TVLine's Performer Of The Week: Jeremy Allen White

THE PERFORMER | Jeremy Allen White

THE SHOW | The Bear

THE EPISODE | "Tonnato" (June 25, 2025)

THE PERFORMANCE | Carmy Berzatto is a man of few words. As the acclaimed chef of a fine-dining restaurant, he prefers to let his cooking do the talking for him. So it's fitting that in Season 4, White — who's already won two Emmys for playing Carmy — found his finest moments in silence, as Carmy finally sat down with his mother and made peace with his traumatic past.

Episode 9 found Carmy going back to his mother Donna's house (the site of so much turmoil) to return a box of old photos, and with his wary gaze and tentative gestures, White let us know that Carmy walked in fearing the worst. Looking through the photos stirred up memories for Donna — and Jamie Lee Curtis was magnificent here, too — as she tried to make amends for her years of bad parenting, sobbing and telling Carmy how sorry she was for what he had to endure. White didn't have to say a word here: His face started out defiant, like he's heard all of this before, but slowly, as she went on, he let his defenses down, and tears began to run down his face as a wave of relief flooded over him. Carmy finally told his mother he loved her and then proved it the best way he knows how, by making her a meal, and the tender way he prepared her a beautiful chicken dish was truly moving, knowing all they'd been through together.  

That feeling of redemption carried over into later scenes, too, with Carmy offering his Uncle Jimmy a heartfelt thank-you for investing in the restaurant: "I feel like I've f–ked this place up, and you believed in me." We also saw an endearing pride cross his face when Natalie announced that someone at the restaurant had made Food & Wine's Best New Chefs list; he first looked over warmly at Sydney, and then clapped loudly when he learned it was actually dessert chef Marcus. Carmy still has a long way to go to be a healthy, happy human, of course, but White's stunningly vulnerable work here showed us that he's on the right path, at least.

Scroll down to see who got Honorable Mention shout-outs this week...

When Prime Video's Countdown killed off intelligence officer Drew, it was surprisingly moving to see Violett Beane's FBI agent Evan Shepherd, who'd known the man for but a minute, quietly feel the loss. Beane revealed Shepherd to be Task Force Hurricane's beating heart by tearing up upon hearing the news, registering deep sympathy as she and SAC Blythe notified Drew's wife, and warmly regarding the cap Drew wore as coach of his dead son's Little League team. Beane also gave us fiery intensity when Shepherd had the idea to grill Drew's shooter herself. Previewing how Mikhail's role in the terror plot would impact his daughter, she noted, "Her entire family will be deported, or jailed or both. No support, no hope," leading to a life of "pills, vodka, more pills, harder drugs... anything to make her forget you." The tactic worked, and we now see Beane's character in a new light. — Matt Webb Mitovich

We can't vouch for the pizza at Desperito's, but Ironheart's season-ending two-hander between Dominique Thorne and Sacha Baron Cohen was damn delicious. Earlier in the finale, Thorne very effectively played Riri's distress upon realizing that N.A.T.A.L.I.E. was the "price" she paid by infusing her suit with magic, while Cohen made quite an entrance as the dashing devil Parker once made a deal with to become "stupid, disgusting, greasy rich." Ironheart famously left us with a cliffhanger that put a pit in your stomach, and laying the groundwork for that was a gripping, eight-minute sit-down in which Riri met not Dormammu, but someone way higher up the demonic ladder. Cohen imbued Mephisto with a tantalizing blend of swagger and menace. Thorne in turn sold you on Riri's fervent wish to get back any version of her dead best friend, which was crucial to the cliffhanger being as convincing as it was soul-crushing. — M.W.M.

No matter how you felt about Myung-gi — especially in Squid Game's series finale — Yim Si-wan's every acting choice had you rapt. Myung-gi started spiraling when in Season 2 he killed Thanos; in Season 3, his and Nam-gyu's Hide & Seek spree amped up that mania, and baby momma Jun-hee's rejection of him during Jump Rope kicked it up more notches. By the time the finale arrived, Myung-gi was downright mercurial, and Yim's performance was electric. As they headed into the final Sky Squid Game round, our hearts sank upon realizing that Myung-gi had no intention of letting Gi-hun cross; worse, it was clear that he'd also sacrifice his and Jun-hee's newborn daughter to win. Yim sold us on Myung-gi's desperation, confusion and heightened paranoia, but in a way that we also felt for him, to his very end. — M.W.M.

Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!