The Testaments wrapped up its first season this week, and no character had a rougher ride at the end than Becka, played by Mattea Conforti. In episode nine, “Marat Sade,” she did the unthinkable to protect her best friend, Agnes (Chase Infiniti). In episode 10, “Secateurs,” she got a surprising reprieve but also a grim glimpse of her future. The latter is something the show will surely be exploring in depth when it returns for season two.
In case you haven’t watched the finale yet, here’s one of these:
In “Marat Sade,” Becka murdered her father, the Gilead dentist who’d been taking advantage of the regime’s misogyny by molesting his teenage patients—both when they were awake and, even more repulsively, when they were knocked out with anesthesia. She didn’t believe it was true until Agnes, her best friend who she also has romantic feelings for, confessed that she was one of the victims.
In “Secateurs,” Becka is awaiting trial, sort of; in Gilead, “woman kills man” means the death penalty, even if the man was a known criminal already marked for execution. But thanks to a scheme concocted by the Aunts (at the urging of Becka’s friends, especially Agnes), Becka’s mom (Kate Hewlett) agrees to take the fall instead. Then, Agnes does some additional urging, insisting Becka’s fiancé, Garth (Brad Alexander), go through with the wedding despite the attached scandal… and despite the fact that Agnes herself is in love with Garth.
At the end of “Secateurs,” Becka is newly orphaned and newly wed. Her mother gets the noose just as Becka, heavily sedated, gets hitched to Garth. Speaking to Deadline, Conforti reflected on Becka’s mental state as season one comes to an end.
“I think she’s really lonely. I think she’s lost. I think for her, honestly, the destiny that she has come to is the worst-case scenario. She’s married; she never wanted to get married,” Conforti said. “I think after she kills her father, she might suspect there’s some light at the end of this tunnel. She thinks she won’t have to get married because [she’ll] be dead. However, she ends up becoming everything that she didn’t want to be: a wife. So I think she feels quite confused and lonely and really depressed.”
Looking ahead, though, there might be some fresh hope. As “Secateurs” suggests, Agnes and the other girls, including the undercover Mayday rebel Daisy (Lucy Halliday), plan to do everything they can to bring Gilead down from the inside.
“I hope that in season two, she can come into her own, process everything, and become independent—and maybe, spark some rebellion,” Conforti said. “Maybe she will get closer to Garth and learn about his affiliation with Mayday and Daisy, but we’ll see.”
You can watch all of The Testaments season one on Hulu and Disney+.
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