Dowd on ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ Aunt Lydia and the Miracle of Forgiveness

Everyone’s favorite Aunt is probably not dead. Ann Dowd says she reports to work on the third season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” in October.

And perhaps “favorite” isn’t quite accurate, not when it comes to Aunt Lydia, the formidable enforcer who keeps Gilead’s handmaids on the straight and narrow in the Hulu drama. She does not shrink from taking extreme actions — that’s part of the reason Emily (Alexis Bledel) stabbed Lydia and threw her down a flight of stairs at the end of the second season.

But thanks to Dowd’s performance, the woman is not a caricature. She is a devout believer who is sure the way to save the world is to have the handmaids — after being reformed by the Aunts — repopulate a broken world. Anything that helps her reach that goal is on the table.

“The great thing is, at the end of the day is, she doesn’t answer to a man,” Dowd said. “Now, the Commanders are ‘in charge.’ I say that in quotes — she does not answer to them. She can lead them better than they can lead themselves.”

Dowd won a supporting actress Emmy in 2017 for her “Handmaid’s” work and was nominated in the same category this year. (She was also nominated in 2017 year for her work in “The Leftovers.”) In a phone interview, she discussed what drives Aunt Lydia, season 2’s controversial ending and how a long, challenging family saga from her own life helped her understand Offred’s curious choices. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

A: To be nominated is a thrilling thing. To have won last year — I’ll never get over that. The deep shock, the deep gratitude, all of it, I’ll just never forget it. All of those things are thrilling. I have no words.

A: Thank you. I was very stunned, and I can tell you it was heartfelt and wildly grateful. It all comes before you — all the people that helped you, the support you got day after day, for years, when you couldn’t make the rent. When I was pregnant with my first child, I was 35 years old and I was working in a pet shop.

A: I don’t follow those things, but my daughter was extremely upset. She said: “Why did Offred not leave? She could help her daughter from the other side.” I said to her, “Listen, if you’re a mother and you have a young child who is vulnerable, it is very hard to leave.” My son is next to me here, right now. He’s 26 years old. [To her son.] Can I say that you are an adult with disabilities? [He gives his permission.]

If I had the choice to leave him or not leave him, I would never leave. I couldn’t. I would stay because the physical presence [matters]. There are others on the other side [for the baby]. For Offred, there is a child that remains who is vulnerable, and she cannot and will not leave. That made complete sense to me, emotionally.

A: What happened between Serena Joy [Yvonne Strahovski] and Offred [Elisabeth Moss] was profound in the truest sense. Nothing that we’ve been moving toward would prepare us for the moment in which Serena says, “Take the baby.” It was her baby, it was her pride and joy. She planned and hoped and despaired. Then she attaches as a mother to the baby, a true mother. And she realizes in this place, she will never thrive, she will never know herself.

A: This is what’s remarkable. It happens between two people. That is to say, Serena Joy did something that was extraordinary. She gave the baby up. It wasn’t for Offred to do it alone, it was between the two of them. I’ll give you a personal analogy.

My youngest child is 13. He was my foster son at nine months. The deal was, he goes back to mother when mother finishes her programs, whatever they may be. His mother was deeply jealous and angry at me from almost the beginning. The way she talked to me and treated me and my kids, and the stuff that went down between us was unbelievable. At one point, I hadn’t seen him in a year; she wouldn’t allow [a visit]. We’d plan a big party, balloons, everything. She’d never show. Time after time. And because we both loved the same child, I love her. I love her deeply.

What I’m saying is, something about the love of a child such as Serena and Offred had for that baby — it is the grounds on which miracles occur. And by miracles I mean forgiveness and love. Which is I think the strongest thing. Now, if Lydia didn’t change her ways or see the light or something, it might be very hard for someone to forgive her. But I think, where there’s love and where there’s some level of truth, anything can happen.

A: And knowing you have to be in there for the long haul. That because it’s love, and I believe Lydia does deeply love those babies. Doesn’t take two minutes to love your baby.

A: If you think of those early meetings in the church basements, those secret meetings before Gilead took over, I don’t think what they talked about was Commanders living in huge houses with ridiculous baby showers and an absurd stuffed giraffe for the baby’s room. I think they talked about a simple life and a pure life and showing God, “We can restore the beautiful Earth you gave us. We will find a way to bring beautiful children into this world.”

She comes to Gilead fully prepared to take over her role, and looks around and sees all that [expletive], pardon my language. She has very strong feelings about it and knows how far she can go. Power is not what motivates her, or harming other women.

A: Yes, and then they commit to it. That’s what I love. They commit full-on.