Women of the Week

We would like to highlight some of the great performances in the last week on TV – join us for our Women of the Week picks and be sure to let us know who you thought had a stellar performance, or just a really great outfit, in the comments below.

Caitroina Balfe as Claire Fraser on Outlander
Nominated by Rueben: Caitriona Balfe needs to be singled out for her performance as Claire Fraser on last Saturday’s episode of Outlander entitled “Faith”. This episode was an extremely emotional one because Claire loses her child and she goes through so much in a short amount of time. Not only denial and grief over losing her first child but also anger toward her husband, who she, for a time, thought was at fault. Caitriona gave a remarkably strong and moving performance that should get her an the awards list for sure. Kudos!
Seconded by Melissa: What a devastating hour of television, confidently shouldered by Catriona as she took us through Claire’s grief and anger over the loss of her daughter. My heart was in shreds by the end of it.

Ruth Negga as Tulip O’Hare on Preacher
Nominated by Karen: Explosive (haha) right out of the gate, she embodied the character of Tulip from the comic. Taking refuge at a farmhouse with two kids, she keeps them safe while managing to take down her pursuers. She even does a little arts & crafts (teaching them how to make a homemade bazooka), and plays hide & go seek. Tulip is a multi-faceted and layered character, and from this first episode, I have high hopes that Ruth will be able to take on the daunting task of portraying her.

Tonya Pinkins as Peabody on Gotham
Nominated by Bobcat: Every character in the Gotham season two finale on Monday brought their A game, but one stood out above all of them to me – Peabody, Dr. Strange’s right hand lady. In fact, she impressed me the entire second half of the season and she completely rocks the cat-rimmed glasses and purple-lipstick look. While Dr. Strange was all “my precious” when it came to his experiments in the basement of Arkham Asylum, Peabody was the voice of reason, trying to get him to think things through before acting. I wouldn’t say she has a conscious in regards to the destruction they are bringing on Gotham, but Peabody is definitely the villain with a brain, which is more dangerous than any weapon that the other villains operate. In the season finale, Peabody went head-to-head with Fish Mooney (Jada Pickett Smith returned for the role), holding her own until eventually succumbing to Mooney’s manipulative touch. Then under orders from Fish, Peabody goes after Strange, which in some way, is probably therapeutic for her. When she regains consciousness, she unwittingly aides Gordon and Fox in defusing the bomb with a simple request for water. While Peabody embodied a strong, smart and sassy woman throughout the season, in the finale, we saw her in a weakened state and I think it’s important to see that balance. I hope the writers bring her back for season three!