Sydney Sweeney Kills It on ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

Sydney Sweeney, best known for her 2018 role on the short-lived Netflix original series “Everything Sucks!” portrays a different side of herself than fans are used to seeing in Hulu’s groundbreaking drama “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

In “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Sweeney portrays a fifteen year old child-bride brought up under the totalitarian government of the Republic of Gilead. Destined to be nothing more than a “womb with legs” or a subservient sidepiece, Sweeney’s character offers an intriguing and heartbreaking look at the lives of young children within the Republic. Sweeney’s character offers commentary on the continued advanced maturing of children and teens mirrored in today’s society.

The show, which is based on the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood, has never shied away from confronting disturbing and graphic content, yet many were still shocked by the reveal of Sweeney’s character. The idea of a young child being married off to a man nearly twenty years her senior, when she herself is little more than a child, has proven itself one of the most uncomfortable ideas portrayed on the show, and that is in no small part due to Sweeney’s portrayal of the character.

Sweeney allows for a innocence and naivety to shine through Eden, making her almost unrecognizable from previous roles she’s played.

Comparing her scenes with Serena Joy in “The Handmaid’s Tale,” particularly the wedding night scene, versus her scenes many sexually charged scenes as Emaline in “Everything Sucks!” and you can see just how versatile and dynamic an actress Sweeney truly is.