‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: Sam Jaeger Thinks Mark Tuello Is ‘in Love With Who Serena Was’ Pre-Gilead

In The Handmaid’s Tale, Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger) and Serena Joy Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski) have unbelievable chemistry. This chemistry has led some fans to pick up on romantic tension between the characters. In an interview with Forbes, Jaeger clarified where Mark stands when it comes to his feelings for Serena Joy.

[Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for season 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale.]

Sam Jaeger thinks Mark Tuello could be ‘in love with’ a part of Serena Joy in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

Mark Tuello first appeared in The Handmaid’s Tale in the show’s second season when he tried to convince Serena Joy to leave Gilead for Canada.

Since the show’s third season, the tension between Mark and Serena Joy has been a focal point of The Handmaid’s Tale. Despite Serena Joy’s crimes in Gilead and against June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss), Mark appears to care for her past handling her case with the International Criminal Court.

In an interview with Forbes ahead of the season 5 premiere of The Handmaid’s Tale, Jaeger was asked about Mark’s feelings for Serena.

“I think he is maybe in love with who Serena was before Gilead. This season is about discovering how much of a hold Gilead has on her,” Jaeger answered.

Mark Tuello is not the father of Serena Joy’s baby

In The Handmaid’s Tale, Serena Joy is currently pregnant. Since her pregnancy was revealed, it has been speculated by fans that Mark is possibly the father despite the show asserting Serena Joy’s late husband Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) is the father.

During a 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly, The Handmaid’s Tale showrunner Bruce Miller admitted that fans who think Mark is the father of Serena Joy’s child are “reading too much into it.”

However, the showrunner admitted that Mark and Serena have clear “chemistry” on the show.

“I think it’s reading too much into it; it’s reading into the chemistry. His job is to make her very, very comfortable with him, and he does it very well. But I don’t know how much is the job and how much is the way that he feels [about her], but I don’t know that he even knows. This is his job, to make her comfortable and to trust him,” he told Entertainment Weekly.

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ showrunner thinks Mark became ‘obsessed with’ Serena Joy before meeting her

In the 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Miller affirmed that Mark’s interest in Serena Joy started when he began researching her before he met her in season 2 of The Handmaid’s Tale.

“So yes, they have a very interesting, complicated relationship. As an intelligence officer, his job was to kind of become obsessed with her, before he met her, and know everything about the way that her mind works,” Miller said. “You can’t help but be impressed by someone like Serena in that way. So is she impressive to him? Sure. But Fred is the father.”