Yeah, basically the only artificial artifact is the actual coups d'etat. Yes, I also thought the two lines were connected.

I wonder, were they will go with Serena. I really rarely have these "I wish something bad to happen to characters" impulses but they really make the Gileadis easy to hate. Much more so than Fred, who I really only want to die, I kind of wish Serena would experience the hell she has caused for others.