Eeeeeexcellent. I wouldn't worry too much about knowing what you're doing, because essentially what you're doing is trying to clearly present an idea which the production company will either decide they want to know more about or will decide isn't right for them right now. Like a grant proposal, or trying to get a course greenlit, both of which I'm pretty sure you have a lot of experience with. If you go on anxious internet messageboards, people will obsess over whether their manuscript margins are right in the same way that actors will get crazy about whether their headshots are in style, but most of those people have never been on the other side of the table deciding what goes through.

Basically, all production companies are looking for a combination of "this sounds awesome" and "it's plausible that we could make this, given our resources." Plus a dash of "this would be neither too similar to something else we're working on nor so different it doesn't fit our brand." I guess it's a little bit like internet dating, where you want to come off as exciting but not desperate, but mostly people are looking at your picture and saying "yep, sexy." This idea is sexy and not too expensive. Whether it's sexy enough to overcome the fact that we're nobodies isn't really in our control.

As for the Bechdel test, I think it doesn't count if they're talking about the Tsar but does count if what they're talking about is the mechanics of assassination. Like if two hairdressers were talking about their salon, that would count even if that salon's clients were entirely male, but if they were talking about a client that wouldn't count. Talking about that client's hair type I think is a gray area.