TVLine's Performers Of The Week: Penn Badgley And Madeline Brewer

THE PERFORMERS | Penn Badgley and Madeline Brewer

THE SHOW | YOU

THE EPISODE | "Finale" (Apr. 24, 2025)

THE PERFORMANCES | Fans of the Netflix thriller may be divided over the fate of its central serial killer, but there's one thing on which we can all agree: Badgley and Brewer are guilty of murder themselves after killing that series finale.

The show's gripping final hour felt like a condensed version of an entire other season, with Badgley and Brewer expertly traversing the delicate tightrope that is Joe and Bronte's tumultuous relationship. With Joe hoping for the best against all odds (such a romantic, that one!) and Bronte simply biding her time until making a desperate move, their mutual uncertainty loomed over the episode like a dark cloud, slowly filling up until it was time to pour.

And pour it did, from gun-toting Bronte's declaration of justice for Beck to Joe's jarring emotional outburst about his son. Then came Joe and Bronte's take-no-prisoners (OK, maybe one prisoner!) showdown in the woods, which took two weeks to film, according to the show's star.

While we hesitate to call Joe and Bronte's bloody battle "enjoyable," there's simply no overlooking the full-force performances from both actors. Joining a show like YOU in its final season would be daunting for any actor, much less one expected to be Joe's equal — and ultimately his undoing — yet Brewer was fully up to the challenge at every turn, especially in this final hour.

And how could we possibly overlook Joe's chilling final monologue, our last voyage into his twisted psyche? Despite retaining a blind confidence in himself, there was an added hopelessness and vacancy to this last speech, delivered from within a cage of a different sort. Feel however you want about the way Joe's story ended, there's no denying that Badgley did right by Joe in the end.

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

There's no sugarcoating it: 9-1-1 fans aren't merely distraught over the sudden death of Peter Krause's Bobby — they're furious, unable to accept the creative decision to rip the show's beating heart directly from its chest. And who better to channel that volatile cocktail of emotions than Bassett, who recently gave a whole new meaning to "good grief" with an Oscar-nominated turn in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? As the reality of Bobby's death settled in this week, we watched Athena begin to navigate a world without her husband for the first time. Even for someone who has already faced her fair share of heartbreak in life, this was simply too much. We felt her heart break all over again as she collapsed into Hen's arms ahead of the funeral, and we were subsequently comforted by her strength as she boldly stepped into her (and the show's) uncertain future. We can't say we're excited to see where 9-1-1 goes in its post-Bobby era, but at least we have Bassett to lead the way. — A.S.

As the titular song goes, NCIS: Origins' finale, "Cecilia," broke our damn heart, due in great part to Mariel Molino's powerhouse performance in at least four incredibly rewatchable scenes. When Lala got in Franks' face, begging him to accuse her of being MP Macy's source? And then once he did, exploding about how her boss has never seen the loyal, tireless agent standing in front of him? Molino was electric. With Mary Jo afterwards, Lala was conversely wounded, vulnerable. In the swimming pool scene with Gibbs, Molino conveyed Lala's nervous excitement about the intimacy that was finally about to transpire... and when Gibbs instead ruined the moment, Molino's clipped, barely audible "What?," followed by the way she drifted away, almost repulsed, was perfect. Capping Molino's best-ever work was Lala's appeal to Macy to drop the investigation into Gibbs, infused with both passion and desperation to save someone she loves. — Matt Webb Mitovich

PBS' sequel series Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light has been a sumptuous slice of royal history, and it gave us another chance to relish Mark Rylance's magnificent turn as cunning advisor Thomas Cromwell. In this week's finale, Cromwell faced the wrath of his former friend King Henry VIII, and Rylance wore a look of quiet resignation as Cromwell came to terms with his grim fate. He did show some fire in his final days, effortlessly running rhetorical circles around his foes as he defended himself against charges of treason. (Rylance also slipped in a few moments of levity when Cromwell chuckled at the ridiculous situation he found himself in.) In the end, though, his death was a foregone conclusion, and Rylance allowed tears to well up in his eyes as Cromwell said a final farewell to his loyal underling Rafe. Whether giving us virtuoso monologues or silent gazes, Rylance's performance truly was one for the history books. — Dave Nemetz

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