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We are well into Emmy Awards campaign season, and with it the question of the episodes submitted by the nominated actors. The performers nominated in lead and supporting categories in comedy and drama are each called upon to submit just one episode from their eligible seasons to present to Emmy voters. In the past, shrewdly chosen episodes have certainly helped performers on their way to the podium. These days, with the entire academy voting for winners in each category, the suspicion is that episode selection doesn’t matter as much as it once did. But the politics and vagaries of Emmy voting have always been something of a mystery, with the episode submissions a rare tangible piece of evidence. Did an actor pick an episode that put their best foot forward? Does that mean big emotional moments? Likeable character triumphs? A format-breaking spotlight-grabber?
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama is, at first glance, a remarkably Game of Thrones-heavy category, with three of the six nominees hailing from Westeros. Which would seem to give them a heavy advantage. But in the case of a vote split, might someone like a Maura Tierney (the Golden Globe winner last January) triumph? Let’s see how they submitted.
Emilia Clarke
Show: Game of Thrones
Submitted Episode: “Book of the Stranger”
Synopsis: Daenerys must navigate life amongst the Dosh Khaleen and decides to make a bold, fiery stand against the Khals.
Clarke’s early scenes in the episode aren’t particularly dazzling. She rolls her eyes at the Dosh Khaleen, schemes a bit, and is reunited with Daario and Jorah. However, we’re betting that Clarke pushed this episode into contention because it features one of her most spectacular displays of sheer power. When we see Dany taunt her captors, we’re watching a predator play with her prey, and when she emerges from the flaming building, fully nude, we see the birth of a great — and potentially terrible — new Dany.
You can stream Game of Thrones‘ “Book of the Stranger” on HBO Go.
Lena Headey
Show: Game of Thrones
Submitted Episode: “The Winds of Winter”
Synopsis: Cersei takes care of all her problems in King’s Landing at once, using wildfire to blow up the Sept of Baelor and all her enemies with it. By episode’s end, after the unintended suicide of her son, Cersei assumes the Iron Throne as queen.
If Kit Harrington’s submission is a testament to hoping voters will rally behind a beloved character, Lena Headey is hoping the ambivalence the audience must feel towards Cersei (sure, she got hers, but at what awful cost?) will only further draw an arrow to her performance. And it is one hell of a performance. For the look on Cersei’s face as she takes the throne alone, defiance mixed with pride mixed with (dare we say) shame, she deserves the Emmy.
You can stream Game of Thrones‘ “The Winds of Winter” on HBO Go.
Maggie Smith
Show: Downton Abbey
Submitted Episode: “Episode Six”
Synopsis: The Dowager Countess gets formally displaced as the president of the local hospital, leading to her storming Downton to give her son and daughter-in-law what-for.
Two sides to this coin: Smith gets to play the Dowager Countess’ biggest scene of the season in this episode, with a lot of righteous hollering about being betrayed. On the other hand, the whole hospital storyline was deathly boring, and even voters who were fond of Downton might not respond to this one, even with the prospect of giving Smith one more Emmy on her way out the door.
You can stream Downton Abbey‘s “Episode Six” on Prime Video.
Maura Tierney
Show: The Affair
Submitted Episode: “Episode 204”
Synopsis: Helen is unravelling as her divorce gets closer to finalizing. She gets high and forgets to pick up the kids, leading to an escalating disaster that could end in her losing custody.
Maura Tierney is a real powerhouse in the episode. She gets to be lonely, angry, drunk, stoned, embattled, embittered, and heartbroken. It’s easily Tierney’s strongest episode of the season, putting Helen front and center and leaving Emmy voters with more than enough to chew on.
You can stream The Affair‘s “Episode 204” on Showtime Anytime.
Maisie Williams
Show: Game of Thrones
Submitted Episode: “No One”
Synopsis: Arya tries to recuperate from her run-in with the Waif, but the nasty assassin won’t let her escape.
Many awards show prognosticators were surprised to learn that Williams nabbed her first Emmy nomination for this season, but this episode isn’t a bad showcase for her. Arya gets an opportunity to connect with a truly kind kindred spirit. Lady Crane is the kind of woman Arya might actually want to grow up to be — if only she wasn’t Arya Stark. Of course, this episode also lets Williams parkour and stumble and roll and limp her way through the streets of Braavos. Arya makes her final stand against the Waif and survives. She stops trying to be No One and affirms she is Arya Stark of Winterfell.
Constance Zimmer
Show: UnREAL
Submitted Episode: “Mother”
Synopsis: While Quinn and Chet are having sex, he has a heart attack. At the hospital, his wife reminds Quinn that she’s nothing more than his sidepiece. Back at the show, she must get Rachel back on her game, manipulating her into using a contestant’s eating disorder against her, just one of Quinn’s many terrifying talents.
If Zimmer is going to take the Emmy, it will be for her performance as a whole on the Lifetime drama, not just for this one episode. While she normally shines as a total boss bitch, she stuns while being served a healthy dose of realness at the hospital by Chet’s wife who reminds her that she’s nothing more than a mistress. But the most powerful scene for her in this episode comes when she gives a pep talk/threat to Rachel in the most chilling kind of way imaginable. She’s got a fierce grip on Rachel’s face with just one hand, telling her, “I need an episode.” And Quinn is scary when she’s yelling, but she’s even scarier like this, when her voice is just barely a whisper. I’m already scared for next year’s nominees if they have to go against Zimmer’s performance in the season 2 episode, “Espionage.”
