neglect of their marriage, and picks up on his attraction to June.
* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler: Nick catches her kissing Isaac. She immediately runs to him begging forgiveness, but becomes upset with him when he tells her that he doesn't care.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Holly Maddox]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_cherry_jones.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Cherry Jones

June's feminist mother. She was a doctor (possibly an Obstetrician) before the Gilead takeover.
----

* AFateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: When Aunt Lydia is showing the handmaids photos in the Red Centre, June and Moira see one of her in the Colonies.]]
* CoolOldLady: Blasts 'Hollaback Girl' by Gwen Stefani whilst riding in June's car with her feet on the dash.
* ItsASmallWorldAfterAll: Dr. Yates, an Obstetrician in Gilead, claims he knows Dr. Maddox but it may be purely based on reputation. This does make the implication that Holly is an obstetrician herself based on this.
* ParentalMarriageVeto: Downplayed, but she seriously disapproved of June marrying Luke.
* SoapboxSadie: While her feminist views are portrayed rather sympatethically (and as the polar opposite of Gilead's ideology), she can have a bit... strong opinions. Marriage? Wasting one's energy for "just a guy" (said when her daughter announces her engagement to her). Baptism? "Having your child sanctified by a bunch of HolierThanThou child molesters" (said in a church). Ah, and she insist that the whole family dines in a vegan restaurant despite, by June's words, "not even being a fucking vegan".
* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: Again downplayed, but she doesn't understand June's happiness with her editing job, marriage, and normal family life and compares her unfavourably to Moira, who is more involved in political action and resistance.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mark Tuello]]
->'''Played By''': Sam Jaeger

An intelligence agent for the Loyalist United States forces, operating out of Canada.
----

[[folder:June Osborne/Offred/Ofjoseph]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elisabeth_moss_the_handmaids_tale_season_2.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/ElisabethMoss

The main protagonist, a former editor and mother of a young girl when Gilead took over the United States.

* ActionGirl: She graduates into one of these in Season 3, being an ActionSurvivor before this. [[spoiler:She finally has enough of Gilead and gets into a brutal fight with High Commander Winslow when he tries to rape her and is substantially more physically imposing than she is. Not only does she manage to get a number of good hits on him, she manages to kill him.]] By the end of the episode, Joseph gives her a gun, trusting her to be able to use it. [[spoiler:Which she does by faking out an Eye and shooting him. Twice.]]
* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:June spends the first half of season 2 attempting to escape Gilead, only to be caught and returned to the Waterfords from the "kidnappers". ]]
* AdaptationalHeroism: Notably in the book, due to the first person format, she betrayed an irrational irritation and envy toward Janine, despite knowing what she has gone through, to demonstrate the toxic effects of Gilead. In the series, she looks out for Janine as much as she can.
* AgonyOfTheFeet: At the Red Center, she has her feet whipped into a pulp [[spoiler:for helping Moira escape]].
%% * BadassBookworm
* BigSisterInstinct: She eventually develops a friendly, protective relationship towards Janine who has a less stable mind and is presumably younger than she is.
* DeadpanSnarker: June/Offred is much more sarcastic in the series than in the novel. She's mostly a FirstPersonSmartass or occasionally a ServileSnarker because if she badmouths anyone, she's gonna be punished by her 'masters' or by Aunts.
* DespairEventHorizon: In "[[Recap/TheHandmaidsTaleS2E4OtherWomen Other Women]]", June is [[spoiler:sent back to the Waterford House after she comes [[HopeSpot tantalizingly close to fully escaping Gilead]]. This along with learning of the horrific punishments which were delivered as the consequence of her recent defiant actions, such as Ofglen having her tongue removed, and Omar's execution and his family being split apart, deal a heavy blow to her quietly defiant spirit. Guilt-ridden and seemingly accepting of her lot, Offred prays for Hannah and herself to forget June, and at the end of the episode doesn't react when Nick refers to her by that name.]]
* {{Determinator}}: Among many other things, in [[spoiler:Holly, heavily pregnant, in early stages of labour June, tries so desperately to escape that she tries to break down a garage door with a car, and when that doesn't work, starts going at it with a shovel.]]
* DubNameChange: Called "Defred" in France and Spain, "Difred" in Italy, "Freda" in Poland and "Desfred" in Germany to reflect the grammatical pattern of genitive/possessive case.
* EarAche: [[spoiler:After Nick helps free her, she burns her Handmaid clothes and cuts her hair per his instructions, then goes a step further by cutting out the tag that was implanted in her ear.]]
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Goes down the same road Emily did before her. Although, rather than killing people herself [[spoiler:she resorts to contributing to Ofmatthew's breakdown to the point it becomes murderous.]]
* HappilyMarried: She was very happy with her husband Luke before Gilead took over and she was separated from him.
* MadeASlave: The premise of the series. She's a sexual slave whose purpose is to procreate with a member of the ruling class.
* TheMistress:
** She was Luke's mistress before he finally left his wife for her, which makes her position as a Handmaid even more bitterly ironic.
** Fred certainly sees June in this light.
** Technically becomes Nick's mistress after Nick is married off to Eden.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: In the novel, her name is heavily hinted to be June. The series confirms it.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Delivers one to Ofmatthew in Under His Eye when she admits to informing on June to Aunt Lydia.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: Bullies Ofmatthew into the RageBreakingPoint. And seems very pleased with herself when it leads to [[spoiler:Ofmatthew being killed]] (although it doesn't last).
* PlotArmor: While some of it can be explained away with Fred's obsession with her and her being pregnant during some period, it's still truly incredible that this woman managed to keep all of her body parts, while some of the other Handmaids ended up mutilated for committing less than 10% worth of her transgressions. This is even lampshaded by Aunt Lydia after June's failed attempt to retrieve Hannah; Lydia wanted June to be executed but the other aunts somehow disagreed, likely because of her history of being able to carry children.
* RaisedCatholic: In the first episode, she refers to a Catholic church that is being demolished as her "Dad's parish" and says that her daughter was baptized there. Her Catholic upbringing attributes to her knowledge of the Bible and the sincere prayers she gives to those who are fallen.
* RankUp: [[spoiler:In the Season 3 finale, she usurps command of the Boston rebels from Commander Lawrence, with him being reduced to one of her aides.]]
* SecularHero: A downplayed aversion. Gilead may have suppressed her Catholic faith, but she still calls out to God occasionally.
* TheUnfavorite: Aunt Lydia seems to especially despise June, due to her history of attempting escape and her "adultress" past with Luke. But Aunt Lydia enjoys torturing all the Handmaids because all of them are perceived as sinful for one thing or another.
* YourCheatingHeart:
** Prior to Gilead, she was not the cheater, but is stigmatized as an adultress because she was the "other woman" in a relationship with an already married man.
** This is played straight during her relationship with Nick. She confesses this to Luke on a tape smuggled out of Gilead.

[[folder:Dr. Emily Malek/Ofglen/Ofsteven/Ofroy/Ofjoseph]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alexis_bledel_handmaids_tale_costume_6.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/AlexisBledel

A fellow Handmaid assigned to be June shopping partner. She's also the second of three women to carry the title of Ofglen. At first June doesn't trust her and finds her to be a stickler for rules, but soon warms up to her as they share stories of their previous lives, finding out that Emily has quite the rebellious streak.

* AdaptationalSexuality: Is a lesbian in the series; her sexuality is not stated in the book.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: She's a genuinely good person, but she is ''ruthless'' against Gilead's higher-ups.
* CripplingCastration: [[spoiler: A rare female example. After it's discovered that she was married to a woman in the Before Era and being caught having an affair with a Martha, Emily is spared from death, but punished for her 'gender treachery' with a clitoridectomy.]] [[spoiler: Subverted later, when she makes it to a hospital in Canada which can build her a new one.]]
* TheDogBitesBack: After all her abuses that she has suffered in the first two seasons, she unleashes her fury on Aunt Lydia when the Aunt continues to demean her in her face.
* HappilyMarried: She was in a happy marriage with her wife before the coup. They have a son together named Oliver. Both her wife and Oliver made it to Canada because they had Canadian citizenship and passports.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler:In the Colonies, she meets a Wife who was caught having an affair after her husband had long been ignoring her in favor of their Handmaid. For a while it looks like she's formed an OddFriendship with this woman who's been newly introduced to the receiving end of the terrors she endorsed and the rejection of the rest of the prisoners, but she's actually setting her up for a slow, painful death by poison, and then sets up the body as if crucified.]]
* MadeASlave: Used to be a college professor who taught cellular biology, then shes forced to become a BreedingSlave.
* MuggingTheMonster: Heroic retribution variety. The abuse Gilead heaps on her becomes this. When she gets the weird distant look, someone is likely to die very gruesomely. She crushes a guard’s head, kills a commander's wife, and even [[spoiler: shanks Aunt Lydia and knocks her down some stairs in a very brutal fashion.]]
* NamedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler: Emily.]]
* NerdGlasses: Seen wearing a pair in her flashbacks to her pre-Gilead life as a professor. She gets them again after she escapes to Canada.
* PlotArmor: Maybe even thicker than June's. Emily has killed a few guards, and suffered what's later revealed to be a reversible mutilation. She's sent off to the colonies, only for sheer luck to bring her back to the Handmaids before the pollution killed her. She's able to get away with maybe poisoning a few commanders. Then she [[spoiler: shanks the head aunt, and drops her down a staircase. The aunt survives, and Emily is whisked off to Canada before Gilead can gut her.]]
* ReplacementGoldfish: The second Ofglen, who inherits the same name and acts like it's always belonged to her when June asks her about Ofglen.
* LaResistance: She's involved with the secret organization that tries to bring Gilead's regime down. She gets eventually booted out of it due to her recent arrest and stricter surveillance on her behavior.
* ShellShockedVeteran: After escaping into Canada, her horrific life in Gilead combined with the resulting [=PTSD=] makes it very difficult for her to adjust to life as a free woman. She even has extreme difficulty in calling her wife to let her know she is safe.
* SparedByAdaptation: In the book she hangs herself, but in the series she is sent to the Colonies for her defiance. She later returns after the suicide bombing took the lives of 31 Handmaids. [[spoiler: She eventually escapes to Canada.]]

[[folder:Janine Lindo/Ofwarren/Ofdaniel/Ofhoward]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_madeline_janine.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Madeline Brewer

A fellow Handmaid whom June associates with.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Not that she was ''evil'' in the book, but we get to know her a good deal better in the series, making her come off as less of a brown-noser and more of a woman who has been horribly broken, even more than other Handmaids.
** Come the final episode of Season 3 [[spoiler:she comes to join the escape attempt to Canada, helps June pelt the armed guards with stones, and finally brings other handmaids to rescue June after she's shot and left bleeding to death.]]
* ButtMonkey: A dark example, definitely not played for laughs. She gets put through the wringer far more than any handmaid that we have seen so far. From her surgically removed eye, to her mental breakdown, to nearly drowning herself, to getting a beatdown from both Lydia and Ofmatthew.
* ChildByRape: The implication of her firstborn son and explicitly with her daughter.
* CloudCuckoolander: After having lost her eye and being subjected to torture at the Rachel and Leah center, Janine seems to become mentally frail, or as Offred would call it, "batshit insane". Whilst at the "Particicution", where the handmaids are allowed to kill a male criminal, Janine can be seen in the background, dancing by herself and staring proudly at her belly (likely reveling in the fact of a rapist getting beaten and killed, due to past traumas).
** Commander Warren Putnam attempts to use her fragile sanity to his advantage, gaslighting her into believing that he'll leave his wife for her and will run away with her and then when she calls him out, saying that she's delusional.
-->'''Janine:''' You said we would be a family!
-->'''Warren:''' She's not well.
-->'''Janine:''' I was well enough to suck your cock! I did every fucked-up thing you wanted. All the freaky shit you'd never do, because you promised me we would run off and we would be a family!
** This becomes subverted in Season 3 as she relays critical information about the rogue Martha to June and why there is a sudden Guardian presence. Not only that, she helps June with distracting the Guardians at the airport and is the first one to help June after the latter is shot.
* {{Cuddlebug}}: She's remarkably affectionate with her friends. Her response to seeing June for the first time in months is to {{Glomp}} her.
** [[spoiler: This eventually saves her daughter's life, as skin-to-skin contact and [[ThePowerOfLove motherly love]] bring Charlotte/Angela back from the brink of death.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:She fails to drown herself in the river.]]
* EyeScream: In the series, she loses an eye for her defiant attitude.
* {{Foil}}: To Moira and the first Ofglen. Like the first Ofglen, she's [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide, but she succumbs to her brokenness and Offred understands it's a completely valid emotion to have in Gilead]].
* MadeASlave: In her case, is psychologically broken into accepting it, too.
* MoralityPet: Becomes one to Aunt Lydia as she descends into one of the more compliant Handmaids. It's also implied Lydia's kindness to her assuages Lydia's conscience.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: Janine’s scene with her baby in the 2nd half of season 2. Its just “a mom playing with her baby.” In the context of the universe, its a massive crack in the foundation of Gilead’s society. If the legal mothers can’t provide the attention the babies need, the babies self destruct. Of all the scenes involving proactive resistance on the Team Modern’s part, this scene is probably the most damning to Gilead’s future prospects.
* NiceGirl: She's a genuinely sweet girl.
* OffingTheOffspring: What she [[spoiler:nearly does, perhaps in hopes that she and her child would be TogetherInDeath. She ultimately accepts that her child should have a chance to grow.]]
* TheOphelia: Gilead has turned her into this.
* ThePollyanna: She eventually becomes one as she descends into insanity, talking constantly of how God has a plan for her, and cheerfully pointing out the (minimal) bright side in every situation.
* TookALevelInBadass: After almost 3 seasons of being a ButtMonkey, she finally comes to her senses in the season finale and helps June with her extraction plan. She is seen throwing rocks at the Guardians at the airport and is one of the first to recover June after the latter is shot.
* TooDumbToLive:
** While she was definitely subjected to DisproportionateRetribution for her mouthing off in the Red Center, it was admittedly very stupid. When there are guards with guns around and everyone else is sitting down silently, looking terrified, ''there is probably a reason to it''.
** Later in the series, she becomes a tragic example. She lives, but in a “too good for this cruel world” sort of way. She never seems to drop the positivity after her failed suicide, while the other female characters definitely harden from their experiences. This keeps her ultra sympathetic... and if anyone is gonna get beaten within an inch of her life in a scene, it's her.
* SanitySlippage: Starts off as normal and defiant, but a combination of [[EyeScream ripping out her eye]] and and group slut-shaming her for being an underage rape victim, results in this. Its implied even more types of psychological torture happened to her off-screen, but not elaborated on. This becomes subverted at the end of Season 3 in which not only does she help with June's plan to evacuate over 100 children, but also helps June distract the guard at the airport so the children can sneak aboard the plane.

[[folder:Lillie Fuller/The Second Ofglen]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_tatiana.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Tattiawna Jones

The ReplacementGoldfish of the last Ofglen. A former drug-addicted prostitute.

* DeathByIrony: Her targets. [[spoiler: Gilead removed her tongue for speaking out. In her final scene, she shows up during a public speech, clad in a suicide vest. She has one of the loudest retributions of any of the characters in the story so far.]]
* DyingMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler:As distasteful as it might be to label a suicide bombing as one, her wiping out Gilead's entire upper government in one fell swoop is simply jaw-dropping.]]
* {{Foil}}: To her predecessor, the rebellious Emily, who plays piety to hide her subversive activities, while this Ofglen plays pious as an act of self-preservation.
* GreenEyedMonster: Downplayed. She can't stop musing - rationalizing - that Janine/Ofdaniel has it all better when the the latter had been re-stationed to a wealthier, "nicer" Commander, showing how Gilead wields twisted exaltation to turn Handmaids against one another. This doesn't stop her from [[spoiler: being protective of Janine at her stoning]].
* HappinessInSlavery:
** Her reasons for snatching June away from interacting with Emily. She had a worse life in the Before and this life in Gilead seems better by comparison, so she wants to protect her life and play the pious rule-abider. Though it's also up to interpretation whether she really thinks this way.
** Her delight at being permitted to the fancy dinner with the Mexican ambassador indicates that she enjoys whatever privilege chances her way due to her position.
** Her [[spoiler: vocal way of refusing to stone Janine suggest she has [[EveryoneHasStandards limits]] over how much she can follow Gilead.]]
** CharacterisationMarchesOn: After [[spoiler:her tongue is pulled out]], she TookALevelInBadass and [[spoiler:carried out a suicide bombing to take out many of Gilead's commanders.]] In the end, [[spoiler:she dies fighting ''against'' Gilead.]]
* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Her way of pulling June away from talking to her traumatized friend may seem harsh, but she has no malice in doing so, as she's on survival mode in Gilead. She also seems genuinely protective of June over the driving incident and tries to offer June encouragement in the aftermath. Her camaraderie with her fellow Handmaids is also shown when she [[spoiler:stands up for Janine at her stoning]] and methodically [[spoiler: shows her fellow Handmaids her detonation button in order to warn them to run off before she dashes to suicide-bomb the room of Commanders.]]
* KickTheDog: Pulling June away from talking to Emily and then later scolding June for taking too long to walk to the Salvaging. It becomes evident that it's part of her survival mode.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: Although none of the Handmaids ever find out her name, it is revealed to the audience as [[spoiler:Lillie Fuller]].
* TheOldestProfession: In the Before era. This experience allows her to twist her current Handmaid station into something better.
* RecoveredAddict: Before Gilead she was a drug addict, but she is now clean, presumably due to the lack of availability of drugs in Gilead. Getting clean and having a place to live under the Gilead regime is part of the reason that she [[spoiler:initially, at least,]] does not care so much about fighting back and mostly keeps her head down and plays the pious true believer.
* TongueTrauma: Gets her tongue removed as punishment for standing up for Janine and for being particularly vocal about it.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Possibly. Her call-out of Aunt Lydia [[spoiler: and her subsequent beating at Janine's stoning help inspire Offred to drop her stone. Thus, this possibly leads to the moment where the Eyes, or Mayday, whisk Offred into a van to possible escape.]]
* VitriolicBestBuds: Due to the stress of Gilead's operations and limited time spent with June, the two don't really get along much, and their bickering is akin to two sisters feeling resentment for the other getting them into trouble. However, like sisters, they do truly care about one another, with [[spoiler: June feeling awful about her TongueTrauma and Ofglen trying to to pull June away from a danger zone]]. Later, [[spoiler: June wishes she knew Ofglen's name.]]

[[folder:Alma/Ofrobert]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_nina_kiri.png]]
->'''Played By''': Nina Kiri

A Handmaid June met at the Center, who occasionally chats with June during shopping trips.

* DeadpanSnarker: When out of the Eyes' earshot.
* LaResistance: Her involvement with Mayday is heavily implied by "A Women's Place" when she [[spoiler: asks June if she overheard talks of trade routes and dates regarding the trafficking of handmaids]]. And then confirmed when [[spoiler:June asks to join Mayday and gets tasked by Alma with returning to Jezebel's to receive a package.]]
* MissingChild: Season 3 reveals she has one before Gilead named Dylan. June decides to help get him out.

[[folder:Brianna/Oferic]]
->'''Played By''': Bahia Watson

Another Handmaid that June is friends with around the District.
----
* SpitefulSpit: Does this to Ofmatthew as retribution for her betrayal against June.

[[folder:The previous Offred]]

A handmaid in service to the Waterfords who committed suicide before the events of the series.

%% * DeathByDespair
* DrivenToSuicide: She was so desperate and unable to handle her position that she decided to kill herself. She hanged herself though Handmaids are usually monitored very closely and everyone tries to prevent this kind of escape.
* DueToTheDead: June finds a camaraderie with her. Part of what helps June to survive is to help cherish the last Offred's memory.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: We may not know her name and her only on-screen appearance is of her dead body, but the Latin phrase she carves in the closet wall offers inspiration for June.

[[folder:Natalie/Ofmatthew]]
->'''Played By''': Ashleigh [=LaThrop=]

June's new shopping partner in Season 3.

* AlasPoorVillain: While getting her comeuppance by being bullied by other Handmaids is well deserved, her [[spoiler:final breakdown and murderous rampage]] makes it clear that she's just another broken woman. June realizes she had been so harsh and apologizes to her comatose body.
* BrokenBird: Can be assumed from the beginning by the very fact she's a Handmaid, but she hides it well. Confirmed in the eposode 'Unfit' when [[spoiler:due to her stress with carrying a (supposedly) female child, being ostracized by her peers and finally publicly shamed under Aunt Lydia direction, she breaks completely and goes AxCrazy in the shopping centre]].
* DeathByChildbirth: A variation. Giving birth isn't what kills her (she was already brain dead after being shot in the previous episode) but she's kept alive artificially until her baby can be delivered and is taken off life support afterward.
* DueToTheDead: June comes to remind herself that Natalie went through a lot of suffering. [[spoiler: She apologizes to Natalie at her bedside and acknowledges her as a fighter.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While more brainwashed than really 'evil', she commits heinous acts under Aunt Lydia's influence. However even she expresses worries over her unborn daughter's future in [[NoWomansLand Gilead]]. When she snaps, she gets a choice between killing June or Lydia. Eventually she chooses Lydia.
* {{Foil}}:
** Like the late second Ofglen/Lillie, she's the pious kind of Handmaid, loyal to Gilead, much to June's irritation. Unlike the second Ofglen/Lillie, who made it clear to June she's just surviving and playing along, she seems well integrated into Gilead. [[spoiler:In reality though, she isn't, and she's as become as broken as Emily and Lillie, and her final act of FreakOut in the shopping centre bears resemblance to both Emily's 'joyride' and Lillie's bombing.]]
** To Janine, who is also deeply brainwashed into accepting her life in Gilead. Similarly, she also undergoes [[spoiler:the public shaming at the Red Centre which is the final step to destroy her sanity]].
** To most of the Handmaids, really. She never shares her name and unlike virtually all the others, she apparently acts piously not for self-preservation, but genuinely supports the system.
* GreenEyedMonster: Implied why she passive-aggressively mocks June. Having surrendered many children made it easy to resent June.
* HappinessInSlavery: Either is that good of an actress or really seems to be bought and sold into the Gilead doctrine.
* HiddenDepths: When we first hear her pious ramblings, it's easy to assume that she just doesn't know what she's talking about and the brutal reality will quickly kick in and open her eyes. Turns out that nope, she's already had three children in Gilead and supports the system ''fully knowing'' its dark sides.
* HumiliationConga: From the moment Ofmatthew informs on the Martha Frances, all of the other handmaids are cold to her, with one even spitting on her drink. It doesn't end there, with June throwing her under the bus by expressing Ofmatthew's concern of being pregnant, leading Lydia to put Ofmatthew in the circle of shame. And when June smirks at her in the supermarket, it causes her to snap and attack Janine, a Guard, and nearly kill Lydia before she is shot by the Guardians.
* {{Irony}}: She's worried about her pregnancy because she has a feeling the baby will be a girl, while her previous children were sons -- confessing this to June ultimately leads to her public shaming and VillainousBreakdown. The baby turns out to be a boy.
* KickTheDog:
** She goes off aloud about praying for baby Nichole/Holly's return to Gilead before June, mocking the latter about Luke's morality. She does backtrack and apologizes for this.
** Later she turns in [[spoiler:the [=McKenzies=]' Martha]] which results in the latter being executed.
* TheMole: She [[spoiler:is spying on June at Aunt Lydia's request. ]]
* LesCollaborateurs: Not only does Ofmatthew believe in the ideals of Gilead, it turns out [[spoiler: she's been informing on June at Aunt Lydia's request. It's her fault that June's attempt to save her daughter ended so badly and Hannah and the Mckenzies were relocated.]] She even admits to it in front of the other Handmaids- who shield June from onlookers as she [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown chokes the shit out of Ofmatthew.]]
* PetTheDog: This was after mocking June about Holly's safety, but she backtracks and notes she is glad June's child is safe.
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:After becoming a complete outcast among the other Handmaids for getting Hannah sent away, she ends up having a psychotic breakdown while shopping, killing a guard and taking his gun, and about to kill Lydia before the other guards gun her down. Rather chillingly, it seems June actually intended all of this.]]

!!Commanders of Gilead / Sons of Jacob

[[folder:Traits shared by Commanders]]

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: So far, the Republic of Gilead is an pariah state in the international community, with Europe shunning them for implementing an authoritarian regime that institutionalizes rape and the only countries willing to deal with them are their immediate neighbors Mexico and Canada. [[spoiler:In Season 2, Canada cuts off relations after several letters are released into the public showing how bad things are in Gilead]].
* AdaptationalVillainy: Zig-Zagged. In the original books, they were racist, sexist, homophobic, militarist, anti-science and just plain ANaziByAnyOtherName since they [[FinalSolution shipped off minorities to the Colonies to die painfully]]. The show omits the racism aspect by permitting racially-diverse residents within their republic, as well as featuring non-white Handmaids. They still retain their homophobia and ''amplify'' their misogyny by mutilating women like taking out their eyes, tongues, clitoris or fingers, something which was absent in the book.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: While the Sons of Jacob were analogous with several authoritarian regimes like Communist Romania and Fascist Italy for obsessively promoting birthrates, post-Revolution Iran and [[ANaziByAnyOtherName the most obvious one]], the show's version makes contemporary allusions depicting the Republic of Gilead as the Christian equivalent to the [[UsefulNotes/TheArabSpring Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]].
** Both are religious militaristic groups lead by Commanders/Emirs (the Arabic word for "Commander") that come into power in a moment of political disorder and gain control of large swathes of territories.
** They are in conflict with other denominations of their faith, outlawing other religions entirely with Gilead forces being shown demolishing a church, just like ISIL has blown up multiple mosques and shrines of figures revered in Islam.
** Both display a virulent hate for the female gender with ISIL becoming infamous for enshrining a theology of rape justifying enslaving Yazidi and Christian women for being "infidels", just like the Handmaid's program targets "fallen women" that committed adultery, prostitution or homosexuality. Even more galling is that other women were complicit in their abuse like the Wives and the so-called "jihadi brides" in real life, or the Aunts/the Al-Khansaa Brigade (an all-female group of ISIL fighters) responsible for policing and oppressing other women.
** They share a knack for cruel and unusual punishments towards dissidents, "gender traitors" (LGBTQ) and others like hangings and drownings, though Gilead's favorite method is shipping them off to the colonies so they can be worked to death or perish to radiation. One character gets hanged with a crane just like what ISIL does.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: In contrast to their book counterpart, they have no problem accepting non-whites into their ranks or employing non-white Handmaids. The [[PragmaticVillainy survival on the human race supersedes any notion of racism]] in their eyes.
* EvilIsSterile: Both literally and figuratively; as a society, Gilead is [[BrainDrain culturally stagnant]] since [[PersecutedIntellectuals intellectuals were targeted under their regime and the proliferation of knowledge is probably looked down upon]] to [[StayInTheKitchen not promote reading or writing among women]]. On a individual level, its heavily implied that most Commanders if not all of them are actually sterile since unlike other male characters, they were unable to beget children of their own.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: While Fred certainly qualifies as his personal flashbacks show him as a mild-mannered man before eventually becoming one of Gilead's architects, this trope extends to the Sons of Jacob as a whole being a group that started out as political activists that helped troubled youths before becoming a conspiracy faction that overthrew the USA government and established a militaristic, theocratic regime. As June deduces after piercing together past events:
-->'''June''': ''You were there. All the time. But no one noticed you.''
* HeteronormativeCrusader: Homosexuality or "gender treason" is punishable by death, which is considered a MercyKill. Lesbians are exempted so long as they can be used as Handmaids, but if anyone else (like "Marthas") is caught in the act, they are fair game.
* HidingBehindReligion: According to [[https://sojo.net/articles/margaret-atwood-christianity-handmaid-s-tale-and-what-faithful-activism-looks-today Margaret Atwood]], they are not "truly Christians and are interested only in power and control". Keen viewers can notice they never mention UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} by name, though [[QuoteMining they do occasionally Him out of context to twist it into their agenda]], nor do they have an actual clergy, priests or pastors on their side to legitimize them.
* HolierThanThou: Not only other religions are illegal, but all of Christendom might as well be considered heretical to them. Catholics are officially persecuted and its heavily implied that they are at war with other Protestants when you consider the South (which is heavily Baptist) is in revolt against the Republic of Gilead. Yet for all their blabbering about [[StraightEdgeEvil pure and modest lifestyles]] (even their own rape rituals with the Handmaidens aren't supposed to be pleasurable for either party), they have an state-sanctioned brothel which only high-ranking officials can enjoy.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Most of them are under impression that the rules they made themselves for the society don't apply to them. Committing "the sin of lust" and thinking nothing of it seems to be particularly common.
* TheFundamentalist: They follow a literal interpretation of the Old Testament to impose their laws.
* MadonnaWhoreComplex: But of course. Since sex is officially only meant to procreate, they are implied [[SexlessMarriage not to have it with their wives]] - which doesn't mean they won't visit Jezebel's. The Handmaids fall somewhere in the middle, as they are ''meant'' to be just wombs and the Wives view them that way... while the husbands often are under impression they got free sex toys.
* OneSteveLimit: Apparently, as the Handmaids' "names" after them seem to never repeat (unless one inherits a posting, obviously).
* PositiveDiscrimination: The only one of them mentioned to father a child without a Handmaid (read: [[LighterShadeOfBlack at least probably not a rapist]]) is black.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil:
** They legitimized a twisted variation of a MaritalRapeLicense by naming the coerced procreation act the Ceremony. They even discuss the Ceremony in terms of trying to make it sound appealing to their Wives: The process is designed to not be pleasurable for the ''rapist'' either, since its purpose is to impregnate the victim.
** As a result, all of them are assumed to be rapists (and the wives being accomplices) by the Handmaids, even though at least one of them is shown not to engage in a Ceremony.
** It's revealed that in the beginning of Gilead some families [[EvenEvilHasStandards didn't want to engage in Ceremonies]] and it was common enough that the leaders turned to [[RapeByProxy supervising them]]. As also the household members are obliged to 'report deviancy', think of it as an enforced and extended MaritalRapeLicense.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Flashbacks show they enjoyed some level of popularity when they started out by "helping kids out of gangs into better lives" and even had sympathizers among the government. By the time they have taken power, this is no longer the case.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: A few of them, at least initially, simply wanted to create a more peaceful America. Others had more violent ambitions for power, which led into the Sons of Jacob performing their coup.
* WesternTerrorists: Involved in the massacre of Congress, which they blamed on outside terrorists.

[[folder:Commander Fred Waterford]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/joseph_fiennes_handmaids_tale_season_2.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/JosephFiennes

Commander Fred Waterford is the head of the household for whom June serves as their breeding slave in Seasons 1 and 2.

* AffablyEvil: High-ranking commander happily taking part in a totalitarian, Christian fundamentalist, and in the books, racist government where, among many things, women are forced into sexual slavery. But when he's not raping June or allowing for women to be brutally subjugated and denied basic rights, he's quite polite and kind, going so far as to invite June into his office for games of Scrabble or giving her gifts such as permission to read magazines from the Before Era[[note]]Women aren't allowed to work, own property, control money, or read, so [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness this is a huge deal]].[[/note]]. [[spoiler:He continues these meetings with Offred/June in hopes that, unlike her predecessor, June won't commit suicide. [[FauxAffablyEvil However, episodes 9 and 10 imply that there was more than one Offred who killed herself and it was because of the Commander's secret meetings with the girls]].]]
* AgeLift: Was an old man in the book. Here he is played by Joseph Fiennes, who is in his late forties.
* BigBad: He's one of the men who founded the Sons of Jacob, planned the overthrow of the government, and created the Ceremony, as well as being one of Gilead's Commanders. June even refers to him as "the boss." Despite his involvement, Commanders are still subject to the laws of the new regime, in which case [[GreaterScopeVillain Price]], who controls the Eyes (the spy network in charge of reporting bad behavior by Commanders), can be seen as a BiggerBad.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler: High Commander Winslow]] makes it clear he’s interested in Fred sexually. We next see Fred benefiting politically. The scary part is now Fred ‘knows too much,’ and his admirer has every reason to kill Fred if the arrangement turns sour.
** Fred agrees to take Serena on a secret, clandestine meeting with an American named Mark Tuello, all to negotiate for Nichole's return off the books. He doesn't see any problem with this arrangement, beyond asking Serena if she trusts Mark (not actually verifying if Mark is simply willing to help, or is actually and ENEMY AGENT working against him) to give them Nichole. [[spoiler:He'll have plenty of time to reflect on his stupidity in prison.]]
* DrunkWithPower: As the show progresses, he begins to abuse his power and do more and more horrific acts. By the end of season two, he has [[spoiler: committed murder, adultery, domestic abuse and rape (even outside the ceremony). He was willing to let a baby die instead of allowing a female doctor to see her, did not defend his wife (which led to her being maimed) and even hinted at possibly planning to have her murdered just so he can keep having sex with June.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Deconstructed. He does genuinely care for Serena, but it's not going to stop him from torturing her under his "beliefs", as shown when he bargains in Season 3 to save her life after she lets Nichole go with Emily...after he cut off her finger and beat her.
-->God has made me master of an incredible woman.
* EvilIsSterile: The reason for massacring Congress, shredding the Constitution, and taking women into sexual slavery. [[spoiler:Serena has no problem spitting this into his face whilst confronting him for his infidelities with Offred.]]
* {{Foil}}: To his wife. While Serena is openly bitchy and antagonistic to June (and presumably the Offred before her), Fred likes to play the good cop... to get gratitude to flatter his ego and extort sexual favors. It's made clear that Fred "romancing" the previous Offred made more harm than Serena's behaviour.
* GreenEyedMonster: By "Seeds", a little bit of jealousy toward Nick (whom he deduced is the father of June's child) kicks in enough for him to try to get Nick assigned away from him.
* HeManWomanHater: He is at least AffablyEvil in the first season, but in season 2 he truly degrades into this trope, blaming the women he abuses for all difficulties in his life. In the third season he's forced to retract a bit to win back his wife.
* {{Hypocrite}}:
** When somebody who isn't a Commander (even his wife) breaks the law, he's very quick to apply the Gileadan brand style DisproportionateRetribution of a punishment. But if the transgressions are committed by a Commander like himself or Warren Putnam? He tries to hide behind his Commander and husband status and is apprehensive of the punishment that is given to Commander Putnam.
** He seems genuinely outraged at Eden's act of "lust", conveniently ignoring that in her case it was genuine love, and he and his collegues regularly visit Jezebel's.
* MeaningfulName: "Frederick" is German for "victorious."
* OhCrap:
** Realizing that Wives, like Naomi Putnam, have enough guile to influence punishments upon their Commander husbands.
** An even bigger one when the second Ofglen tries to run at him with explosives strapped on her person.
** A third one, when Serena helps him "accidentally" cross into Canada and the two are arrested by Loyalist American troops- and Fred has a gun shoved in his face before being taken away to await trial for war crimes.
* KickTheDog:
** In the Before time, he is seething with rage in the ear of Serena Joy's would-be assassin. At first, it's understandable enough, until the camera reveals the assassin's female partner, whom Fred shoots.
** Whipping Serena. Later even mutilating her pinky.
** His role in raping a pregnant June.
** He refuses to allow the best neonatologist doctor in the country to see the ill baby Angela, only because the doctor was a woman.
* ObliviouslyEvil: He seems completely aloof to the fact he’s given every woman around him more than enough reason to kill him, and still tries to play up some weird, childish “Ladies Man” persona.
* PetTheDog: DeconstructedTrope. He practically spells out how he believes that "a bit of kindness" would prevent their slaves to be "unloyal" to him and Serena. What he misses is that they are not pets who want a good master, but people who want to be treated as such. The fact that in 95% of the cases he is nice to June, he wants sexual favors in return, doesn't help his case in the slightest.
** His treatment of June during the times he isn't performing the Ceremony with her is quite polite and almost charming, if not unnerving. It's one way he exploits the power imbalance to subjugate June.
** The one time he does something sincerely decent is to persuade Commander Warren to let June [[spoiler: talk Janine down]].
** In the Before time, he tries to persuade the other Commanders to give Serena Joy a voice in Gilead's design.
** At least, he recommends Serena Joy, off-screen, that June should be let outside after being shut in for days, as June plays to his remaining morality to not [[spoiler: cause her to be DrivenToSuicide like the last Offred]].
** Invokes this trope by [[spoiler: setting up June's meeting with Moira, though he finds her ungrateful for [[WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency not thanking him automatically]] and disappointed that [[GirlOnGirlIsHot they're not lovers]]]].
** While he congratulated June likely to just probe into the matter, [[spoiler: he implies to June that he knows she's fibbing about the father of the baby and compliments her pretend game. Since he shows no grudge or anger, June even reacts with amusement rather than fear.]]
* PleaseDontLeaveMe: After the fallout of Serena helping smuggle Nichole to Canada, Fred gives a heartwrenching speech about how he loves Serena so much, always has, and always will. [[spoiler: Subverted. He's practicing the speech with a Jezebel.]]
* SexlessMarriage: Suggested between himself and his wife Serena due to their inability to have a child. It's also suggested that the Commander may be sterile, though Gileadean doctrine forbids men to be mentioned as sterile and instead puts the blame on the woman. It's implied they finally sleep with each other in "Liars" [[spoiler:right before Serena betrays him]].
* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: While he was no hero at the beginning of the narrative, he at least was gentle to his wife and had a facade of kindness to June. Season 2 has him do more and more heinous things, including [[spoiler:harming his wife and sanctioning her physical deformation]], to the point that any sympathy he may have had is gone.
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:After Serena sells him out to the Canadians and the American government in exile, he makes sure she goes down too by informing them of the one crime her plea deal with them doesn't cover, forcing June to have sex with Nick.]]
* VillainousCrush: Maybe "crush" is the wrong word for it, but it's clear he has an interest in June that is ''way'' beyond the interest a Commander should have in his Handmaid. June is suitably creeped out.
* WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency: Any time he does something remotely nice to June? He expects she will [[SexForServices "thank him properly"]].
* WouldHitAGirl: Has no problems striking any women who comes to cross him, as Serena and June come to find out.
* YourCheatingHeart: Although Gilead's doctrine does not consider the Ceremony as cheating, he [[spoiler: takes advantage of his position to sleep with June outside the ritual, and is implied to have done so to at least another Handmaid. He also visits a brothel.]] His actions are a far cry from how he behaved before Gilead.

[[folder:Commander Warren Putnam]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_warren.png]]
->'''Played By:''' Stephen Kunken

Another Commander. Husband of Naomi.

* AnArmAndALeg: Has a hand amputated after Janine's suicide attempt.
* EasilyForgiven: Other than the loss of his arm, he doesn't seem to suffer any other negative consequences for his treatment of Janine and is frequently seen in positions of power afterwards.
* {{Foil}}: Similarly to the Waterfords, with his wife. She is abrasive toward her Handmaid, he plays nice to use Janine for sex. [[DrivenToSuicide The results are also similar to the Waterfords' and the first Offred.]]
%% * {{Gaslighting}}: Does this in spades to the already unstable Janine.
* MeaningfulName: In Arthur Miller's ''Theatre/TheCrucible'', Thomas Putnam is a greedy man who abuses the Bible by getting his daughter to accuse people of witchcraft so he can obtain their property. Meanwhile his wife, Ann Putnam, is unstable from having lost seven infant children.
* VillainousCrush: Similar to Waterford's relationship with June, Putnam may have hots for Janine for real. He made her sleep with her outside of the ceremony and perform other sexual acts (like blow jobs), which is forbidden in Gilead.

[[folder:Commander Joseph Lawrence]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_bradley_whitford.jpg]]
->'''Played By:''' Bradley Whitford

The head of Gilead's economic strategies. Lawrence is a man so powerful, the other Commanders come to him when policy meetings need to be held- never the other way around.

* AffablyEvil: He often jokes around and sometimes shows kindness to his Handmaid between enforcing the government's brutal policies, leaving her quite confused how to feel about him.
* TheAtoner:
** Between his household full of misfits and his [[spoiler: smuggling Emily and June's baby out of Gilead]], it seems as if he really regrets his role as a commander.
** He makes a true decision to become this in "Mayday" when he decides to [[spoiler:not to opt out and escape to Canada, but stay in Gilead to "clean up his mess".]]
* BreakTheHaughty: At the beginning of the third season he constantly snarks at June and suggests he thinks lowly of her intellect. Cue some TraumaCongaLine and he's heavily relying on her and practically taking commands from her.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: He seems like a pretty weird dude and definitely stands out among the Commanders because of it.
* ChildHater: States that he does not like kids very much and it attributes to him refusing to have children with Eleanor. That doesn't mean he won't look out for their welfare.
* CreepyGood: Lawrence has taken concrete steps to house and operate a resistance cell in his household. His demeanor is that of a Sphinx, unreadable. Even the Marthas who wait on him hand-and-foot don't know how to read his emotions and moods.
* {{Foil}}:
** To the other Commanders. He still practices another shade of misogyny though, but it might be, to some extent [[JerkassFacade just for show]].
** He couldn't be more different than Fred. Rude outside, but at least partly decent inside, intellectual, mostly indifferent to PR concerns and, thankfully, uninterested in extorting sexually women in his household.
* GoodIsNotNice: Seems kind of creepy, created the Colonies, has a slightly unhinged wife he keeps hidden away, but [[spoiler: he's heavily implied to be a part of an underground network of rebels or Mayday and helps smuggle Emily and June's baby out of Gilead. It's also implied this is not the first time he has done this. While it is partially out of pragmatism, he is still an example of a brand of misogyny, not the kind that promotes the backward views of Gilead, but that women should be defined by worth and can be callous and insensitive to his subordinates.]]
* GuileHero: Both on June and the audience. To give an idea just how complex his scenes are with misdirecting, he has a meeting with fellow commanders and requests June fetch a book for him. His gives a short speech on “trying to assess the value of women,” asks June if she’s an editor, and has her fetch a book that says “Darwin, The Descent of Man” on its spine. Sounds like he’s declaring women evolutionarily inferior to men, right? Wrong. Look up the book. It's about how females dominate the mate selection process, and Darwin specifically had his daughter and wife edit the book before publishing to ensure there was nothing in it that would be interpreted as sexist.
* [[spoiler: IChooseToStay: He could flee to the comfort of Canada and barter for immunity but he decides to honor Eleanor by staying in Gilead and "clean up my mess."]]
* ItAmusedMe: The only thing Fred Waterford knows about Lawrence's motivations that he thinks might help June? "He does not like to be bored."
* KarmicRape: Although he had not been a rapist himself, he was essential in building a system based on raping people. [[spoiler:And it comes to bite him too, when Winslow and Fred come to supervise his Ceremony and he has no choice but to sleep with June.]]
* NecessaryEvil: He may be a part of Gilead's top government, but he doesn't seem to think too highly of them. [[spoiler:He also shows June that he has to pick-and-choose who survives and who dies in Gilead.]]
* PetTheDog:
** After June [[spoiler:contacts Luke, he has a tissue ready for her.]]
** [[spoiler: Reading to all the Gilead children to comfort them before their escape.]]
* SadisticChoice: When June chastises him for not doing all he can to help the women condemned by the government, he takes her to a huge pen of women bound for the Colonies and gives June herself the responsibility of picking just five of them to save and put in the available spots on his staff, implying that he’s had to make such an agonizing choice numerous times before.
* SincerityMode: [[spoiler: His very sincere "Godspeed" to Emily. It's rare he can be forward with this positivity.]]
* StealthMentor: [[spoiler:By prodding at June and referring to her as worthless, he actually gets her to toughen up and become one of his aides in the rebellion.]]
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Joseph comes off as completely unreadable to June- he performs suicidal rebellious acts and also condemns millions of people to death in the same day. He all but laughs in June's face when she tries to use her usual methods of manipulating Fred on him, when she appeals to his "good" side, claiming the reason he helped Emily was because he feels guilty for all the evil he's done, he similarly shoots her down; and June has to appeal to Fred for any help he can give in understanding how Lawrence's mind works.
-->"You're so transactional... Were [the Waterfords] ''really'' [[WhatAnIdiot that easy to manipulate?"]]
* ViewersAreGeniuses: There’s little question that Lawrence's scenes have layers upon layers of subtlety that will give viewers difficulty figuring out his true intent. The internet pieced together a lot about him from one of the most important scenes in Episode 3, when he gives June an order to fetch him a book in front of the other Commanders- to humiliate her and demonstrate her subservience to him, right? The image of the bookcase lasts seconds, but the books on his shelves each carry a hidden meaning- and all their spines are bent, showing they've been read by Lawrence. Probably the most important is the book he has June fetch, “The Descent of Man” by Charles Darwin. The book was a collaborative effort- both Darwin’s wife and daughter served the editors. It's right below “The End of Alchemy” which is an analysis on the ‘08 Financial Crises- its conclusion blames bad ideas for the economic disaster, which is a subtle nod to Lawrence’s opinion of Gilead. The book Lawrence wrote, “Problematic Populism” seems to be a nod to how the fertility crises led to populist ideas (Gilead) gaining more traction than they should have.

[[folder:High Commander George Winslow]]

->'''Played By''': Creator/ChristopherMeloni

A high-ranking commander from Washington who takes a special interest in Fred Waterford.

* AmoralAttorney: Used to be a corporate lawyer before Gilead, now is part of a horrific and murderous system.
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Stabbed and bludgeoned to death by June when he tries to rape her at Jezebel's.]]
* CorruptPolitician: He has numerous children, but still continues to rape a Handmaid monthly for more. Lampshaded by Rita, who says that his high status allows him to flaunt the rules that other Commanders must follow.
* DepravedBisexual: Downplayed but hinted at. "Depraved" by virtue of the culture of Gilead.
* {{Greed}}: From the perspective of Fred and Serena, at least. He and his wife have an unusually high number of children, more than any of the main characters have ever seen in Gilead, but he still keeps a Handmaid.
* DotingParent: Compared to other onscreen Commanders who don't seem involved in their children's lives, he is very affectionate to his numerous (stolen) children. Even June can't help to smile at his paternal side before it sinks in that he essentially hoards kidnapped children.
* HomoeroticSubtext: Quite a bit towards Fred.
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:June perforates his lung with the very pen that created Gilead's laws.]]
* {{Lust}}: His FatalFlaw. He continues to rape a handmaid monthly even though he already has six children, and is shown to frequent Jezebel's. In fact, it's his [[spoiler: desire to rape June that leads to his death.]]
* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler: His death is ultimately concealed by the Marthas at Jezebel's- [[DisposingOfABody the blood stains bleached from the carpet, the sheets and his body both thrown into an enormous incinerator]]. They do such a good job, Gilead's leadership believes he is secretly being held in the same prison with Fred Waterford.]]
* NotHelpingYourCase: [[spoiler: [[IHaveAFamily Begging for his life for the sake of his stolen children]] probably wasn't the best thing to say to a MamaBear like June]].
* OpportunisticBastard: When Fred comes to Washington to film propaganda videos and put pressure on Canada for baby Nichole's return, George goes all in and gives Fred everything he wants- including a Handmaid March on the National Mall. Just one little string attached: [[spoiler: George doesn't ''want'' Nichole to come back. He's using this theater to put pressure on the Canadians to expel all of the American refugees back to Gilead- something he's been working on but making no progress toward for a long time.]]
* RedHerring: You'd think something bigger is going to come out of his homoeroticism-filled cooperation with Fred, possibly leading to one of the men's undoing. [[spoiler: They go down in the same episode but in completely unrelated circumstances, Winslow killed by June in Jezebel's and Fred betrayed by Serena and arrested by Canadian's officials.]]
* WeHardlyKnewYe: After much build-up as the BigBad of the third season, [[spoiler:he gets unceremoniously killed off by June in the third to last episode.]]
* YourCheatingHeart: He hangs out at Jezebel's.

[[folder:Commander Matthew Calhoun]]
->'''Played By''': Jonathan Watton

A young commander introduced in Season 3, and is a member of the War Council for Gilead. Has a pregnant handmaid in Natalie.

* AMillionIsAStatistic: Does not care about the women captured in Chicago and prefers to send them to the Colonies where he thinks they would be useful, knowing full well that these women will slowly die there.
* {{Warhawk}}: Very gung ho about the war effort against the resistance and wants to retaliate against Canada after Commander Waterford is captured and High Commander Winslow disappears.

!!Wives of Gilead

[[folder:Serena Joy Waterford]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yvonne_strahovski_the_handmaids_tale_womens_work.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/YvonneStrahovski

A former publicist, she becomes the Commander's housewife due to the new laws of Gilead preventing women from having self-sustaining employment.

* AbledInTheAdaptation: Due to the AgeLift in the series, Serena does not require a cane to move around like her literary counterpart.
* AbusiveParents: Serena's mother in Season 3 shows where her nasty streak may have come from. A cold, calculating, and emotionally abusive woman? Check. Ranting about how kids these days are spoiled rotten and don't know their true place? Where have we heard that before? Firm belief that a marriage is what truly gives a woman value? You don't say!
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: While the novel's Serena was also unhappy with her lot in the misogynistic society she helped establish, she was far more resigned to it. In the series, she's not only much more resentful and embittered, she's eventually driven to begin actively manipulating events.
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: In the book, Serena is an elderly woman who requires a cane in order to walk. In the series, she's an able bodied woman in her mid 30's and played by the stunning Yvonne Strahovski.
* AdultFear: She slowly starts to realize that the Gilead she helped create is a terrible place for any woman... including baby Nichole. Because even herself, as a woman of the highest status, Serena gets her finger removed for advocating very basic women's rights. Eden's fate especially shatters her: Eden was a young girl, barely a woman, assigned to marry an older guy and willing to make it work. Eden seemed to genuinely believe in Gilead's values and God's ways, but she still got executed.
* AgeLift: Serena was an old woman who walked with a cane in the book, whereas Yvonne Strahovski is in her mid-thirties.
* AssholeVictim: Despite being one of the earliest supporters of Gilead, as a woman Serena is often subject to various forms of indignities and abuse, [[spoiler: specifically when Commander Waterford decides to discipline her by whipping her in front of Offred, or allows her pinkie finger to be cut off after her display of reading in front of the Commanders.]]
** Doubled down on in the aftermath of the house fire she sets in Season 3. [[spoiler:Serena's own mother berates her, blames her for her strained marriage with her cheating husband that allowed her to be mutilated, and humiliates Serena in private- calling her a "spoiled little girl" for feeling upset.]] The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: She wanted a society where women's place was in the home. Now that's been achieved, she's going crazy for lack of anything to do; she's not allowed to read or write and there's nothing to occupy her time besides gardening and desperately hoping and preparing for a baby that may never come. She had written a book on "domestic feminism" that no women may now read.
* BlondeRepublicanSexKitten: She is ultra conservative, and her book “A Woman's Place” helped inspired a violent conservative revolution which ended women's rights and enslaved women with working uteri. She is quite sexy (she is played by Yvonne Strahovski) and implied to have had a media career before the series began. The character has been compared to Kellyanne Conway.
* CategoryTraitor: She helped write the laws of Gilead, including those that forbid women to read, under penalty of mutilation.
* ChaoticStupid: She promoted the system that would become Gilead, where women are 2nd class citizens. Then she tries to use the rights she no longer has, and is shocked when she’s punished for doing so. In one-to-two episode increments, she’ll side with June, and do a 180 as soon as she stands to get even short terms gains from the system.
* DefrostingIceQueen: [[spoiler:She starts out downright rotten to June, striking her whenever she wanted to and only looking at her as breeding stock. As Season 2 progressed and she realized the horrible situation that she herself had helped create, she gradually let her guard down and became gentle to the point of a shaky camaraderie with the Handmaid.]]
* DestroyTheAbusiveHome: In the first episode of Season 3, [[spoiler:she burns down her and Fred's home, starting with the bed where they performed "The Ceremony" (raped June).]]
* {{Deuteragonist}}: [[spoiler:As of early Season 3, she's become June's closest ally in rebelling against Gilead, and the narrative shifts between the two of them while in Gilead as they act largely separate from one another. Her abilities are still limited given her gender, but she also has more sway than even other Wives given that she was one of the founders of the country.]]
* DidntThinkThisThrough: It is not completely clear if she planned for the “women’s place is in the home” policies to apply to her, or if she didn’t realize she was campaigning against her right to campaign. Either way, she gets punished severely, on multiple occasions, for assuming she’s above retribution for violating the rules of her own society.
** While her plea agreement covers most (if not all) crimes she committed as the wife of Commander Waterford, she conveniently decides not to tell them about the exact circumstances of Nichole's conception (that she essentially forced June and Nick to have sex to have Nichole). That one omission costs her at the end as Mark says it is still rape and no longer covered by her plea agreement.
* FemaleMisogynist: Given her treatment of June and her religious view of women in general. She also can't seem to admit she paid the price for this mindset.
* TheFettered: By the end of season two, she can no longer ignore just how powerless she is in Gilead, but she still follows their customs and upholds the status quo because there are no other viable alternatives.
* {{Foil}}: To her husband. While Serena is openly bitchy and antagonistic to June (and presumably the Offred before her), Fred likes to play the good cop... to get grattitude to flatter his ego and extort sexual favors. It's made clear that Fred "romancing" the previous Offred made more harm than Serena's behaviour.
* {{Fingore}}: Gets her pinky finger cut off for reading.
* FireForgedFriends: [[spoiler:Was at one point horrible to June; after the two work together to subtly subvert some of Gilead's more extreme actions, they begin to see each other on more common ground.]]
* ForgottenAesop: Despite regularly being hit by the proof that Gilead is hell for women (even of high status) and that her husband is ''not'' an ally, Serena still repeteadely sides with them.
* GoodAllAlong: [[spoiler:Her supposed heel turn and apparent breaking of her alliance of June was all part of a long con to trick Fred into getting arrested and prevent Nichole or any of the refugees from being dragged back to Gilead.]]
* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Often seen with cigarette in hand. Before [[spoiler:her HeelFaceTurn in Season 2]], she comes off as quite the bitch.
* GreenEyedMonster: Because she desperately wants a child to fill her empty life with, she is jealous of Naomi Putnam, whose handmaiden Janine gives birth to a daughter. She believes that Naomi is not grateful enough and feels that she would be a better mother - unfortunately, this only adds to her frustration towards Offred.
* HappilyMarried: What she wants to have back. Before Gilead's rise, she and her husband actually lived an egalitarian relationship and had a sincere, mutual practice of their faith-based marriage. However, it's when they both participate in Gilead's rise that it costs them the happiness they had in their marriage.
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: [[spoiler:She gives up Fred to the Canadian government, gaining a relatively cushy arrangement for herself that even includes visits with Nichole. Then it goes up in smoke when Fred lets them know about her forcing June to have sex with Nick, which wasn't included in her plea bargain and puts her in a cell alongside him.]]
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: One step forward, two steps back. [[spoiler:Serena starts Season 3 by burning down her and Fred's home and leaving Fred, accept's that Nichole has a better future in Canada, and conspires with June to gain more power and make changes to Gilead's government. Then she has one "goodbye" visit with Nichole and all of a sudden she's all-in on Gilead again, wishing she'd had June's mouth wired shut like the other D.C. Handmaids when she first joined the household.]] It’s ultimately revealed that [[spoiler:all her supposed heel turns were really a prolonged facade to get Fred to trust her enough to walk into a trap on Canadian soil, where he’s promptly arrested.]]
** Season 3 she [[spoiler: seems to be wavering on her Face turn. Serena doubts how well she can apply her very limited power, and even tries to justify the laws of Gilead when Aunt Lydia beats Janine bloody at a formal party. Then she slides right back to being a Heel again after one "goodbye" visit to Nichole in Canada, helping Fred make propaganda videos to get Nichole shipped back to Gilead so she can play at being a mother again.]]
** And then [[spoiler:she slides back into a Face in the third to last episode of Season 3 by conspiring with Tuello to defect to Canada and get Fred arrested.]]
* HoistByHerOwnPetard:
** Congrats, Serena, you've successfully helped bring about the social change you wanted. Women are now forced to live by the rules you wanted them to follow - they can't read, they can't write, they can't work outside the home, and they are completely subservient to their husbands. Except, guess what, Serena? ''That includes you.'' You have to give up your career, you have nothing to do except prepare for a baby that might never come, and the very same men you helped put into power don't have an ounce of respect for you. Oh, and this whole thing [[AwfulWeddedLife has cost you]] your once-happy relationship with your husband. [[LaserGuidedKarma Have fun!]]
** She taunts Fred with the revelation that he isn't actually the father of June's baby, since she forced June and Nick to have sex. [[spoiler:When she betrays Fred and hands him over to the American government in exile, it is revealed that she never told Mark Tuello about the circumstances of Nichole's conception. Fred then tells Mark exactly what she did, which leads to her being arrested too.]]
* HystericalWoman: In Season 1 she's a ticking bomb always in the verge of bursting into a hysteria attack. Ironically, it's heavily implied that it's her self-chosen "woman's place" that's made her like this and she used to be in a much better mental shape when she had more to do in her life.
* IceQueen: She is cold and reserved, possibly as a result of the stifling environment she must live in.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Not uncommon in the Wives. She values her comfort in Gilead at the expense of her handmaids.
* IronicName: Serena Joy. Given how she handles her forced retirement as the wife of the Commander -- she's anything but serene or joyful. It's also ironic that the initials of an ultra-conservative woman complicit in the formation of an oppressive regime spell out ''SJW'' (as in social justice warrior).
* KickTheDog: Many, but the clincher is [[spoiler: letting June catch inadequate glimpses of her daughter to keep her pregnant Handmaid on a leash through an implied hostage situation]].
* LackOfEmpathy: She manages to subvert this a few times (see PetTheDog below) but overall is too proud of her privilege to apply empathy full-on.
* LaserGuidedKarma: By forcing June and Nick to have sex so that she can claim the resulting baby, [[spoiler:at the end of Season 3 she gets arrested by the American government in exile, even after she cuts a deal with them by turning in her husband; her abuse of June and Nick isn't covered by her amnesty.]]
* LawOfInverseFertility: She so desperately wants a child. Unfortunately getting shot in the uterus makes all of that impossible, unless Mark Tuello isn't lying about technology allowing uterine reconstruction.
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: She's done numerous despicable things in the series and before, but still displays bits of basic moral decency that her husband lacks - for example prioritizing a baby's life over StayInTheKitchen law. [[spoiler:Until Season 3, at least.]]
* MoralityPet: Her husband's sole redeeming quality is that he does seem to sincerely love her. Before Gilead, they were actually quite HappilyMarried.
* NotHelpingYourCase: [[spoiler: When Mark Tuello arrests her for forcing Nick and June to conceive a child for her, Serena tries to defend her actions, inadvertantly calling June [[ItIsDehumanizing Offred]]. A disgusted Tuello (who'd made a point to refer to June by her name beforehand) disgustedly retorts her actions still constitute rape and has Serena tossed in a cell]].
* OhCrap: When she meets Moira for the first time and she promptly informs her that she is June's friend.
** Also when she realises [[spoiler: referring to June as Offred was probably not the best thing to say to Mark Tuello while he's arresting her]].
* PetTheDog: Deconstructed, as her moments of empathy and kindness offer no long-term solace for June's station. [[spoiler:Until she let's June's baby escape Gilead.]] [[FaceHeelRevolvingDoor Which she tries to undo later.]]
** Giving June a cookie, even if it's at the condescending urging of the other Wives. But even Serena seems to recognize the faux-kindness of the class stratification--and the whole birth ritual itself. She also seems to genuinely recognize how traumatizing it is for Janine/Ofwarren to surrender her child.
** Taking June out to visit another Wife's baby. Though it's implied she did that to parade her then-possibly pregnant Handmaid around, she also asked, kindly, if June had visited her friend Janine, a fellow Handmaid.
** Also acknowledging to June that things are hard and they must be strong. Pretty hollow when Serena Joy is too privileged to know the horrors a Handmaid has to go through.
** Gifting June the music box.
** She and Rita share a drink and speak about the time before Gilead, not as a servant and master, but as equals.
** After [[spoiler:conspiring with June to adjust Gilead's policies in hopes of rescuing baby Angela/Charlotte, she assures June that she will handle the consequences]].
** Allowing June to [[spoiler: take Nicole/Holly to escape the Waterford home and Gilead, knowing that her adoptive daughter cannot grow up in a country that can never be safe for women and girls.]]
** After being so resistant to the idea, she comes far enough to tell June about the whereabouts of Hannah's school.
** She's a powerful woman who could punish June even further after their fallout, but when June stabs and injures her, Serena doesn't resolve it by reporting it to the Gilead authorities but leaves a doctor to heal June in confidentiality, as if she doesn't want to inflict DisproportionateRetribution on June.
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: The treachery in this case being against her entire gender. She helped put laws in place to systematically subjugate, oppress, and silence every woman in Gilead, only to realize when everything was all said and done that she herself was also bound by those same laws.
** [[spoiler: She betrays her husband to the American government in exile in exchange for legal immunity from prosecution for her role in Gilead's rise to power. When he finds out she betrayed him, Fred informs his captors about a few things Serena's done that ''weren't'' covered by her deal, and the Americans promptly arrest her for those crimes]].
* SexlessMarriage: Implied due to her and her husband's inability to have a child together, and all sex in Gilead should be performed only with the goal of procreating.
* StayInTheKitchen: What she believes women were meant to do, besides being stay-at-home mothers.
* TookALevelInBadass: [[spoiler:Once she realizes that Gilead is actually terrible for her/June's child, she begins to openly subvert the government, reading a Biblical passage in front of them, even knowing what it could - and does - cost her.]]
* TookALevelInCynic: Serena [[spoiler:initially believed in Gilead. Once it cost her her marriage in all but name and her purpose in life, she began to rebel against it.]]
* TookALevelInKindness: She [[spoiler:becomes a shaky ally of June's as Season 2 progresses and the two work together to fight the CrapsackWorld they live in.]]
* UnwantedSpouse: Once a happy wife in an equal marriage, she slowly becomes this to Commander Waterford, because of Gilead's toxic influence on their relationship. They now have a sexless marriage because they cannot procreate (sex is officially only accepted for the purpose of procreation in Gilead) and Gilead's view of women contaminates her husband's opinion of her over time. He resents her usurping his authority and going behind his back, even though it was for noble reasons, and ends up [[spoiler: beating and humiliating her, as well as allowing her to be maimed for reading the bible]]. He also [[spoiler: cheats on her with (unwilling) handmaidens and visits a brothel]]. In season two, he [[spoiler: creepily suggests to June that he could somehow remove Serena from the house and keep her instead]].
* WildCard: Constantly. Is Serena on June's side? Does she ''actually'' want to destroy Gilead? Does she care about other women who suffer, like other Handmaids or young brides like Eden? Is her loyalty with June, Fred, or the regime?
* WomenAreWiser: She wouldn't be that among any moderately-grounded men, but compared to her husband she at least gets some life basics. Number one: yes, your SexSlave hates you and is not going to stop because of minor favors you pay to her.
* WomanScorned: [[spoiler:Fred saw to it that Serena's finger was removed. Serena saw to it that Fred played himself into a self-extradition into Canada, where he's promptly arrested and charged with war crimes.]]

[[folder:Naomi Putnam]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_naomi_putnam.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Ever Carradine

The snide Wife of Commander Warren Putnam.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: She is part of the group of Wives who joins Serena in asking the Commanders to make an exception for the Bible to the ban on women reading. She backs off when she sees that Serena begins to read, but the impulse to [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes protect her adoptive daughter]] was there.
* {{Foil}}: Similarly to the Waterfords, with her husband. She is abrasive toward her Handmaid, he plays nice to use Janine for sex. [[DrivenToSuicide The results are also similar to the Waterfords' and the first Offred.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: She's one of the most vapid and shallow Commanders' Wives seen so far.
* {{Jerkass}}: She's even bitchier than Serena, believe it or not, and is often quite rude to Serena's face. Mostly in a maddeningly passive-aggressive way, to boot.
* LackOfEmpathy: Oddly enough, whereas Serena Joy betrays bits of (mostly hollow) empathy for June's pain, Naomi gives none to her Handmaid.
* ManipulativeBastard: She approaches the Commanders after it is discovered that Commander Putnam was carrying on an affair with Ofwarren/Janine outside the allowed "Ceremony" and requests they execute the harshest possible punishment they can under the pretense of "saving" him from "damnation," but in reality she only does it to exact revenge for being cuckolded.
* MeaninglessVillainVictory: She gets Charlotte/Angela from Janine, but she actually doesn't know how to care for her and does not appreciate the miracle that a healthy baby is in their society.
* PetTheDog: Of course, on conditions that things are done for her but she has a few sincere moments.
** Begrudgingly lets Janine say goodbye to [[spoiler: a dying Charlotte]], though it's likely out of deference for her husband.
** Then played straight when she does let Janine hold Charlotte in gratitude for Janine saving the baby.
** She also thanks June for helping the baby.
* RealityEnsues: Who would've thought that the woman who was an enthusiastic participant in Gilead wouldn't magically turn into an emphatic or caring mother?
* SpannerInTheWorks: Her admonishment to Serena Joy is one of the final turning points where Serena Joy accepts that there's something going on between Commander Waterford and June.
* TookALevelInKindness: A small one as of Season 3, which shows her actually being generous to the Handmaids and showing gratitude to June and Janine.
* UngratefulBitch: Has zero regard for her Handmaid Ofwarren/Janine, despite the fact that the poor girl is forced to give birth, then surrender her own daughter to Naomi's custody. She mellows a bit on that on the conditions that Janine does save her baby's life.
* WomanScorned: She manipulates the Commanders to amputate her husband's right hand in order to punish him for cheating on her with a Handmaid.

[[folder:Eleanor Lawrence]]

The wife of Lawrence and the love of his life.
-----
* TheAtoner: Being that she is a Wife in Gilead, it's unknown what role she played in Gilead's early design, but she is vocal about her opposition of the Colonies to Emily.
* BrokenBird
* CloudCuckoolander: One day out in public in Gilead and it is evident why Lawrence keeps her under wraps.
* [[spoiler:DrivenToSuicide: One interpretation of her sleeping pill overdose.]]
* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler: A chilling one when June kisses Eleanor on the forehead when she leaves Eleanor to die by overdosage.]]
* {{Foil}}: To the Wives. Other than being kept in recluse due to her socially unacceptable behavior, exasperated by the lack of bipolar medication in Gilead, she lacks the sanctimony of the other Wives. Like other Wives, she did desire children but she also has a full grip of how terrible Gilead is and never tries to procure children for herself. She is a more active ally to her Handmaid June and tries to help her see Hannah. She also tries to speak out against her husband's part in Gilead's design.
* MadwomanInTheAttic: The way Lawrence keeps her out of sight upstairs is reminiscent of this trope.
* MoralityPet: If you want Lawrence to do something good, the best way is to convince him that it'll benefit Eleanor.
* SecretKeeper: There are issues with whether she's mentally competent enough to not blurt anything, thus why Lawrence often keeps her away from visitors like Aunt Lydia. But she's wary about the rebellion operations in her husband's household. Later on, when her medication runs out, this is averted in full display when she nearly blurts out June's plan to Mrs. Putnam and Mrs. Winslow, but the two wives appear to be oblivious to what is happening. [[spoiler: This liability ultimately is what makes June not help Eleanor when she is in the middle of an overdose.]]
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Played with. [[spoiler: Her overzealousness in saving one more child, accommodating everyone oppressed in Gilead in ways inconvenient to the secrecy of the children rescue mission, has June leaving her to die by pill overdose.]]

[[folder:Mrs. O'Conner]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marisa_tomei_handmaids_tale.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/MarisaTomei

A Wife who ends up in the Colonies by committing the "sins of the flesh."

* AsTheGoodBookSays: She is fiercely religious and quotes verses from the Bible. She has a strong belief that God and her faith will save her.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: She supported the rise of the fundamentalist regime of Gilead and ended up being forced to share her husband with another woman. As a result of feeling neglected and unloved, she has an affair, is discovered and sent to die a slow, agonizing death in the colonies.
* DeadStarWalking: Creator/MarisaTomei is more famous than a lot of the regulars, and she only survives for a single episode.
* TheFool: Her romantic outlook on life is borderline delusional, and she is hopelessly out of her league in her new environment.
* FoolForLove: She must have surely known the punishment for sins of the flesh, but she still risked having an affair because she fell in love.
* NaiveNewcomer: She has no idea what awaits her in the colonies.
* ObliviouslyEvil: In Emily's opinion, her role as a Gilead Wife automatically makes her this.

[[folder:Mrs. [=McKenzie=] ]]

The wife of Commander [=McKenzie=]. She and her husband are Hannah's new parents.

* AbusiveParents: The Commander and Wife to whom June and Luke's daughter Hannah was assigned to have physically punished their 'daughter' "only twice", according to their Martha. By Gilead standards, it's no doubt a correct Biblical way to bring up children. By modern standards held by most viewers, it's abuse, plain and simple.
* AntiVillain: She comes off as one of the kinder Wives we've seen thus far, given that she's at least ''somewhat'' sympathetic to June's situation, and is explicitly stated to have been a charitable person who fed homeless children in pre-Gilead times.
* JerkassHasAPoint: She may be a jerk, but she's right in trying to convince June that all attempts to see Hannah may end up badly, and for one of her Marthas, it does.
* NonIdleRich: According to Commander Lawrence, she is a perfectly suitable mother to Hannah, having used her free time pre-Gilead to feed orphaned children in Africa.
* PetTheDog: She gives the information-starved June a few precious details about Hannah's life, and it serves to reassure her that her daughter is being well taken care of.

[[folder:Olivia Winslow]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/ElizabethReaser

The friendly wife of High Commander Winslow, she and her husband are introduced as the Washington D.C hosts of Fred and Serena Waterford. She wants to convince Serena to move to Washington.

* AffablyEvil: She looks sweet and fun at first. And then you see her Handmaid. And then you see her walking through the abandoned mansion of a family who was victimized by Gilead as if she was a realtor trying to sell the place to Serena, completely apathetic to the terrifying fate of the previous occupants.
** When she is tearfully praying with Mrs. Putnam and Mrs. Lawrence, June offers her sympathies (although mostly to cover up for Mrs. Lawrence's erratic statements) and Olivia coldly ''orders'' her to pray for the safe return of her husband.
* AmoralAttorney: She was a corporate lawyer before Gilead, and she acclimatized perfectly in the country's new, murderous regime.
* CareerVersusMan: She confesses to Serena that her book helped her a great deal decide herself in favor of starting a family with her husband.
* CheatingWithTheMilkman: Or the armed guards, in this case. During a party in Washington, Olivia and the other Wives let Serena know that they're sleeping around with the young, hunky guards while their husbands are running an evil theocratic regime- apparently it's a normal practice and they invite Serena to enjoy the "benefits" of living in Washington.
* LackOfEmpathy: Especially obvious when she is showing Serena around an abandoned mansion, which still contained the belongings of the previous inhabitants (including children). Olivia cheerfully tries to convince Serena to move into the mansion, sparing no thought for the family whose life was destroyed by Gilead. The whole scene is reminiscent of an incident where the infamous Nazi-sympathizer Unity Mitford entered an apartment she was given by the Nazis and started making comments about replacing the drapes... with the original, Jewish inhabitants crying right there in the living room as they were being forced to leave (God knows towards what fate).
* LaserGuidedKarma: After her husband [[spoiler: disappears]], she is distraught and fears that her many (stolen) children will be taken away from her. It's very satisfying to see her so desperate, especially after she haughtily orders June to pray for her husband.
* ObliviouslyEvil: When asked who the six multiracial children living in their house belong to, she smiles brightly and says “Who else’s would they be?”

[[/folder]]

!!Eyes of Gilead

[[folder:Nick Blaine]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_max_minghella.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Max Minghella

A driver who works for the Waterfords. He is later promoted to Commander and is implied to have played a critical role in the rise of Gilead.
----
* {{Adorkable}}: When June first starts noticing his attraction to her, he's skulking around in the kitchen when she's eating. Prompting Rita's annoyed question: "Don't you have somewhere else to be?".
* TheAtoner:
** He absorbs June's criticism of him, as he feels guilty of his complicity, thus his implied involvement with Mayday.
** The reveal that [[spoiler:Nick played a crucial part in the rise of Gilead]] may also explain this as well.
** He tries to be this for Eden when he realizes what his treatment of her caused, but it's too late.
* BadassDriver: In addition to driving for the Commander, Nick is also a spy.
* CoolCar: Nick lovingly polishes the Behemoth, while June notes that "the way men caress good cars" hasn't changed.
* DoubleAgent: At the start of the series, he's working for Gilead as an Eye, at least until the death of Commander Pryce. While it is suggested that he is trying to work against Gilead at the same time, his promotion to Commander and subsequent assignment to Chicago to conquer the city from the Rebels makes it difficult to pin down exactly where his loyalties lie, especially during TheReveal that he had a significant role in the rise of Gilead.
* FriendsWithBenefits:
** In the novel, both June and Nick promise each other "no strings", but it doesn't work out like that.
** It is implied that he also has this with Beth although he no longer partipicates due to his relationship with June.
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler: He goes through a silent one due to being emotionally neglectful of his assigned wife Eden and feels responsible for driving her to her execution.]]
* KickTheDog:
** Harshly scolding Eden when she innocently organizes the [[spoiler: illegal postcards of Handmaids' testimonies for him.]]
** His treatment of Eden in general, as not acknowledging that she's basically a child shipped off to a strange environment and needs moral support.
* PapaWolf: He holds back Commander Waterford when the latter realizes that June has run off with the baby. His baby.
* PutOnABus: Promoted to Commander, then shipped off to Chicago to fight the resistance during Episode 6 of Season 3 and is not seen again.
* RaceLift: Is played by the multiracial actor Max Minghella in the series.
* TheDulcineaEffect: Is unclear if he fell in love in June when he first saw her, but he's definitely interested before exchanging with her ten sentences in the series.
* TerseTalker: He's not chatty at all. It annoys even June and is taken UpToEleven when he's married to Eden and she has to force every word out of him.
[[/folder]]

!!Guardians
[[folder:Isaac]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_isaac.png]]
->'''Played by''': Rohan Mead

A young guardian assigned to the Waterford house in the second season.
----
* AlasPoorVillain: Despite him crudely treating women previously, his death is seen in a more sympathetic light, especially for both Serena and June.
* DefiantToTheEnd: He remains wordless and unrepentant during his execution.
* DrunkWithPower: When the Waterfords go to Canada, he is left in charge and it goes to his head. Other than Eden, he treats the women at the household with disdain, orders June and Janine to stop talking, and clocks Janine when she acts out.
* ImprobableAge: He's around 20. Rita comments how he is so young but he's still in charge over her and everyone else in the house, when the Waterfords are away.
--> '''Rita:''' That boy downstairs is maybe 20 years old.\
And he can tell me to do anything.\
He could break my jaw, and no one would say boo.
* StarCrossedLovers: Falls in love with Eden who reciprocates, but she is married to an older guy. Given the CrapsackWorld they live in, it ends badly for them.
* ThroughHisStomach: [[spoiler:His flirtation with Eden involve him enjoying the food she cooks.]]
* WouldHitAGirl: He hits Janine with his gun when she talks back to him.
[[/folder]]

!!Marthas

[[folder:Rita]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_rita.png]]
->'''Played By''': Amanda Brugel

A Martha who works as a domestic servant in the Waterford home.
----
* AscendedExtra: In the book, Rita is an extremely minor character. Here, she gets more personality and development, especially in the second season.
* AdaptationalHeroism: In the book, Rita and the other Martha in the Waterford house insult June behind her back. Here, Rita does no such thing, and becomes June's friend.
* CompositeCharacter: As Cora was AdaptedOut, Rita takes on some of her characteristics and role.
* {{Foil}}: Lower-class like June, but mostly abides by Gilead on the surface.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Rita goes from cold to June at the beginning of the series, to accepting Offred's offer of being her baby's godmother and [[spoiler: helping June and the baby escape the Waterfords and Gilead.]]
* HeroOfAnotherStory: As a mother who lost her son to Gilead, it's possible [[spoiler:she will work to preserve/pass along the smuggled letters of enslaved Handmaids.]]
** She, along with many other Marthas, organizes [[spoiler: June and her baby's escape from the Waterford home, with the intention of the two escaping Gilead completely.]]
** [[spoiler: She also leads the effort to smuggle the 100 children aboard a plane to Canada.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Not as dramatic as many examples, but she laments that she never [[spoiler: had a kind word for Eden after her death, and realizes that Eden was just a fifteen year old girl who wanted to be helpful.]]
* NotSoDifferent: With June. And to some extent, Serena Joy, as they both seem to be disillusioned with the cost of living in Gilead.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Lost her young adult son in Gilead's warfare to demonstrate how Gilead ironically treats its adult inhabitants as disposable, perverting the very concept of motherhood it indoctrinates.
* PassingTheTorch: As June is led away during the first season finale, she whispers to Rita to find the bundle of letters by Handmaids, implying that she trusts her to carry the Handmaids' stories. This is averted as she ultimately does not do this, and the torch is actually passed to Nick.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Downplayed with June, as they have limited interaction. Their first on-screen interaction isn't really pleasant and they mostly steer clear of each other. However, Rita freaks when she thinks she sees June dead, attributed to [[spoiler:the last Offred's suicide]], and June helps pick up the broken pieces of the dishes she dropped. Then later, Rita gives her a goodbye hug, indicating that she values June as a person more than a baby-vessel, convincing June to entrust Rita with the Handmaids' letters. During the second season, she is even more sympathetic to June, ultimately [[spoiler: assisting in her escape in the second season finale.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Beth]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_beth.png]]
->'''Played By''': Kristen Gutoskie

A Contact in which Nick used to have sexual relations with. She was a Martha who works at the kitchens in Jezebel's, but now works for Commander Lawrence, presumably as a member of the resistance.
----
* ChildfreeIsNotAllowed: She is considered a "sinner" because she had her tubes tied.
* DeadpanSnarker: She has a sarcastic and friendly disposition towards Nick.
* FriendsWithBenefits: Though Nick forgoes sex with her during his affair with June.
* ShipperOnDeck: She's never met June in Season 1, so she good-naturedly teases Nick about his affair. It's unknown if she knows June is the same woman Nick had talked about previously.
* TheInformant: She provides information to Nick in exchange for illicit products, such as alcohol, prescription drugs and pregnancy tests. It's assumed that she is still in this role in Commander Lawrence's household.
[[/folder]]

!!Aunts

[[folder: In General]]

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Aunts wear brown garbs.
* TheQuisling: Aunts enjoy certain privileges within the Gilead regime such as being allowed to read.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Aunt Lydia Clements]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ann_dowd_handmaids_tale.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/AnnDowd

The brown-garbed head of the Red Centre. There are several Aunts who train the Handmaids, but Aunt Lydia is one of the worst.
----
* AssholeVictim: Becomes an extreme version of this after [[spoiler: Emily hands her a long over-due beatdown and stabbing]], when Lydia starts showing signs of PTSD.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Like Serena Joy, there are a hints that Aunt Lydia has some disillusionment with Gilead's design. For example, [[spoiler: June's brief glance at Lydia's bewildered expression at the dinner party suggest that [[EvenEvilHasStandards she's appalled by the notion of Handmaids being trafficked]]]].
* BreakTheHaughty: Lydia definitely has a strong sense of moral superiority that she displays throughout the series. That's why it's satisfying to watch her [[spoiler: be savagely attacked and beaten to a pulp by Emily, which she survives, though is now forced to walk with a cane and still suffering from physical pain from the attack. However, she still acts like a complete jerk when June attempts to help her, cattle prodding her in the process.]]
* CutenessProximity: For all the terrible things she does, she dissolves into a puddle of cooing and delighted laughter that borders on tears of happiness when [[spoiler: baby Charlotte unexpectedly survives]]. While some of this might be explained by healthy babies being both rare and the justification for Gilead's oppression, seeing the tyrannical Aunt Lydia completely letting her guard down and just revel in sheer tender joy is very uplifting.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Gives June a black eye and tasers her for quoting the second half of the same Bible verse she just quoted. Has Janine's eye removed when Janine lips off at her. Oh yeah... and delivers the news to Ofglen [[spoiler: that she's been punished with a clitoridectomy]].
* DrillSergeantNasty: She carries a cattle prod, and seems to take delight in torturing her charges.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: There are hints that Lydia is not without morals. [[spoiler:She is disgusted by the notion of Handmaids being trafficked to Mexico, and she later is shocked when June tells her that Fred physically abuses Serena, and promises that she will protect June's child against the Waterfords.]] Lydia also considers harming a child to be the worst thing a person can do and has explicitly broken the laws of Gilead to save and protect children.
** In Season 3, the brief visit to Washington D.C. for filming the Propaganda videos, Aunt Lydia is appalled at the "silencing" of the local Handmaids. Silencing meaning having their jaws wired shut with metal rings. For someone who swings a cattleprod willy-nilly, orders female genital mutilation, and has people's eyes plucked out, there are some tortures even ''she'' can't abide.
* FamilyValuesVillain: Unlike a lot of Gilead's supporters, Lydia seems to genuinely believe that the Handmaids are completing a great wonder.
* FemaleMisogynist: Her entire job description involves indoctrinating other women into becoming submissive servants to their commanders and does so through brutal methods. She also believes that women who've been raped are guilty of leading on their rapists and that they're sluts for doing so.
* FreudianExcuse: Played with, but hardly sympathetic. Its implied she was lonely, but also with people trying to connect with her. How she deals with her own perceived moment of weakness? Doing what she always does, systematically make others miserable.
* FriendToAllChildren: One of Aunt Lydia's few positive character traits is that she is extremely protective of children, even going so far as to make an implicit promise to June that she (Lydia) would defy the Waterfords if it came down to protecting June's soon-to-be-born baby.
* HiddenDepths: In the season 3 episode "Unfit" we learn more about Lydia's life before the rise of Gilead. Before serving as an Aunt in the regime she was an elementary school teacher and prior to that, she was a lawyer who specialized in family law. Lydia was also married at one point (claiming it didn't work out) and has a brief romance with the principal of the school she teaches at (which ended in bitter disappointment). It's clear that Lydia is a well educated woman who has always struggled in the romance department, which could explain her bitterness and angry disposition.
* HopeSpot: Pretty much every time she's on the business end of a weapon.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Aunt Lydia subjected Emily/Ofglen to many forms of abuse and torture [[spoiler: including having her clitoris removed]] and constantly disparaging her for being a lesbian. [[spoiler: Emily responds by taking a knife and stabbing Lydia with it before cracking her across the jaw, sending her tumbling down the stairs, then kicking the crap out of her while she bleeds out and writhes in pain. She manages to survive this though, but later she develops PTSD, which is ironic since she’s put other women through far worse than what Emily did.]] It's pretty easy to have little or no sympathy for Lydia when this happens.
* MamaBear: She's a tyrant to the Handmaids (save for her PetTheDog moments), but she is fiercely protective of children, and is more than willing to bend rules or speak in their defense if it involves the welfare of a child.
** For as tough as she is, it's shown that there are some in Gilead that are much worse than her, and she will readily stand up to those powers (many of whom outrank her) to protect the Handmaids under her care.
* MoralityPet: After sanctioning Janine's eye-gouging, she ironically treats Janine very kindly, though it could be just because Janine gave birth to a healthy baby, which makes Janine a valued asset in Gilead. She is the only one besides June who seems genuinely distraught by [[spoiler:Janine's attempted suicide]], suggesting that she does form some attachment to her charges. This is negated by [[spoiler: sanctioning Janine's stoning]], even if she finds no pleasure in it.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[WordOfStPaul Ann Dowd]] confirmed that Aunt Lydia feels remorse for punishing Janine with losing her eye and [[BrokenBird subsequently her sanity]], which is why she takes a particularly protective stance toward her.
* NeverMessWithGranny: She's a bit older in age, and she is very imposing and threatening to the Handmaids. She even is able to make some Guardians back off when she needs to.
* ObliviouslyEvil: Like many of the Gilead tyrants she seems completely aloof to the atrocities she and the other tyrants inflict on the girls. [[spoiler: When Emily tries to kill her, and Lawrence gets her out of Gilead before she could be punished, Aunt Lydia assumes Lawrence killed Emily, and uses that as justification not to trust him. The irony being, if Emily was caught, she’d be tortured, mutilated, and possibly killed anyways.]]
* PayEvilUntoEvil: On the receiving end of it when [[spoiler: Emily decides to drive a knife into Lydia's back, punch her lights out which sends her tumbling down the stairs, then kicking the crap out of her while she bleeds out on the floor.]] It's hard to say that Lydia didn't have it coming.
* PetTheDog:
** She feels badly that [[spoiler:Serena Joy forces the physically deformed Handmaids away from the party that they were promised, and she offers to bring Janine a tray of desserts when the latter breaks down over it]].
** Her expression at the party indicates that [[spoiler: she is upset by the prospect of the handmaids being a potential resource to be traded with Mexico]].
** While keeping a tough front, she doesn't shirk on answering June's question on Janine's welfare.
** Even though she condescendingly calls her a "stupid child," she sits by [[spoiler: a comatose Janine's bedside with an expression of grief and guilt.]]
** She utterly ''adores'' babies, prioritizing them above all else. She melts into unbridled, tender joy when she sees that [[spoiler:Charlotte has survived, assures June that she will ''never'' allow harm to come to a baby, and without ever letting down her harsh front, confesses to her that she was once godmother to her nephew]].
** After seeing what was being done to the Handmaids in Washington D.C., she breaks into tears and confesses to June that she does not want to see them silenced.
** The flashbacks into pre-Gilead era show Aunt Lydia before she became... well, Aunt Lydia. A religious but kind schoolteacher, she goes out of her way to take care of one of her students, Ryan, while his loving but neglectful mother struggles with being a single parent and making ends meet. She goes so far as preparing to take Ryan home with her and feed him until his mother answers her phone.
** When high-ranking Commander Winslow subtly but clearly expresses his displeasure at the Handmaids under Aunt Lydia's control not being forced to wear the rings, Aunt Lydia [[PolitenessJudo politely but firmly]] ''stands up to him'' and pushes back against the idea. Here was a man who could have Aunt Lydia purged from the system with a stroke of his pen, and yet Aunt Lydia faced him to protect the Handmaids.
* PsychoticSmirk: Responds with an absolutely ''chilling'' one to Janine, after the latter sasses her. And then she has the poor thing [[spoiler: carted off to have her eye ripped out]].
* SlutShaming: Does this to both Janine and June as part of their "training."
* StartOfDarkness: Lydia was a religious but kind school teacher. She tries to improve the life of a neglected student, Ryan, while his loving single mother struggles to make ends meet. Ryan's mother repays Lydia for her kindness by encouraging her to go out to a party. The night goes poorly and Lydia breaks some of her personal and religious convictions by engaging in a sexual encounter during the date. WordOfGod says she was absolutely ashamed by this behavior, doubled down on her religious convictions, and had Ryan removed from his mother's household and placed into state custody without batting an eye - all while promising his mother she would pray for her immortal soul.
* TookALevelInBadass: The book Lydia was stern, but Ann Dowd's portrayal in the series is ''terrifying''.
* TookALevelInKindness: As of Season 3, she begins to lose her abusive nature against the Handmaids just a bit. While she's still a severe taskmaster who doesn't tolerate insubordination, she also shows that she's becoming disillusioned with the upper echelons of Gilead and how they treat Handmaids. For all of her faults, she's more than willing to stand up to anyone for the sake of "her girls" if she feels that they are being even more unfairly treated than they already are.
* ToughLove: According to her actress - who based in her part on a strict Catholic nun she knew as a child -- Aunt Lydia sincerely loves "her girls" and is devoted to making sure everyone in Gilead remains safe. Which she does by ripping out eyes and cuffing hands to oven burners.
* WouldntHurtAChild: Aunt Lydia does some truly terrible things to the Handmaids and is quick to use corporal punishment to get her point across. However, when it comes to children, Lydia considers harming one to be "the greatest sin" and is even willing to defy the laws of Gilead if it means saving or protecting a child.
[[/folder]]

!!Others

[[folder:Moira Strand/Ruby]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/samira_wiley_handmaids_tale.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/SamiraWiley

A lesbian and best friend of June that she was neighbors with prior to Gilead.
----

* BlackBestFriend: In the series but not the book, although it's downplayed.
* DeadpanSnarker: Moira definitely has a biting wit that she keeps even during the takeover.
* DoesNotLikeMen: In both the book and the series, Moira seems to think men are the problem.
** Somewhat averted as her small rant about men seemed to be due more to momentary frustration and fear rather than any genuine bigotry. She is close with and quite fond of Luke and doesn't seem to dislike any of the non-Gilead men she encounters.
* LawOfInverseFertility: Moira does not particularly want children, but she's one of the few people after the SterilityPlague that can still have children. Because of this she did commercial surrogacy before Gilead.
* TheLostLenore: Odette for Moira. Odette died in the Gilead take over.
* MamaBear: She's fiercely protective of her goddaughter, and wastes no time in reminding Serena that no matter what she (Serena) thinks, Nichole is ''not'' her daughter.
* ParentalSubstitute: Given that June is still stuck in Gilead, Moira is the closest thing that Nichole has to a mother in Canada.
* RaceLift: Gilead is a white supremacist society in the book, but this element is left out of the television series, where she's played by Samira Wiley.
* SexSlave: [[spoiler:She's captured by the regime after fleeing to Boston. Since she's too unruly to remain a Handmaid, she accepts becoming a Jezebel to avoid being sent to the Colonies, which is tantamount to a slow death sentence]].
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Delivers a glorious one to Serena when she meets her for the first time.
-->'''Moira''': ''"I am who I am and I have sinned plenty, but '''you''' are the gender traitor."''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Luke Bankole]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_luke.png]]
->'''Played By''': O-T Fagbenle

The husband of June. Initially thought to be killed by Guardians, it is later discovered that he survived and made it to Canada.
----
* ArmourPiercingQuestion: Lands a doozy on Fred when he asks Fred about raping June.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: He's a friendly and reasonable guy; even after being forced to live as a refugee in another country without his family, who he was separated from, has no idea what happened to, and is anxiously awaiting any news about them, we don't seen any outward signs of anger from Luke. Most of the time, his anger rises when his RelativeButton is pushed, as shown in the following episodes:
** "Smart Power", where he is furious after learning that the Waterfords (June's captors) are coming for a diplomatic visit. And during the protest against them, he breaks through the crowd of protestors and the police barricade to even attempt a swing at Waterford and to directly confront him, calling him a piece of shit and reminding him that he rapes June without skipping a beat. He also gives Nick a hard shove when the latter tries to bring him news about June.
** "Sacrifice", where he decks Fred after the latter pushes his RelativeButton one too many times.
* DotingParent: In the flashbacks, he's shown to be an affectionate father to Hannah. [[spoiler: He becomes a loving father to Nichole, June's baby with Nick, whom Emily managed to get to Canada.]]
* {{Foil}}: To most of the male characters, but especially Fred. Fred "cheats" on Serena with June both in and outside of Gilead's rules, but he's also a domineering, manipulative, and creepy bully. Luke, on the other hand, cheated on his first wife with June, but genuinely loves her, [[HeroicSacrifice tries to sacrifice his life for June and Hannah's]], and does what he can to protect her. And when it comes to caring for Holly/Nichole, Luke is shown to be far more caring than Fred, despite neither of them being the child's actual father.
* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: "Bad". Despite the fact that June (the mistress) is the main character, that their later relationship and family life seem nearly perfect and that Luke is generally portrayed as a good guy, the show doesn't shy away from showing that he was an asshole to his first wife when cheating on her and leaving her for June.
* HappilyMarried: He had a loving marriage with June. They were effectively separated when they attempted to flee the country once the regime became too oppressive for women in general and divorced people, too.
* LawfulStupid: Luke tries to apply for Canadian visas for his family, but the man helping smuggle them over the border points out that U.S. passports don't mean anything anymore.
* KickTheDog: A traumatic-fueled one where he probes a little too much into Emily's past. He regrets it and is too prideful to really know how to acknowledge it aloud.
* AMillionIsAStatistic: The main thrust of Luke's conflict. He's technically safe in Canada, but his main goal is to try and protect Hannah and June as best he can, which is difficult given that [[RealityEnsues Canada is overflowing with American refugees]] and everyone wants to know where their loved ones are.
* NiceGuy: Played with. He is affectionate to June and his daughter and wholeheartedly considers Moira family, despite initial tension with the latter. But "Other Women" also brings up questions about how he treated his first wife. Because we're in June's headspace, she ignores Luke's culpability over how he treated his first wife and focuses on her own guilt.
* TheNicknamer: Shown in flashbacks calling his family members with {{Affectionate Nickname}}s -- his wife "Junebug" and his daughter "Hannah Banana".
* PapaWolf:
** Stayed behind to hold off the soldiers chasing them to let June and Hannah escape.
** Initially is very protective towards Nichole when Serena comes to visit.
* RaceLift: Is African-American in the series. Although his race is technically not stated, the race relations of Gilead in the novel suggest he's white.
* RemarriedToTheMistress: This is his backstory with June.
* SparedByAdaptation: In the book, Offred does not know whether he is dead or alive. On the show, he is shown alive, [[spoiler: having successfully made it to Canada]].
* TearsOfJoy: He cries upon receiving his long-lost wife's message and also when he's reunited with Moira in Canada. Moira is moved as well because it never occurred to her to reference Luke (her best friend's husband) as her family, which Luke obviously did.
* YourCheatingHeart: He had a short affair with June while being married to another woman, then left his wife for June.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hannah Bankole/Agnes Mackenzie]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_hannah.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Jordana Blake

June and Luke's daughter, born before the rise of Gilead. At the start of the series, she was taken from her parents while trying to flee Gilead and placed with the Mackenzie family where she is given the name Agnes.
----
* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: The Commander and Wife she was assigned to have physically punished her, "only twice".]]
* DefrostingIceQueen: [[spoiler: Due to the trauma of separation, she can barely bring herself to acknowledge June when they're briefly and secretly reunited, having accepted her new parents and resented her mother for not 'trying hard enough' to find her, but she eventually breaks down crying and calls her Mommy.]]
* DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff: The Martha from their household says to June that Hannah/Agnes was physically punished by her new parents "only twice". With all their obsession with Biblical allusions, "spare the rod" is very likely presented as the correct parental discipline and beneficial to children.
* FeminineWomenCanCook: Mrs. [=McKenzie=] says to June that she (Hannah/Agnes) is actually quite a good cook. One of the few things girls in Gilead are allowed to learn and a properly feminine hobby for daughters. June is delighted to hear it because Luke cooks.
* MeaningfulRename: After her forced adoption, her new parents have renamed her 'Agnes', presumably to erase her connection to her 'sinful' parents.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: She was never referred to by name in the novel, presumably because Offred wanted to protect her identity.
* PutOnABus: Due to Ofmatthew's treachery, the entire Mackenzie family is relocated and no one, including June or Commander Lawrence knows where they are.
* RaceLift: In the novel, she is described as being blonde, whereas in the series she is biracial.
* TextileWorkIsFeminine: Her "adoptive mother" says that she likes to sew, but that she's not very good at it. Sewing and other textile work is one of the few things daughters are allowed to learn and pursue as it's perceived as a properly feminine interest.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Holly/Nichole Waterford]]

June and Nick's daughter, conceived and born in Gilead. She now resides with Luke and Moira after Emily was able to smuggle her across the border.
----
* DeadGuyJunior: When she is born, June names her Holly, after her mother.
* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Against many odds, she survives being submerged in cold water while Emily crosses a river to reach Canada.
* MeaningfulRename: June names her Holly upon her birth, but when Serena claims her for herself, she is given the name Nichole. As a nod to Serena allowing Holly to escape, June tells Emily (who is taking her to Canada) to call her Nichole as well. Even with Luke knowing her real name and parentage later on, both Luke and Moira continue to call the baby Nichole.
* {{Protectorate}}: Both Moira and Luke act as MamaBear and PapaWolf to Holly/Nichole while she is in Canada
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Variation. She doesn't do anything, given that she is a baby. But her very existence is what drives the plot in Season 3 where High Commander Winslow wants to use her as a tool to force Canada to deport all Gilead refugees, while Serena goes behind the scenes to try to get back together with Nichole.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eden Blaine (nee Spencer)]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_eden.png]]
->'''Played By''': Sydney Sweeney

A 15-year-old Econowife (forcibly) assigned to Nick.
----

* ArrangedMarriage: Gilead pawns her off as Nick's new wife.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Poor Eden doesn't seem to realize how awful Gilead is and is molded to believe it's 100% dutiful.
* DefiantToTheEnd: Despite being hugely brainwashed to obey Gilead, [[spoiler:she grows disillusioned enough with her marriage to try to defy Gilead when she falls in love with a more age-appropriate boy. At her execution, [[DyingMomentOfAwesome she does not renounce her sin but simply recites a Biblical verse.]]]]
* HiddenDepths: June finds a heavily annotated Bible among her personal belongings, suggesting that Eden did not buy into Gilead's doctrine to the extent that she appeared to - specifically, she was reading (which Gilead does not permit for women) and trying to understand or analyse the Bible beyond what Gilead teaches.
* ILetGwenStacyDie: [[spoiler: Eden's execution weighs pretty heavily on Serena Joy, seemingly convincing her that Gilead is not safe even for the most obedient and True-Believing of girls. This helps facilitate her HeelFaceTurn and specifically, her decision to let June escape with baby Nichole.]]
* MalMariee: Mal Mariée means "badly married" and it refers to a young girl unhappily married to an old guy. 15-year-old Eden is forcibly assigned to marry Nick Blaine. Nick is in love with June who are both in their thirties. Eden tries to make the marriage work, but Nick's not interested in her, which she takes hard. She soon falls in love with guardian Isaac who is about her age. In a twist, she's exasperated that Nick is not jealous at all and angry that he doesn't even care she kissed another man. After chatting with June, who advises her to grab whatever chance at happiness she has in their crapsack world, Eden and Isaac run away. They are caught [[spoiler: and executed — Eden for infidelity, Isaac for desertion.]]
* MoralityPet:
** Despite his cruel nature, Isaac comes to love Eden and tries to elope with her. [[spoiler: But they both get caught and tragically die.]]
** Serena Joy, as awful as she may be, tries to look out for Eden, [[spoiler: and Eden's execution weighs heavily on her]].
* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:She is executed for infidelity after running away with Isaac.]]
* UnwantedSpouse: To Nick, he doesn't want their ForcedMarriage and is not interested in her. Eden tries to be nice to him and make it work for some time.
* WomanScorned: She comes to resent Nick's avoidance of her and neglect of their marriage, and picks up on his attraction to June.
* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler: Nick catches her kissing Isaac. She immediately runs to him begging forgiveness, but becomes upset with him when he tells her that he doesn't care.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Holly Maddox]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/handmaids_tale_cherry_jones.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Cherry Jones

June's feminist mother. She was a doctor (possibly an Obstetrician) before the Gilead takeover.
----

* AFateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: When Aunt Lydia is showing the handmaids photos in the Red Centre, June and Moira see one of her in the Colonies.]]
* CoolOldLady: Blasts 'Hollaback Girl' by Gwen Stefani whilst riding in June's car with her feet on the dash.
* ItsASmallWorldAfterAll: Dr. Yates, an Obstetrician in Gilead, claims he knows Dr. Maddox but it may be purely based on reputation. This does make the implication that Holly is an obstetrician herself based on this.
* ParentalMarriageVeto: Downplayed, but she seriously disapproved of June marrying Luke.
* SoapboxSadie: While her feminist views are portrayed rather sympatethically (and as the polar opposite of Gilead's ideology), she can have a bit... strong opinions. Marriage? Wasting one's energy for "just a guy" (said when her daughter announces her engagement to her). Baptism? "Having your child sanctified by a bunch of HolierThanThou child molesters" (said in a church). Ah, and she insist that the whole family dines in a vegan restaurant despite, by June's words, "not even being a fucking vegan".
* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: Again downplayed, but she doesn't understand June's happiness with her editing job, marriage, and normal family life and compares her unfavourably to Moira, who is more involved in political action and resistance.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mark Tuello]]
->'''Played By''': Sam Jaeger

An intelligence agent for the Loyalist United States forces, operating out of Canada.
----

* PutOnABus: Due to Ofmatthew's treachery, the entire Mackenzie family is relocated and no one, including June knows where they are.

* DoubleAgent: He's working for Gilead as an Eye. However, he is also working against Gilead, and with the death of Commander Pryce, it is ambiguous who he is actually working for now.

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:Offred spends the first half of season 2 attempting to escape Gilead, only to be caught and returned to the Waterfords from the "kidnappers". ]]

* DeadpanSnarker: Offred is much more sarcastic in the series than in the novel. She's mostly a FirstPersonSmartass or occasionally a ServileSnarker because if she badmouths anyone, she's gonna be punished by her 'masters' or by Aunts.

* SanitySlippage: Starts off as normal and defiant, but a combination of [[EyeScream ripping out her eye]] and and group slut-shaming her for being an underage rape victim, results in this. Its implied even more types of psychological torture happened to her off-screen, but not elaborated on.

** Her reasons for snatching Offred away from interacting with Emily. She had a worse life in the Before and this life in Gilead seems better by comparison, so she wants to protect her life and play the pious rule-abider. Though it's also up to interpretation whether she really thinks this way.

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Her way of pulling Offred away from talking to her traumatized friend may seem harsh, but she has no malice in doing so, as she's on survival mode in Gilead. She also seems genuinely protective of Offred over the driving incident and tries to offer Offred encouragement in the aftermath. Her camaraderie with her fellow Handmaids is also shown when she [[spoiler:stands up for Janine at her stoning]] and methodically [[spoiler: shows her fellow Handmaids her detonation button in order to warn them to run off before she dashes to suicide-bomb the room of Commanders.]]
* KickTheDog: Pulling Offred away from talking to Emily and then later scolding Offred for taking too long to walk to the Salvaging. It becomes evident that it's part of her survival mode.

* VitriolicBestBuds: Due to the stress of Gilead's operations and limited time spent with Offred, the two don't really get along much, and their bickering is akin to two sisters feeling resentment for the other getting them into trouble. However, like sisters, they do truly care about one another, with [[spoiler: Offred feeling awful about her TongueTrauma and Ofglen trying to to pull Offred away from a danger zone]]. Later, [[spoiler: Offred wishes she knew Ofglen's name.]]

* LaResistance: Her involvement with Mayday is heavily implied by "A Women's Place" when she [[spoiler: asks Offred if she overheard talks of trade routes and dates regarding the trafficking of handmaids]]. And then confirmed when [[spoiler:Offred asks to join Mayday and gets tasked by Alma with returning to Jezebel's to receive a package.]]

* DueToTheDead: The living Offred finds a camaraderie with her. Part of what helps the current Offred to survive is to help cherish the last Offred's memory.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: We may not know her name and her only on-screen appearance is of her dead body, but the Latin phrase she carves in the closet wall offers inspiration for Offred.

* FemaleMisogynist: Given her treatment of Offred and her religious view of women in general. She also can't seem to admit she paid the price for this mindset.

* FireForgedFriends: [[spoiler:Was at one point horrible to Offred; after the two work together to subtly subvert some of Gilead's more extreme actions, they begin to see each other on more common ground.]]

** She taunts Fred with the revelation that he isn't actually the father of June's baby, since she forced June and Nick to have sex. [[spoiler:When she betrays Fred and hands him over to the American government in exile, it is revealed that she never told Mark Tuello about the circumstances of Nicholes conception. Fred then tells Mark exactly what she did, which leads to her being arrested too.]]

* ItsAllAboutMe: Not uncommon in the Wives. She values her comfort in Gilead at the expense of Offred.

* PetTheDog: Deconstructed, as her moments of empathy and kindness offer no long-term solace for Offred's station. [[spoiler:Until she let's Offred's baby escape Gilead.]] [[FaceHeelRevolvingDoor Which she tries to undo later.]]

Commander Fred Waterford is the head of the household for whom Offred serves as their breeding slave.

* AffablyEvil: High-ranking commander happily taking part in a totalitarian, Christian fundamentalist, and in the books, racist government where, among many things, women are forced into sexual slavery. But when he's not raping Offred or allowing for women to be brutally subjugated and denied basic rights, he's quite polite and kind, going so far as to invite Offred into his office for games of Scrabble or giving her gifts such as permission to read magazines from the Before Era[[note]]Women aren't allowed to work, own property, control money, or read, so [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness this is a huge deal]].[[/note]]. [[spoiler:He continues these meetings with Offred/June in hopes that, unlike her predecessor, Offred won't commit suicide. [[FauxAffablyEvil However, episodes 9 and 10 imply that there was more than one Offred who killed herself and it was because of the Commander's secret meetings with the girls]].]]

* GreenEyedMonster: By "Seeds", a little bit of jealousy toward Nick (whom he deduced is the father of Offred's child) kicks in enough for him to try to get Nick assigned away from him.

** His treatment of Offred during the times he isn't performing the Ceremony with her is quite polite and almost charming, if not unnerving. It's one way he exploits the power imbalance to subjugate Offred.
** The one time he does something sincerely decent is to persuade Commander Warren to let Offred [[spoiler: talk Janine down]].

** At least, he recommends Serena Joy, off-screen, that Offred should be let outside after being shut in for days, as Offred plays to his remaining morality to not [[spoiler: cause her to be DrivenToSuicide like the last Offred]].
** Invokes this trope by [[spoiler: setting up Offred's meeting with Moira, though he finds her ungrateful for [[WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency not thanking him automatically]] and disappointed that [[GirlOnGirlIsHot they're not lovers]]]].
** While he congratulated Offred likely to just probe into the matter, [[spoiler: he implies to Offred that he knows she's fibbing about the father of the baby and compliments her pretend game. Since he shows no grudge or anger, Offred even reacts with amusement rather than fear.]]

* KickTheDog: Many, but the clincher is [[spoiler: letting Offred catch inadequate glimpses of her daughter to keep her pregnant Handmaid on a leash through an implied hostage situation]].

** Giving Offred a cookie, even if it's at the condescending urging of the other Wives. But even Serena seems to recognize the faux-kindness of the class stratification--and the whole birth ritual itself. She also seems to genuinely recognize how traumatizing it is for Janine/Ofwarren to surrender her child.
** Taking Offred out to visit another Wife's baby. Though it's implied she did that to parade her then-possibly pregnant Handmaid around, she also asked, kindly, if Offred had visited her friend Janine, a fellow Handmaid.
** Also acknowledging to Offred that things are hard and they must be strong. Pretty hollow when Serena Joy is too privileged to know the horrors a Handmaid has to go through.
** Gifting Offred the music box.

** After [[spoiler:conspiring with Offred to adjust Gilead's policies in hopes of rescuing baby Angela/Charlotte, she assures Offred that she will handle the consequences]].
** Allowing Offred to [[spoiler: take Nicole/Holly to escape the Waterford home and Gilead, knowing that her adoptive daughter cannot grow up in a country that can never be safe for women and girls.]]

* LackOfEmpathy: Oddly enough, whereas Serena Joy betrays bits of (mostly hollow) empathy for Offred's pain, Naomi gives none to her Handmaid.

* SpannerInTheWorks: Her admonishment to Serena Joy is one of the final turning points where Serena Joy accepts that there's something going on between Commander Waterford and Offred.

** He absorbs Offred's criticism of him, as he feels guilty of his complicity, thus his implied involvement with Mayday.

* CoolCar: Nick lovingly polishes the Behemoth, while Offred notes that "the way men caress good cars" hasn't changed.

** In the novel, both Offred and Nick promise each other "no strings", but it doesn't work out like that.

* AdaptationalHeroism: In the book, Rita and the other Martha in the Waterford house insult Offred behind her back. Here, Rita does no such thing, and becomes Offred's friend.

* {{Foil}}: Lower-class like Offred, but mostly abides by Gilead on the surface.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Rita goes from cold to Offred at the beginning of the series, to accepting Offred's offer of being her baby's godmother and [[spoiler: helping Offred and the baby escape the Waterfords and Gilead.]]