A weekly feature in which we're trying to find the most compelling, best acted, written, directed and just generally great, memorable scenes that we've seen in past seven days on TV.
CHICAGO PD, "Knocked The Family Right Out", January 13, 2016, Actors: Sophia Bush, Sophie Thatcher, The Scene: Erin tells Carolyn that they got her attackers
Aimee Hicks: I’ve been a fan of Sophia’s since her One Tree Hill days and have always been impressed by her ability to bring complete sincerity to her every performance. You believe her performances because her performances are always so flawless you forget you’re watching a TV show and can just get lost in the experience her character is going through. What she does on this show is no different and while this was a simple scene it was a powerful one. The whole episode Erin had been fighting to bring peace to Carolyn and her family. When Erin got to deliver the news both actresses perfectly portrayed the moment of shock and relief. These monsters were Carolyn’s demons but Erin made sure to slay those demons in a way only she can. It was a great moment of justice and a great way to end the episode.
CODE BLACK, "The Fog of War", January 13, 2016, Actors: Melanie Chandra, Shiri Appleby, The Scene: Malaya fights to bring Carla back when she codes
Aimee Hicks: Carla codes and Malaya fights to bring her back so she can meet her son. Melanie has done some amazing work on this show as Malaya, but the performance she delivered in this scene was her best and most extraordinary to date. She tapped into Malaya’s raw emotion and lingering love for Carla and delivered a truly powerful performance. The whole scene wasn’t just about Malaya though as the birthing scene required an equally powerful and stunning performance from Shiri. Malaya knew bringing Carla back was only temporary and she would lose her but she made a promise that Carla would get to meet her son and it was a promise she wasn’t going to break. It’s a shame Carla succumbed to the cancer but given Shiri’s starring role on UnReal it shouldn’t have surprised anyone yet it was still truly heartbreaking. The performances delivered so perfectly by Melanie and Shiri made the raw emotion of the moment transcend entertainment and it made viewers feel for the terrible situation both women were in. They shared a love that was bigger than any other drama in their lives and in the end Malaya was there to support Carla. It was a powerful scene with perfectly delivered performances by Melanie and Shiri.
CRIMINAL MINDS, "Entropy", January 13, 2016, Actors: Matthew Gray Gubler, Aubrey Plaza and more, The Scene: Cat is arrested
Justyna K: I stopped watching the show a long time ago but since Reid has always been my favorite character I really wanted to see this episode. I'm glad I did. Truly a fantastic work by all the writers and actors, especially Matthew Gray Gubler and Aubrey Plaza. The entire hour is mostly focused on a complicated, intense, (brutally) honest conversation between the two characters and still, it's one of the best hours I've seen on the series. I could really choose any part of the talk as the moment that stood out the most but in the end, it's the final memorable minutes with the two, when Cat is arrested at last, that I wanted to include in the article. Morgan and Reid manage to convince Cat that they found her father, the man she hates, and she surrenders, only to realize a moment later that it was a lie. Still wanting to win, Cat says goodbye to Reid with a cruel reminder that while she will eventually get her freedom back, he probably forgets everything that happened by then. Haunting, yet wonderfully acted moment. Kudos!
ELEMENTARY, "A Burden of Blood", January 14, 2016, Actors: Jonny Lee Miller, Jon Michael Hill
The Scene: Sherlock tells Marcus the truth about his "pretend" case
Jimmy Ryan: Sherlock tells Marcus the pretend case he assigned him for his Sergeant practice exam was a real case, and awards him with the resulting bounty.
GALAVANT, "Bewitched, Bothered, and Belittled", January 10, 2016, Actors: Joshua Sasse, Timothy Omundson, Clare Foster, The Scene: "Maybe You Won't Die Alone" song
Justyna K: I highly recommend the show to anyone who didn't have a chance to see it yet. It's brilliant and hilarious, and such a joy to watch. Even for a 5-minute break during a day, here's the show to make you feel better and smile. I absolutely loved this song. It's one of my favorites already. The words, as always, are both accurate and funny. It's a lovely romantic moment, though much funnier with Galavant trying to set Richard up with Roberta. The setting itself with the musicians and their reactions in the background is so well done. And the actors continue to give fantastic performances. Easily a scene (and song!) worth to re-watch many, many times. Kudos!
Laura Markus: Three words: Richard. And. Galavant. Gal giving Rich the rose was excellent. I'm still giddy about it.
HEROES REBORN, "Company Woman", January 14, 2016, Actors: Zachary Levi and more
The Scene: The standoff at the gym
Laura Markus: Once again, Zachary Levi absolutely nails it. Fantastic scene; so much intensity. Can't believe the events that transpired!
MADAM SECRETARY, "Unity Node", January 10, 2016, Actors: Téa Leoni, Tim Daly, The Scene: Henry and Elizabeth take a walk to talk about their issues
Daniel van der Veer: Henry and Elizabeth are such an amazing couple. Sure, they have their issues but they actually take the time to talk about them. That was also the case in this scene, where they took a walk to discuss their feelings over Dmitri's death. There had been tension between them for the entire episode, so to have them reconcile at the end was beautiful. A great scene that shows how much they care about each other.
SAVING HOPE, "Goodbye Girl", January 14, 2016, Actor: Wendy Crewson, The Scene: Dana records a goodbye message for her daughter Molly
Aimee Hicks: Wendy has been given an emotional and sadly very true to life story. As Dana has battled cancer and fought for her life we have seen one amazing performance after another from Wendy. This particular scene though was a standout and emotionally powerful. The sign of a truly extraordinary actor is when they are in a scene by themselves and still manage to deliver so much heart and power that it feels like they are performing with a room full of other actors and that is exactly what Wendy did with this scene. She captured the raw emotion of the scene even before she started her dialogue and even as other snippets played over her monologue it was her words that captured the moments. This was a heartbreaking moment for this strong and stoic doctor. Whatever comes next for Dana I look forward to watching Wendy take her through this journey.
TEEN WOLF, "Damnatio Memoriae", January 12, 2016, Actors: Dylan O'Brien, Linden Ashby, The Scene: Stiles and Sheriff talk in the morgue
Justyna K: Once again, for me the choice came down to the couple of scenes between Stiles and Scott and Stiles with his dad. I can't tell you how glad I am to see the guys slowly getting back to what they used to be, the simple things like lifting the cabinet together and leaving the pack's symbol behind - truly mean the world in these circumstances. But as much as I loved watching this reunion take place, I had to choose the Sheriff and Stiles talk in the morgue. First of all, did I mention how much I adore the parents on the show (and by parents I mean Sheriff, Melissa and Argent)? I'm sure I did on more than one occasion, they're all fantastic characters and their relationships with the kids are some of my favorites on Teen Wolf. This week it's the Sheriff's speech about always being there for Stiles and having faith in him, ready to protect him against anything, followed by his advice on how to deal with the guilt and the loss of innocence, that stood out the most in the hour. Such an emotional moment with clever and thoughtful words shared by these two. Beautifully acted by the always incredible Dylan O'Brien and Linden Ashby. Kudos! Things can never go back exactly to the way they were before, but here's to many more heartwarming and less heartbreaking scenes for all the heroes in the future.
THE BLACKLIST, "The Director: Conclusion", January 14, 2016, Actors: James Spader and more, The Scenes: Red drops off The Director & The Opening Scene & Red and Co. extract The Director from the faked offices
Daniel van der Veer: Red drops The Director from the plane, landing him in the middle of a house. While I will miss David Strathairn who did an amazing job of playing him, this was an awesome ending for The Director. It had to happen eventually and since he had become a liability to The Cabal, the timing was right. Red always has an awesome way to get rid of his enemies and this was no exception. The only thing that bothered me about the scene was the awful Dutch accent (seriously, that didn't even sound like Dutch!), but other than that it was a great exit for The Director.
Kollin Lore: In this opening scene we see all of Reddington's crew gathering in an unknown location. With the awesome 'God's Gonna Cut You Down' by Johnny Cash playing you know shit's about to happen. A badass scene that the whole season has been leading up to.
Jimmy Ryan: Red and Co. extract The Director from the faked offices.
THE EXPANSE, "Rock Bottom", January 12, 2016, Actors: Steven Strait and more, The Scenes: Closing sequence & Holden confesses the truth about SOS message
Kollin Lore: In this montage of closing shots we see Amos painting the Rocinante while Holden gets coffee for everyone. The whole first half of the season has been gradually building up the relationship between Holden and his crewmates. It took a while as they had a lot of trust issues, but now it seems they are officially a family as they go out on their first mission together.
Prpleight: When Holden confesses that he's the one who forwarded the SOS message that got them into this situation. Amos wants to know why Nagata didn't tell him. When it occurs to him that she's scared of him, he simply turns and leaves. Amos idolizes her and that realization hurt him. I just thought it was a really nice moment that stood out for me in the ep.
Aimee Hicks: I’ve been a fan of Sophia’s since her One Tree Hill days and have always been impressed by her ability to bring complete sincerity to her every performance. You believe her performances because her performances are always so flawless you forget you’re watching a TV show and can just get lost in the experience her character is going through. What she does on this show is no different and while this was a simple scene it was a powerful one. The whole episode Erin had been fighting to bring peace to Carolyn and her family. When Erin got to deliver the news both actresses perfectly portrayed the moment of shock and relief. These monsters were Carolyn’s demons but Erin made sure to slay those demons in a way only she can. It was a great moment of justice and a great way to end the episode.
Aimee Hicks: Carla codes and Malaya fights to bring her back so she can meet her son. Melanie has done some amazing work on this show as Malaya, but the performance she delivered in this scene was her best and most extraordinary to date. She tapped into Malaya’s raw emotion and lingering love for Carla and delivered a truly powerful performance. The whole scene wasn’t just about Malaya though as the birthing scene required an equally powerful and stunning performance from Shiri. Malaya knew bringing Carla back was only temporary and she would lose her but she made a promise that Carla would get to meet her son and it was a promise she wasn’t going to break. It’s a shame Carla succumbed to the cancer but given Shiri’s starring role on UnReal it shouldn’t have surprised anyone yet it was still truly heartbreaking. The performances delivered so perfectly by Melanie and Shiri made the raw emotion of the moment transcend entertainment and it made viewers feel for the terrible situation both women were in. They shared a love that was bigger than any other drama in their lives and in the end Malaya was there to support Carla. It was a powerful scene with perfectly delivered performances by Melanie and Shiri.
Justyna K: I stopped watching the show a long time ago but since Reid has always been my favorite character I really wanted to see this episode. I'm glad I did. Truly a fantastic work by all the writers and actors, especially Matthew Gray Gubler and Aubrey Plaza. The entire hour is mostly focused on a complicated, intense, (brutally) honest conversation between the two characters and still, it's one of the best hours I've seen on the series. I could really choose any part of the talk as the moment that stood out the most but in the end, it's the final memorable minutes with the two, when Cat is arrested at last, that I wanted to include in the article. Morgan and Reid manage to convince Cat that they found her father, the man she hates, and she surrenders, only to realize a moment later that it was a lie. Still wanting to win, Cat says goodbye to Reid with a cruel reminder that while she will eventually get her freedom back, he probably forgets everything that happened by then. Haunting, yet wonderfully acted moment. Kudos!
ELEMENTARY, "A Burden of Blood", January 14, 2016, Actors: Jonny Lee Miller, Jon Michael Hill
The Scene: Sherlock tells Marcus the truth about his "pretend" case
Jimmy Ryan: Sherlock tells Marcus the pretend case he assigned him for his Sergeant practice exam was a real case, and awards him with the resulting bounty.
Justyna K: I highly recommend the show to anyone who didn't have a chance to see it yet. It's brilliant and hilarious, and such a joy to watch. Even for a 5-minute break during a day, here's the show to make you feel better and smile. I absolutely loved this song. It's one of my favorites already. The words, as always, are both accurate and funny. It's a lovely romantic moment, though much funnier with Galavant trying to set Richard up with Roberta. The setting itself with the musicians and their reactions in the background is so well done. And the actors continue to give fantastic performances. Easily a scene (and song!) worth to re-watch many, many times. Kudos!
Laura Markus: Three words: Richard. And. Galavant. Gal giving Rich the rose was excellent. I'm still giddy about it.
HEROES REBORN, "Company Woman", January 14, 2016, Actors: Zachary Levi and more
The Scene: The standoff at the gym
Laura Markus: Once again, Zachary Levi absolutely nails it. Fantastic scene; so much intensity. Can't believe the events that transpired!
Daniel van der Veer: Henry and Elizabeth are such an amazing couple. Sure, they have their issues but they actually take the time to talk about them. That was also the case in this scene, where they took a walk to discuss their feelings over Dmitri's death. There had been tension between them for the entire episode, so to have them reconcile at the end was beautiful. A great scene that shows how much they care about each other.
Aimee Hicks: Wendy has been given an emotional and sadly very true to life story. As Dana has battled cancer and fought for her life we have seen one amazing performance after another from Wendy. This particular scene though was a standout and emotionally powerful. The sign of a truly extraordinary actor is when they are in a scene by themselves and still manage to deliver so much heart and power that it feels like they are performing with a room full of other actors and that is exactly what Wendy did with this scene. She captured the raw emotion of the scene even before she started her dialogue and even as other snippets played over her monologue it was her words that captured the moments. This was a heartbreaking moment for this strong and stoic doctor. Whatever comes next for Dana I look forward to watching Wendy take her through this journey.
Justyna K: Once again, for me the choice came down to the couple of scenes between Stiles and Scott and Stiles with his dad. I can't tell you how glad I am to see the guys slowly getting back to what they used to be, the simple things like lifting the cabinet together and leaving the pack's symbol behind - truly mean the world in these circumstances. But as much as I loved watching this reunion take place, I had to choose the Sheriff and Stiles talk in the morgue. First of all, did I mention how much I adore the parents on the show (and by parents I mean Sheriff, Melissa and Argent)? I'm sure I did on more than one occasion, they're all fantastic characters and their relationships with the kids are some of my favorites on Teen Wolf. This week it's the Sheriff's speech about always being there for Stiles and having faith in him, ready to protect him against anything, followed by his advice on how to deal with the guilt and the loss of innocence, that stood out the most in the hour. Such an emotional moment with clever and thoughtful words shared by these two. Beautifully acted by the always incredible Dylan O'Brien and Linden Ashby. Kudos! Things can never go back exactly to the way they were before, but here's to many more heartwarming and less heartbreaking scenes for all the heroes in the future.
Daniel van der Veer: Red drops The Director from the plane, landing him in the middle of a house. While I will miss David Strathairn who did an amazing job of playing him, this was an awesome ending for The Director. It had to happen eventually and since he had become a liability to The Cabal, the timing was right. Red always has an awesome way to get rid of his enemies and this was no exception. The only thing that bothered me about the scene was the awful Dutch accent (seriously, that didn't even sound like Dutch!), but other than that it was a great exit for The Director.
Kollin Lore: In this opening scene we see all of Reddington's crew gathering in an unknown location. With the awesome 'God's Gonna Cut You Down' by Johnny Cash playing you know shit's about to happen. A badass scene that the whole season has been leading up to.
Jimmy Ryan: Red and Co. extract The Director from the faked offices.
Kollin Lore: In this montage of closing shots we see Amos painting the Rocinante while Holden gets coffee for everyone. The whole first half of the season has been gradually building up the relationship between Holden and his crewmates. It took a while as they had a lot of trust issues, but now it seems they are officially a family as they go out on their first mission together.
Prpleight: When Holden confesses that he's the one who forwarded the SOS message that got them into this situation. Amos wants to know why Nagata didn't tell him. When it occurs to him that she's scared of him, he simply turns and leaves. Amos idolizes her and that realization hurt him. I just thought it was a really nice moment that stood out for me in the ep.
