THE ARTIST | Christine Baransky
THE SHOW | The good fight
THE EPISODE | “The end of democracy” (November 3, 2022)
THE PERFORMANCE | The ketamine-fueled high that Diane Lockhart enjoyed for most of The good fightThe sixth and final season of was shattered in this week’s penultimate episode, and Baranski seized the opportunity to send his buttoned-up character off the hook.
Upon learning that gay marriage was the next item on the Supreme Court’s conservative blacklist, Diane hit the bar at Frank Landau’s memorial service and drowned her depression in whiskey. She then brought her buzz back to the commemoration and delivered a raucous — albeit brief — eulogy that, in Baranski’s deft hands, doubled as a comedic masterclass.
After kicking things off with a solemn, gracious, “Hello, we’re all here,” Diane made an abrupt pivot, turning her tribute into a takedown. “We came to bury Frank Landau, not to praise him – and it looks like we’re going to bury the Democratic Party instead,” bellowed Diane, Baranski gradually increasing his alter ego’s boozy anger dial with each passing syllable. , before delivering a kicker’s home run: “Because let’s face it people – we’re screwed.”
After fleeing the podium, his fury only intensified. As Diane began rattling off the Democratic Party’s long list of missed opportunities to Chumhum founder Neil Gross, Baranski mixed his wry character’s dialogue with genuine pain and frustration. When the dark clouds later parted, giving way to a glimmer of hope, the Emmy winner infused Diane’s bright expression and lighter tone with palpable longing.
Baranski concluded her hour-long tour de force on a heartbreaking note when Diane, tearfully but resolutely, informed her NRA-loving husband Kurt (Gary Cole) that she was leaving him because at the end of the day, “our beliefs are seriously misaligned.
There is one more Nice fight episode left, but we’ll prematurely state that Baranski — and by extension, Diane — came out with a bang.
HONORABLE MENTION | The White Lotus specializes in producing new variations of painfully oblivious rich people, and Season 2 has a great one in chipper woman Daphne, played to smiling perfection by Meghann Fahy. Daphne is happily married and very wealthy and just can’t understand why everyone isn’t enjoying life as much as she does. Her awkward breakfast with the cynical Harper was a masterclass in how blinding privilege can be, with Daphne laughing happily at Harper’s worries about the grim state of the world. (She’s pretty sure she voted, though.) Daphne tried earnestly to understand Harper, Fahy employing a few sympathetic grimaces before settling back on Daphne’s sunny smile. We also loved the way his eyes lit up while talking about morbid true-crime TV — and Ted Lasso! It would be easy to hate Daphne, but Fahy’s subtly layered performance has already made her one of our favorite guests.
HONORABLE MENTION | This week New Amsterdam, Janet Montgomery’s performance was filled with both anger and sweet vulnerability as her character, Dr. Lauren Bloom, dealt with the news that the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade. When Dr. Reynolds asked why Lauren hadn’t told him she got pregnant during their relationship and had an abortion, Montgomery’s voice cracked with frustration and disappointment: “We’re not talking about my abortion, are we? No, we talk about how you think about my abortion,” Lauren explained. Then, when Lauren opened up to a group of potential medical students about her two abortions, Montgomery was painfully unattended during the sensitive moment. Although these were tough times for her, the decision was clear, Lauren said, and it was also clear how much care Montgomery cared about Lauren’s confession.
HONORABLE MENTION | We’re pretty sure Josh Dallas will need to see a chiropractor for back pain after Manifestthe premiere of season 4 because it gate. As our cashmere-sweater-loving hero navigated some truly gruesome circumstances – the murder of his wife Grace, the kidnapping of his daughter Eden, and the return of his son Cal five more years after a mysterious disappearance – the portrait painter Dallas s is assured that we felt the pain and despair that Ben felt throughout this episode. And we have to give the actor some major props to emote through that thick beard, which took some serious real estate on his face. Ben started the season at his lowest point: a man broken by trauma but still clinging to the smallest thread of hope that kept him going. It’s an inspiring message and a captivating journey that we look forward to following for the rest of the season.
Which performance(s) hit your socks this week? Tell us in the comments!