THE ARTIST | Shawn Hatosy
THE SHOW | Animal Kingdom
THE EPISODE | “FUBAR” (August 28, 2022)
THE PERFORMANCE | Remarkable performances were not lacking in the final of Animal Kingdom (full summary here). But when the smoke cleared, the latest TNT drama accolade in this column had to go to Hatosy, whose Pope, despite being as unstable and dangerous as they come, had taken on the role of the show’s broken heart and lost soul.
In “FUBAR”, when he wasn’t playing action anti-hero as Andrew was fighting like hell to evade the authorities, Hatosy drew us two pictures, each as different from each other. other than day is night. In the first, as Pope suppressed his fear of saying goodbye to his little brothers as he assured them he wasn’t, the actor reminded us that his character’s capacity for love just came from after his capacity for violence. Pope didn’t just care about his siblings, he cared so deeply it hurt. He cared so deeply that “I’ll come find you” sounded less like a statement than a plea. He was the pope he wished he had been for his unfortunate sister, Julia.
Later, Hatosy unleashed a fury that burned with greater intensity than the fire Pope would soon ignite as he confronted the treacherous nephew J (Finn Cole, his searing, raw work). The fugitive was in shock, however, when instead of begging for mercy, J spat out accusations, forcing his uncle to acknowledge the weakness that had led him years earlier to abandon Julia. In a heartbreaking moment, Pope’s life shattered before his eyes, and with it, every failure.
Face contorted, voice failing, Hatosy made us feel as much as he let us see the weight of Pope’s guilt crushing him. When at last he collapsed, peace as close as flames rising behind him, we were left as relieved for Andrew as we were in awe of his portrait painter.
HONORABLE MENTION | Although we didn’t need to be reminded of how much Samantha Morton brought to life Walking Dead Alpha heavy, we still got a doozy one courtesy of Sunday’s Tales of the Living Dead. In the episode, which takes place before Dee became the ruthless leader of the Whisperers, the actress tempered her alter ego’s pragmatism and cunning with an occasional sweetness — a sweetness, even — that would have been anything but foreign to his future self. Certainly, there were big, bold flashes of the hard-hearted villain that she had become. (She viciously branded her maternal rival Brooke out of revenge rather than necessity.) But it’s in Morton’s nuanced depiction of the sweetness and grief buried deep within Lydia’s mother that we found new perspective on a character. that we thought we knew so well. .
HONORABLE MENTION | Ashlyn Caswell has been on a path of self-discovery all summer High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and Wednesday’s tell-all episode found her coming to an emotional destination. The episode also solidified our appreciation for Julia Lester, who walked every step of her character’s journey with heart, humor, and authenticity. Musicals aren’t usually known for their subtlety, which made the simplicity of Ashlyn’s aha moment even more effective. Confusion gave way to relief, and eventually joy, as she finally came to terms with herself as bisexual – even if the words to explain her feelings aren’t quite formed yet. With just a short line (“Oh… it is why”), coupled with the kind of look that makes you want to reach through the TV and kiss someone, Lester told us exactly where Ashlyn is. And she is certainly not alone.
HONORABLE MENTION | IndustryHarper Stern received an emotional beating this week when she traveled to Berlin on a secret mission to find her estranged brother. And she was not at all ready for the grief that awaited her. A powerful scene between the siblings revealed an abusive backstory, and as John Daniel spoke, Myha’la Herrold went through a variety of feelings, including adoration, disillusion, and overwhelming surprise. The actress handled the whiplash with ease, as her character’s otherwise steely exterior slowly deteriorated. When at one point Harper’s brother called her a narcissist incapable of love, the wound literally brought her to her knees. Upon returning to the London office, the actress reignited her character’s icy temper as she ripped into Danny with sharp words and a dark stare. It was a multi-layered performance that suited an extremely complex character.
Which performance(s) hit your socks this week? Tell us in the comments!