Performer of the Week: Juno Temple
THE PERFORMER | Juno Temple
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THE SHOW | Fargo
THE EPISODE | “Blanket” (Jan. 2, 2024)
THE PERFORMANCE | Let’s be honest: This week’s Fargo was tough to watch. With brutal scenes of physical and psychological abuse, we wouldn’t blame you if you covered your eyes or looked away at times. But if you did, we hope you didn’t miss any of Juno Temple’s performance. She’s been terrific all season long as Minnesota housewife Dot Lyon, and this week, she just about broke our hearts as Dot used every last ounce of her strength to stand up to violent bully Roy Tillman.
Roy forcefully checked Dot out of the hospital, and she had to pretend everything was fine when they ran into cop Witt Farr, with Temple plastering on a fake smile even while her eyes subtly conveyed the peril she was in. Roy later locked Dot up in a shed on his ranch, chaining her to the floor like a dog, and while Roy towered over her physically, Dot never backed down an inch. Temple hardened her features and steadied her gaze to show us Dot’s steely determination as she explained to Roy how much her daughter Scotty needs her and how in love she is with her new husband Wayne. Roy was unyielding, though, and Dot got right up into his face and promised him, “I’m gonna kill you,” Temple underlining each word with fierce conviction. Dot softened later when she reconnected with Gator about his mother Linda, but when Roy returned home after an embarrassing debate showing, he took out his frustrations on Dot, beating her severely. Still, she never gave up, and Temple flashed a fiery resilience as Dot nearly strangled Roy to death with her chain before being captured again.
It didn’t end well for Dot: Roy kept her chained up in that shed, and then killed lawyer Danish Graves before he could help free her. But as dark as things got this week — and they got very dark indeed — Temple always kept a light in Dot’s eyes, reminding us that the final chapter of this story still has yet to be written.
HONORABLE MENTION: Heather Gay
After Heather Gay’s performance in The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’s Season 4 finale, TVLine couldn’t help but make a rare, unscripted exception to honor our favorite Bad Mormon. We don’t often tune into Housewives expecting a performance, but alas, a performance was what Gay gave! The entire episode hinged on Gay’s expert storytelling leading up to her big reveal: Monica is the Instagram troll Reality Von Tease who’s been bullying the women for years. Despite unearthing this shocking news, Gay carried on business-as-usual. Until finally, mid-dinner, she orchestrated the perfect public accusation facing Monica head-on, using her iron-clad evidence as backup — “Receipts. Proof. Timeline. Screenshots.” Then, she stood up and — with her Limoncello-colored dress billowing in the wind — made the most of the moment by finally admitting that Jen Shah was indeed responsible for her infamous black eye. But Gay didn’t end there. She went on to deliver the perfect final line: “Pack your bags and go!” —Claire Franken
HONORABLE MENTION: Amy Hill
Ahead of Magnum P.I.‘s series finale, “Ashes to Ashes” offered a beautiful showcase for Amy Hill. When Kumu volunteered to help Rick work phones at the veterans crisis center, the tone was at first light ‘n’ bright, as Kumu fielded calls from, well, people seeking veterinarians. But then Kumu found herself on the phone with a suicidal father named DJ, and Hill without missing a beat shifted gears. Hill first played the understandable anxiety Kumu felt as she struggled to stick to the call center “script.” But when DJ called her out and Kumu decided to instead counsel him as her warm, wise self (while Rick collected clues to remotely orchestrate an intervention), it was remarkable the bond Hill established with an unseen Drew Rausch (Station 19). Kumu opening up to DJ about her own father’s suicide (followed by her tender visit to his grave), capped Hill’s touching performance. —Matt Webb Mitovich
HONORABLE MENTION: Domenick Lombardozzi
If you haven’t read Bad Luck and Trouble, the Lee Child novel on which Reacher Season 2 is based, you can’t appreciate what an upgrade Domenick Lombardozzi‘s Detective “Guy” Russo is over his book counterpart. Lombardozzi first touched on Russo’s layers during the convo with Reacher prior to the cemetery shootout, but this week he was given so much more to work with. You had a fired-up Russo getting in the face of his bent boss (“After what the city’s been through after 9/11, you’re aiding and abetting terrorists?!”), followed by playful banter when Reacher offered to let his frenemy take the first swing in their eventual rematch (“I don’t need no handicappin’, pal, trust me”). But Lombardozzi most wowed us — and broke our hearts — when Russo fought tooth and nail to keep Jane safe from the hitmen who meant the teen harm. The fact that with his last breaths, he asked Neagley, “The girl…?” What a hero. — M.W.M.
Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!
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