Deadwood Episode Guide: The Whores Can Come

Written by Greg Fienberg

Directed by Bryan McDonald

If the deathwatch for William overshadowed everything that happened in the last episode, The Whores Can Come is completely dominated by his funeral. Mourning follows everyone, except for a few who either can’t seem to comprehend the magnitude of what’s happened, or are too mired in their own problems to care

Swearengen tries to take the attitude that he doesn’t give a damn, but there are signs throughout the episode that it does bother him immensely. In the opening minutes, in one of his rare walks of the streets of the camp, observing the horrors in the celestial section, and then walking towards Bullock’s home, and in the gentlest of terms telling him what is going on with Jarry, who he thinks may try to intervene even today. (Indeed, Jarry does appear and Bullock just barely contains his rage.) When Dan and Johnny ask him he wants to go to service, he flatly says no. When Trixie tries in her own way to persuade him to make a showing, he is brusque with her. And when Jarry tries to approach him with the bribe he solicited in the previous episode, his attitude of refusing to do business ‘on my godson’s funeral’ is one of the few light moments in an episode mired in darkness. It is not until the actual memorial that he appears on his balcony with a look of what appears to be real compassion on his face to Seth. He covers for it by disappearing back into the Gem when the minister completes the reading, then reappearing a minute later.

It is not until the end of the episode, when Dolly is given him yet another blow job, that he gives another of his monologues. Admonishing her about ‘drooling on his balls’, he then asks her politely (for him, anyway) about the surfaces, and then gives an explanation as to why he hates funerals. His brother, who we know from past discussions from epilepsy, died, and after the funeral, he ended up in the house with his father. And if his mother was horrible enough by abandoning him at the orphanage (which he references again her), his father was more openly abusive by constantly beating him. “Never knew where it was coming from,” he says almost casually. Once again, we get a picture of Al opening up to someone he considers a non-person in a way he would never even think of talking to anybody else about.

Jarry remains equally oblivious to the darkness of the day, though admittedly there are signs he is developing a sarcastic streak. He goes to Tolliver and asks him to cash a check for $50,000 with which he intends to bribe Al with. Tolliver, who can see his position, is getting shakier tries to snap back at him for being bitter, and Jarry responds: “Shall we go to the croupier’s cage you locked me in, and did absolutely nothing to protect me?” Jarry considers the realities of events, but seems rather bemused that Swearengen would take a day of mourning. (This is actually something of a problem at his joint, for reasons we’ll get to in a moment.) But Swearengen, who is taking this as a chance for negotiation, gets increasingly hostile, ‘til he responds to one of Jarry’s more pointed inquiries:”

“What a type you must consort with, to not fear beating for such an insult.”

Even then, he doesn’t get the message, and Adams has to escort him out.

Wolcott tries to remain the attitude of cool blandness he had when he first came to camp, but he is beginning to see the ice thaw beneath his feet. He tries to negotiate from this position when he goes to Farnum, and tells him he wishes to buy his hotel, which causes the man to flee to his hideaway in terror. And when Tolliver tries to poke the bear again, referring directly to the murders, Wolcott rebukes him still more, and then reveals the biggest news so far: George Hearst will be in the camp within the week.\

Tolliver continues to isolate himself from just about everybody; alone among the elders, he does not attend William’s funeral, and when Leon returns with the news that Mose will live, he just tells him to get a fix. And even he learns that Hearst is coming to Deadwood, he still is trying to find a way to outflank Wolcott, as if trying to find a larger payout is all he can handle.

But is there a possibility that there is some kind of guilt motivating his behavior? The minister who returned to the camp to see to William’s funeral was none other than Andy Cramed, who claimed after nearing dying in the camp of smallpox, has come to see the word of God.  Farnum doesn’t quite believe it when he hears it (“How’s the new racket paying?” he asks him), but he sees to William’s funeral in a very orderly matter, doesn’t ramble but speaks sincerely (unlike the way Reverend Smith did last season), and is calm to handling both Seth and Martha’s wishes. But Tolliver seems incapable of believing that redemption is impossible, and orders his men to grab Cramed and bring him to the Bella Union. He outright accusing Cramed of putting on an act, which he doesn’t care so much about as long as he gets his cut. Cramed doesn’t remind him that Cy threw him in the woods and left him to die – he doesn’t have to, as Cy uses it as a threat. But considering that throwing Cramed out was the beginning of Tolliver’ s destruction of his ‘family’, there remains the possibility there is some residual shame in what he has done. And Tolliver does what he always does when something becomes shameful to him: he gets angrier.

Everyone else is dealing in their own way with the horrors of what has happened.  Trixie is partially in tears half the time, and asks Al if the whores can come to the funeral. She also is cold to Alma when she comes to see her to ask about Ellsworth’s proposal, but it’s more likely it’s because she wants to comfort Sofia. And when Sol asks Trixie why she went back to Swearengen when he called, she says, it’s because she was a whore first, and you still owe something to your pimp. Then taking a step forward, she says: “I’d like to learn another way.” She then takes charge of the whores, telling them not to shoot dope, drink, and to brush their teeth to get ‘the smell of cock of their breath’.

Joanie and Jane are still dealing with the aftereffects of the previous night, first seeing to Mose (the Doc spends much of the episode making sure that he will recover), and then preparing to get clean for the burial. Jane then proceeds to take a bath, bitching all the while about the hotness of the water (“I burnt my goddamn snatch!”) For all the nudity and sex we have seen on this show, and everything we know about the characters, there is something oddly moving that when Jane undresses, she asks Joanie to turn around, giving a display of modesty that we rarely see on the series. (Of course, this being HBO, the audience isn’t spared.)

And Alma finds herself finally facing the question she spent the last half of the season dealing with. And in a maternal approach, she shows it to Sofia, telling her “we will each take each other’s sadness’ before going to William’s funeral. When Ellsworth escorts them back to the hotel, and gently corrects Sofia on a point of grammar, Alma takes this as a sign. She said she was concerned for the idea of a marriage without love. And knowing that Ellsworth will care for her ward is enough to make her see what a good man he truly is. She finally answers the question. “Yes.”

But of all the people affected by this, of course, Seth and Martha are hit the hardest. Seth spends the opening of the episode building a casket for his son. (Al sees his hand is bloody from his work, and in a gesture that speaks volumes, just hands him a handkerchief.) He spends much of the episode being a pillar of strength for Martha, who barely holds it together. Seth sees that she ahs packed her things, and Martha tells him: “I can’t bear it anymore.” She barely makes it through Cramed requests for the service, and initially says that she wants the burial to be private. But when the actual service takes place, less than halfway through the reading, she runs into the house, and throws herself on the casket, weeping. A little while later, she comes out, and Seth takes her hand. In a moment filled with importance, she changes her mind and says “Let the others see him.” Once again, the camp is unified. And Martha clearly sees a place in it now somehow. The last words Seth says to his wife says: “Let us find a way to go forward”, and just as this is a unifying event for the camp, for all the horror involved, it is one for the Bullocks as well.

More Than Striking A Pose: Ryan Murphy's Last FX Collaboration is a Ball

Some series that I choose not to watch are, at least initially, tied to my identity. I didn’t watch Atlanta or Insecure cause I’m not black and I didn’t watch The L Word because I’m not a lesbian. So to watch FX’s Pose, a series about African-American gays and transsexuals in the late 1980s seemed like the ultimate disconnect. Furthermore, Ryan Murphy’s work has always been a mixed bag for me, especially on FX: I have never gotten into American Horror Story or Nip/Tuck and it took me awhile to get into Feud or American Crime Story. So, even though the notices were raves when it debuted last summer, I basically ignored it, even after it did well at the Golden Globes and Broadcast Critics. Then I decided I had to at least take a look at Season 2 just before the Emmy nods came out. Holy God, I’m glad I did.

Murphy has always been an expert at portraying the outsiders in our culture, so despite not being black, he is the perfect showrunner for Pose.  And he picks up the second season right at the cusp of the AIDS crisis – we open the season with Pray Tell (Bryan Porter, absolutely magnificent) attending the funeral of another gay man who has died of the disease (the number is close to 250). The disease has struck the community as well – Blanca (MJ Rodriguez) has recently gone from HIV positive to having full blown AIDS. In an effort to fight this, a fellow gay physician (Sandra Bernhard) advises Blanca to begin raiding the medicine cabinet of rich white men who have died of the disease – something that was all too common in the early days of the disease. And she  convinces Pray Tell that he has “to do something with his rage… or else it’ll eat you alive). This includes a real-life ‘die-in’ at the Church of Cardinal O’Connor, something that he is proud to get arrested for, and angry that his family will not participate.

Other members of the clans are having their own adjustments. Elektra (Dominque Jackson) has recently taken up a job at the Hellfire Club as a dominatrix at an S & M club. The darkness of this came very clear in the last episode, when a client OD’d in the stirrups, and she found herself rushing first to Blanca, and utterly rejecting the idea of doing the right thing, and then to another stripper, where it became very clear just how low on the totem pole the black woman ranks with law enforcement. What she eventually ends up doing would not have been out of place on Breaking Bad, but there is something so horrendous about it that Elektra, who has the boldest face of the group, has trouble sleeping weeks afterwards.

In a world this oppressive, its hard to find joy, and that it was the ballroom shows are for – acts of defiance that even hidden in the outer limits they stand for something. Yet there are signs that there may be hope – Madonna is entering the mainstream, and we see just what she really meant to the gay community back then. And there are minor triumphs that give hope – Blanca opens a boutique with a lady slumlord (Patti LuPone channels her inner Leona Helmsley) and manages to win the initial skirmish. And Angel, her daughter struggles to win a photo shoot with Esquire and fails, yet manages to win a job as the face of a department store makeup chain. In one of the more joyous moment of the series, the family goes to a drugstore and sees Angel in the makeup aisle.

I can imagine a lot of people will be upset just at the idea of this series, but that is the point of Pose (and indeed, much of Murphy’s work in general) We need series like this, not just because it employs gays and trans actors of color, but because they’re a part of society then – and now – that we want to forget exist. And they may isolate the mainstream, but the idea shouldn’t. I had doubts about the series in general and Billy Porter in particular being considered for Emmy nominations; within a few minutes of Season 2, they were completely eradicated. Murphy has always been a man who embraces extremes, and this is one extreme the community he should be glad he found. And if this is truly his last series for FX, he picked a hell of  a show to go out with.

My score: 4.5 stars.

Deadwood Episode Guide: Advances, None Miraculous

Written by Sara Hess

Directed by Daniel Minahan

Much like the opening of the season, Advances, None Miraculous opens mere minutes after the closing of the previous episode. Only in that episode, the causative events was the aftermath of the brawl between Bullock and Swearengen. Now, we find ourselves in the midst of something just as critical to the camp, but far more emotionally devastating – the oncoming death of William.

Everybody knows, deep in their guts, what is coming, and much of what happens in the episode is based on their reactions to it. Leaving aside Seth and Martha, who spend the entire episode on the deathwatch, everyone is clearly in various states of upset. How they reflect is in different ways. Trixie is near tears half the episode, Dority and Adams are more pissed than usual, and Farnum masks his clear sadness with his usual complaints about being left out, and abusing Richardson when he makes his efforts to pray before his ‘god’ Even Tolliver seems initially affected by it – he is masked by trying to get the fatally injured Mose out of his joint, and then gets royally irked by those who try to interfere. Perhaps the most moving moments comes when Tom is found in tears, and returns to his saloon in utter despair, demanding that the bicycle which brought him such joy just a few hours ago be removed.

The ones who feel the most despair for another reason are, understandably, Hostettler and Fields. Hostettler brings up the special level of hypocrisy of the standard that affects blacks in the 1870s.

“There’s people in this camps whose stabbed and shot and murdered who are still walking around upright. The only thing we was trying to hurt was that horse… so that we could make an honest dollar.”

Of necessity, Hostettler and Fields flee the camp, unsure of their destination or plans. Hostettler considers killing himself, so that he can cheat the white folks from killing him (something Fields very nervously mocks) and then has a brief discussion in which he tells Fields that they will chase down that horse, take whatever’s coming to them, and then go down to Oregon, where together they might open another livery. Fields knows what a pipe dream that is, but his last words to Hostettler are : “Let’s go find that fucking horse.”

The man who is feeling particular grief is Cochran, who is well aware of his function as a moral weathervane. Called in to see how Mose is doing, he gives him a passing glance, tells Jane and Joanie that trying to help him is futile, and then returns to his cabin. He walks back, sees Martha and Seth standing over their deathbed, knows there is nothing he can do, and goes back to the Chez Ami, telling Jewel “I have to go operate on a whale.” Prefacing his actions by making it clear that very little is likely to come of this, he nevertheless says: “We’ll give it a goddamn whirl.”

Under normal circumstances, business would stop considering the vigil for William. But the outside forces that have descended on the camp will wait for nothing. Isringhausen, who was waiting on the sheriff to escort her from the camp before William was injured, now refuses to leave Swearengen’s office fearing for her life, and even the threat of Al’s cutting her throat doesn’t budge her. Angrily, he tells Dan to find Hawkeye, which leads to a mad search around the camp which reveals Adams, who tells Dan angrily this is who he’s waiting to see. Adams then comes to the office, and even now Isringhausen seems willing to play bold, asking Adams if he’s considering murdering her, and trying to sign the document that has been causing so much agita with a false name. Despite all this, and probably because of it, Al is impressed by the woman; his last words before she leaves the Gem (and the series) forever are : “I wish I had five like you.”

The other force that has returned is Commissioner Jarry, who seems just as oblivious to danger as he was before: when he demands of Tolliver and Wolcott to see Bullock, Tolliver tells him all he’ll get is a pistol-whipping and even Wolcott seems unnerved. (As he tells Tolliver after Jarry leaves: “I am a sinner beyond redemption, but I am not a government official.)

Jarry has returned because of the article Merrick put in the Pioneer last episode, and Merrick now gives Al advance warning that Jarry is en route after spying on the telegraph. Knowing the messes that are coming, Al calls Dan to get Starr, which leads to Sol showing a rare side of temper with just about everybody, first with Trixie over her returning to the Gem, and then at Al when he makes what seem to be anti-Semitic remarks before he finally gets to his point – he wants Sol to tell him about government officials in Montana. Even in his understandably distracted state, Sol remains as competent as ever, and even in a moment of fury actually gives Al pertinent information.

This leads to a delightful three-cornered scene when Al and Adams perform a con on Jarry trying to convince him that a prominent Montana interest wants to charter Deadwood for Montana. (Welliver is particularly delightful in this scene, using Adams’ no doubt real contempt for the Commissioner to insult him with practically every exchange.) By the time the con is over, even Adams is so astonished that he asks Al after Jarry leaves: “What just happened?” And Al explains that they will now get what they need from the Commissioner: “Elections”. This will prove the impetus for much of Season 3.

With all of this unfolding, we spend precious little of the episode actually with Seth and Martha. But in its own way, this is an example of another bit of mastery my Milch and the rest. When Jimmy Smits left Milch’s NYPD Blue, his character Bobby Simone eventually died after a lingering illness, and while his final episode is considered one of the great moments in television history, the last half hour was almost to much to bear. Now given fewer constraints, the writers choose to deal with William’s death (which is far more important for the camp then it was for the squad on Blue) by spending only a few short scenes on the deathwatch itself. We see Cochrane gently tell Seth that it wouldn’t hurt if Martha put a wet cloth on her son’s head or speak to him, we have a brief scene where Martha regrets bringing him from Michigan here at all and says that she wants to take him home, we have Seth and Martha say their goodbyes talking about their last days here but not really.

Instead, the series demonstrates the camp unifying by reacting with anger and sadness. One of the more moving scenes comes when Wu, who may have only the barest of understandings of what is going on, coming to Jewel, who is standing vigil, and offering her a cup of rice. Jewel gently tells him that she’s a gimp, and can’t hold the cup. (In the acknowledgement that they are both outsiders, Jewel may be the only one who doesn’t talk to Wu with impatience.) Others react in different ways. Farnum tries to use his mocking tones around Richardson, but there’s almost gentleness (for him, anyway) and he greets his guests in the kitchen where he is chopping onions (no doubt trying to come up with an excuse for tears – assuming, naturally, that people will give a damn about him now). Trixie comes back to the Gem, and Al demonstrates kindness by asking: “Why aren’t you amongst the circumcised?” then kindly allowing her to stand vigil just within eyesight of the cabin.

And in the final minutes, Milch knows that he doesn’t have to use dialogue at all. He shows various shots of people standing around, waiting for the inevitable. A minister shows up (we’ll get to him in the next episode; he is a familiar face) and heads towards the cabin. We see Martha and Seth watch William take his final breaths. Then Seth opens the door, and lets the minister in. And Sol walks towards the camp, and we leave the episode on his drawn face, which, as it has so many times with John Hawkes, speaks volumes.

My Picks For This Year's Emmys: Best Supporitng Actress in a TV Movie or Limited Series

HBO is most likely to dominate this category and the most likely winner may have been determined as far back as July. But there are a lot of good possibilities, and even a couple of actresses who are likely to double dip, as well as at least one who might cancel each other out for their work in two shows. So let’s go through the list.

Patricia Clarkson, Sharp Objects

Ever since the Golden Globes, Clarkson has been the heavy favorite in this category, and there’s a very good reason why. Not since the days of Livia Soprano and Betty Draper has there been just a dysfunctional, oppressive mother. For most of the series, she remained a quiet force, suppressing Adams’ character so well, it was easy to see why her family turned out the way it did. And when we learned the truth about her, it was quite easy to see why we thought she was the killer behind everything. Clarkson is one of the great actresses of our time, and I will be delighted if she wins.

Carmen Ejojo, True Detective

Just for playing the first purely sympathetic female character in a series that has gone out of its way to be misogynistic at times is a remarkable feat. But Ejojo’s work as Amelia, the schoolteacher whose life and future become intertwined with Wayne’s and the crime was one of the more remarkable works this year. She ultimately became the series conscience – and not just in the sense she was the voice in Wayne’s head as his memory began to collapse. I knew nothing of this actress before Season 3 began. I have a feeling regardless of the results, that’s not going to be the same.

Julia Garner, Dirty John

She had a hell of a year. Playing Connie Britton’s daughter, and the one person who suspects early on that her mother’s new husband is not what he seems, Garner managed to achieve what so many other characters don’t – being correct in her assumptions and staying unsympathetic through most of the series.  The SAG awards recognized Garner for her work and on Ozark – both time as a lead with very tough competition in each category. I have a feeling the Supporting category will be friendly to her here as it for her in the Drama category.

Eliza Scanlan, Sharp Objects

The virtual unknown in a series with some of the greatest actresses working today, Scanlan’s performance as Adams’ much younger half-sister was absolutely one of the most mesmerizing works all year. As another girl who was supposedly raising hell, and who seemed to have a level of sexuality that her sister must have, Scanlan’s character seemed to another victim of her mother. This made the last second revelation just as shocking to those who knew it was coming. (She also had one of the great last lines in the history of any television show). She’s been less acknowledged then even other actresses in this series, but she more than deserves to be there.

Emily Watson, Chernobyl

Watson has always been one of the most undervalued actresses, playing characters that seem to repress everything. And as the investigative scientist in Chernobyl, the one who relentlessly pushed for the truth, even though it might cost her her freedom, was one of the most remarkable portrayals. In the final episode when she persuaded Harris – a man who had given up his life to try and save all he could – that the world needed to know what had happened at Chernobyl was just the frosting on a performance  that featured so many moments of quiet dignity. She should be here.

Robin Weigert, Deadwood: The Movie

Considering that for so much of the series run, Calamity Jane basically was adjacent to the main action and rarely a part of it, it is a testament to the remarkable ability of Weigert that she made Jane the most memorable character on a series full of so many ones. (It’s also stunning, when you see Weigert in Big Little Lies, that you realize just how much work she had to do to make herself look utterly undesirable.) Seeing Jane in her utterly drunk and miserable state one last time, returning to Camp to see the woman that she loved was another joy that reminds us how grateful I am that Weigert came out of the muck and mire of this utterly brilliant series. She more than deserved an Emmy when Deadwood was on the air, and she more than deserves a nomination now. (Besides, you know her acceptance speech would be awesome.)

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Margaret Qualley, Fosse/Verdon /Native Son

Sometimes when actresses have brilliant years, they are fortunate enough to be in two different categories. I’ve already discussed Julia Garner’s work and Patricia Arquette’s brilliance in The Act as the murderous maternal figure will likely land her a Supporting nod in this category. But sometimes, even in the Golden Age, actors compete against themselves. And Qualley is the prime case. She gave two brilliant performances this year: as Mary, the woman that the modern Bigger ends up driving around town, and eventually becomes a figure of love and violence, and she played Ann Renking in Fosse/Verdon, the Broadway ingénue who would launch to success in Chicago in Verdon’s place, and eventually become Fosse’s new lover. In both of these parts she was brilliant. If she had just been in one, she’d be likely the frontrunner for a nomination. But she was in both, and she’ll probably get recognized for neither. Like Garner and Scanlan, she’s young and will get over. I just hope the voters can remember one performance in which she shown.

See you in mid-July when the nods come out.

My Picks For This Years Emmys: Best Supporting Actor in a TV Movie/Limited Series

As always, this category is rich in some of the most gifted characters working today. Some decided earlier that Catch-22 might dominate this category because, well, George Clooney. But considering the decidedly mixed reception this series has received in the past month, I think it very unlikely the series will prevail. Who does that leave? A very interesting lot.

Norbert Leo Butz, Fosse/Verdon

As great as Williams and Rockwell were, this wasn’t entirely their show, and its rather fitting that a famous Broadway performer  with a couple of Tonys in his pocket is likely to get a nomination here. Playing the equally famous Paddy Chayefsky, Butz played the only real constant other than Verdon in Fosse’s long career, the only person who stood by him in good times and (at least in this series) mostly bad, the only one who was willing to tell him what an idiot he was being, and who never let his own success dwarf him. This was a dry and subtle performance in an event series that could go over the top.

Paul Dano, Escape at Dannemora

About the only objection I have to Dano’s nomination is what the hell is he not doing in the Best Actor category. He was as much the lead as Del Toro, and in many cases, more so. But that seems to be par for the course for both the actor and the role. Dano has been one of the most gifted character actors working in the independent film industry since at least Little Miss Sunshine, and has never gotten the credit for it that he deserves. And considering that Matt did almost all of the heavy lifting in the actual prison break, and then ended up being captured literally feet from his destination, it seems that he never got what he deserved either.  Dano is sure to be considered a heavy favorite in this category.

Stephen Dorff, True Detective

Early in the year, Dorff had to have been considered a heavy favorite, but other, more showy performances have gotten in the way. Much as is the case for Dano, this is a similar state of affairs for Dorff, only he’s been going through it longer. Often an actor who has been so much better the roles he gets, Dorff found the perfect balance as Roland West, Hays’ partner who seems more political as the case begins to go wrong, and finds his life completely destroyed when things begin to go badly. Dorff’s work was at least as good as Ali, and occasionally even a little better, as his character evolved just as much as Wayne – and ended up going a lot worse. I’m hoping that whatever residual love there is for True Detective gets him a nomination; I really think it would be wrong to ignore him.

Gerald McRaney, Deadwood

McRaney has been enjoying a career renaissance in the last several years in such work as House of Cards and This is Us, so I think it would be fitting to see him get a nomination for the role that effectively started it – George Hearst. As the ultimate, most ruthless version of capitalism on Deadwood, he did some absolutely extraordinary work that, like the show itself, ended in anticlimax.  Seeing him return to scene of so many horrible crimes – this time as a Senator from California – just so he continue to commit more evil was one of the great joys of this season. (It says something that Hearst is the kind of man who can make Al Swearengen look like the lesser of two evils.) The fact that Hearst now represents the epitome of the one percent we tend to villainize – and was doing it a decade ago – makes his exceptional work all the more relevant.

Stellan Skasgaard, Chernobyl

So much praise has been lauded on his progeny that its worth remembering the Skasgaard patriarch is a great actor, too. And the fact that this great actor appears in this film as a small time bureaucrat who quickly sees the magnitude of everything that’s happening, and does everything in his power to minimize the damage and protect his people, is one of his very best performances. His scene with Harris near the climax of the series, both men dying of cancer from their exposure – Skasgaard saying he never thought it was bad because he was of so little position, Harris assuring him that they by some miracle sent the one good man – features some of the best actor either has ever done. There are a lot of showier performances, but Skasagaard deserves to remembered.

Ben Whishaw, A Very English Scandal

Considering the vast array of experience of so many of the nominees, its particularly remarkably that the early favorite is one of the youngest. Whishaw has already won the Golden Globe and the Broadcast Critics Award for Supporting for his work as Norman Scott, the gay ex-lover who becomes the cause of a conspiracy to commit murder. But Whishaw has always been a gifted thespian, and the fact that he is able to hold his own with Grant – already giving one of his strongest performances – tells you just how up to the challenge this man is. I don’t know what the odds are of his winning – English Scandal came out a long time ago – but I think that he is more than deserving to complete the trifecta, even among this group.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Chris Messina, Sharp Objects

Messina has been one of the busy actors on television in the last decades, one of the most versatile, and certainly one of the most under-recognized. This is particularly true of his work as the agent sent to investigate a series of murders where local law enforcement is decidedly uninterested in helping him solve, and where the one woman who’s willing to help him is a basket case. But the fact that he remains on the path to try and make sense of what is a mess of insanity demonstrates how gifted he is, and an argument could certainly be made that he’s the only one who could be considered a hero. I think Messina deserves to be nominated. If nothing else, as Entertainment Weekly noted, it would make for one hell of a Julie & Julia reunion on the red carpet.

My Picks For This Year's Emmys: Best Actress in a TV Movie/Limited Series

The early awards in this category have been dominated by Amy Adams and Patricia Arquette in roles which involved a lot of transformation and makeup. Both are still the heavy favorites, but there have been a couple of major players in the last few months that could be formidable contenders in September. Here are the likely nominees.

Amy Adams, Sharp Objects

In addition to playing one of the most psychological damaged characters in this category, she also played the most physically damaged, requiring two hours of makeup just to put on the carvings she had spent a lifetime carving into her flesh. But playing someone so brutalized by the past she had to face when confronting a horrible crime in her hometown, and more than that, facing the horrors of her own family, Adams gave one of the most memorable performances in a career filled with great ones. She spent most of the 2018 awards getting shafted. I hope they might find room for this damaged one. Just promise me there won’t be a second season.

Patricia Arquette, Escape at Dannemora

Arquette did a different kind of transformation in the performance that got her a Golden Globe and a SAG awards  - if Adams wore her pain, Arquette disappeared into the make up of Joyce Tilly, the woman who is manipulated by two killers, but who also is desperate to get out of what she sees as a wasted life. There’s a certain difference here, too – Adams’ Camille had things done to her, Arquette’s Joyce did most of the bad things that happened, yet at the climax said: “I didn’t do anything wrong” and honestly believed it. Arquette has had more luck with the Emmys than many of the likely nominees, but this is by far the most wrenching work she’s ever done, and I still think nearly a year later its worthy of the trophy.

Connie Britton, Dirty John

In the hands of a lesser actress, this limited series could’ve played like a Lifetime Movie – it certainly had all of the hallmarks one – wealthy woman marries a man who has been lying about who he is. But Britton has proven herself in the past decade of playing some of the most unique female characters on the small screen, and remains someone who you can never tear your eyes away from. Given solid material for much of the series, she never quite seemed to be the victim, even when darkness descended. Any other year, Dirty John and its cast would be earning more consideration for Emmys. This year, I think Britton will have to settle for being one of the few.

Joey King, The Act

Arquette had a great twelve months, and may yet do double duty. But by far the most astonishing performance was done as Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the real life victim of an abusive mother pushing Munchausen by Proxy on her. Her quest for freedom led to a horrific series of events, and it is telling that King, the virtual unknown in this category, managed to outshine all of them. It’s not likely to be her year, but this is one of the more astonishing early performances.

Emma Stone, Maniac

Even those who were fans of this Netflix series (and I wasn’t one) have to admit it was something of a mess. But over the past decade, Stone has managed to be able to rise above even the weakest of  materials, and she more than demonstrated it as this woman flashing through alternate, virtual realties. Admittedly, this may be more of a precursor from previous awards (she was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Broadcast Critics Award) and, like Adams and Arquette she had a big year. So the actress is more likely to prevail than the performance.

Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon

Williams has been one of greatest actresses of the independent film circuit ever since she left Dawson’s Creek and in her return to TV she more than demonstrated how capable she is. Just as she disappeared into Marilyn Monroe, she became Gwen Verdon, the Broadway icon who tried so hard to support her husband, who sacrificed her career for family, and who still loved him despite his numerous flaws. Williams has never received the recognition for any of her great films. If there’s a chance for anyone to upset Patricia Arquette, its her.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Molly Parker, Deadwood: The Movie

All of the women actresses on Deadwood were magnificent, and not just as attachments to the men on the series. But of the entire group, Parker’s Alma Garret, the society laudanum addict who found herself holding a bonanza gold claim through tragedy after tragedy was one of the most memorable one. Seeing Parker return to the town that made her fortune and gave her a daughter was one of the many treats of this marvelous films. Parker has never quite received the recognition that so many of her other co-stars have, despite being very active in the new Golden Age. A nomination would be a nice dividend.

My Picks For This Years Emmys: Best Actor In A TV MOVIE/Limited Series

Four of Hollywood’s greatest actors will likely go head to head with two of the greatest television actors the medium has ever produced. And unlike most of the categories in play, there is no clear front-runner, which means this could be the most exciting category of the night. Here are the almost certain nominees.

Mahershela Ali, True Detective

Will Ali  be able to do what his predecessor in this series wasn’t able to: win an Oscar and an Emmy in the same year? It helps that Ali is competing in the less competitive (but no less cutthroat) category that Matthew McCounaghey was. But more importantly, Ali’s performance as Wayne ‘Purple’ Hays was deeper and had a greater resonance than McCounaghey’s otherwise mesmerizing work was. It also helps that he was playing his character in three different and distinct time periods, and was fighting in each of them against overwhelming odds – and in the last one, his own mind. Any other year, you’d be able to write Ali has a sure thing. But considering who’s in this category, he’ll just have to settle for being the one to beat.

Benicio Del Toro, Escape at Dannemora

Despite his Oscar, Del Toro has always been one of the more undervalued actors working in Hollywood, though by far he’s one of the most versatile ones. So his work as Richard Matt, a ruthless murder with a seductive way about him is keeping with that level of unpredictability, even though he was an actual person. But playing a convict who worked so hard to get out yet couldn’t be bothered to actually go the last few miles was mesmerizing, as were his final scenes played almost in silence, where he seemed to be hoping his eminent death. It’s a dark performance and he fully deserves a nomination.

Hugh Grant, A Very English Scandal.

Ever since his return in Florence Foster Jenkins, Grant has completely left behind his bumbling romantic lead for someone with a far deeper malevolence in his persona, though his charm is still there. So his work as the British MP caught in a homosexual love affair, and who is willing to resort to ordering murder in order to keep his position is keeping with that, and also represents some of the finest work he’s done to date. Grant keeps getting shafted by the Oscars. I find it impossible to believe the Emmys will do the same.

Jared Harris, Chernobyl

Ever since he began his work on Mad Men, Harris has demonstrated that he is at least as gifted an actor as his legendary father Richard.  And as the nuclear scientist determined to save his country from the worst nuclear accident in history, despite the odds and the KGB’s determination to make sure this doesn’t embarrass the state, he demonstrated just how versatile a talent he is. Railing against a world where not only everything that possibly could go wrong is, but that the USSR is determined to say it isn’t, he remains a voice of ethics throughout the immediate crisis. But in the final episode, where he relates everything that went wrong in the incident – and then reveals the country’s mistake, knowing that it will cost him his freedom – was one of the great moments of television so far this year. Harris will get nominated and recognized (even though he continues his trend of playing characters who die by the end of the series)

Ian McShane, Deadwood: The Movie

Shall we just for a moment celebrate that this film finally happened at all? In a fair world, there would be room for both McShane and his equally brilliant co-star Timothy Olyphant. But just as in the world of Deadwood, fairness don’t fucking enter into it. And as Al Swearengen, the once ruthless owner of The Gem, now concentrating more on drinking himself to death, McShane was unlike tore into this brilliant character like no time at all had passed. Of course, time has passed, and it is starting to pass Swearengen by. And as he tries one last time to demonstrate his power against Hearst, he reminded just how great a character he was. And Milch, as is the case, gave him the last words – and they were perfect. The odds are against his prevailing, but I’d like to see him try.

Sam Rockwell, Fosse/Verdon

Until fairly recently, Rockwell has never been given the credit for being one of the greatest actors around. And even though his work in this FX limited series was superb, he was as always dwarfed by a brighter sun (who we’ll get to in the next category). But that doesn’t change the fact that Rockwell more than filled the role of one of Broadway’s greatest geniuses – as well as a man so self-destructive, he had to be institutionalized after his greatest triumph. Bob Fosse was a deeply flawed man that only a great actor could give life to. And Rockwell most assuredly did that.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Michael Sheen/ David Tennant, Good Omens

I already advocated for Sheen in the Supporting Actor category, so I’ll make my argument for Tennant this time. After leaving the title role of Doctor Who as one of the greatest Doctors in the series half-century, Tennant has spent the last decade demonstrating why he is one of the greatest actors period. Brilliant in Broadchurch and the best thing about Jessica Jones,  he has spent much of his time toning down the ball of energy he was as the doctor. But given the chance to turn things up to Ten as Azriphale, he once again demonstrated how much fun he is to watch – and how ridiculous the Emmy judges have been in constantly overlooking him. (He also starred in another series this year, but we’re not going to talk about that. ) Give him a nomination. Trust him. He’s not a doctor, but he played one on TV.