The TVLine Performer of the Week: Jeffrey Dean Morgan
THE PERFORMER | Jeffrey Dean Morgan
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THE SHOW | AMC’s The Walking Dead: Dead City
THE EPISODE | “People Are a Resource” (July 2, 2023)
THE PERFORMANCE | Everyone who watched the OG Walking Dead during Negan’s reign of terror knows that his portrayer is, if not the greatest showman, certainly a great one. He’s an absolute master of the off-putting come-on and jokes that land like threats. This week, however, the Dead City spinoff’s leading man is being singled out for a series of far quieter moments, subtle shifts that revealed as much about his seemingly endless skills as they did about his reformed Big Bad.
First, in a flashback to the recent past, Morgan delighted us — yes, delighted — with the moment that he changed Negan’s ticked expression from one that still held out hope that common sense might carry any weight with his ward to one that every parent had to recognize: absolute defeat. As dangerous as it was to search through walker-infested woods for her stuffed animal, damn it, that was what they were gonna do.
In the present, Morgan brought forth Negan’s cunning as he recruited volunteers to take down the nefarious Croat by telling the story of his own downfall — without identifying himself as the villain of the piece. The actor was so shrewd in the way that he spun the yarn, making Negan sound detached but also kinda impressed by the brute he was describing, that we, too, would’ve signed up to take on an untouchable antagonist.
When Negan was alone with unlikely partner Maggie, Morgan transformed his face into the softest of sounding boards as she recalled her last interaction with her kidnapped son. The Walking Dead vet then opened the window into his alter ego’s soul even wider as his voice caught and his eyes went misty describing the mistake that had separated Negan from his family.
Finally, in a tense confrontation with Luther, who’d learned that Negan was a wanted man, Morgan flew through a range of emotions, from concern to panic to resignation, by simply altering his body language and a tone that was loaded with evolving subtext. In the end, it wasn’t just Luther who was knocked out (in his case, permanently). We were, too — by Morgan.
Scroll down to see who scored Honorable Mention shout-outs this week…
HONORABLE MENTION: Edi Patterson
As the delightfully unhinged Judy Gemstone, Edi Patterson has long been The Righteous Gemstones‘ secret weapon, armed with off-kilter line readings and an oddball physicality that make Judy such a watchable weirdo. That held especially true during Sunday’s episode, in which Judy tried to shield husband BJ from the knowledge that she’d had an affair while on tour. As Judy’s ex-lover, Stephen, threatened to spill the beans to BJ, Patterson made increasingly hilarious choices, from Judy’s frantic deleting of Stephen’s text messages to the seamless way she spat out her water upon learning that BJ and Stephen played pickleball together. Judy’s eventual confrontation with Stephen was the perfect cap to Patterson’s showcase; in her hands, even a ridiculous declaration like, “I’m BJ Barnes’ bitch, and no one else’s!” was both very funny and strangely sweet.
HONORABLE MENTION: Saycon Sengbloh
We all knew that the Tony-nominated Saycon Sengbloh has some serious pipes, but she still managed to leave us wanting more in this week’s Wonder Years. An opening in Lillian’s church choir gave the actress the perfect spotlight to showcase her talent, as she unleashed showstopper after showstopper while decked out in her Sunday best. Acting alongside the legendary Patti LaBelle (!) as her mother-in-law, Lillian’s suggested changes caused Mother Williams to step down as director, leaving Lillian to hold the singing group together. Despite the turmoil that transpired, the actress carried her character with poise and determination, as she treaded lightly to respect her elders while growing increasingly frustrated with the congregation. Lillian’s time in the choir was ultimately short lived, but Sengbloh’s multi-layered performance hit all the right notes.
Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in Comments!
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