WOMEN OF THE WEEK

Now that Fall TV is in full swing the NiceGirls get together on Sunday’s to discuss women who stood out on TV that week. Our nominations are below. Be sure to leave a comment with any women who had stand out performances for you.

Nominated by Melissa
Tracee Ellis Ross as Bow on Blackish
I know we just recognized her last week, but I have to shout out Tracee Ellis Ross for her outstanding performance in black-ish this week. With Tracee grounding the episode, the show tackled post-partum depression in a way that was both accessible and devastatingly authentic. I’ve grappled with depression since I was a teenager; Tracee’s portrayal of Bow’s depression was almost painful in its accuracy. At the same she gave us some moments of levity and a fantastic scene with Jenifer Lewis’s Ruby. By the time the episode ended, I was even more in awe of her talent and skill.

Nominated by Lexie
D’arcy Carden as Janette on The Good Place
Can I nominate D’arcy Carden because we’ve got an agreement that I do so? But I really do actually want to nominate her again because “Janette” was one of the best parts of my entire week. The second best part was Michael’s spiral. But D’arcy Carden, for making my week better, which is the noblest pursuit of all.

Nominated by Rueben
Sophie Skelton as Brianna Randall on Outlander
In this past Sunday’s episode, Brianna made the ultimate sacrifice, convincing her mother Claire to return to the 18th Century to find her Highlander father Jamie after Roger Wakefield discovered proof of where Jamie was in 1765. There were several very emotional scenes shared between Claire and Brianna as the former prepared to go back through the stones in Inverness, Scotland. I was impressed and moved by how well she played out the scenes, and I think that episode just might have finally turned fans to her side. Job well done!

Nominated by Ange
Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers on Supergirl
Kara has always been the compassionate one, always there for her loved ones (and Benoist herself has always played the nice girl like in her previous role on Glee) but since sacrificing her love Mon-El in last season’s finale, when we returned to National City in the season 3 premiere we were met with a very different Kara Danvers; one who was hardened and detaching. She was even distancing herself away from her sister Alex’s wedding plans when you know that in more normal circumstances, she’d be the most excited. When Alex finally had enough of giving Kara space, she confronted her hoping that tough love would shake her out of her funk. What she was surprised to find was a defensive and angry person in the form of her sister declaring that Kara Danvers’ life sucks right now so if she can be the more successful Supergirl, why shouldn’t embrace being her and leave the human Kara behind. It was heartbreaking to see how hardened Kara had become and Benoist knocked it out of the park. Even the scene between Kara and James where she quits, you could see her teetering on the line between being Kara or Supergirl and the subtlety Benoist displayed during her character’s brief moment of conflict really added to her performance.I may be in the minority here, but I was kind of hoping that this hardened version of Kara would stick around for a tad bit longer because this was definitely some of Benoist’s greatest work yet. (Not permanently though, maybe for another episode or so.)

Nominated by Cara
Edie Falco as Leslie Abramson in Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders
She’s come up before as woman of the week, but this week she brought it in a big way. Abramson is leading a team of women to protect clients that she truly seems to care for. This week we saw that Leslie will do what it takes to keep these boys from getting the death penalty. She knows what they are and what they did, but Leslie knows what it is to be fragile too, which is why she’ll push Eric until he breaks if she has to. There’s a reason NBC’s got Falco front and center in the promos; Leslie Abramson is relentless and unafraid. The character is complex, tough, but gentle, and Falco is killing it.