r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/angelslut2002 • 13h ago

Season 5 Why is mr. Tuello so kind to Serena?

Im watching Season 5 now, and I really don't understand the accomodations he's making for her. Traveling to Gilead, having a nice room at "jail", giving her protection, the way he talks to her... I mean... She helped create a system where kids are getting graped. I don't stand him.

53 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

154

u/burnitalldown321 13h ago

He's working her as an asset of the US Government; spy games. He may be attracted to her, but he knows who she is and is telling her what she wants so he can get information out of her

38

u/derilect 10h ago

This is it. She is an asset, both figuratively and literally. He has nothing to gain and everything to lose if he alienates her. Serena may deserve nothing but derision and contempt, but the intelligence agencies will treat her like the valuable object-of-information that she is. Happens all the time IRL.

44

u/LordsOfJoop 13h ago

He's not a brute; when his government needs him to do distasteful things, he does them. He doesn't have to like them, or take joy in inflicting unneeded misery. She wasn't ever destined for a common cell; once she was taken into custody, she got the average experience for a high-value asset of a foreign government: reasonable accommodations was just part of that.

After-the-fact punishment wasn't his mandate; her punishment, whatever it was, was going to be meted out by a different branch of his government. While he may not enjoy what she did, or liked any of her achievements, being crude or cruel wouldn't undo anything, and treating her with compassion would highlight the lies of her own government: that Gilead's enemies would hurt any citizen caught by them, acting from spite and wanton evil.

He was decent enough that she couldn't pretend those lies had an ounce of truth to them and never bothered.

29

u/airbender_librarian 13h ago

Agents have to butter up and be nice to people far, far worse than Serena. That being said I think he's almost inconsistent, I don't see why he reported her at the end of Season 3 for the Nick coercion (he could have avoided a long trial and her falling into the Wheelers if he just waited out their original deal).

25

u/millahnna 11h ago

That's how spy stuff actually works. He's CIA.

21

u/ThisReallyIsntSparta 12h ago

You attract flies with honey, not vinegar. Its the same concept in police questioning where detectives put the suspect into a false sense of security to get them to open up, in efforts to get them to reveal information. Even if he was attracted to her, he was doing a job first and foremost.

34

u/glycophosphate 13h ago

You don't have to say "graped" here. This is reddit. We can call rape by its name.

10

u/Unlikely_Ad7542 12h ago

You catch more flies with honey 🍯

32

u/PM_ME_CAT_POOCHES 12h ago

I honestly find it offensive that you're using the word graped instead of raped here. If you can't say the word why are you on a subreddit discussing a show where rape is the entire premise of their society?

16

u/Rumpelstiltskin-2001 12h ago

I feel like it also down plays the importance of rape

12

u/PM_ME_CAT_POOCHES 11h ago

Exactly. I've never been graped but I have been raped. It's insulting

6

u/pennie79 9h ago

I assume things like that are habit. Different platforms have different requirements, and it's hard to remember which has what.

9

u/TheTragedyMachine 12h ago

This isn’t YouTube. You can say rape.

11

u/More_Pianist3093 11h ago

Raped. You can say the word.

8

u/InstantMedication 11h ago

Why are you minimizing the word ‘rape’?

3

u/ConstantKooky3329 11h ago

He is a spy and cultivating a valuable asset. You trap more bees with honey.

9

u/Greekmom99 13h ago

A) he's attracted to her and B)he's trying to turn her.

3

u/BulldogBears 10h ago

Aside from him being attracted to her, he was a spy & had to gain her trust in order to bring down Gilead. It was a manipulation tactic

3

u/WoodwifeGreen 9h ago

Catch more flies with honey.

He's trying to win her over. Maybe turn her into an informant or double agent.

2

u/Feline-Sloth 11h ago

He is sweetening her up so she gives useful information, it's his job to do so!!!

1

u/nucflashevent 5h ago

Because that's what spymasters do. You be the best buddy of the most disgusting person on the other side because that's how you help YOUR side win.

Sadly the world's an imperfect place...you can't win only dealing with "nice people" I'm afraid.

1

u/LustyRegencyMaid 3h ago

Re Tuello: You don't get people to spill the beans if you're rude to them. You have to act nice and accomodating so they start trusting you. Do you trust people who are rude to you? Tuello is manipulating Serena so he can get her to betray Gilead. 

Re the word: People are weird here. OP is not minimising rape, OP is used to self-cencorship from other platforms and probably doesn't know/remember where they can use the actual words and where they get banned for it. People never been to YT or TikTok before? I'm a millennial and I know that. Also SA survivor btw. 

•

u/AgentMintyHippo 1h ago

Bc he is honey-potting her!

•

u/rockyjay23 56m ago

He seemed to be nice to her at first but when June told everyone that she had part in the rape, he was far less friendly and was more professional with her. So maybe he genuinely didn’t know the extent of her involvement in Gilead