The Handmaid’s Tale season 2: How is there worse to come?

After a set of episodes that have pushed viewers of The Handmaid’s Tale to new levels of surprise, how can the show escalate further in season 2?

This season of The Handmaid’s Tale has not held back in any way, shape, or form. At least, that’s what it feels like. Starting at about “Seeds,” then following through “First Blood,” “After,” and “Women’s Work,” each episode has had its own uniquely painful, uncomfortable, or just plain disturbing moment.

Not all of them are equal, of course. But all of them seem perfectly designed to punch through what viewers have been accustomed to when it comes to this series.

Apparently, that isn’t going to stop any time soon. Per Variety, actress Yvonne Strahovski has said that the scene from “Women’s Work” was not the only one that had members of the crew saying it was “too much.”

The Handmaid’s Tale — “Women’s Work” – Episode 208 – A sick baby tests Offred and Serena. Janine finally faces Naomi. Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) and Commander Waterford (Joseph Fiennes), shown. (Photo by: George Kraychyk/Hulu)

If we, as an audience, have given in despite viewing episodes about once a week with long breaks in between, how much more hardened is the crew? And, following through logically, how much more worried should we be to hear that there’s more crew-disturbing scenes to come in the last episodes of season 2?

We can think of one possibility already. After all, Variety also confirmed that June’s baby will be born in season 2 as well. While that could make a solid ending to the season overall, the fact that it’s been allowed to be announced seems like it’ll happen sooner than that. She has, after all, been steadily growing larger throughout the season. Even giving birth in Gilead seems like a dangerous proposition — just in general, and June’s in rather unique circumstances.

Next: The Handmaid's Tale S2E8 review: Women's Work

All of these seem so straightforward, though, and that might be the greatest advantage The Handmaid’s Tale has right now: viewers know it can get worse, and viewers also know that the show’s writers and production have creative ways of making it get worse that we can’t see just yet.