Performers of the Week: Abby Elliott and Jamie Lee Curtis
THE PERFORMERS | Abby Elliott and Jamie Lee Curtis
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THE SHOW | The Bear
THE EPISODE | “Ice Chips” (June 26, 2024)
THE PERFORMANCES | Season 3 of Hulu’s pressure-packed culinary dramedy didn’t give us a lot of resolution, plot-wise, but one storyline did get tied up, with Elliott’s very pregnant Nat giving birth to a baby daughter. That gave us one of The Bear’s signature standalone episodes, with Elliott and Curtis making a magnificent mother-daughter pair in an intensely emotional hour as Nat’s erratic mom Donna swooped in to help Nat get through a grueling childbirth.
Nat and her mother aren’t exactly close — she didn’t even tell her she was pregnant — but Nat was forced to turn to her mom when labor pains hit and no one else answered their phone, with Elliott vividly conveying Nat’s sweaty desperation. Donna was bubbling with joy as she instructed Nat on how to breathe properly, and the two were a hilarious comedy duo as Nat fended off her manically overbearing mom’s advice. The time between contractions gave mother and daughter time to work through their issues, too, and Curtis was poignantly fragile as Donna reckoned with the painful fact that “you didn’t want me around.” Elliott shined as well, with Nat finally confronting her mom about her chaotic upbringing and the fears it gives her about her own child: “I don’t want her scared like I was scared.”
After all that psychological turmoil, Nat and Donna reached something of a truce in a heartwarming moment at the end when Donna played the Ronettes’ “Baby I Love You” and stared into her daughter’s eyes, their grievances melting away to reveal a fresh understanding. It was complicated, and messy, and it didn’t all get neatly resolved in the end. But it felt achingly real throughout, thanks to Elliott and Curtis’ astonishingly intimate work.
Scroll down to see who scored Honorable Mention shout-outs this week…
HONORABLE MENTION: A.J. Cook
Sure, it was fun to see Criminal Minds: Evolution‘s JJ realize that “hungover” Emily was in fact high as a kite (and then get mellow herself after accidentally noshing on edibles). But what really mattered about the BFFs’ episode-long back-and-forth — and where A.J. Cook shined — was JJ asserting that she could handle the truth about BAUGate, and then urging Emily to not resign from the FBI. “The ones that came before us — Gideon, Hotch — what did they have in common? They left,” JJ reminded, whereas, “The two of us, we were kicked out.” And now, years later, “They’re gone; we’re still here.” With that and the words to come, Cook so effectively evoked the ladies’ rich history. “We are stronger than anyone gives us credit for,” JJ said. “I didn’t quit on you in Paris. You didn’t quit on me after my miscarriage… This job takes, a lot, but it gives me you.” And for that, we’re so glad. — Matt Webb Mitovich
HONORABLE MENTION: Jacob Anderson
Episode 8 of Interview With the Vampire‘s second season will go down as one of the most satisfying finales we’ve seen in a while, with much of the credit belonging to Jacob Anderson, who turned in a devastating performance in his character’s most vulnerable hour. From the unbridled fury Louis unleashed on the coven who imprisoned him, to the unimaginable heartbreak he experienced upon learning the truth about his lover’s betrayal, Anderson left us speechless, navigating the complex emotional landscape with passion and purpose. And just when we thought we couldn’t find ourselves more in awe of his presence, along came Louis’ reunion with Lestat, a sequence so powerful that it left us emotionally drained, resulting in the kind of immersive experience you simply can’t find anywhere else on television. — Andy Swift
HONORABLE MENTION: Cleopatra Coleman
With her bejeweled phone case and endless thirst for attention, it’s easy to dismiss Clipped’s V. Stiviano as a caricature of Kardashian-era superficiality. But Cleopatra Coleman has been finding surprising depths inside V. all season long, and the actress hit new heights in the finale as V. sank to new lows, getting her dream home ripped away from her by a vengeful Shelly Sterling. V.’s buoyant confidence crumbled when she saw her self-described “best friend” Donald Sterling take his wife’s side over hers in court, and Coleman tapped into a haunting melancholy as V. took her final walk through her empty duplex before moving out. Even sadder, V. had to resort to working for Donald again to pay her bills, and while she remained a punchline to many, Coleman excelled at uncovering the humanity behind the headlines. — D.N.
Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!
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