Yahoo Lifestyle Performer of the Week: Cristin Milioti
THE PERFORMER | Cristin Milioti
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THE SHOW | HBO’s The Penguin
THE EPISODE | “Cent’anni” (Oct. 13, 2024)
THE PERFORMANCE | Milioti has been fantastic on The Penguin from the start, ensuring we believe Sofia Falcone is a more than capable foil for Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell). However, the show’s fourth episode was entirely Sofia-focused and suffice to say, Milioti was very much up to the challenge, proving once again what a powerhouse performer she is.
The brunt of the episode was told in flashbacks, as we learned what exactly occurred that led to Sofia being locked up in Arkham. As it turned out, Sofia was never The Hangman. The real killer was her father, Carmine (Mark Strong), and Sofia suffered the ultimate betrayal when Carmine framed her. Milioti did an amazing job showing Sofia at so many different stages so quickly, from the optimistic young woman we briefly meet, her eyes filled with joy when Carmine tells her he wants her to succeed him, to the utter anguish of finding out she’s being accused of something she didn’t do.
From tearfully breaking down when learning she was going to Arkham to her panic once she’s actually locked up to showing the utter pain and anguish, both physical and mental, she then endures, Milioti gave an absolutely riveting, heartbreaking performance. Sofia is put through absolute hell, including ongoing horrific electroshock therapy, and Milioti conveyed so much emotion as her character had to process all of it.
Milioti lets us understand why, after feeling so utterly abandoned, abused and broken, Sofia snaps, finally becoming the murderer she was falsely labeled as. This begins when she kills a fellow patient, Magpie (Marié Botha). But then, when the show picks up back in its present, we see things escalate so much further, as Sofia wipes out nearly her entire family by gassing the Falcone mansion, in retaliation for them all backing Carmine’s lies about her. It says something for Milioti’s phenomenal work that many fans were very much rooting for Sofia by the time we reach these oh-so dark events. As she strutted through her family home, wearing a striking yellow dress and, naturally, accompanying gas mask, Milioti cemented Sofia Falcone as a new favorite amongst the jam-packed criminal populace of Gotham City.
Scroll down to see who got Honorable Mention shout-outs this week.
HONORABLE MENTION: Joe Locke
Agatha All Along explored Teen’s backstory this week, and Joe Locke worked all kinds of magic with the variety of material given him. As mild-mannered bar mitzvah boy William Kaplan, Locke has us feeling we were watching a complete stranger, but with just a hint of the character’s impossible destiny. Then, after the life-changing car crash, you could not help but root for William to solve the puzzle of his new identity; Locke’s scenes opposite Miles Gutierrez-Riley’s Eddie, especially, were both sweet and riveting. But as has been the case all season long, Locke really sparked opposite Kathryn Hahn — first, as Billy Maximoff playfully teased “Agnes” about her chosen cop persona, but especially when Billy and Agatha confronted each other back on the Road, about who they are and what they plan to do about their adversarial dynamic. With Locke locked into witch mode, the Road ahead looks nothing less than heart-stopping. — Matt Webb Mitovich
HONORABLE MENTION: Jessica Williams
In Shrinking’s second episode, Gaby struggled to pull the plug on her friends-with-benefits situation with Jimmy. When the two finally talked, Jessica Williams knocked it out of the park with her awkward mannerisms and line deliveries. But the actress’ real stand-out moment followed a near-kiss that went awry, which caused her demeanor to promptly turn heel. After chewing him out for being a bad friend, she jumped on his back and tackled him to the ground to confirm her suspicions — he was wearing the red “sex boxers” he knows she loves. The physical romp was a hoot to watch, but our laughs were silenced once we saw Gaby’s hurt. “You knew I caught feelings, but you’re so f—king selfish, you just kept f—king me anyway, right?” she spat. Williams’ game performance and sparring skills gave us emotional whiplash that not only caught us off-guard, but kicked off Season 2 with a bang. — Nick Caruso
HONORABLE MENTION: William Allen Young
If S.W.A.T. had done an “OK” job of guest-casting Howie Kincaid for its season premiere, the storyline with the kidnapped school kids would have been… well, OK. But William Allen Young — whom you may know from Moesha, Code Black or many other TV shows — elevated the material in a way that instantly had you invested in his fate, as well as that of the students. Young played “Coach” as no superhero, but he also was no ordinary bus driver. Kincaid’s priority was to keep the kids calm, cool and collected (and oxygenated), all while scanning the mine in which they were trapped for any means of egress. And at episode’s end, once the day and students were saved, Young in his scenes with Shemar Moore sold us on the deep, long-ago bond that the two shared. Simply wonderful guest star work. — M.W.M.
Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!
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