Performer of the Week: Richard Gadd

HONORABLE MENTION: Tadanobu Asano

Shōgun’s scruffy warlord Yabushige may not have been one of the key power players on FX’s samurai epic, but Tadanobu Asano grunted his way into our hearts as the strictly pragmatic schemer. In this week’s finale, Asano revealed a tender side to Yabushige when he expressed deep regret for his role in Mariko’s death, and then he was amusingly frantic as Yabushige tried to save his skin by striking a side bargain with Blackthorne. But his luck ran out, and Asano wore a resigned tranquility as Yabushige faced his certain death, cracking jokes to Omi about finding his wife a new husband who’s “not an idiot” and calmly shooting the breeze with Toranaga. Even his final moments, grinning at Toranaga over his shoulder before the lord beheaded him, managed to put a smile on our faces. — Dave Nemetz          

HONORABLE MENTION: Jordan Calloway

Following Cara’s death, we worried that Fire Country‘s Jake would spiral. And while he lost a step at first, Jake this week regained his bearings, in wonderful scenes for Jordan Calloway. Sitting with Gen (Alix West Lefler), who’d acted out as guardianship forms swirled around her, Jake shared, “I wasn’t just your mom’s boyfriend. I was going to ask her to marry me. But part of that question was if she’d have me as a father for you. And more importantly, if you’d have m—.” Before Jake could finish, Gen hugged him, and Calloway’s eyes communicated so much joy. Then came the hard part, informing Bode, and Calloway imbued Jake with a maturity we’d not seen before. “I will need your help, but I think this needs to be me,” he explained. When “Uncle” Bode scoffed that Jake can’t know what it’s like to be jostled around by life, Jake firmly reminded, “I can. I was counting on a future with Cara, but things change in an instant.” — Matt Webb Mitovich

HONORABLE MENTION: Gary Cole

Is there a doctor in the house?! NCIS‘ Special Agent Alden Parker answered that call this week, by thrusting himself into a highly unplanned “undercover” assignment, and Gary Cole in turn got to really show off his comedic chops. The onetime Office Space boss mined the first half of this week’s episode for much physical comedy, as Parker nursed a very achy neck and beseeched team members to coddle him with held-up iPhone screens and such. But when Parker acted fast and slipped on a lab coat and Harvard-educated attitude in order to protect a kidnapped heart surgeon, Cole not only got to rattle off all kinds of TV and movie references (“Dr. Emmett Trowbridge”) and play up Parker’s aversion to needles, he shared a crackling chemistry with scene partner/guest star Christina Kirk (A to Z). This lighter turn by Cole was — yes, we’re gonna say it — just what the doctor ordered. — MWM

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