THE PERFORMER | Caleb McLaughlin
THE EPISODE | “Chapter Nine: The Piggyback” (July 1, 2022)
THE PERFORMANCE | Picking a standout from the exceptional performances in the season finale was no mean feat. We could’ve gone with Gaten Matarazzo for Dustin’s heartbreaking goodbye to Eddie or with Joe Keery for the vulnerability with which he played Steve’s confession to Nancy — for starters. But in the end, we had to shine the spotlight on McLaughlin, who brought a heretofore-unseen strength and anguish to Lucas.
Early on, the actor reminded us how adept he is at playing the high schooler’s sweet side. The word “please” was all but written across his face as Lucas hopefully asked out Max — via notes — before she risked her life to distract Vecna. Then McLaughlin jolted us, turning Slurpee-cold as the villain spoke through his character. That was all just warmup, though.
When Jason showed up brandishing a gun, McLaughlin deftly balanced Lucas’ empathy for his grieving teammate with his anxiousness to keep him from upsetting the plan to vanquish Vecna. Once it became obvious that the older teen was beyond reason, McLaughlin underscored just how much Lucas had grown. He stopped pleading, stood tall and expressed less regret over the fact that he’d ever wanted to be like Jason than anger. “Normal,” Lucas had learned the hard way, “is just a raging psychopath.”
Finally, after Vecna’s brutal assault of Max, McLaughlin unleashed Lucas’ pain with a rawness and urgency that still haunts us. McLaughlin had just shown us what an empowered young man his alter ego had become. But seeing Max in such a state, he couldn’t help but sound like a little boy desperate to do something, anything to make it all better.
HONORABLE MENTION | Fierce, funny and beautifully understated are just a few of the words that describe Dominique McElligott‘s performance in The Boys Season 3 finale, which set up an unexpectedly happy exit for her character Maeve. The actress had us laughing at Maeve’s dig against Hughie and cheering when the supe took the opportunity to beat the crap out of her tormentor Homelander. But most of all, we were wowed by the tenderness, emotion and awe in McElligott’s voice as she delivered some sweet parting words to Annie: “The truth is you don’t need me anymore. I could jump. You can f–king fly.” We’re extremely sad to see Maeve go, but McElligott sure did move us in her goodbye.
HONORABLE MENTION | As the Enterprise‘s dashing captain Christopher Pike, Anson Mount has guided Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ freshman voyage with a steady hand, and he went above and beyond in this week’s season finale as Pike was forced to face his tragic destiny. Mount got to double his performance when an older, wiser Pike traveled back in time to warn his past self about meddling with the future, and he was cool under pressure as the Enterprise was threatened with annihilation by the Romulans. (The mischievous twinkle in Mount’s eye is the closest this franchise has come to vintage Shatner-era Kirk since the ’60s.) But it was the quieter moments, with Pike bravely accepting his fate and opening up to his friend Spock before taking a triumphant stroll through the bridge, that left us feeling very optimistic about this series’ future with a rock-solid leader like Mount at the helm.
HONORABLE MENTION | Mehwish Hayat’s performance in this week’s Ms. Marvel was, in a word, marvelous. Appearing as Kamala’s great-grandmother Aisha in an extended flashback, Hayat was a captivating force, adding new layers to the fierce woman we’d only heard about through Nani’s stories (and briefly saw in a previous flashback). We were especially moved by Aisha’s final moments in the episode as the warrior lay dying after being stabbed by Najma. Using her last bit of strength to bring Kamala to the past — also helping the teen hero finally figure out her purpose — Aisha’s subsequent death was gut-wrenching. That speaks volumes of her portrayer’s impressive performance, ensnaring us with her grace, courage and wit until the very end. Outstanding.
Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in Comments!
This might be the first P.o.t.W. where i saw ALL of the performances. Neat!
Me, too — saw them all and couldn’t agree more with the choices.
Me too as well. All great performances.
Was going to say Dominique McElligot had to be here somewhere, in an outstanding ensemble she’s often not had a huge amount to do (and was completely absent in the episode where the whole cast got PotW) but when they give her the right material she delivers. Will be sorely missed if this is indeed the end for her on The Boys.
I said in last week’s comment that I hoped that Caleb got it this week and I’m glad y’all agreed.
I’m good with this. Caleb McLaughlin’s pain and his cry for Erica to help while Max lay dying in his arms was heartbreaking to watch.
Caleb and Dominique both so good. I’d also add Alia Shawkat in The Old Man. She was awesome this week.
Mehwish Hayat was incredible this week. So glad to see her here.
This is the first PoTW where I couldn’t agree more with every single pick. They were all phenomenal and deserve all the praise. Especially Caleb McLaughlin and Mehwish Hayat. They were my particular favorites.
“Picking a standout from the exceptional performances in the season finale was no mean feat”
Sorry, it’s just that this is exactly the kind of thing that drives me nuts. I think you either mean that it WAS a mean feat, or that it was no MERE feat.
The expression, no mean feat, is an idiom meaning an achievement accomplished with great difficulty. It was used in exactly the right contest in this article.
Interestingly enough, while the phrase “it was no mean feat” has the exact meaning that the writer intended it to have above, the phrases “it WAS a mean feat” and “it was no MERE feat” are actually complete nonsense with no meaning whatsoever.
McLaughlin was amazing, “erica help” was deep and so real
This…all of this. Lucas had an incredible season and once again I just want my baby happy.
I was in literal tears! He was absolutely amazing! Im so happy he’s getting some coverage for that top notch acting!!!! Bravo Caleb
The fact that Caleb’s “Erica, help!” line was improvised makes that scene and him being crowned as the performer of the week that much better!
Caleb deserves this award & so many more for his absolute soul wrenching performance. The sheer changes in pitch his screams let out, showcased a level of pain I wish on no human. I will gladly wait another 3 years because of it, if it endures Lucas gets his Max back. Be humble El & Mike, THIS is what true love real looks & feels like. Good luck Caleb & Sadie on collecting every award possible for this epic Season!
I’ve never seen Stranger Things, but the rest of the performances I do know, and I think they’re all very good.
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Really a shame to see Dominique McElligott leaving the show for a while. There’s never been enough of her. Kripke’s reasoning about her character needing to go because she was Starlight’s mentor is pretty standard hero’s journey stuff, but I never really got the sense that she actually was mentoring Starlight, so it’s particularly unfortunate. Anyway, nice resolution for Maeve.
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One thing that bothers me about these Performer of the Week columns is that they tend to focus on performances in isolation, as I guess they need to, given space constraints. But one thing that’s always struck me about Anson Mount as Pike is how much of an ensemble player he is. You never get the sense that he’s going for personal glory. He supports his fellow actors and serves the story. The rest of the cast is like that as well, and it’s a lot of why Discovery is so good to watch.
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That came through in this episode. His Pike has heart. That’s exactly what the show’s Kirk is lacking. This Kirk feels stunted; he hasn’t learned what Star Trek’s Kirk had. The actor playing him brings that out nicely. This works so well because Mount as Pike had set the context so completely. Pike is the same sort of captain as Mount is as an actor. He’s listens, he likes it when his crew shines, and he puts himself aside to get the job done. That sets the tone for the whole show. For me, that’s a lot more important than the moments the article mentioned, which is not to underestimate them, either.
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Mehwish Hayat was in fact very good. I wish her main scene partner had gotten mentioned as well, though. (I also wish I knew his name.) I identified with him completely when he was on the screen, which is rare, and Mehwish Hayat would not have been able to give the performance she did without an actor like this to relate to, or looked as good doing it.