Bethany (Don't Wake Mommy)

**Bethany** (Sara Rue), also known as **Beth**, is the main villainess of the 2016 Lifetime film *Don't Wake Mommy* (alternately titled *Dark Intentions* and *Maternal Bonds*; airdate January 2, 2016).

## Backstory/Introduction

Bethany was raised by her mother, with the latter being heavily implied to have become sterile sometime after the former's birth because of a genetic condition, which her daughter most likely inherited from her since she was also unable to have children. Bethany's mother also believed that she "[lost] everything that made [her] perfect" as she grew up. During her adulthood, Bethany (who came to be called by her nickname Beth) had an affair with married obstetrician Bob Everett and repeatedly insisted that he impregnated her. She also joined a group of "baby bumpers," which consisted of women who enjoyed faking their own pregnancies.

In the film's opening scene, Bethany's deranged demeanor was established, as she confronted her illicit lover at his house and subtly insulted his wife Tina for being infertile. After Bob told Bethany that their relationship was over and instructed her to leave, the unhinged woman grabbed a knife from their kitchen, threatening both herself and him with the weapon. The tense encounter ended when she departed the Everett residence and carved into their residence's front door.

Bethany's obsession with babies began taking a dark turn when she became a nurse solely in order to give herself access to them. She then kidnapped the infant son of her neighbors and named him Robert. In the aftermath of the crime, Bethany's mother covered for her daughter.

## Events

Creating an account on a website for new mothers under her nickname, Bethany set her latest scheme into motion by contacting Molly (the film's main protagonist), a struggling new mother who was diagnosed with postpartum depression on top of being both a recovering alcoholic and a recovering oxycodone addict. Having a video chat with each other one night, the two women met in person at a park, with Bethany showing signs of being fixated on Molly's infant daughter Ava. The villainess also convinced her "friend" to take a nap while she looked after both Ava and Robert, after which she began to habitually drug her with oxycodone so that she would constantly sleep—all so she could spend more time alone with "her" daughter.

Additionally, Bethany acted in a condescending manner towards Molly's old colleague Susan Baxter, elusively accusing her of being a bad friend before sending her texts from Molly's phone stating those exact words. Her true colors briefly showed themselves while she was at a club with Molly and several of her friends. Shouting that all of them should be at home with their babies, Bethany proceeded to have Molly rush to take her back to her apartment.

Soon after that, the sinister kidnapper drugged her with oxycodone while they were eating lunch together one afternoon and put Ava in her car. The set-up caused Molly's firefighter husband Brad to doubt his wife's fitness as a mother and also increasingly rely on Bethany to take care of their child. All the while, Susan discovered the delusional criminal's secrets (including how she lied about a previous job she had) and came to Molly's house to warn her about them.

Bethany tried to stop her when she arrived, only for the latter to go upstairs and find her former workmate unconscious on her bed because of the oxycodone she had been given against her will. At that moment, Bethany resurfaced with a syringe full of drugs and injected them into Susan, watching as she died. When Molly woke up, Bethany gave her a drugged broth, which caused her to pass out before she could fight back, having realized that her "friend" was behind everything from the start.

## Climax/Arrest

Fantasizing that Ava and Robert were her missing twins who had been returned to her, she took both babies to her mother's house, along with clearing her apartment of her belongings and deceitfully claiming to Brad that she was taking them along with her for a picnic. Regaining consciousness, Molly eventually obtained the address of the aforementioned house from one of Bethany's fellow "baby bumpers." There, she found Bethany's mother tending to and cradling a reborn doll while she justified her twisted beliefs, which was followed by her being locked in a room after she took out a drug-filled syringe of her own and tried to kill her.

Armed with the syringe, Molly ran into the villainess—who was brandishing a steak knife—in another part of the house, with the latter blaming the former for her actions. A struggle ensued between the pair, and it ended with Molly injecting Bethany with half of the drugs in her syringe before being able to find both Ava and Robert in a room whose entrance was hidden behind a cabinet. Even with her defeat, the unhinged madwoman managed to crawl into said room and surprise her by grabbing her right ankle from behind.

Instead of resuming her attack, Bethany tried to convince Molly to kill her with the remaining half of the syringe's contents by stating that she couldn't live without "her" babies, but to no avail. The nefarious mother-daughter duo was subsequently arrested for their crimes, with Bethany's mother demanding to know what was being done to her daughter. In the film's final scene, Bethany was shown in a psychiatric hospital, holding another reborn doll and gently speaking to it as though it was a real baby.