Yahoo Lifestyle Performer of the Week: Zoe Saldaña
THE PERFORMER | Zoe Saldaña
THE SHOW | Lioness
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THE EPISODE | “I Love My Country” (Oct. 27, 2024)
THE PERFORMANCE | In Season 1 of the Paramount+ espionage drama (fka Special Ops: Lioness), Saldaña effectively conveyed authority as CIA station chief Joe McNamara.
In Season 2, though, she is outright commanding scenes.
As the latest, incredibly volatile mission for the Lioness program began to crystalize, and Joe deftly braced her family for what may come, Saldaña had quiet scenes with Hannah Lanier and Dave Annable. “I’m who they send. That’s my job,” Joe explained to daughter Kate of her clandestine career. “Why do I do it? So you don’t have to learn Chinese or Russian.” Then, when Neal expressed concern about Joe’s involvement in unfurling headlines, a not-so-cryptic: “Do us a favor, and stop watching the news.”
Everywhere else in the new season’s second episode, Saldaña’s Joe was fierce and fired up, large and in charge. What, you’re an Army wonk trying to pick her Lioness? Good luck with that. “Choose another case officer, but let me spare you the search — I’m the only one,” she made crystal clear. “I choose the asset, I choose the cover, I build the f–king plan, and I run it. Me!”
Saldaña’s showstopper scenes came once Joe and her team arrived at the Army’s FOB in Iraq, after barely surviving an ambush. The dialogue seemed to be half expletives, but it was Saldaña’s delivery of the words that put everyone within earshot on guard — first during an explosive harangue/scuffle with Apache pilot Captain Josie Carrillo (played by an impressively dynamic Genesis Rodriguez), followed by a pissing contest with the base commander who’s office she was about to seize. “I’m the highest ranking officer anywhere I f–king go!” she bellowed. “And this base better start f–king acting like it!”
Closing out Saldaña’s winning performance was Joe’s subsequent pitch to Rodriguez’s Josie, where she laid out the prospective Lioness’ ties to the the cartel in the Agency’s crosshairs, then simply asked, again and again, “Do you love your country?” When Josie maintained, “I am serving my country right now,” Joe said, “Your country needs more.” And because of Saldaña’s intensity, you knew that she would get it.
Scroll down to see who got Honorable Mention shout-outs this week…
HONORABLE MENTION: Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell
Kate and Hal Wyler unpacked a core unresolved issue in the second episode of The Diplomat Season 2, resulting in one of their most incendiary marital skirmishes to date and, in turn, some of Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell’s best work on the series. When Hal posited to his wife that tragedies like the one that claimed the life of Kate’s aide, Ronnie, are — in their dangerous line of work — merely “the cost of doing business,” Russell pivoted seamlessly between unbridled fury at her husband and profound grief over the loss of her beloved colleague. Sewell, meanwhile, nimbly exorcised Hal’s deeply entrenched resentment toward Kate after years of willfully ceding the moral high ground to her “as a kindness.” Watching Russell and Sewell navigate the argument’s fluctuating emotional beats and power dynamics — from anger to empathy to condescension and back to anger — was akin to witnessing a world champion chess match. As we digested the volatile scene’s unexpectedly quiet and vulnerable coda — another stark tonal shift beautifully executed by the pair — there was little doubt in our minds that we were watching two actors at the top of their game. — Michael Ausiello
HONORABLE MENTION: Luke Tennie
It’s no secret that Shrinking‘s Sean has father issues, but in this week’s episode, those problems exploded to the surface. After his dad made a comment about giving his son “tough love,” rage boiled up inside, teeing Luke Tennie up for a performance that was absolutely soul-crushing. After admitting that he struggled to find a reason to go on after his time in Afghanistan, he confessed that he begged his dad for help only to be told he’d “get over it.” The actor painted his face with an irate snarl as he recounted his pain, his voice escalating as he went on. But when things got too heated and he almost put hands on Jimmy, Tennie’s voice broke with sadness and his eyes flooded with regret. While we immediately empathized with Sean’s plight, Tennie’s one-man emotional rollercoaster felt like equal parts gut-punch and TV gold. — Nick Caruso
Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!
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