Rebecca Rose

**Rebecca Rose** (Megan Gallagher) was the main villainess of the 2001 Lifetime film *Blind Obsession* (alternately titled *Blindside*; airdate November 26, 2001).

## Introduction

Rebecca was introduced in the film's prologue arriving at her house at 12436 Elm Drive in the Los Angeles area, which was where her younger sister Bedelia also lived. While she was preparing their table for dinner, she overheard Bedelia screaming upstairs while in her room, after which she went to check on her. Opening the door, Rebecca listened to her voice her belief that she saw the ghost of their late uncle Ernest. She responded by reassuring her that "he [could no longer] hurt her anymore," with implications saying that he was sexually abusive to Bedelia.

Two weeks later, after Lieutenant Jack Fletcher temporarily became blind because of a gun fight, Rebecca was assigned to work with him by the California Department of Rehabilitation, quickly developing a fondness for him because he reminded her of her and Bedelia's father: in her words, he was "so strong and handsome, and then suddenly so helpless." A black-and-white flashback displayed a young Rebecca (portrayed by Krista Talley) with their mother and a young Bedelia (who considered him "the best policeman in the whole world") in his hospital room, with the latter of the two girls pleading for him to not die. Once Jack voiced his knowledge of her presence, Rebecca acquainted herself with him, but when he bitterly rejected her help, she was about to leave, only for him to change his mind and apologize to her. She replied to his request to start his therapy on "another day" by citing that "[it was] really best if [they got] to work right away," but at his insistence, she acquiesced and stated they would begin the next day.

That afternoon, while she was giving a bath to Bedelia, she discussed Jack with her and admitted that he reminded her of their father, prompting her younger sister to ask her if he was a "bat" (referring to any man who Bedelia felt was untrustworthy) before playfully teasing her about "[liking]" him. Rebecca then reminded her of a singing class she had mentioned to her, saying that it would be beneficial for her to have time outside their house, only for her to turn it down. During the night, she looked through old photos of her father as she expressed how she wished he could meet Jack, and after overhearing Bedelia reliving an instance during which Ernest abused her, she openly pondered what she had in store for her.

The next day, she returned to Jack's room and warmly introduced herself to Harrison "Harry" Pendragon (his partner) right before he left. Jokingly asking if he would snap at her again, Jack's answer was to say that he was all "snapped out," after which Rebecca began teaching him how to listen to his surroundings. Once she returned home from work, she hummed to herself as she attempted to decide between wearing either a red dress or a white dress, only to be caught by Bedelia, who poked fun at her for trying to "look pretty for [Jack]." Their ensuing discussion featured the disclosure that Rebecca was once infatuated with another man named Benjamin, who "took off" upon finding out, and then turned into a brief argument about Bedelia's belief that Ernest proved how all men used women to satisfy their "dirty" and "feely" urges. Their dispute ended when Bedelia coldly stated that the red dress made Rebecca look "fat" before leaving her room.

## Events/Heel Turn

Ultimately choosing the white dress, she wore it as she went to the hospital again two days after Jack awakened from his coma, only to learn that he had been discharged the previous day and was now back at his house. Going there, she knocked on his front door, only to see his ex-girlfriend Amy Brannigan. Realizing who his newest visitor was, he warmly invited her inside. Rebecca then gave Jack a cane; when Amy suggested that she could help with their first lesson, she rudely declined her offer, which was followed by the female latter departing.

With Amy gone, Rebecca tasked Jack with "[tracing] all the rooms in [his] house by numbered footsteps," beginning by "[counting] from [his] couch all the way into [his] kitchen." He lashed out at her again out of frustration, only to comply moments later. As he was counting eight steps between his couch and his kitchen, his orientation and mobility specialist began gradually turning heel by stealing his spare key. Once her pupil called out the number of steps, Rebecca praised him and gave him additional instructions: to repeat the process starting with the distance "from [his] kitchen to [his] bedroom" and also memorize the number of footsteps for all his house's spaces by the next day. Having the spare key duplicated, the villainess secretly returned later that day and used her copy of said key to enter the Fletcher residence.

Gazing at the man she was obsessed with, Rebecca was startled to hear Alex Vincenzo (the film's tertiary antagonist) break into the house through the unlocked door. She hid in the kitchen and overheard Alex not only venting about his desire to kill Jack so he could avenge his brother Billy (the man killed in the gun fight during the film's prologue), but also going on to taunt him about his temporary blindness. In response, Rebecca grabbed a knife and stabbed the vengeful criminal in his back before disconnecting Jack's phone and dragging Alex's corpse to an area with wood chips. She wiped her fingerprints from both the murder weapon and his gun before returning to her house.

She arrived while Bedelia was feeding her two goldfish, and upon being asked what happened, the unhinged woman said she couldn't talk about it at the moment. However, after nightfall, Rebecca claimed that Bedelia was "mostly" right when it came to men and was close to tears as she mentioned what Ernest did to her. With that in mind, her younger sister allowed for her goldfish to stay with her in the hopes they would make her feel better before advising for her to not "get involved with strangers" since it "always [got] her in trouble." Bedelia then kissed her forehead and returned to her room.

Three days after Jack woke up from his coma, Rebecca locked her room before leaving and attempted to explain away what he heard yesterday by referencing an anomaly known as phantom vision, which prompted him to defensively ask if he had been imagining things. Assuring him he wasn't, she explained that it was "as if [his] brain created an image," which led to Jack questioning whether Rebecca closed and locked the door. Falsely claiming she did that, she proposed that they continue, with her upcoming lesson being to involve her teaching him to use his other senses. When Jack unexpectedly asked her to describe her physical appearance, Rebecca seized the opportunity to allow for him to caress her face using his left hand before supposedly excusing herself. In reality, she continued staring at him; moreover, she went through a photo album that unveiled Amy's past relationship with Jack and stole a piece of paper from it.

Watching him rest in his bed, she fell asleep while fantasizing about a tryst with him, waking up that night when Amy entered his house with groceries and called out her ex-boyfriend's name. Their conversation had her mentioning that he hadn't answered any of her calls and proposing that she stay with him, with Rebecca's jealousy reaching a pinnacle as she eavesdropped and watched Jack caress Amy's face using his right hand. She then managed to avoid being detected by either of them, grabbing her shoes and her purse before driving off; in spite of her efforts, Amy spotted her. Back at home, Rebecca was reminded by Bedelia that she had never locked her door before (with her goldfish having not been fed lunch as a result), after which her sister asked her if she had sex with her latest crush yet. Out of anger, the deceptive stalker slapped Bedelia and then tried to apologize, only for her to go to her room and begin viewing Jack as a "bat."

## Reveal/Backstory

Four days after the end of his coma, Jack was asked by Rebecca why he never hooked up with Amy, and he replied by referring to their respective careers before he voiced the possibility of their relationship being rekindled. He also disclosed how she saw her in her car, and what came after was him showing her his progress with using his cane. All the while, Amy found out that specialists such as Rebecca were only meant to see their pupils twice a week at most, prompting her to follow the ruthless woman back to her home.

Demanding that they talk, Amy confronted the villainess on the staircase leading to her house and demanded that she stop seeing Jack. Rebecca answered by insulting her regarding the end of her relationship with him and insisting that she loved him, with Amy stating that she would inform her ex-boyfriend about what was going on. Grabbing her by her right arm, she ordered her to "leave [him] alone" and claimed he was hers right before slightly shoving her and then forcefully letting her go. This resulted in Amy being accidentally killed in seconds as she was sent tumbling down from the top of the stairs to its landing.

Having completed turning heel, Rebecca initially reacted with condescending shock about "just [wanting] to talk" that quickly turned into her deceitfully declaring she "made her" murder her, with Bedelia (who witnessed the confrontation) making a counterclaim which blamed Jack as the "bat" who ultimately bore responsibility. In response, the unhinged villainess claimed that she was "[going to] tell him lies," only for her sister to verbally nudge her about being in "big trouble." Rebecca then affirmed that Amy following her there left her "no choice," but Bedelia warned her that the police wouldn't believe her and advised for her to get Jack "out of [her] life...before something else really bad happens."

Enraged, Rebecca began lashing out and maintained he was "none of her business," but nevertheless, Bedelia threatened to turn her in, ominously warning her of "what they do to killers." The former menacingly approached her while snarling that if she went through with it, she would paint the latter as her accomplice—meaning they would "never see [each other] again" and ensuring nobody would take care of Bedelia. Rebecca angrily swore to "hate [her sister] forever" if she told anyone about her sinister actions, causing her to come close to crying. Once she calmed down, the evil woman said she had to "bury [Amy's corpse] far from [their house]" and ordered Bedelia to "get rid of [her] car." That night, Rebecca was asked by Bedelia if she could sleep with her out of fear of Ernest, only for her to exasperatedly remind her of how they knew of his fate before going into her bedroom.

Five days after Jack's coma came to its end, the villainess was about to depart for her latest lesson with her pupil when she found herself on the receiving end of her sister's insistence to know when she would be home. She retorted by saying that she didn't have to answer her questions and commented that "things [were going to] have to be different" before leaving. Meeting up with Jack, she continued commending his progress with using his cane to feel the curbs of his neighborhood's streets, assisting him at one point when he almost fell. He then blamed his own blindness for Amy not showing up, with Rebecca's attempt to reassure him that he wasn't alone with her around proving unsuccessful, as he continuously stated he wanted to spend some time alone in his house.

Meanwhile, Bedelia broke into Rebecca's room and discovered evidence of her crush on Jack, leading her to believe she was going to leave her for him. Her thinking was seemingly confirmed that night when she overheard her sister narrating to a picture of Jack that he shouldn't be "fretting over dead and buried Amy," as "happier times [were] ahead," with part of it involving a lunch at Cafe Piccolo to celebrate his birthday that she intended to be her first date with him. In addition, Jack began to regain his sight and informed Rebecca about it the next day. She clarified that his optic nerve's photoreceptors were beginning to perceive light before "surprising" him by announcing her plan for his birthday, which he gladly accepted.

Over the next week, the bond between Jack and Rebecca deepened—with Bedelia's reaction being to draw bats using a black colored pencil on several pieces of paper, which culminated in her drawing so hard that she stabbed at the paper. On the night before Jack's birthday, one of Bedelia's goldfish died, and she used a green fish net to put its corpse in a glass of water. She approached Rebecca right as she finalized reserving a window table at Cafe Piccolo and requested that she assist her in burying the dead goldfish, but aside from brief condolences, her sister turned her down under the guise of having "some work to do."

Going back upstairs and into the bathroom, Bedelia bid her late pet farewell and asked it to greet her dead father before letting it go down the sink's drain. Almost immediately afterwards, she filled that sink with water and attempted to commit suicide by making a slit in each of her wrists, bringing about temporary unconsciousness. Rebecca rushed into the bathroom once she heard her sister collapse and reacted with horrified shock to the sight of what she thought was her corpse, only for Bedelia to open her eyes and accuse her of plotting to leave her to die. The villainess refuted her claim several times over as she gave her medical attention and tucked her into her bed while firmly directing her never to do it again. Bedelia's inquiry about whether she would be taken care of was answered with begrudging confirmation from her sister before she told her to sleep and sang her a lullaby. Upon returning to her room, Rebecca said to herself that Bedelia would have to "accept" how things were going to be, as it was "all there [was] to it."

The next day, she gave her sister a cup of water along with some medication that was meant to help her relax. When she was asked again about if she was going to "leave [her]," Rebecca gave a speech that detailed how she loved Bedelia, along with how she wanted to become Jack's wife and move in with him. Presenting it as an "opportunity" for her sister to "have [her] own life" and for herself to be happy "with a man that really loves [her]," she stated that she would be leaving their home to her and visiting her daily. After observing her take the medication, Rebecca left for her lunch date with Jack. When she did, Bedelia spit out said medication, stole her sister's gun, and angrily wondered if she "[thought] she could get rid of [her] that easily."

During their date, the twisted woman and her crush talked about their lives, with Rebecca disclosing more of her backstory to him: after her and Bedelia's father perished, their mother became an alcoholic and eventually died as well. The two sisters then moved in with Ernest; Rebecca "worked [her] way through school" and then took care of Bedelia once their uncle passed away. Concurrently, Bedelia herself turned heel and planned to kill Jack by shooting him dead, with part of said plan involving her boarding a taxi. After a few hours, Jack and Rebecca went back to his house, where she gave him a Braille birthday card and a watch which announced the time, culminating in the pair sharing a kiss.

## Climax/Death

The film's climax began when Bedelia broke into the Fletcher residence and interrupted their kiss by pointing Rebecca's gun at Jack, only for her sister to try to talk her out of it before disarming her when her words fell on deaf ears. When he asked what was going on, Rebecca declared that she was taking her home so she could take care of her and would return as soon as possible, with Jack voicing his trust in her before they left. Breaking down, Bedelia claimed that she "did it for [her]" and "[them]," with Rebecca brushing her words off as she drove her back to their home.

Once they were there, Bedelia even said "it was for [Rebecca's] own good," citing how she "helped [her] with [Ernest]." Rebecca then stated she was "ruining [her] life" and that her behavior "[had] to stop," with her unhinged sister's response being to knock her out by smashing a vase over her head, after which she bound her wrists and her legs together using duct tape. When the villainess regained consciousness, having been restrained to a chair that was moved to her room, Bedelia affirmed that she had been a "very bad sister" due to her crime spree. Rebecca requested that she was let go, and at that moment, Jack called her number, only for her sister to answer him instead.

Going back upstairs, Bedelia gave a short summary of their conversation, which was followed by Rebecca attempting to tell her to behave; the former cut her off by reminding her of her threat to "hate [her]." Expressing regret for those words, the latter moved on, trying to appeal to how she "always" was able to "depend on" and "trust her," with her younger sister labeling her "dirty, "horny," and a "hero [worshipper]." Rebecca then professed she never meant to hurt Bedelia, that she was "the most important thing in the world to [her]," and also promised to end her budding relationship with Jack. However, she saw through her sister's ruse and described it in detail, calling her a "fibber" before picking up a small bowl holding pictures of him, dropping it to the floor, and saying that she "[understood] everything."

That night, Bedelia notified Rebecca of her intent to hold her hostage until she "[took] care of something," putting more duct tape over her mouth before she shot Harrison and followed Jack to the Rose family's abandoned greenhouse. The latter freed herself and checked in on the male former as Bedelia divulged the whole truth about Ernest's demise: Rebecca killed him in order to protect her, and afterwards, they buried him there because "he was family." Before she could shoot him dead so that "everything [would] go back to normal," her older sister arrived, leading to a struggle on the greenhouse's couch that resulted in Rebecca being accidentally shot in her abdomen. A heartbroken and shocked Bedelia attempted to fatally shoot Harrison after he (alongside Jack) tried to convince her to drop her gun, only for him to shoot her in her chest.

Rebecca comforted her sister (who mentioned the gunshot wound "[hurting] bad") during her final seconds alive by telling her to "just sleep," after which she was cradled by Jack. She apologized twice to him for everything that had occurred, requesting that he "kiss [her] goodbye" and "tell [her] that [she was] beautiful." Having almost fully regained his eyesight by then, Jack fulfilled both of her wishes right before she died in his arms.