Yahoo Lifestyle Performer of the Week: Rebecca Ferguson
THE PERFORMER | Rebecca Ferguson
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THE SHOW | Silo
THE EPISODE | “Into the Fire” (Jan. 17, 2025)
THE PERFORMANCE | The second season of Apple TV+’s adaptation of Hugh Howey’s sci-fi trilogy felt a bit lighter on Ferguson, seeing as the story toggled between two silos, but we had the utmost faith that the series’ star would get her “moment.”
That moment arrived with the finale, in which Juliette’s awaited egress from Silo 17, to return to her people, stirred up a variety of emotions.
First, there was Juliette’s worry over an MIA Solo/Jimmy’s whereabouts turning into her realization that he had bravely tested out their makeshift protective suit with a dip into the flooded stairwell. Clocking Jimmy’s clever work as well as his delight in helping, Juliette — far from a touchy-feely character! — went in for a thank-you hug, only to be rebuffed by the longtime hermit. Still, Ferguson communicated such a sweet appreciation, almost affection, for her newfound ally.
Another friend made in Silo 17 was Hope, who was regularly demeaned by Audrey, half of the paired-up young couple she lived with. When Audrey started in again on “Eater,” Ferguson absolutely roared, as Juliette sought to leave this ersatz family unit in a better state than she found it.
“You want to be angry? Be angry at the motherf–kers who built this place and put us in it! Not us. Not her,” she urged. “All we’re trying to do is survive, but the only way we can do that is to trust the other people stuck in the same s–t as we are!”
“The people I love… they might be killing each other right now,” Juliette explained, Ferguson’s demeanor shifting from fury to just this side of melancholy. “And those are the people that I’m stuck with. My friends. My family. My dad.”
In Silo 17, “You’re all that’s left,” Juliette said to Audrey, Rick et al, as Ferguson brought the monologue to a poignant close. “So just make it work!”
Capping Ferguson’s standout hour was Juliette’s actual goodbye to Jimmy, who sweetly — maybe naively? — sought confirmation that his first new friend in decades would return, someday. Ferguson here let his question/plea sit with Juliette a moment, her face looking warmly at Steve Zahn’s Jimmy, before responding, “Nothing’s gonna stop me from trying.” And regardless of the potentially one-way trek ahead of Juliette, not to mention the very daunting prospect of ever doubling back, you believed her.
Scroll down to see who got Honorable Mention shout-outs this week…
HONORABLE MENTION: Caitríona Balfe
However you feel about that crazy twist at the end of Outlander’s Season 7 finale, c’mon: Caitríona Balfe sold it. She was excellent throughout the entire hour, truly, as she gave us an up-close look at how tender and raw Claire felt in her convalescence. It seemed like Balfe spent the entire hour with her eyes full of tears as incidents both touching (Jamie’s tender understanding as he brought her the candle) and unsettling (Master Raymond’s appearance at night) kept Claire off-balance, emotionally; watching her nimbly play the normally stalwart Claire as fragile offered us a new understanding of the show’s central character. So when it came time to consider the fact that Claire and Jamie’s infant daughter hadn’t died in childbirth all those years ago? With Balfe leading the way, we were ready to believe anything. — Kimberly Roots
HONORABLE MENTION: Lisseth Chavez
“Plain Clothes Day” was just plain fun, thanks to a vibrant, layered performance by The Rookie‘s Lisseth Chavez. As Officer Juarez rode “solo” with a silent Nolan at her side, the rookie relished in the independence. So when Nolan accidentally took lead on an investigation and Juarez called him out for it — “It undermined my authority with a man who is already more inclined to trust someone who looks like you over someone who looks like me” — Chavez’s line delivery was perfect, and affecting. The rest of the hour featured Chavez in a lighter moment (“You have my permission to call me a badass,” after Celina pinned down a mountain of a man), as well as an emotionally intense one, as she told a vigilante at gunpoint, “I don’t want to kill a grieving mother for avenging her daughter’s murder.” — M.W.M.
Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!
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