Acting is no easy profession and there is a reason so many performers fail to leave a mark. To stand out in a sea of extremely gifted performers one must be willing to commit every aspect of their body to their performances. Lindsey Morgan has proven she’s not only willing to commit her body but also her entire being to each and every performance she delivers. That was no more evident than in
Nevermore (3x11) which is the episode Morgan was nominated for and rightfully won for in April.
This episode required Morgan to do battle with Raven’s demons, literally since ALIE had essentially possessed her, and still convey to the audience that under it all Raven was fighting to find a way back to her friends. It was a valiantly fought battle as Morgan twisted and contorted her body in unnatural ways all in the name of entertaining the audience. The performances Morgan delivered in this episode were raw and primal in form and while Morgan has proven her ability to adapt to any situation thrown at her this episode not only required her to be tied to a bed for most of it but also required her to deliver a physical performance while restrained. Some performers struggle to convey what their character is experiencing in the absence of dialogue but Morgan excelled at taking the audience along for the ride through both dialogue rich and dialogue absent scenes throughout this episode.
Anyone who has watched
The 100 for any amount of time is probably as surprised as I am that Raven is still alive. Given how kill happy this show is I long ago expected Raven to be killed off. The fact she is still alive and fighting is a testament to Morgan who takes even the smallest scenes and turns them into standout scenes. Raven has had a laundry list of horrible things happen to her over the run of the series and Morgan always rises to the challenge of each situation put before her. If the show is smart they’ll keep throwing these complex and intense scenes Morgan’s way because she’s more than capable of handling them and elevating the scripts beyond what I suspect even the writers imagined.
While Morgan has delivered extraordinary performances all season long it was in
Nevermore that she was really allowed to shine. This episode required her to cover a gambit of situations in an extremely confined area. As I briefly mentioned above, the majority of her acting was while tied down to a bed which usually doesn’t allow for much physicality from the performer but apparently Morgan didn’t get that memo because even tied down she still captured each moment and made her performance powerful and emotionally gripping. Even being confined to that one small area Morgan still made her performance fill up the screen and she easily stole each scene away from her co-stars who had the freedom to move around. Performing while restrained is no small task and the show couldn't have asked for a better or more powerful performance than Morgan delivered.
As the desperation grew so did the harm ALIE was forcing Raven to inflict on herself and that required Morgan to up the intensity of her performance to nearly psychotic levels for Raven. Viewers watched Raven go through this painful journey as Morgan kept turning up the intensity level and her eyes were a big part of that. The makeup department did brilliant work in the way they shadowed her eyes but the true intensity of the moment came all from Morgan. As the intensity of the situation escalated Morgan brilliantly conveyed Raven’s growing insanity through her eyes with these intense crazy looks that just screamed of evil. That's not to mention the actual screaming that was going on that really upped the emotion of the situation. On the opposite side of that, after the others freed Raven from ALIE’s control, and the chip was removed from her brain, the relief that flooded through Morgan’s body as Raven returned to consciousness was visible. It was like Morgan simply flipped a switch and psychotic brain swiped Raven was gone and hurting but free Raven had returned all in an instant. The transition was as flawless as Raven's transformation into ALIE controlled Raven had been in the prior episode. Morgan perfectly played the pain and exhaustion Raven was experiencing in the wake of this horrific experience and ensured that the audience could visibly see the toll the whole experience had taken on Raven. Every acting choice she made throughout this episode allowed for the audience to come along for this intense journey and made the final outcome feel all the more victorious for the heroes and Raven. This show is full of extremely gifted performers and while I’m sure anyone of them could have done a great job I don’t think any could have taken it to the primal level that Morgan did.
What is truly unique about Morgan is that most performers on this show and most shows in general usually have a dedicated scene partner whom they always share scenes with and whom helps elevate them even further. Raven isn’t part of any couple so Morgan is shuffled around in terms of those she shares scenes with. No matter who she’s on the screen with Morgan always excels and rises to the challenge. She elevates her scene partners while making sure her presence is never forgotten. In fact, when she is on screen she is usually the performer holding the scene and standing out the most. That’s no easy task when part of a cast the size of
The 100 but she does it in almost every scene she’s in. She does that while still also being gracious and considerate to her co-stars and while she may draw attention in a scene she always ensures her scene partners are given their time to shine as well. Morgan seems like the type of actress that would have her fellow performers hoping they will get to share scenes with her.
Nevermore wasn’t her only defining moment in April as each episode gave Morgan time to shine and show her vast array of talent as Raven was constantly challenged by ALIE. Everything Morgan had to tackle in April was intense but one of my personal favorite moments from April was in the episode entitled
Fallen (3x10) when Raven was desperately trying to get the chip out of her head. Morgan portrayed a desperate and determined Raven who was desperately trying to hold onto what ALIE was trying to take from her. For me it was a defining performance as it showed just how strong Raven is in her ability to overcome ALIE’s influence even if just briefly. The performance Morgan delivered throughout Raven’s attempts at overcoming ALIE grew in intensity and culminated in Raven being consumed by pain then overtaken by ALIE. The way Morgan flipped the switch from Raven to ALIE was just seamless and showed the incredible control Morgan has over her own body and facial expressions. The acting choices Morgan made allowed viewers to very clearly see that the Raven we all know was gone before she even said a word. She was phenomenal in
Nevermore but her performance in
Fallen was equally as powerful and the transitions between Raven and ALIE were flawless in both episodes.
The show knew Morgan could handle the intensity and emotional core of this storyline and they were right to entrust it to her. Not only did Morgan perfectly capture the struggle but she nailed every emotional point with expert ease. It came across to viewers as a natural performance but I highly doubt any of it was easy given the sheer amount of physical strain this storyline surely put on Morgan’s body. As I mentioned earlier, she was contorting and twisting her body in ways that visually looked painful during
Nevermore so I can only imagine how painful it actually was to perform. Not many performers are willing to go the full distance for their craft but Morgan definitely did and all of her hard work and pain produced a masterpiece that she should be proud of because the final product was nothing short of perfection. In fact, Morgan should be proud of every performance she has ever delivered on this show but especially of the work she did in April. The episodes in April gave her this amazing storyline and she delivered not one, not two, but three episodes worth of powerhouse performances. That is no small feat given the magnitude of the work that was given to her in each episode.
April saw a lot of outstanding performances by actresses but it is without doubt that Lindsey Morgan was the best of the best. She beat out some extremely gifted actresses for this fan given title and she is definitely deserving of it. No one can accuse Morgan of not giving her performances their all because she quite literally sacrificed her body for our entertainment. Morgan’s talent is off the charts and even though she proved that years ago she just reaffirmed that in April.
It was impossible to cover every outstanding moment Morgan delivered in April so please feel free to discuss everything not covered in this article down in the comments section.
Lindsey Morgan was your fan pick as the most
Outstanding Actress Of April 2016. Hit the comments below to tell others why you think she earned this title and what you most enjoyed about her April performances.
PLEASE READ: This is an article to recognize Lindsey’s work and to honor her performance in April on The 100. Shipper related bashing will not be tolerated in the comments even from Lindsey's fans. Honor the performer and her performance. Have fun and be kind to one another.
About the Author - Aimee Hicks
Aimee works for a newspaper in North Carolina and has a BA in Broadcasting and Cinema. She has been a TV lover since before she really understood what TV was. She has a long list of shows that she loves to watch and can be found on twitter (@ahicks83) live tweeting about each new episode whenever she can. If the show is sci-fi, fantasy, comic book based, drama, or action the odds are good she watches it or has at least watched a few episodes of it. She also has a love for comedies 2 Broke Girls and Mom. She was the original creator and co-founder of LOST Video Island (lostvideo.net) which is still operating under the management of the very capable and skilled group she turned it over to.
You can email her at aimee@spoilertv.com.
