The Testaments was renewed for Season 2 the same day it released its most harrowing episode yet. Episode 9 showed Becka’s (Mattea Conforti) reaction to learning what her dad did to Agnes (Chase Infiniti) and other girls at her school, and the violent aftermath that leaves Becka’s fate up in the air heading into next week’s Testaments finale. We connected with Conforti to discuss this dark turn of events in Becka’s life. Warning: The Testaments Episode 9 spoilers ahead. This article also contains discussion of sexual assault of minors.

Becka is the daughter of Dr. Grove (Randal Edwards), the dentist in her Gilead hometown. Grove has been sexually assaulting girls at Becka’s school while they were passed out from medication during dental procedures. In Episode 9, Daisy (Lucy Halliday) falsely accused Grove of assaulting her. While he didn’t touch Daisy, he indeed harmed Agnes, Hulda (Isolde Ardies), and more. Daisy devised a plan to make him look guilty enough to get justice for the girls he hurt. Agnes told Becka that her dad hurt her in Episode 9, after Becka rejected the idea that her dad hurt Daisy. Conforti tells us that “Agnes’s word, that’s Bible.”

“That was such an emotional day,” she says. “Chase and I, we were very invested, and we got genuinely sad in that scene because it’s such a hard scene to shoot and to discuss. But she’s of course going to take Agnes’s side over her father’s. She loves her so much, and she wants the best for her, she wants to protect her, she wants to be there for her. So, Agnes’s word is very truthful to her.”

Becka took justice into her own hands by murdering her father that night. She stabbed him in the heart with a pair of scissors and ran away to Agnes’s house, asking her to run away together. Agnes told her parents what happened, and she thought they were getting a doctor for Becka, who was experiencing a mental break from the trauma of killing her own dad. Commander MacKenzie (Nate Corddry) called the Eyes instead, and Becka was arrested by them and her fiancé, Garth (Brad Alexander), who’s been promoted to commander.

The girls at Aunt Lydia’s (Ann Dowd) school have been taught their entire lives that violence is the answer to certain crimes. They participate in salvages at school, where they’re encouraged — like handmaids in The Handmaid’s Tale — to cheer on violence in public displays of punishment of Gilead’s criminals. Conforti explains how Becka was able to apply this mindset to her own father.

“What’s so strange is that Becka has been so, up to this moment, so confused about what her role in Gilead is,” Conforti says. “She feels hesitant about becoming a wife. She’s struggling to come to terms with her own identity, her sexuality, the way that she feels, it’s not what Gilead preaches and normalizes, so in this moment, she’s been given this almost divine calling. That’s how she interprets it. This is what the aunts have told her is the respectable and fair punishment for a man that commits this crime.”

She continues: “In this moment, it’s this, ‘Aha! This is what I’m meant to do. This is what the lord is telling me to do. In this situation, I have to give him the right justice. It’s my divine intervention in this moment. I have a purpose now. This is what I’m meant to do, and this is how I’m going to protect Agnes. This is what the aunts have been telling me.’ We see that in the first episode, when his hand is cut off, other salvages, the hanging bodies, even. When they said in Episode 1 that they touched a girl, this is what they deserve. She doesn’t think she’s doing anything wrong. She’s doing the right thing. This is what she’s been taught.”

However, delivering this divine justice breaks Becka.

“That’s the other case,” Conforti says. “This is her father. I think, though, in the world of Gilead, and especially in her relationship with Agnes, that takes precedence over her relationship with her father at this point. And I think that’s what makes that last cherry on top and pushes that snowball over the mountain and makes her move forward with this.”

Becka is now imprisoned. In the finale, she faces the consequences of her actions, and Agnes and Daisy must decide how far they’re willing to go to protect her.

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network‘s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one is in immediate danger, call 911.

The Testaments, Season 1 Finale, Wednesday, May 27, Hulu

Source: tvinsider.com